Ironman Canada was not originally on the racing plan for 2005. I had originally thought I'd step up to Ironman distance sometime in 2006, but several people I know and respect had counselled me to just do the race and have a great experience. So, when the alignment of some changes in my personal life and plans, and the fortunate happenstance of having cheap accommodations already arranged by someone else that could be latched onto occurred, I booked a ticket to BC and grabbed a qualifying spot at the Subaru Triathlon Series race in Huntsville, Ontario in June of 2005. So, here follows my report on the race and the activities of the week surrounding the race, or at least some of the activities. }:>
I have had several days to compose this report in my mind, so hopefully it comes out in text as well as it sounds in my own head.
On the Tuesday before I left, I did one last workout with my running group (a little circuit training evening) and then headed to my friend Mike's place in Milton in order to be close to the airport. Wednesday was an early flight out, but I was in business class from Toronto to Vancouver, which was heavenly. The A330 I was on has the seats so far apart that I couldn't touch the seat in front of me without getting out of my own. After a relatively short layover in Vancouver, it was on to Kelowna, where I met my friend Mike. We picked up our rental car and headed to Penticton to settle into our digs for the week. The view at our house was absolutely spectacular, and definitely made me want to stay longer. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the Okanagan Valley including a winery tour and dinner at Quail's Gate winery.
Thursday morning saw us pick up our bikes from the Toronto area shop we had shipped them out with. Unfortunately, we hadn't done a good reconaissance the day before, so the walk to the pick-up location was longer than anticipated, but nothing crazy. We got our bikes back to the house, and headed down for a swim. After the swim (I did about 2000m) we biked the course out through the MacLean Creek Road section to Okanagan (OK) Falls and then returned along the marathon course to investigate the hills at the turnaround. Our last task for the day was registration, which went relatively quickly without too much time spent in line. Dinner was prepared by some of our housemates. We definitely had a good deal arranged with some of the support crew who weren't racing taking care of big group meals.
Friday we got up and did another swim. I swam something on the order of 3000m today as the longest pre-race swim in the lake. The water temperatures were perfect in a wetsuit, the water itself very clear, and without much chop. We piled our bikes into a vehicle and then went for a pre-drive of the course, with a stop for ice cream in OK Falls and stops at a couple of fruit stands as well. We left the vehicle at the parking lot by Yellow Lake, and rode the descent back into Penticton. The wind was a bit swirly in that area. Due to a combination of factors (the infamous Conti tubular hop which was only a problem at high speed, a slight out-of-true spot in my disc, the cross winds and the fact that while I'm a descent descender, I'm certainly not the best) I found myself getting some speed wobbles with the disc. This was something that I would need to keep in mind come race day. At the awards dinner, Chris Lieto (race winner) said he had some speed wobbles too, so it was comforting to know that the pros had to deal with the same sorts of challenges. Dinner was the carbo party (industrial strength pasta) followed by a hysterical athletes meeting run by race director Dave Bullock. I was crying I was laughing so hard at one point. Some people may have thought how Dave was presenting the information was inappropriate, and he wasn't very serious about the meeting, but we are there to have fun, and I found the meeting a welcome change from the monotony of the typically serious and staid pre-race meeting.
Saturday was a much more relaxed day finally. We went for a short swim in the morning (only about 1500m) to keep the arms relaxed and ready to swim on Sunday. Gear bags were prepped and were taken with the bike to be delivered to transition at about 3:00pm. This gave a good opportunity to do a quick pre-walk of the transition flow so that I would know where I was going on race morning. I went to a little meeting with my fellow Team Canada members from the ITU Long Course race in Denmark and then returned to the house for the final big group dinner, mixed up my race nutrition (two large bottles of a blend of Perpetuum, Endurolytes, Coke and water), put some items in the freezer for special needs on the bike (half bottle of flat Coke, Snickers bar, two small bottles of my previously mentioned mix), did the final pre-race shave, had a snack at 9:00 (Promax bar plus water) and then went to bed at about 9:30pm in anticipation of race day.
The weather forecast for race day kept changing all week. About two weeks before the race, the long range forecast suggested it would be hot and sunny. However, during the week, depending on who you asked, we would have anything ranging from hot and sunny to cool and overcast and even some rain. I gave up trying to figure out what the weather would be by Thursday and just figured that it would be whatever it would be, and since everyone would face nearly identical conditions (depending on finish time), we all had to deal with whatever weather turned out for us on race day.
Race morning dawned... well, I couldn't tell initially because it was still dark at 4am when I got up to eat breakfast (two Promax bars plus two bowls of cereal, a cup and a half of coffee and lots of water). I had slept well however, and wasn't restless or nervous at all the night before. As I ate my breakfast, the sky lightened and it was bright blue and clear with no clouds. So much for any overcast, and it had the potential to be a hot one (more on that later).
I filled my special needs bag for the bike (frozen bottles and food mentioned above plus 1 spare CO2 and an old spare tubular), and we headed down to transition shortly after 5am. I didn't pack a special needs bag for the run as I was confident that I would finish during daylight, and I didn't have anything I needed or wanted to get at the half-way point of the marathon and I planned to live off what was available on course. Too often people seem to be packing everything, including the kitchen sink, into these bags, which is just a waste as most of it will never be used, and you won't get it back. We made our way along Main Street starting by dropping off our special needs bags, went for body marking, and then headed into transition. After pumping up the tires, attaching the spare tire, CO2 + inflater head and bottles onto the bike, it was into the long porta-potty line. This would take the rest of my spare time, and after pulling on the wetsuit, it was off to the swim start.
After crossing the check-in timing mat, I headed out into the water for a few warm-up strokes. It all felt good, and the energy of everyone around was seeping into my own body. As I made my way back behind the start line, I paused for a moment about 20m away to just look around, to see the sun just rising over the hills in the East, all of the other athletes who would be taking part in the race today, and all of the spectators around to cheer us on. It was definitely an inspiring sight, and I felt my skin tingle as I looked around me.
I made my way back to the swim start and, following the advice of Nicole, another strong swimmer who did her first Ironman at Lake Placid this year, put myself in the second row to the far left side of the beach. Shortly after the national anthem, the cannon sounded and we were off. As everyone waded out into deeper water to start swimming, I looked for a clear spot for myself. Suddenly an opening appeared between two wetsuit clad bodies and I took it, pulling hard to get clear of the mass of flailing arms and legs behind me. I gradually settled into a rhythm spotting and pulling steadily, but not working too hard, and found that I had clear water for the entire swim. The approximately 1500m to the first boat felt like it took forever. On the way out to the first boat my left goggle began to leak. I tolerated it for a while, but it was not getting better, and since it was a long swim, it needed to be fixed. Fortunately I was pretty isolated from other swimmers, so stopping for a few seconds to fix it didn't result in me getting run over (the guy on my feet was probably annoyed at losing the draft though) and I settled back into my rhythm. After the turn, it was hard to spot because of the sun shining on the water and directly into my eyes. During the section of the swim into the sun, I am sure that I didn't have particularly direct lines between the bouys and some time was lost here. It was another long 1600m stretch to the second boat, and then a turn towards the beach and the final 620m. I knew I was having a good swim as there weren't many others around me. I came out of the swim feeling good and knowing that I hadn't spent significant amounts of energy to arrive at the other end.
Final swim time: 1:00:05 Position after swim: 140
I hit the beach, found my zipper pull and had the top of the wetsuit down as I ran towards the wetsuit strippers. Down onto the ground and my wetsuit was gone before I knew it. I grabbed my transition bag and headed for the tent. I had no idea what my time was as I ran into the tent as I hadn't seen a clock anywhere (didn't really look) but I was pretty sure I was up there judging from how quiet transition was. I was wearing the same outfit all day, so there was no need to change, and I just wanted to keep moving steadily and smoothly through transition as time can be lost very quickly in transition. The tent was pretty quiet with about a dozen guys in it as I was out near the front end of the swim and just ahead of the big rush (1:00-1:15). I pulled out my number belt, attached it, sun glasses on, helmet on, shoes in hand, stuffed my swim gear into the bag and headed out to find my bike. I made a quick stop at the sunscreen table, and then grabbed my bike. I carried my shoes in hand until I got to my bike, put them on, grabbed my bike off the rack and headed out onto the course.
T1: 2:34
The bike is where the fun times begin. The rule I tried to keep in my head is that if it feels like you're going too fast, you are, if you feel like you're going just right, you're going too fast, and if you feel like you're going too slow, you're going about right. I kept it under control on the way out to MacLean Creek Road and let anyone who wanted to go streaking past to just go. The wind was calm at this point, so the riding was going pretty well. MacLean Creek Road has a short but relatively steep climb, and this was a good chance to stretch out the legs a bit, and I passed a few people here on the climb, but wasn't overly worried about that yet. The descent was a nice blast into OK Falls, and then out onto the main road for the long trip down to Osoyoos.
At the aid station outside of OK Falls, I grabbed a Gatorade and meant to put it in my 66mm diameter cage, only to find that it wouldn't fit. I drank some and dumped it before passing out of the aid station and noted that I need to research that aspect of the race better next time. Fortunately the water bottles could be carried in that cage as they were considerably more flexible and could just be crunched into the cage.
After around 35km, I was greeted by fellow Londoner Ryan as he had made up the time lost to me in the water. We exchanged good wishes for the rest of the race, and then I told him I'd see him on the run as I was coming hunting for him. Based on our experience in Peterborough this year, there was a strong probability I'd catch him on the run, but little did I realize how quickly I'd run him down here (more on that later).
As I entered into Oliver, I heard a motorcycle behind me, and checked my position. I thought I was okay, but the marshal felt otherwise, and gave me a drafting penalty. It didn't help that I had suggested to the same marshal earlier in the ride that he check out some riders ahead of me. Clearly this made me a marked man, so my marginal position gained me a drafting call. This put me in a bit of a negative space for a while, which wasn't helped by seeing packs of riders come by riding in a fashion I felt was clearly illegal, and the same marshal riding alongside these riders and not giving out any additional penalties. At the aid station in Oliver, I got off my bike for a pitstop, and this helped me get out of the negative headspace and away from the groups I was following.
The trend of the large packs continued all the way down to Osoyoos. About 5k from Osoyoos there's a small hill, and it was made abundantly clear to me how poor triathletes are at climbing as the pace slowed to well below 20km/h on a truly insignificant bump in the road (as I observed to a spectator at one point). For a while I sat up off the back and refueled until I became frustrated with the slow pace and dipped into the tank for the first time to lift my pace and pass a few people up the hill to get some clearer space. They may have come past me on the way into Osoyoos, but I was about to get my revenge. The gradually building wind had been in our face all the way from Oliver to Osoyoos, which meant it would be behind us going up Richter Pass.
Everyone seems to have some irrational fear of Richter Pass. As a strong climber on the bike, it is my opinion that Richter is nothing special as far as climbs in the bike world go. Sure its reasonably long, and the scenery on your right as you climb is stunning, but it shouldn't be a hard climb for someone who prepares for it properly. It is however, a way to spread the field out, and an opportunity for me to gain revenge on the people who passed me earlier. I set a steady tempo around 20km/h and climbed with a good cadence. In the entire climb, I was not passed a single time, and passed something around 100 riders on the way to the summit. I saw lots of riders with empty bottle cages while I carried a full bottle of Gatorade, my own mix and the on-course water with me, so the extra weight clearly wasn't a hinderance. I kept getting fresh water at every opportunity as at least half of each bottle was poured over my head and body to keep cool. One rider I passed said he wanted an engine. Anyone with a modicum of bike handling ability can descend off Richter in excess of 60km/h, but the real time gains are made going up, so if you're planning to do this race, work on your ability to up the hills fast. It was also at this point where we caught up with the back end of the pro women's race and I started passing riders with pink numbers. At the top I saw fellow Denmark teammates Imelda and Derek, plus my friend Janna and the rest of the Garage Gang who gave huge cheers, all just after the person in the gorilla suit (Glenna, I'm looking at you... were you out there?).
After a screaming descent off Richter Pass comes a section known as the rollers. Because of the direction of the wind through this descent, I had no problems with speed wobbles and I was able to just let the bike drop off the summit as fast as it would go. There are a number of moderately sized rolling hills with a few false flats at the tops. The rollers make you work some, but not too hard, and are followed by a relatively long flat stretch into Keremeos and the out-and-back.
Unfortunately, in our pre-ride we had failed to scout the out-and-back section. It feels like a long way to the turn-around point, and I spent most of this section wondering how much further I needed to go to the turn-around. Couple this with the fact that we were riding the out into a building headwind, and it was a pretty low point in the course for me mentally. However, the turn-around came and with it, special needs. I grabbed my bag, headed for the nearest porta-potty and grabbed a pee break (that I had needed for about 20km by this point). Once done in the porta-potty, I dumped all the bottles off my bike, re-stocked from my special needs bag with the bottles that had been frozen, ripped open the Snickers bar to consume, and drank the coke I had frozen as I rode away on the back section towards Yellow Lake. Just at the end of the back section, I saw my friend Heather starting the out, so that was fun as we yelled encouragement at each other.
Along the stretch towards the climb to Yellow Lake, I noticed a particularly amusing message written on the road. The roads were full of chalk messages to various racers, with numerous race numbers appearing multiple times, lots of messages to "suck it up" and "pain is temporary, pride is forever" (from the North Shore Triathlon Club), but this message was particularly well placed and easily read. Apparently someone owes their partner coffee in Paris, and his bike isn't invited. Evidently a deal was cut in order to allow them to train for and race Ironman, so it was going to be time to pay-up soon. This gave me a nice smile on my way to the bottom of the hill.
At the bottom of the Yellow Lake climb, I saw my fellow Team Canada member Lindsay, as well as the support crew from the house I was staying at. I got big cheers from everyone involved, so this was a nice lift.
The climb to Yellow Lake is less severe than Richter, and so is relatively ordinary. It is perhaps slightly longer, but the grades are definitely easier to ascend. The challenge for most people is that this climb starts at 130km of the bike ride, so energy levels are typically low, and cramping is a frequent problem at this point in the ride. Passing people on the climb brings great support, and I got comments that I was flying up the hill. I set a steady tempo around 22km/h and just made my way up the hill. At one point on the right, a group had a tent set up and was pumping out the tunes. The DJ said "This guy can feel the beat" as I came past, so I played it up for the crowd with my tongue hanging out and my body bobbing back and forth, to great cheers. This is supposed to be fun after all, even if its a sick and twisted sort of fun. The sad thing is that I couldn't tell you what song they were playing at the time.
After you reach the top of Yellow Lake, there is a relatively flat section before a final ascent to the highest point on the course. From there, it is pretty steadily downhill with a couple of little climbs along the way. I encountered the speed wobbles again as I had on the Friday pre-ride, but since I knew to expect them, I kept things under control, and my bike on the road. Just outside Twin Lakes, there is the final aid station before the big descent to Highway 97. As I grabbed a water bottle from this station, I smelled a bbq. I yelled to the folks working the station that this was just plain unfair before I continued on down the descent.
The rest of the ride is a long downhill stretch back into Penticton. The wind was at our backs so it was easy to fly into town. The wind became a cross-wind as we crossed the North end of Skaha Lake. That lead to a couple of exciting moments as the wind pushed me around some, but once headed back along Main Street towards transition, it was easy to push speeds around 40km/h without significant effort (also aided by the fact that it is downhill along Main Street towards transition). I managed to navigate the cross-over section successfully as there weren't too many runners coming towrds us yet. As I made the turn off Main Street onto Front Street, I unstrapped my shoes and got ready to hand off my bike.
Ride time: 5:18:20 Speed: 33.96km/h 21.1mph Position after bike: 84
Bike setup: 650c wheels, Zipp 404 front, Zipp 909 rear, 55-42 front, 12-25 rear (could have used 12-23 without problems)
Upon arrival at T2, I pulled my feet out of my shoes (leaving them on the pedals) and headed into transition yelling for directions to the penalty box. I was directed down the line of bags to get the tag telling me I needed to serve a penalty, and finally into the box between the bag racks and the change tents. My chip was scanned and I had time to stop and relax. My lower back was a little tight, so I took advantage of this time to stretch my back and legs, since I wasn't allowed to do much of anything else (no changing, no consuming fluids or food). Right behind me, two other guys I knew made their way into the box and we chatted while waiting out our penalties. As the time counted down, I stood at the exit, ready to grab my bag and head for the change tent as soon as they let me go. I ran into the tent, pulled out my shoes and socks, put them on, dumped my helmet in the bag and grabbed my hat and headed out for the run without wasting any additional time sitting in a chair. I decided not to run with my Fuel Belt based on some experiences at shorter races earlier in the year. I had carried my Fuel Belt during those races, but didn't touch the contents of it at all, so I felt it was best to avoid carrying the extra weight and just live off the course. I made a stop at the porta-potty again on the way out of transition, got some more sunscreen, and headed out for the run.
T2: 8:46, including penalty time of 4:00
As I headed out onto the run, I saw a clock that said a time around 6:44. Because I have been racing all season without a watch, had no idea about my swim time and hadn't really checked my bike computer for the time, this was my first check on how I was doing timewise in the race. I then spent the next couple of miles trying to do the math in my head to figure out how I was doing and where a good run would put me in terms of time, but the blood wasn't really flowing to my brain at this point in the race. My task was made more complicated, or at least so it seemed at the time, by the fact that this time had the extra 15 minutes for the pro headstart in it. I finally gave up on figuring out how I would do after figuring out that I would safely finish under 11 hours if I had a solid run.
As I made my way up Main Street, I caught my friend Ryan, within the first two miles. He was looking very rough, and not moving well. I gave him positive words, and carried on. He would wind up finishing after a long day, joining the dubious positive bike/run split club after struggling greatly on the run with stomach issues. I got high fives from more Team Canada folks (Linnea and Maureen) on the right as I passed in front of Fibonacci's coffee bar. Further up Main Street I passed Heather Gollnick as she was shutting it down and ending her race for the day. I negotiated the cross-over zone on the way out, which was made interesting by the number of bikes coming into town, and headed towards the first turn out of town on the run. As we approached the first turn to get to South Main Street, the pixel board at the Cherry Lane Mall showed a temperature of 31C, so it was definitely a cooker. The run course in Penticton offers no shelter from the sun, so you're left out to bake in the sun unless there are clouds or until the sun sets behind the mountains and you get to enjoy the long evening light. To make things more interesting, we were going to be running into a headwind all the way to the turnaround, and so a tailwind home.
Encouragement comes in all forms on the course. As we made our way out of town, I was running alongside another racer as we passed a couple of young women on the side of the road. One of them yelled to us, "you guys are hot, I love Ironmen", which brought another smile to my face. If it weren't for the fact that it was such a long distance to go to the finish, I might have stopped for a chat.
I had started the run moving well, and was steadily picking people off. This continued for a while until I settled into the spot in the order where I would stay for a while. I was a bit concerned that I was moving too fast in the first half, but I just focused on keeping my feet going, and running from aid station to aid station. I walked quickly through each aid station putting ice in my hat (and sometimes my top and down my shorts), grabbing water, Pepsi and Gatorade as necessary.
At MacLean Creek Road, the run course tilts up. I decided to walk up most of this hill and made good time and didn't lose too much ground to those in front of me. I continued along to the turn-around, running down the long hill towards OK Falls.
Running with a tailwind might seem nice sometimes, but in the heat that afternoon, the tailwind just meant that it was really hot. After the turn-around its the long ascent back up the hill, followed by a descent onto the long flat stretch home. I walked back up the steepest pitch of the hill, and went through a very low point from miles 14-17. I spent a lot of time at aid stations putting as much energy as I could into my system, and the energy levels came back around again, and I was able to finish the run strong. While thoughts of quitting entered into my mind several times during this period, they were quickly banished from my mind. I knew that I was going to finish, and while I knew I could just walk it home and finish with a reasonable time, running was going to get me to the finish faster, so I kept on running.
I saw several people that I knew as I made the run back to Penticton which was nice. I also received good feedback from an unknown biker shadowing us on the course. He indicated to me that I was still running well, and that lots of the people in front of me were fading fast, so if I stayed smart, kept the pace steady and could hold it, I would pass a number of people in the next few miles. Sure enough, I managed to bring back some people who had previously left me behind on the run.
The rest of the run was relatively uneventful, if not painful as my legs and feet were wishing I was done. It was definitely the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done, but I trusted in my training, and knew that I was going to finish. I saw Team Canada members Lindsday, Bernie and Colleen at the top of Skaha Lake on the way home. At the last aid station on Main Street, I grabbed a couple of sponges and washed all the excess sunscreen off my arms, legs and face. The volunteer there told me I could have my bath later, but vanity was driving my decision as I told him that I wanted to look good for my finishers photo (which got me a nice laugh). Just before the turn onto Lakeshore Road, I saw my friends Imelda and Derek again. I gave a big cheer for them, and they snapped a photo before yelling at me to "just finish already."
The long stretch out Lakeshore seemed like it would never end, but then I arrived at the last turnaround on the course. Linnea was there yelling at me to run hard to end, and that if I wanted a Kona spot I had better push all the way (not that I would get one, nor that I could go this year). While I was cursing her under my breath for not letting me just jog it in, I picked up the pace again for the final push to the finish line. If there is one weakness I have sometimes its the tendency to just jog it in over the last km or so. As an example of the benefit of not doing this, my run coach made me run the last 200m stretch in a 5k this summer and I wound up breaking a 4 year old PB at that race. So, I pushed it all the way to the line, and caught three people in the final 300m, a woman who I had been swapping positions with for the last 1/4 of the marathon, and two other guys. In the end, I broke the tape a very happy man at 10:17:57.
Run time: 3:48:13 Rank after run: 82
Final time: 10:17:57, 82/2057 overall, 23/261 M30-34 age group, in all, a great result for my first Ironman
After the line I collected my finishers medal, t-shirt and hat. My finish line catchers walked with me for about 10 minutes after I finished, and I was always okay under my own power and started drinking the Gatorade I had been handed. We went to the food tent first, but I couldn't face food yet, so we went looking for Derek and Imelda out on Main Street. Unfortunately, they had left already, so I was delivered to the massage tent where I was well treated by a German physio who was volunteering in the tent. After this I headed back for food, and then out onto Main Street and hung out with my housemate Kim to look for friends coming down towards the finish.
During the time standing on Main Street one man wound up frozen at the corner of Main and Front with a major cramp in his left calf. He nearly tipped over backwards at one point, and was completely unable to move forward for what seemed like 5 minutes. He was clearly frustrated, as his mind wanted to keep going, but his body wasn't co-operating. However, after some time, he was able to gradually start to walk, and finally to run, to huge cheers from the crowd standing in the area. This has to be one of the most intense moments I have ever seen in a race.
Once a couple of friends had finished, we collected our gear, walked back up the hill to the house we were staying at, and headed out for some dinner. While moving was sometimes a struggle, I knew that it was good to keep my muscles moving and warm. During dinner, I needed to go pee 4 times as all of the fluids taken on course and after the race worked their way through my system. I took this as a good sign that I was relatively well hydrated as I had taken in plenty of fluids.
During the early evening, the wind changed directions. Unfortunately, this meant that the people who had been fighting a headwind towards the turnaround were now faced with a headwind home. Because the people at the back of the field are often slower runners, this had the potential to make it a truly unpleasant day for many athletes.
A small group of us from the house headed down to the finish line to party until midnight. We made a quick Starbucks run, and then hung around in the bleachers cheering on the late night finishers. I was glad that we went back as we got to see fellow Team Canada member Martin finish. He was headed out on the run as I was finishing, so I thought he might be in tough to meet the cut-off, but he made it in with about 30 minutes to spare. We also got to see Sister Madonna Budder finish, the first woman 75 years or older to finish Ironman anywhere in the world. At around 16:55, we thought the night was done with the last finisher crossing at about 16:51, but then just before midnight, there was a huge flurry of activity and huge cheers as the final finisher came flying across the line with her family at 16:59:58, with only two seconds to spare. Incredible!
Sunday night I didn't sleep too well, as people in the house were constantly up and down going to the bathroom, or headed to the kitchen for a late night snack. Monday morning we got up at a reasonable hour (around 6:30), cleaned up and took our bikes back to the shop for return to Toronto. After dropping off our bikes, we waited in line at Denny's for breakfast for a while. Because we had been eating at the house most of the week, we had no idea how busy the restaurants in town were, so we had to wait a while, but nothing too long.
After Denny's we headed to the tent to check out the finishers merchandise. By this time it was 11:00, so the merchandise was already well picked over, and we didn't find anything left of particular interest, and they were all out in our sizes as well. From the tent, we headed over to pick up our finishers certificates, and then get in line to register some friends (but not ourselves... ask me about 2007 though). I signed up my friend Deb, who will be racing next year on her birthday. That's a hell of a birthday present to yourself, and I wish you a great race. In the evening we went to the awards banquet and picked up our race highlights DVD. Once everyone returned to the house, we opened a few bottles of champagne, and made a few toasts to everyone's great results and a really positive week.
Monday night saw better sleep, but more pain on Tuesday morning marking the onset of DOMS. Tuesday consisted of packing our bags, cleaning up the house (good to keep moving around), and checking out of the house. From the house, we made our way up to Mission Hill Winery for a tour, and lunch (amazing!). My flight left for Calgary at 6:30pm, and then I had a 3.5 hour layover in Calgary. I rang up my friend Janna who picked me up from the airport for a while to grab something to eat, and gave me a tour of her new house. After that, I boarded my overnight back to Toronto where I dozed for about an hour. Just before I dozed off, I got to watch a huge thunderstorm just to the North of us on the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border. Another example of nature at its finest and a great spectacle to observe.
Having had a few days to consider how my race went, I'm really happy with my results in a first Ironman race, but I also see where there are things that I can improve in the next race (yes, there will be a next one I believe).
Gordo Byrn has a saying that goes something like "superior bike fitness is like a nuclear arsenal, best when not used." As a relatively strong biker, this works well for me, but I need to build even greater strength over the longer rides to be able to run to my potential at the end of Ironman (mid to low 3 hours).
It is also clear that there are some nutrition aspects I still need to fix on the run. I had some low points in the run at ITU Long Course World Championships in Denmark, and again during the marathon in Penticton. This is definitely something that I will have to experiment with further in training and get that completely dialed in. However, I did have good hydration as I had to pee at appropriate intervals on the bike course and after the race was over.
In the week before the race, a friend observed to me that I wouldn't find the race a life changing event. I would have to agree with them. It is another race, and while it may be a very long day, and is completely unfathomable to the average person in the street, with good preparation, it is a very achievable goal. I chose to go to Ironman when I felt I was ready, which was after 5 years of triathlon. I didn't approach the race as the be-all-and-end-all of my triathlon career, and have goals for future races. I am itching to get back at racing, and have already been thinking about next season and my plans for that time.
Next time, the goal is to break 10 hours, and grab one of those ellusive Kona slots. We'll see how that goes as I prepare over the next couple of years. Thanks for reading.
Naturally, there are numerous people that need to be thanked for helping and supporting me in this crazy endeavour, so here are a few words of thanks for them. Last names have been omitted to protect the guilty, but you know who you are.
First off, I have to thank my friend Mike. If it weren't for his influence, I wouldn't even be doing triathlon, so thanks very much for getting me started down this road.
Thanks go out to my parents of course, for watching the cats whenever I've been away this summer, and their continuous support.
I have to thank my coworker Richard for two opportunities, first for getting me involved with the Runner's Choice running group in London, Ontario which has improved my running by leaps and bounds from last year, and second for organizing the Champion Bicycles training group that provided so many great riding opportunities this summer.
From the Runner's Choice group, I have to thank Coach Johnny Rotten for his support and encouragement, the other Richard for constantly kicking my ass at every track, tempo and long run this summer and forcing me to improve, and finally, the other members of my Chicago Marathon team (Dave, Emily, Nancy and Glenna) for helping to make it such a fun summer. Of course the rest of the group has contributed to the great times this summer, but I wanted to single these folks out in particular.
Out in Penticton, a huge thanks has to go out to the group I stayed with out there. This is Mike's triathlon club, and they were a fabulous group to stay with. It was never dull, and the wealth of triathlon experience and knowledge there is an amazing resource to draw from. So, to Courtney (huge thanks for arranging our accomodations, those were incredible), Anita, Trigg, Troy, the Cathies, Sonia, house mother Petra and house mother Tina (for keeping us unruly characters in line all week but still letting us have fun and relax), Ed, Sue, Barry, Gary, Jim, Christie, James, Mark, Rhonda, Nancy, Todd, and others I'm sure I've forgotten, thanks for making it so much fun. I doubt I can do Ironman again without such a great support crew.
Also, to our housemate Kim who wasn't able to race due to health problems... get better, and I look forward to seeing you out kicking ass in Ontario again next year and having a huge result at Ironman Canada 2006.
I have to say a massive thank you to my friend Heather for her huge support and positive energy all week long, and for giving me the opportunity to share the same with her. You had a kick ass race too, and it was great to see you out on course looking so happy.
My friend Janna in Calgary deserves big thanks for fetching me from the airport in Calgary on such short notice during the layover on my return to Toronto. It certainly made the time pass far more quickly, and much more bearably.
And finally, thanks to everyone who had good words, sent emails or made phone calls in support before and after the race. Thanks go out to neighbour Brad, swimmers Barbi and Sheri, Kim, Chip (I hope that your part of Louisiana isn't too rough after Hurricane Katrina), Kevin, Kurt, Paul, Karen, the Champion Bicycles group, and everyone else who has had something positive to say.
Back to Andrew's racing homepage.