Ironman Canada 2012 report
Pre-race
Up and at ’em early, Lori woke me a little before 3:30 this
morning, she has been up for a bit, the coffee is ready and the oatmeal is
cooking. Usual morning stuff shower,
shave and go through race check list; have breakfast and a few cups of coffee
before heading out to body marking just
before 5AM. A somber walk down Lakeshore
Blvd to Main St; give Lori a hug and a kiss then enter the marking area. It is still dark out and there are hundreds
of athletes wandering the street looking where to leave their special need bags
and for a felt marker wielding volunteer who will write our number on each limb
as well as our age on the left calf; I guess the number is in case we lose a
limb during the event and the age is to help us decide whether or not to try to
pass the person in front of us during the bike and run.
Marking done head to my bike to do the last minute check, I
hand my pump and bag off to Lori and then wander around the transition area for
a bit, planning my route from the water to the change tent to my bike and out;
noting the port-a-potties that are along the way.
Race Day
Pre-swim
Bathroom line ups are as usual around 30-40 minutes long so
I hop in one and wait my turn before putting on my wetsuit and heading down to
the water for a final goggle check.
There is an odd hum in the air as nervous conversations can be heard
from all directions and Steve King is chatting over the PA system about this
person and that person, all very interesting stuff but it just blends in to the
mix of noise surrounding me. I look over
the crowd of athletes and spectators to see if I recognise any of them, I don’t
so it is out for a swim to loosen up before the start. I chat with a few folks around me as we all
wish one another a good race and joke about saving the other a slice of cold
pizza. The water is flat and calm; I
line up about five rows back in the centre of the group in a straight line to
the route.
Swim
Finally the start is here, no howitzer this year it’s an air
horn instead; at the sound of the horn we all take off. The first 200m or so are always a challenge
with folks stopping and starting repeatedly trying to find their space in the
water; this year was the worse one yet.
A very rough swim start that never really let up, it was like swimming
in a washing machine the entire way. I
don’t believe I was able to put more than 8 full strokes together and even then
it was only once or twice, the rest of the time I was constantly being bumped
or crowded out of my line. Still I
finished in a pretty good time 1:12:11 which is not quite as good as 2010 but
better than 2008, I am very happy with this time especially considering the
rough conditions.
Bike
After shedding my wetsuit making my way through the
transition zone and making use of an empty port-a-potty along the way to my
bike, smile and wave to the camera and of course the cute photographer behind
it (Lori); then I am in the saddle and peddling a nice easy spin to get my bike
legs under me, drinking lots of fluids and getting focused for the six hour
ride that lies ahead. The first section
goes as planned and I am on McLean Creek road and climbing the first hill of
the day, I grab some perform at the aid station and hear a loud crash from
behind me. I take a look over my
shoulder and about three bikes behind me two cyclists have bumped into each
other and are on the ground with more bikes coming their way, I don’t look long
enough to see how many are in the pile up or if anyone is hurt; I am just glad
I was ahead of this mess. The descent
into OK falls was good, nice and relaxed with no crowds around me and getting
up to 60Kph while being in control.
During the flatter section out to Oliver I am able to hold my pace near
38Kph but my lower back is beginning to get sore so I decide I will stop at the
aid station say hello to Bob and take a couple of Tylenol. Then off to Osoyoos and Richters’ Pass, the
first of two mountain passes on the day, I manage to maintain a pretty good
mid-teens pace on the climbs and reach 70Kph on the descent; I am still on
track for my 6 hour ride finish. The
rollers are next and they require timing on the descents to set up for an easy
climb up the next hill, but unfortunately in the valley of the first one there
is an aid station setup on a narrow section of the road and due to bikes and
traffic trying to get through we have to come to a near halt to get through and
all momentum is lost I have to work to get up the hill and I never got the
rhythm of the rollers back.
Rollers behind me and Cawston just ahead my bike computer
decides to go on the fritz and stops working, I no longer know my speed and
decide to ride by HR instead. I am
feeling pretty good through the out and back to the special needs station where
I grab a replacement fuel bottle and have some sunscreen applied to my
shoulders and neck as the water has washed most of it off and the sun is now
out, I need to use the washroom but the line is too long so I will wait 20KM
until the next one. My stomach begins to
grumble about only having liquids in it or perhaps the heat??? But it is
distracting either way and I lose focus, speed and precious time all the way to
Yellow lake road and the second mountain climb where I struggle to reach the
top but see my friends along the climb and this makes me smile, Shelley is even
out with her bagpipes and pipes us up the hill, thanks for that.
The climb is done and now I can relax, recover and hopefully
regain some energy for the run as I start the descent down the series of hills
that lead to Skaha Lake and into Penticton; I am now about 20 minutes behind
what I was hoping for in my bike time and there is a strong headwind leading me
in to the transition. As I approach town
I see Tim on his way out (at McDonalds) on the run and he is looking pretty
good and relaxed, Go Tim Go…
I hand my bike over to a volunteer and grab my running bag
head to the change tent get ready for the run; away I go after a 6:22:33 bike I
am behind but feeling better now and ready to run.
Run
The first few KM are clumsy and awkward as I slowly get my
running legs under me, I have a bottle of perform in hand and I am controlling
my pace so the legs come back fairly quickly.
Michael is just outside of town and decides he is going to run alongside
me and chat with me; this is a very welcome distraction. By KM 8 I am into my pace and will run around
a 5:20/KM walking up the steeper sections of the hills and through every other
aid station until the last 10K when I hope to be able to run the rest of the
way. This plan goes well and I am having
fun while passing lots of folks on the run and getting comments like looking
strong and great pace, I thank them and keep moving. I have been packing my jersey pockets with
ice and putting sponges of cold water on my head at every aid station to combat
the heat and my sore back, this feels amazing and helps with the heat and
discomfort but has gotten my shoes and feet wet and I can feel blisters
building on my big toes with every stride; these are going to hurt over the
race. I see my coach from 2010 during
one of my walks and say hello and we have a brief chat before the hill is done and
I start to run again, thanks Kelly, it
is always great to see you out on the course.
Near the 30K mark I need to use the bathroom again and this throws my
legs off for a bit but I recover and am able to get back to my pace in short
order. With 7 KM to go I decide I have
some energy left and start to pick up the pace a bit going around a 5/KM with a
couple of sub 5’s as I can now hear the finish line and almost taste the
beer. Before I know it I am back on
Lakeshore and looking for Lori; there she is with our friend Evan, I hand off
my visor and glasses head to the turn around and then to the finish line
passing people and trying to find a spot where I can assure myself of a good
finish photo this year.
The run is over 3:57:14 and the race is over 11:43:53 as I
cross the line in a new personal best I smile and think to myself take that
stupid lymphoma, I win…
Post
A couple of very nice volunteers (father and daughter) help
me through the finish area grab my finisher hat and shirt, and get me to the finisher
photo area then to the medical tent so that I can have my blisters looked at;
they are not as bad as I thought (did not burst) so I leave the tent without
any treatment and go grab some cold pizza and recovery drinks before trying to
get to my bike. This took forever and
was very confusing as the finish area has changed from last time and no one
seemed to know how I could get to my bike… I finally get there and Lori is
waiting by the fence, you cannot imagine the smiles on our faces. We discuss how and where we will connect to
head back to the motel but again I have difficulty in the finish area; we miss
each other and I walk back to the room alone then text Lori when I get
there. I have part of a beer some munchies,
a shower then head out to cheer the other competitors on as they finish their
race, I am more than just a bit sore but it is great to see our friends finish
the event all of them surpassing their goals and all of them with BIG smiles on
their faces! Time for bed…
After this I took a few days rest and then ran the McNeill Bay half Marathon a couple of weeks later and actually pulled off a personal best at 1:29 for the 21.1K so I was very pleased.I am resting now with a focus on getting some things done around the house and doing whatever I can do to help my wife get ready for her run at Boston this year...
