Ironman Canada - TriathlonFull Ironman

Started off well but slow. Immediately found my breathing and stroke, well on the outside of the pack. Actually sighted on a house well above the first houseboat, as I couldnt see it anyway. Kept my line and found I was getting closer and closer to the central cone of the pack. This really didnt bother me as much as I thought it would. When I got hit time after time and it didnt phase me, my confidence shot way up. I looked for holes when I could, and at times I had to give ground. The first turn was close and I was inside and comfortable. The short leg wastougher as everyone was congested and trying to make a sharp turn. I had to stop a couple times and noted how m,any people were well on the outside and swimming so much farther.
Thew second turn was nasty, there was kicking and punching (accidental I'm sure). This was mortal combat!
The last leg was the longest and I stayed inside, fighting for space and heading towards each big red buoy, there were 10 I think on this side. About half way I took a blow to the mask which knocked off my cap. I didnt know if I had to finish with it so I made a grab and stuck it back on and adjusted my mask. This was a little stressful and it was a minute or two before I got back in my happy place! As I got closer to the beach, I got more agressive and didnt give was as much. Of course, this forced me to use violence and various pain techniques to hold my line. Just kidding, sort of. It truly was a battle if you were going to swim an insde line. Took some shots but survived.

I would definately start at least half way amongst the swimmers, as opposed to otuside, although this position is not for the faint of heart. Also realized much later that the rear neck of my suit abraded my lovely bald head. Didnt feel it at the time, but iI still have the marks 5 days later.
I would also swim harded from the get go. I'd swam easy and defensive to conserve energy, but I truly found the swim relaxing, although highly combative. Perhaps that's a personality thing. It is important to remember that even a fast swim may only save me 10-15 minutes so its not a big deal.

I ran through the time mats and into the arms of the strippers, who were great. Ran to the change tent after grabbing my gear bag and put on my top, socks and shoes, gloves, glasses and helmut. I wore my tri shorts on under my suit and kept them on all day. This worked well for me. Did the strap up, left the tent and a volunteer had my bike ready

Very little as I changed at a relaxed pace, had a water and felt like I was ready for a ride.

I wore my tri chorts and had a bandanna on under my helmet. This kept the sweat off my face and shades. Also bought a band to put on my glasses to keep them up on my head.
The bike ride was a challenge, to say the least. But in a good way. Until Richter's, the first third of the course is pretty smooth. I was told to hold myself back, as the last two thirds are wild, which I found to be true. Let the big bikes motor past me and just kept a nice steady pace, drinking every two miles. At Richters, I climbed well, passing people and felt great. Just when you think you've made it to the top, there's an aid station. Then there is the rest of the climb! Hundreds of cheering people along this and at the top. Its a great party for them, and fun to ride.
At the top, I started to feel the heat( it was freakin hot, riders were passing out, ambulances were everywhere) and changed to drinking every mile. Switched between gatorade and water, had the odd banana and power bar. The rest of the ride was very hilly and my back started to tighten up. A couple times I made poor gear changes and my chain came off twice. Also, my back break kept rubbing and I had to stop several times to adjust the thing.
My descents were sweet as I crouched when my back would allow and coasted. This was were I made my passes. I guess being heavier and having no fear, my momentum was a little faster. Still on any of the flats I held back, as it was still going to be a long day.

First I would grind it out a little harder. Having no first hand knowledge of the route, I stayed conservative. At my current conditioning (read weight 210bs), this would have only saved me 30-45 min, so again, not a big deal. Some smaller issues, because I wanted my kids to have fun as well, the ride Crazy went on while we were in OK Falls I stayed in and took them bridgejumping. Really should have tried a training run and would have smothed out the gear changes (bike was tuned up before I left Dauphin) and identified the brake problem. This may not have saved time, but would have smoothed out the ride a little, lessening my stress. Finally, my back was tight but not painful. I believe the best solution would have been to do this whole thing at at least 185lbs, wg\hich was my one failed goal for the last year.

After crossing the timing mat, a volunteer takes the bike and racks it. I was then free to get my t2 bag and change in the tent. This went well as all I really did was change shirt, shoes and socks.

Nothing actually hurt, but I did it in a relaxed manner. I could have been a little quicker, but coming in, I saw everyone walking in the first couple miles of the run. No sense of urgency as It was about 4pm and I had lots of time for the run. Famous last words! Make time when you can!

I felt confident I could run/walk the whole way and come in before 11pm, that was the original goal. I was ahead of my personal schedule by about an hour and felt tired but in good spirits. But I noticed immediately the balls of my feet were tender from the bike. I ran to thi\e first couple stations(every mile) and then walked for a few minutes. The cheering was awsome! Saw a few of the pros coming in , walking as well. Out of town, Crazy caught up and we walked together for 5-6 miles. Somewhere in here, I got my feet wet. Very very big mistake. As my feet were tender already, I really started to hurt. At 12mi, I needed a washroom break and Crazy carried on. I never could catch up as I couldnt run any more, my feet hurt so bad. And still I'd go through the water!
At the turnaround, the blister on my left foot popped and I think I almost screamed! It was bad, but there were more people here, then I saw Lisa and Quinn with Glenda cherring us/me on. Made the turn at about 730, so I still had lots of time, though I knew I was going slower. At the 16mi mark, my right foot blister popped and again, I was hurting. Felt like my feet were on fire, swiming around in my shoes and I thought for sure they were bleeding. At each station I took on water, chicken soup and carried a cup of ice chips to suck on as I walked on.
It was very dark as I hit the flats and we were given glow sticks to put around our necks. Maybe I was getting lightheaded, but I was still smilling, being passed by all these green hallos. I saw ambulances screaming by, people litterally passed out on the side of the road and others huling the guts out, then motoring on by me. But my condtioning was good, I still had energy to carry on, but baby my feet hurt. I thought for sure they were bleeding. I made it to the 20mi mark at about 930 and was still pretty confident I would be in on time, if not close to the 17hr mark. I was walking about 3mph and getting slower.
The period between 20-24 was pretty blurry as I got back into town, hearing the people cheering me on, telling me I was gonna make it! Out of the blue came a girl on a bike, chering me on, by my first name, then I looked around and recognized Freezerburn and Pablo on one side and then back to "the girl" realizing it was Weight2go and Smartcicle. They should me where they had chalked mine and Crazy's names on the road and it just felt great to see and talk to them. They took me into the last mile, where I saw a member I used to work with here in Dauphin and he was yelling and screaming at me, gave me the big hand shake as I made the first turn along Lakeshore. Saw Lisa and quinn there too and knew I was gonna make it.
Made the final turn at the end of the beach and the people were going wild with their cheering. There were alot of us in the same boat, coming in just under the wire and it was simply amazing to feel the energy of the crowd. The last stretch all I could think about was I couldnt run over the line but I can walk proud!
Then Lisa and Quinn came out and grabbed on and I somehow managed to run/jog/lope/shuffle across!


Never get your feet wet! I knew this but it never dawned on me what happened untill about 1am when I was having a beer with Crazy and the ladies back in OK Falls. I though maybe the change of socks was a bad idea and he said "you got your feet wet didnt you?" I thought about it and he was right. I walked through all the hoses, shile I watched some people walk around them.

Crossed the line and had my own personal volunteer take me to the aid tent to get my feet looked at. I still thought they were bleeding and didnt want to take off my shoes alone. Turns out my socks were soaked and I had large blisters on the heals and balls of both feet. The Dr. sliced one open and used a needle on the big ones on my heals to drain them. He warned me this was going to hurt. I looked at him and said, "I'm an Ironman, I walked on those for 15 miles, this is a baby's kiss".
Anyhow, 45 min later, everything was shutting down and lisa had my bike ready and I limped to the van. Crazy took Quinn home earlier and he also picked up all my other stuff as well. What a guy!


Very simply, my weight and wet feet. I think the wet feet cost me an hour to an hour and a half. But the weight would have made a huge difference. Very happy with my conditioning and training, knowing that it got me through where others unfortuneatly didnt make it.
Made some good and bad decisions, but the experience gained from same is irreplaceable. The mental effort got me over the pain for 15mi. There was no way I was quitting over blisters! Physically I held back to ensure I would complete the course. It was a good race because I am an Ironman!


Cannot say enough about the organization and volunteers and fans. We were fetted from the time we got to Penticton to the time we left. Never wanting for anything. Officially there were 2531 registered, not sure how many actually lined up, but 2185 officially finshed the race in under 17hrs.
Forgot to mention that it was very important, in order to combat the sun, to have a strong leather- like tan. Sun block will only help so much, especially when your using sponges or walking through the hoses to cool off. Train hard in the heat of the day between 10-1600.

Dont tell Lisa the Lovely as I promised we would not discuss it for awhile, but I intend to be back with Ironcops in 2008.

Pain is temporary, glory lasts forever!