The Canadian - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The pack swims out from the beach and turns left onto the course. I lined up on the far right outside of the pack to stay out of the crowd. My plan was to take my time with a nice relaxed swim so that I would come out of the water "fresh as a daisy".

I wasn't tense or freaked like I was in my 1st two open-water races earlier in the summer. All the open-water swimming I have been doing at Meech Lake as really helped me relax and enjoy open-water. I also did not struggle with breathing or sighting for the 1st 200m like I did in my earlier races.

Nothing. It was an amazing swim. I only pushed a little at the very end when I got excited to be heading toward shore. That's when my left calf briefly cramped. I felt great climbing out and couldn't believe my watch. This was the fastest and easiest swim I have ever done. It's amazing what the adrenaline in a race does for you.

Wetsuit came off easy. I think it was the Glysomed (silicone moisturizer I had rubbed my legs and ankles with before the race) Skipped socks in the riding shoes to save time. Didn't really rush in T1 and was a little indecisive. However, I ran pretty hard out to the mount-line which was a long run too.

Be a little quicker and deliberate. I should have practiced my transitions before this race like I had during the earlier races. Amazing how much you can forget.

Again, the plan was to take it easy on the bike and save my legs for a big push in the run. So I started off slow but felt stronger and faster with each loop. When I saw my avg speed creep over 28kph, I couldn't hold myself back from racing. I kept telling myself to stop looking at the spedometer and listen to my body. But then I would look down and see my avg speed still climbing. I decided that if it hit 29kph, I would push hard to keep it there. Well, what do you think happened? Last lap was basically an all-out effort. I kept my cad high so I still had lots of leg feeling at the end to pull my feet out of my shoe and ride on top of them to the dismount line. I even swung my leg over and coasted in for a running dismount. Ran the bike all the way back to the T-zone. The run in bare feet was not fun though because of the stoney pathways, ouch!

Nutrition Plan worked well. I set my watch for 20min repeats and only drank water for the 1st 20min. Then I drank Gatorade for the next 20mins. Then had a Cliff-bar with water, then Gatorade, then MoJo-bar with water, then Gatorade. Never got to the last bar. Took a gel and followed with lots of water just before the end of the bike.

Nothing. Good bike except that the cap on my 1st Gatorade bottle fell off for some reason. I couldn't leave it uncapped and I couldn't drink it all so I just dumped it out and carried the empty bottle to the exchange station (didn't want to be penalized for littering on the course)

Silly me! I ran into the T-zone so fast that I ran right pass my rack because I had not figured out how far it was from the bike-in. I wasted what seemed like forever looking for my spot. When I found it, I was quicker this time with the change over to socks & running shoes. Grabbed my gel bottle and headed for the run-out, only to realize that my bladder was full and I would not likely last for 2hrs out of the run. This is the 1st race I have done in which I needed to use the toilet and I had not thought about where the port-a-potty where and when I would get it done. So, I stopped before exiting the T-zone and ran back to the johns adjacent to my bike rack before heading out on the run.

1. Measure out the distance from both exits to my bike rack.
2. Plan out possibilities for toilet breaks.

Took it easy and found my legs in the 1st out-loop. I planned on running the whole distance but walking through aid-stations. I picked up the pace some on the return-loop. This is where it started to get really hard. I had to call up all my will to focus on my technique and pace. Also worked at the mental self-talk to try to stay positive. Now I see why they say the mental effort is huge in iron distance races.

Struggled to keep it going on the 2nd out-loop but kept telling myself that I would give it my all on the final return-loop. At the turn around I kicking it into second gear and started to puff. I looked at my watch and realized that I might be able to beat 6hrs if I pushed hard on the return. So I ran through the 1st aid-station to hold my effort but needed nutrition at the next. I couldn't stand the thought of anymore gel or Gatorade so I tried some coke. This worked well in my stomach so I pushed on. More coke at the last aid-station and then headed back along Hogsback toward the finish. I had not counted on the hills at the two under-road tunnels used by the path to get back to Mooney's Bay Park. On the second tunnel, my right hamstring cramped and forced me to walk only 200m from the finish. I recovered from that and resumed running along what was now a dirt path through the trees. The bumps and roots now seemed huge and I watched with despair as my watch showed 6hr. I hoped my watch was wrong and pushed on until I turned the corner at the finsh line chute. I heard the crowd cheer but cursed to myself when I saw the finsh line clock showing 6:00:14. I ran the chute with the best smile I could muster and raised my hands in victory as I crossed the finishing line mats and heard that beautiful beeping sound of my timing chip registering my finish.

Nutrition plan worked well. Alternated gel with water and Gatorade with water at each aid-station until that last loop when I couldn't stand anymore gel and started on coke. They say that you should stick with coke once you start because of the sugar/caf highs and lows.

More mental training for when it really gets tough.

I told the finish-line catchers that I was ok. But all I could do is hold on to the fence. I did get to hear Geordie, the announcer, tell the crowd how this was my 1st year of triathlon. How I started the summer with a marathon, did 3 tri's and now had finished up with a 1/2 iron. He said that I now deserved a rest but mysteriously followed with a comment that he has heard I have yet another marathon this fall (later found out my wife clued him in). I almost called out to him that I thought that would be easy compared to this 1/2 iron. After all, a marathon is just 4hrs!

As for the rest of the w/d, I got some more coke, some food and signed up for a massage and stood around listening to the awards. After collecting my bike and gear, we decided to head home and skip the massage. A shower sounded better.


I don't know. I beat my goal time by a huge 15mins. Beating 6hrs was not even in my thinking at the beginning of the race and was too much to hope for this time around. I did my fastest swim ever without even pushing hard. I did a faster bike than I thought possible to be able to still run. I did a sub-6 pace on the run and finished strong. I think it was a good day and it went as well as I could ever have expected it to go. I gave it my all and succeeded.


This was by far the most difficult event I have yet experience in my new-found sport. This took more combined physical and mental effort than even my spring marathon in which heatstroke almost DNF'ed me. I now have a profound respect for iron-distance racing and will not approach a full iron without due care. However, I do now know there will be a full iron somewhere in my future. But for now, I will just enjoy the victory of this race... and try to believe the reality that I ended my 1st year of triathon with a successful 1/2 iron. I have so much to be thankful for.

After my shower, we returned to the race and volunteered for 2hrs at an aid-station for the full iron participants who were still on the course. I had no trouble walking out to meet them to find out what they needed as they struggled toward the aid-station and then giving them the my most heart-felt encouragement as they raced on to their finish line.