EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The time was really really long for me. I have worked hard on my swim and was hoping to break 40 mins as I did 42 mins at Muskoka 70.3 last year. Started off fairly well, got bumped a few times but nothing too major. Needed to breaststroke to get my navigation right on the return back towards the swim exist as I knew from watching the pros that the last swim bouy was not in line with the rest and it would add some significant time to my swim if I followed it. Swam until the water was waist deep, did a dolphin dive and my calf cramped up!! Had to float/bounce in to shore while trying to massage it out. Finally was able to get up and ackwardly jog into transition.
I heard that the swim was actually 300 yards too long, this would actually give me a pace time of 2:01/100 m which is about normal for me.

Not really sure, with no wetsuit, I knew I would be a bit slower but everyone on the day was significantly slower then expected even the pros. Not sure if the course was too long or the tides/current had that big of an influence. I will have to wait until my next tri to see if I have actually improved my swim over the winter this year.

Jogged through transition, not having to strip a wetsuit was nice, but having to put on a dry jersey, HR monitor and race belt added extra time. Made sure I had my salt tablets, gels and everything I would need. The transition area was large which added to the time but overall it was decent for me. Still haven't learned the mounting without shoes thing, which might save time in the future.

Nothing really, try and run faster through transition to complete it faster

Got up to speed, tried to relax and keep the HR down but I know that for the first 10 mins it is alway much higher then I would like. Settled into a nice rhythum and started drinking gatorade as I knew this was going to be a hot one! The aid stations were great as they had lots of stuff and the first three were actually really long. The last one seemed to only have 3 people at it and none of them were ready for me, so I didn't get a bottle of water for the last segment of the ride. The winds were not as bad as I was expecting them to be, but I was worried as they seemed to be head on during the start of the ride and from reading race reports I knew it was supposed to be a tailwind. At the 40 mile mark, I was ready for the head wind, which actually wasn't too bad as I was able to maintain about 31 km/hr through this section. I drank a lot of gatorade on the bike and upped my salt intake as it was geting hot out and it was only about 10:30 in the morning. I was able to legally pace with a few people throughout the ride which helped to keep the overall speed up. Did hit a few packs of riders but they thinned out fairly quickly and was able to continue on. The goal for this segment was to go sub 2:45 for the ride, which I accomplised and made me super happy! Came into Cambridge again and took it easy on the last 3-4 km to spin the legs and get ready for the run.

Nothing, the heat was a bit of a factor but I am very happy with this bike split time!

Off the bike and ran into transition, helmet off, hat and shoes on. Walked out of transition while applying sunscreen which definitely added 30 to 40 seconds but it was worth it as I didn't get completely fried on the run.

Nothing, it was smooth and clean, remembered gels, salt, sunscreen. Perhaps run out of transition to knockoff 30 seconds or so.

Out of T2 and I was starting nice and easy as I knew this is where I could make or break my race. Saw some family members of a team mate and they cheered and used the cowbell. Certainly lifted my spirits and my pace but only for about 30 seconds, then it was back to a slower pace again. I didn't even make it to the first aid station before I had to walk. UH OH!! This is going to be a long day!! Got some water, gatorade and ice to cool myself. This one spectator told me that where he was standing was a "no walking zone" and to get my butt moving! It was great motivation but the heat was killing me and I had to walk again after about 2 mins. I think I walked most of mile 2 and 3 trying to cool down. I had some serious thoughts about quitting the race as heat stroke and being sick wasn't going to be worth it. Then I thought about how much everyone had sacrified to get me here, my coach, family, fiancee (espically since she couldn't come) and of course the amount of training I had put into this. At that point my coach came around the corner and told me to take lots of ice (I must have looked bad!) and to put it down my pants! Then he yelled "I'm not kidding" as he continued to run in the opposite direction. After that I was able to jog/run between aid stations and walk to take in fluids at the stations. The volunters were great, they were ready with lots of ice, gatorade, pepsi, ice water, hoses, sprinklers and just after the turn around a snow cone! At mile 8, I came across Karen who yelled at me to put ice in my hat at every station (I must still look like I'm hurting pretty badly!). This worked wonders, I was able to keep up a decent pace for the rest of the run and even pick it up a little for the last mile. This is about the hardest run I have ever done, the heat was unbearable during sections and just putting one foot in front of the other was a challenge at times.

Nothing, finally got the nutrition on the bike right so that I didn't have GI issues out on the run course. It was a unbelievibly hot day which really effected my run performance. Tried to negative split the run as I walked alot on the way out but actually managed to do the same time on the way back, despite feeling much cooler.

Water, Water, Gatorade!!! Sat down for a while and then got hosed down by the fire department, which was great! Felt sick for a little while, so stood over a garbage can but managed not to puke. Eventually ate some pasta,cake, and cookies along with pepsi and gatorade.

Eventually rode back to the cottage with teammates to spin out our legs, about 12 km or so, just off of the bike course.


The HEAT!!! It was 106 F with the humidity and the swim was really slow for some reason. I would have liked to break the 5:30 mark but once I got to the run turn around I knew that goal was gone! Just wanted to come in under 6 hours and not pass out on the road due to the heat.


This was a very well run race and a great venue! All of us were thinking of coming back to do it again next year as we had such a great weekend. Apart from the situation with the swim, the organizers did a great job.
The awards ceremony was painfully long as they did the Clydesdales last and I actually won 2nd in my category! Glad I stayed to get the trophy and got a huge cheer from my teammates!