Ironman Canada - TriathlonFull Ironman

The swim was pretty rough with kicking, hitting, etc. Not much different than other IM Races, but it always is shocking. The water in the lake was very clear, which was very nice. Going into the lake I had to swim for a bit, then had to walk a little a few times because the beach came up again.

This was about the best sighting and best line I have ever swam. I felt like I went very straight. I came in closer to the buoys at the first turn and then was pretty well right next to them. By the 2nd to last buoy I was on the inside just slightly, but that was OK.

This was a PR on the swim by about 2 minutes. I actually thought I was faster than 1:17, but it was still a PR (including the swim with the current at IM Louisville in 2007)

Not much - felt good in the water

Transition was pretty congested which caused some issues. I was surprised I was over 9 minutes. I changed into bike clothes and got ready as quickly as I could. It was a long run to actually get to the bike which maybe cost some time.

The bike was pretty good. The ride down Skaha lake was nice and flat, then the turn onto McLean Creek road was a big climb. Descending down into OK falls was about the scariest section. People were all over at very high speeds. Glad to make it in one piece.

Riding down toward Osooyos was OK - generally downhill and felt good. Passed Jenn and Julie before Osooyos. Turned to climb up Richters Pass. It took about 40 minutes to get to the top. I just took it easy and stayed steady. There was one slight descent before the final climb, but for some reason just couldn't get much speed there. I made my first stop at the aid station on Richters because there wasn't a wait for the restroom.

Descending off of Richters was fun. Hit 45 mph and could have gone just a bit faster, but the bike was starting to wobble and I wanted to be safe. Shoulders got a little stiff from sitting in aero on the long steep descent.

Headed through the 7 Sisters (rollers) and could not carry speed off of rollers into the next hill because of the heavy bike traffic. I descend faster than others but then people slowed very fast on the next climb. I probably could have cut my time a bit by being able to carry speed into the hills. In this section I saw David (from Ohio) and talked for a few minutes. I recognized the Bike Source / FRR jersey.

Out and back at Cawston was OK, though there was beginning to be a pretty good wind. I had a Red Bull in my SN bags, and that caused me to start burping from there to the finish. Stomach was a little dicey but I made it. Started seeing smoke in the hills in this section, and it got thicker through the day. The wildfires to the north were the source of the smoke.

Riding up to Yellow Lake was a little tough, but I just kept the pace steady. Quite a few people lined the course one of the final climbs, which is always neat. Descending down from Yellow Lake had some more fast speeds and tight corners. Very fun heading down.

Turning onto HWY 97 for the ride back to Penticton, I saw Mom and Dad at the corner. Very nice to see them there. They got a cool picture of me on the bike as they drove past heading back to town. This section should have been very fast, but the north wind was pretty strong here and didn't allow fast speeds. Actually had to pedal downhill to keep the speeds up. I may have been able to break 6 hours if this had not had the strong headwind.

The final portion of the bike is a steady grade uphill to town, and that was kind of tough.

Overall a good bike ride considering the heat and the climbs.

Not much - felt good. I did notice my derailleur was rubbing on the disc cover in the smallest gear. I'll need to check this in the future.

Again, I was surprised this took so long. I did do a complete change prior to the run. I was steady, so I guess it's not so bad.

Learn to ride in a race with tri shorts and not bike shorts. That would definately save a bit of time.

I felt really good on the first portions of the run. I ran almost all of the way to OK Falls. I did walk the uphills, but other than that, I was feeling good. I used sponges at every aid station and alternated gatorade / water. I used Ensure on the run for fuel. On the return, my legs were beginning to stiffen up and I walked a little bit more. I kept thinking that I had a chance to have a race PR with about 10 miles to go, but it seemed like it was slipping away. At mile 25, I looked at my watch and thought I could still do it. That last mile was by far my fastest and was probably sub 8 minutes (maybe even 7 minutes). If I had been wearing a HR monitor, I am sure I would have been at max HR. I pushed all of the way to finish and had a PR by 1:33 - AWESOME !

Not much - I could have used to train in hotter weather, but summer has been tough in Winnipeg this year.

Rested and snacked before gathering my stuff and heading back to the hotel. Went to dinner and wanted to go back to the finish to watch others, but was just exhausted and went to bed instead.


Great race and race course.