Ironman Canada - TriathlonFull Ironman

I really struggle with the anxiety of swimming in packs and getting beat up. Before the race started I stood on the beach with Havefun, and just wanted to run away screaming! But I sucked it up and got er done. I started far left and at the very back, just like last time. I got a good kick in the eye on the way to the first turn. So instead of panicking I decided to fight back. I thought "screw this, I'm not being polite anymore". And I had a great swim on the way back. I was able to find a groove and open water and took it up a notch. I was shocked at my time when I came out of the water. I thanked the powers that be and headed off to find the wet suit strippers!

2008 swim time= 1:16:34
2010 swim time= 1:13:00

Not a friggin' thing!

Admittedly slow! But who cares?? I had a fantastic volunteer help me get my stuff organized and on. We had a hard time getting my arm warmers on since I forgot to roll them into donuts before I put them in my bag. We had a good laugh...almost smacked myself in the face!

Not too much...

So, I'm not a strong cyclist...but I ROCKED IT!! I worked really hard on my biking this year and it all paid off. I took it easy on the way out of town and didn't care that I was getting passed. The first hill of the day came and it was hard, but I didn't let it get to me. It was a great ride, but that bloody out and back was a mind f*&k just like the last time. It just seems to go on forever before you get to SN. Grabbed my bag and mixed my last bottle, did some math and knew that I had a good chance of getting close to 6:30 for my bike time. Wahhhhoooooo!!!

Ok, now the winds...WTF was that??? And I got them right before the climbs at Yellow Lake. That really played with my confidence. So, I decided to save my energy and not battle the winds and it paid off for the last set of climbs.

2008 bike time= 7:58:45
2010 bike time= 6:41:35

Not a thing. I'm a happy, happy girl!

Again, I don't know what took my so long other than having to stop at the potty before leaving transition.

Wow. Just...wow. I didn't expect to feel so strong after a while. I really struggled to run between the first few aid stations. I think that was more a mental thing at that point. But it got better, stuck to the plan and all went well until just before the turn around. By that point my feet were KILLING me. So I ended up doing more walk/running as pain management. I felt strong, my stomach cooperated this time and it occurred to me that I was on track to reach my super secret goal of the day!

The absolute best part of the day was seeing Darren and Matthew on Lakeshore as I ran towards the turn around. Do you know how hard it is to run and cry at the same time?? :)

2008 run time=6:00:49
2010 run time= 4:35:49

Carry some advil or something.

I had awesome catchers who took very good care of me. And then I saw Hazmaster and got the biggest hug! It was so great to see him!!


Painful feet!


I absolutely love this event! It was such a great year of training with a great group of friends. I got to spend time with Bcmish and have a new friend for life!! That's why we do this, right??