Welland Triathlon - Half Iron Distance - Triathlon

For some reason all the nerves I had been experiencing in the morning just seemed to dissipate. I got calm and quiet. I was dallying a bit when i realized that my wave was already in the water and it was only one minute after the first one! I had to get in the water! This meant I was kind of behind my wave but I was able to get comfortable and I seemed to find myself around other people. I wanted to stay wide of the buoy for a while so i did. I felt like I was swimming wide on the far side of the swim but it was okay too.

I am not sure if i was sighting well or not. I was pretty well only looking for the next buoy. I saw people around me but i had no idea if it was my wave or the next I just stayed focused on my own swim. I probably could have pushed harder on the pace but I was pretty comfortable and was keeping my breath under control. Under the bridges the water was choppier but for a tri swim I found the turns not too bad in terms of congestion and contact.

Before I knew it I was back at the start/exit area. I did need the volunteers to hoist me out as i caught the uneven side of the concrete.

Start more in the thick of it with my wave. Maybe work a little harder to speed up.

Yikes. It took me a bit to get my head in this. Running into transition i messed up my garmin automultisport - i thought i did but i just stopped it for a few seconds and it was fine. I wanted to run with my bike but couldn't so I walked.

I would have mentally gone over the transition a few more times before the race. Maybe made myself a list like I did for the ironman. That really helped.

So, i had a goal of getting as close to 3 hours on the bike as possible. I had to have a mental talk with myself about this being my goal race and to push it. My main goal was to have a fast split but keep my cadence up so i had something for the run.

I got out and started to get settled. I reminded myself to start hydrating and eating (Ironman perform and bonk breaker bars). This course is perfect for just tucking in staying down in aero position and I was worried about getting sore since I hadn't done much in training. But this was my goal race - i could be sore, i didn't need to save anything except enough for the run.

The sun was out and it was comfortable temperature but, wow, was the snot flowing out of me! Seriously, I felt like it was streaming out of me and I am terrible at snot rockets so my hands and shorts were just covered (gross!). Happily, I was flying! My splits in the first hour were rocking for me and i made 30km in less than a hour! My goal was looking good.

The course was quiet through flat farm country so there isn't really a lot to report - on one of the turns I was now facing some wind so my speeds dropped a bit. It's a small race so i was passed a bit but not so much that I felt it. Lots of dudes and as always some women in the 50+ AG (I think three passed me consecutively since they started 10 mins behind they were really rocking it). It happens in every race.

I just tried to keep pushing with an eye on cadence. My crotch was getting sore and about 2/3 in i realized I wasn't eating enough and I was getting a bit hungry. I got a bottle of water at the second bottle exchange - after being a bit of a jerk and passing a girl just to slow down and grab a bottle.

Near the end i was pretty much on my own and it was kind of cool to have the cops stopping traffic just for me. As I came into town i was just coming up to 3 hours! I was so happy!!

Given the same circumstances, I don't know. There's always better training. But maybe i would have pushed a little harder in the middle section to get under 3 hours. But overall, I am really happy with this. I would need a block of training dedicated to the bike to really have my next breakthrough.

I got a little lost looking for my spot. I was at the wrong rack. Blerg. So that took some time. I also went to leave transition and realized I didn't have my hat so I turned around. Thank goodness I hadn't left the transition zone yet or crossed a timing mat.

Better oriented myself in the 'bike in' and my transition spot. It didn't really occur to me.

My goal was to come in under 2 hours if possible. After the conversations with myself on the bike about suffering and pushing the effort this was the place. My first km was way too fast - and even though I wanted to push it I shouldn't be dropping 10k paces since 21.1km is a long way to go at your top speeds.

Anyway, i had been told the course was decently shady but I was questioning that early on. Running along the canal the sun was high and then there was a little out and back on a city street with a hill (gasp!). It was fine - the volunteers were enthusiastic. Finally by about 4k i found the shady spots. The km markers were confusing and didn't seem to match my gps but then I wasn't going to worry about it. I didn't seem to be off course and things were okay. I brought a handheld water bottle as I had gotten burned by this at my last half-iron. It was sunny and I thought i would live off the course but in the sun I wilted. Anyway, so I skipped most of the water stations, except they were giving out sponges! YAY! I took those whenever I could and doused myself. (TMI for sure but i found the effects of having a baby: I would pee myself a little when I would dump the cold water on myself. Oh well, i was already wet and it was just a small amount)

i didn't realize the 'loop' was so long so on the way back it felt like forever but I did get to see some people i knew. Nath was burning up the run as usual (she started 10 mins behind me). It felt like I saw the same people over and over and over again which in some ways was good but then i still found it confusing - how often did we loop?

Finally at 16k I needed water and I had shoved my water bottle awkwardly into my back pocket. So i took a quick walk to get water in me and dump some on me (a little pee, too :( ) and the same at the last aid station. George, a friend from swimming was biking around the course to cheer on people and stayed with me to chat for a bit - he encouraged me and complimented my strong pace so that was nice. At this point my watch was only showing a km left but we still seemed far from the finish. My watch beeped 21k and I still wasn't in sight of the finish. When I was coming in I saw my hubby and baby (they came up to see me finish)! So, the course was long but I still picked it up and finished all on my own.

The race director was right there and told me personally that they found out on race morning the course was long and had put a mat out on the course to get our true 21k time. So that was cool.

I was thrilled! Even with the long course I had finished well under 6 hours and that was my goal!!! And i had pushed the pace :D

Not too much. Maybe i wouldn't have taken the handheld bottle but i was happy to have it

Not too much. I gathered up with my hubby and baby and got my finisher hat and medal and we went to see Nath finish (just ten mins later) and got some post-race food and socializing


Limited bike training. And the early timing of the racing makes it difficult to get open water swim practice. I am still very happy with my result! This is nearly 25 minute PB.


I am really happy with this race. For a small, non-brand race they do an excellent job. Great value - really nice shirt and medal as well as finisher hat. The volunteers were enthusiastic and helpful.

This is course built for a PB. The only real impediment would be wind if it was one of those days since there is Lake Erie right there but it was not a major factor.