SUBARU VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL HALF IRON and SPRINT TRIATHLON - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim was tough, got in with the first main pack outside of the 3 leaders, and sat in, seemed like I ended up drinking in a lot of salt water as it was wavy, almost every 5 breaths I would catch a wave full on in the face and nearly puke. Oh well, kept on going, felt not bad actually, then right at the start of the second loop going round the buoy I caught a foot full on in the face, that sucked, knocked off my goggles so I had to adjust them, but I busted my ass and caught up with the pack and had no major issues after that. Got out of the water and checked the watch, 42mins WTF!!!!(Talked to the race director after, he said the swim was long by at least 200 meters as the current had moved one of the buoys off course. Apparently all the spectators saw this but we didn't notice!!!)

Not much, other than the dissapointing time I was happy with who I was swimmming with and the group I came out of the water with.

Not bad not good, getting socks on was a pain, oh well, no big deal.

Just practice this transition more.

This is where I was hoping my hard training block would help out, I had a plan to take the first lap at a steady pace and then push hard the last 2 laps and see what happened, I figured best case scenario would be 2:35, worst case 2:55. First lap was pretty uneventful, passed a couple of people and didn't get passed, apprently there was a good gap between the 2 packs in the swim, 2nd lap got passed by some people, but I was starting to pick up the pace and push hard and I was feeling good, nutrition was going down easy and the large amount of salt water I consumed on the swim wasn't affecting me. Had a guy about 20 meters up the road who looked like he was riding pretty hard and I was using him as a rabbit saying that I wouldn't let him get ahead of me by more tyhan what he had, this plan worked as it gave me the motivation to keep pushing hard and staying in touch with the front of the race. 3rd lap I picked up the pace even more, although now I could feel it a bit in my legs, but I started to move through the field a bit although I ended up getting passed by a few of the stronger cyclists in the field, I passed the guy I was using as a rabbit and a few others who had gone out too hard in the first couple of laps, did some quick calculations and figured if I could keep strong I would hit around 2:35 which would be my best ride ever. Came into transition and was pumped about my ride, good times.

Nothing, I paced myself well and actually executed my plan perfectly, by not pushing too hard in the first lap it allowed me to have a great 2nd half of my ride.

Quick and easy, finally got elastic laces, if you read my other race reports you will know what I am talking about, a great investment!!!

Nothing

started out and felt good, my plan was to run the first 10km even the aid stations and see how I felt going into the 2nd half of the run, 1st lap was pretty uneventful, I started steady and picked up my pace just a bit through the 5km mark, hit the hill at 7km and felt good pushing up it, my legs were fine, breathing was good, didn't feel dehydrated at all, I was pumped. Ran through the 10km mark and felt solid, legs were a little drained but nothing too be worried about yet, hit the 11 km mark and it felt like I had hit a wall, legs were dying I was struggling, so I walked for 10 seconds and downed a gel, then ran the the next aid staion, downed some gatorade and water and took off again, I was still doing OK, but was starting to feel the strain of the day big time. Had to slow down again and have another gel at the 14 km mark, then ran through 15km and felt like I couldn't keep going, my Mom and Aunt were watching and they yelled at me saying I could break the 5 hour mark(A big goal for me this year) apparently I just shook my head at them and they said after that I had looked terrible at that point!!! Thanks guys!!! But it was strange, I all of a sudden started to feel decent again, I got my second wind and started to pick up the pace some more, ran through the aid station at 16km and felt pretty strong for the first time in at least the last 35mins. Hit the hill again and pushed hard up it feeling good, knew that at the bottom of the hill on the other side was the 18km marker and I could still break 5hours if I pushed myself hard. Ran hard for the next 1.5km's and felt good but my legs were staring a mini revolt!!! any long strides and my Hamstrings would start to cramp, with 1/2 a km to go I saw my friend Heather and my buddy Trevor's Mom and they were cheering hard for me so I picked up the pace again and rounded the corner and there was the finish, looked at the clock, 4:53 yes I did it, I finally beat my goal time of 5 hours, it took all year but I did it!!!!

Take a gel earlier, maybe around the 6km mark of the first lap, once the 2 gels kicked in I think that is when I got my legs back. Best to beat the problem before it starts

Grabbed some food and put on some warm clothing, had a quick stretch, considered wading in the ocean, but i'd had enough salt water to last me a lifetime so I skipped that.


Not mush, I had trained hard in the 3 week block before my taper and that paid off. I was a little worried as my taper was pretty relaxed even for a taper but all my training paid off. I think now it is down to the small details to get quick, better nutrition, better seasonal training etc... etc...


Another good race put on by the Subaru/Lifesport group, I have done all the races this year and they have been great. Big shout out to all the volunteers in this event as it wasn't the nicest day for anyone to be out there and they were awesome.