I had not done any OWS in over two years, so was relying heavily on past experience. My very first thought was "I MISSED this!!" :). It felt wonderful to be in a lake and to finally be doing the HIM and not just thinking about it. A few hits and bangs with swimmers as we settled in, but got a good rhythm, sighted well the first loop, vered a bit off to the right second loop. Completely enjoyed the swim, lol I grinned so big I cracked the seal on my goggles! I heard the volunteer say 3rd female as I passed her - wow way faster than I expected!

nothing - it was fun and I loved being in the water.

Took my time, sat down to get my wetsuit off and put my socks on, chatted with the woman beside me and wished her luck as she left. I had a chap stick, cold meds,gels, and powerbar in my pouch, and stuff for a flat in my seat pouch.

The bike was my biggest uncertainty - longest ride had been 3:20 on the trainer and when I finally got my bike onto the road for 2 rides (8 days ago!) found that my speed was slower, so I recalculated to a 4- 4:15 hr ride with the hills - too late do anything about it from a training point. I was also using a borrowed bike - my saddle, the rest was new to me in Feb when I started riding again.

But today .. it didn't matter anymore. I was glad to just be finally doing it - so I was not upset when I got to the mounting line and was missing a shoe! The volunteer held my bike for me while I ran back and found it close to my T1 spot, I held it up with a triumphant smile, thanked the volunteer and off I went. (later the woman beside me heard as she was biking away that someone lost a shoe, so she called me Cinderella when she realized it was me!)

So funny that I was concerned about the heat all these months - had not anticipated how COLD I was. My fingers were not functioning well enough to eat or hold my water bottle, it was a good 2 + hrs before I was even warm. My left foot was numb - sock had gotten wet at T1 and I couldn't wiggle my toes. But the best part was, I really didn't care!! It was like I was stoned - just happy to plod along and time passed quickly. Also felt like I spent the whole time eating and drinking - my powerbars were cold and hard and they took forever to eat with cold hands, I was afraid I would drop them. The wind didn't help any either. Next time I will preopen the packages, and wear little mitts - possibly even arm warmers... the cold really made my shoulders, neck and arms tense. Other than paying attention to the road, my mind drifted.

Random thoughts that made me smile or giggle:
- I had peed on myself, had snot all over my hands and my handle bars since I forgot my Kleenex (carry it on both the bike and run lol) yet I it was the chewing with my mouth open that caused me to keep hearing my mum's voice in my head say "chew with your mouth closed"!
- Laughing at my sisters who had "carb loaded" for/with me the last few days (I refused to let them come to the event and miss a day at the Folk Fest)
- Passed a street called Darlington Rd (or that's how I read it anyway), so Bruce Springsteen songs circled my brain, then he was joined by Neil Young) and finally I got stuck on "You are my sunshine" - funny how in training I can carry on thoughts, write my papers etc .. but now my thoughts were quite disjointed. Not a problem, just seemed odd.
-Beautiful scenery!!
-Beautiful legs passing me!:)
- Stayed very much in the moment, and was conscious the whole time that I AM FINALLY DOING THIS!! What a lucky girl I was to be here - healthy and happy with my family solid and well.
- Somewhere around 1/2 way my chain fell off (it had done so twice while changing gears on the first out door ride I did) so figured it was a good time to stop and pee (no porta-potties on the course). Stopped once more a little later - clearly I was hydrating well!
- Took some cold meds for my stuffy head while riding, could feel a headache coming on.

I had been told about the hills .. but did not know the downhill was so awe inspiringly beautiful. A panoramic view of Pembina Valley - had to let out a "wheeeee" as I went down! The climb up the first hill was the first time I was warm (that happens when you are only going 8miles/hr!). I went slow and comfortable and was prepared to walk it if I needed to, but didn't. It was quiet and gorgeous out - big grin on my face as I knew then that I could finish the ride!


In reality there was nothing I WOULD have done differently even though there was lots I COULD have done differently ...just too much on my plate - so my went in knowing I had done the best I could under the circumstances. I was so glad I did not have to fight negative thoughts and was able to truly enjoy the day. I did wonder if my returning to T1 across the mat would screw up the timing - guess it didn't.

This is a guess, results combined it with my run time.
Again took my time - sat and put my runners on, took my bottles off the ice and put my fuel belt on (glad i had it since stations had run out of glasses). I had decided the extra time to do this now was worth it for cold fluids and the icy feeling on my back after a long hot ride - but of course that was before I realized how cold i would be for so long. Put on sunscreen. Forgot my gels and also to start my foot pod for distance.

could always be more organized .. but oh well, doubt it will ever happen!

I had been concerned about the heat, so I focused on hydration and nutrition in training and planning - it went well! Had to pee twice on the bike and once on the run (there was a flush toliet in the second park we ran through). Could feel a bit of headache still so took some advil I had in my pouch.

Messed up my watch, so not really sure where I was at as far as time/miles (which had been true for the ride as well). I was tired, but not spent and my legs felt so much better than I thought they would! I walked the hills in the golf course and the aid stations as planned. Mostly just happy to be here and plodded along. I went off course THREE times - once was really minor, just stupid. The other two times, lol I guess it's that stoned thing again! Added on a total of 5 -6 min with those two errors - once it was a volunteer who finally caught me another time a bystander who said "hey I just saw you - your not supposed to be here again!"

Had two vanilla gels and a stronger gatorade mix than i usually use - drank something small at every aid station. Also put a handful of ice in the back and front of my bra and under my hat. (never ran with a hat till the last run before the HIM - I think it helped keep the headache from getting worse, as it provided more periphery shade than just my sunglasses - glad I had it).

Random thoughts:
-I guess I regressed musically - the tunes in my head were from my childhood in Nova Scotia ..can you imagine running to "I'se the b'y that builds the boat, I'se the b'y that sails her" twirling around in your head?? drive you a little crazy.
- thought about when I ran my first marathon and all that was going on in my life then. Reminded my self that "if i could do THAT, then I can do THIS" - that mantra replaced the song fragments in my head occassionally thankfully!!
- got rather teary with joy several times - which made me laugh at how sappy I was, but the images and thoughts of the amazing people in my life kept me running strong

At the turn around realized I could finish under 7 hours if I stayed steady - but didn't let it pressure me - just kept telling myself to do the best I could and keep moving forward as strongly as I could. I was acutely aware that the mental game of this was soooo much easier than I thought it would be - not sure why (lol that stoned feeling again!). I did not want to quit ever, which really amazed me. I was prepared for the whole mental battle -it had certainly raged prior to the start day believe me!

Grinning the last while b/c I KNEW I was going to finish this part now too -my legs were tired, but they also felt strong still somehow. Perma grin!

Again - would change nothing this time. All i wanted was to finish safely and I did that.

so glad it was over and I had done it .. I could stop worrying about things happening and get on summer! It was wonderful to know i had a day at the Folk Fest on Sunday, my sisters both here and IT WAS DONE and WAS FUN!!

Post race food ... no cold drinks, no hamburgers left. Felt like I had been eating all day actually. Left pretty quickly after (felt a bit off kilter, not ill but a little nauseated and not sure what I wanted to eat, but knew I needed something) and stopped on the way home to get a bag of frozen peas for my knees and legs, a cold drink and some salty baked chips.


I have no desire to do the suffering needed to go faster lol .. but do want to feel stronger on the bike, so hopefully will be able to do more training for next year. But if not ... I'm happy to keep doing the events without getting any faster. I could tell the difference in my legs from the running over the years - they just felt strong, and the two marathons that I did in the years between tri's helped for sure. Nothing short of doing the total distance in training would have given me the confidence for the event - and I didn't get to that point like I hoped to at the start of training.

Mentally .. it was important to remind myself regularly to focus on the things I can control and let the rest. As well as accepting that my life simply does not lend it's self right now to doing any more training that I did .. so i needed to just accept it at this level and know I did the best I could to get here. Another year that best might be better, but for now - nothing else I was willing to do.


volonteers awesome, I am sure that in a normal state of mind the run course would be logical .. but it was not clear to me. Lol also the volonteer had to tell me twice to stay left - well at the best of times i don't know my right and left without thinking it through, so at this stage of the event I needed her to just show me and not make me think!