So we got the start signal and off we went. My plan was to go out at about 5k race pace and that's what I did. The legs responded well and after only a couple of minutes I started feeling good and focussed. It was a good beginning to my day! That run was over before it even begun! :P

I'm really not sure if it's possible to do a faster transition than that. :)
I got the second best time there and gained many positions.

Jumping on the bike went well but I had to mess around with my right shoe a bit to be comfortable in it.

Last year we got on the bike at exactly the same time than the triathlete and it was just madness going out of the transition zone. This year, they made us go a few minutes before. The big difference was that instead of having a good bunch of people to pace/motivate ourselves, we would have all the top triathletes flying by us and much less traffic on the road. Not a game changer but I always like a little extra motivation.

I quickly settled in a "comfortably hard" kind of pace. The first 30k went by quickly. What struck me though is that my pace wasn't a "natural" one. I constantly had to force it. I pretty much had the same argument with my legs than a dad has with his kid to make him eat his broccoli. You know the kid will end up eating the freakin' thing, you just have to tell him 20 times for him to do it. So, while I knew I was going at a pace that shouldn't be a problem, I always had to talk myself into it. I got to the turnaround in 1:17:59, 30 seconds slower than last year. :-/

As we headed west, back to transition, a few things started going south and the wind was blowing to the east. That meant we would have a meaningful headwind for a good 35k. À 65-70k, je l'avais dans l'cul en esti!! At about the same time, my neck started being stiff (note to self: bring your damn pillow when travelling) and the arch of my right foot started cramping for the first time in more than a year. That didn't change much the way I attacked the bike ride but that made me use a lot of mental energy to stay positive. I played cat and mouse with the same 3-4 guys for the entire ride. I did 1:25:08 on the way back, ~1:30 faster than last year.

Total bike time: 2:43:24 for an average of 33 km/h flat. I thought I had at least 1 km/h more than that in me :-/

Second best time again in T2, very efficient. A couple of dudes in my race took the time to chat in transition. Their pain, my gain. I passed them there.

Time to run! Well, lets say that long bricks pay. Within less than 1k the legs were feeling awesome and I found a renewed energy and focus. The first 4-5k were flat and shady, that helped to find a good rythym but I knew that wouldn't last. The part with hills and absolutely no shade was coming. The first 10k were surprisingly awesome. I was dealing well with the heat, humidity and heat and I had a razor sharp focus. Anyone passing me or passed by me I monitored to know if they were in my race (bib # between 450 and 500).
Things got a little tougher from 10 to 14k but that was to be expected, from time to time I thought some blisters were starting to mature on my right foot and the glutes didn't like the hills anymore. Mentally I was still in a good place.
At 14k, not far after an aid station, everything went to hell very quickly. Suddently, the wind completely stopped and within a couple minutes I was in emergency mode. So I was overheating quickly and the water I poured on myself was useless because there was no wind. I felt like I was dehydrating quickly as well. Getting to the next aid station was a struggle, I think I walked 2x 30 seconds on my way. Once I got there, I just stopped, poured 5-6 more cups of water on me and drank a couple, then I restarted my "crawl". I kind of took a gamble by drinking that much at the same time, my stomach wasn't very happy. While that was going on, I was still competing with someone. It was almost laughable. We almost had a contest of "let's see who can get there without walking". I stopped again for a full shower and a good drink at 17k.

Like magic, at 18k, I came back to life! It looks like the two stops were worth it (huge understatement here lol). I came back to life so much that the last 3k were my fastest of that run! A real strong finish! ...as I like them!!

I talked about monitoring the bib # of opponents earlier. Well, there was two guys (that registered late??) that had different bib # than the rest of us. One of them finished 15 fucking seconds in front of me!!! WTF????

I jumped in the lake as soon as possible... and started cramping in the hamstrings :P


The positives
Good pre race stress control
Good first run, T1 and T2
km 1 to 10 in the half marathon
HUGE comeback to life and a strong finish
Decent mental effort and decision making

The negatives
Where the fuck were my legs on the bike? It's supposed to be my bread and butter!
Hydration on the run?
Time & position: I was there to improve at least 10min over last year and for an overall podium. That didn't happen.
The f*cker that finished 15 seconds in front of me even though I had done my homework.