There's no way each loop was 750m unless I turned into Ian Thorpe overnight. I could tell by my time when I came out of the water after the first loop. We heard the loop was about 150m short so 300m overall. Even with that I still swam a time that totally exceeded my expectations...especially considering my lack of training and confidence in swimming long distances.

Learn to draft better. My drafting is pretty much non-existent right now. Could also do a better job of sighting but overall I'm very happy with the swim. In Pike Lake I was 85/96 in the swim...today I was 52/80...big improvement.

There were 2 transitions from swim to bike. Came out of the water and crossed the timing mat...at that point I pulled the wetsuit down to my waist...ran across the street and onto the grass where I was greeted by a friendly volunteer who wanted to rip my wet suit off. I layed down and within seconds it was off. I had to look down as I thought my tri shorts had come off with the wetsuit...lol..but luckily they had stayed on. Wiped off my feet, put on the socks and shoes, hat and sunglasses...took in a Carb boom gel and took off with a bottle of water. From there we had to run uphill 700m to get to the bike transition area!!! Uggggh! What a tough way to start off the next portion of the race! I passed a few people up the hill and just tried to keep it steady all the way up. Entered the 2nd transition area...removed hat and shoes...put on helmet and bike shoes...took in a shot of gatorade and water and ran out to mount the Giant. I was ready to pass some people!

Not much. My transitions were very quick. I tried to keep it simple and not have any unnecessary items in the transition area, which really seemed to help. At some point it may be helpful to learn how to mount the bike with the shoes already clipped in.

The bike portion was great! The first loop was really fast on the way out. Had a bit of a tail wind which was very noticeable as a headwind on the way back in. Passed quite a few people on the way out. Only got permanently passed by one rider during the bike. Didn't feel too bad though when I saw he had an Ironman tattoo on his calf. Played cat and mouse with another rider during the entire 40k ride. We really kept each other going. He was wearing Ironman Canada clothing and it gave me some confidence that I could keep up to someone who had completed Ironman. At the end of the first loop you had to make a hairpin turn to head out for the second loop. The volunteer was sleeping at that point and I ended up turning right and going an extra 30m instead of making the turn immediately. That was frustrating since a few people I had just passed managed to re-pass me so I would have to pass them again in a few minutes. I said a few choice words...mostly to myself as I would never get pissed off at a volunteer but I felt like saying "Hello...Hello? Do you speak English?? Where do I turn?? HEY YOU!!"...but it's all part of the race. After I passed the riders who had just passed me, I felt a bit better. Loop 2 was even quicker. Hammered it right to the finish. If you take out the transition time...my total bike time only for 40k was 1:09 which was over 34k/hr. Hey I'll take that!

Yell at the volunteer to wake up! (Just kidding). There's not too much I would do different. I actually think I could have rode even harder at certain points but because I lack race experience, I didn't want to end up bonking. Could probably have drank a bit more but nutrition felt right on.

Transition 3 was awesome! I ran into the bike rack area...mounted my bike took off helmet and shoes..put on hat and running shoes, drank some gatorade and water and I was off to the races. That was probably my quickest transition ever.

I forgot to put in my speed laces so I have to remember that for next time. Get in more training on the bike outdoors.

This course is easily the toughest 10k I've run. There are hardly any flat spots...all uphill or downhill although there sure seemed to be a lot more downhills! At the end of loop, had to run back down to the beach area then climb the hill again and do it all over again. Stopped a couple times and walked a few seconds up the big hill. The incline to the aid station at the turn around point seemed like Mount Everest! lol. During the run I tried to focus on all the hard work and training I had put into this sport over the past year, and every time I got tired and wanted to stop I would push on and think..."No way...I'm finally going to finish a race...I've worked too hard not too!". Got to the top of the last hill and then it was downhill the last 700m to the finish. I sprinted down the hill and managed to catch a guy with about 100m to go...we pushed each other to the finish line and I edged him out by a meter. I can't believe neither one of us wiped out as it certainly would have been on America's Funniest Videos! At that point I looked at my watch I saw 2:26 and was ecstatic. I dedicated this race to my Dad who passed away of cancer at the age of 62 last July 11th. Last year at this race was when we brought Dad into the hospital in Regina when his condition started to deteriorate. When I crossed the finish line I stepped off to the side, had a couple minutes to myself and remembered my Dad and what a great man he was and how lucky I was to have experience what an awesome Father he was to us. It was important to put life into perspective....sure I've had a rough year injury wise, race wise etc. but I would give anything to have my Dad back but I know he was with

Possibly push a bit harder. I still had something left in the tank but the hills took a lot out of me. I didn't seem to have the confidence to charge up the hills. I seemed to give in too easily. I needed to do more hill training in preparation for this race. Also not sure why I wore a hat...I haven't wore a hat running in quite a while...this might have caused me to over heat a bit but I don't think it was a big deal.

Walked around a bit....grabbed some water and a banana. Didn't really feel the need to sit down or anything. I felt like I could go back out and do more.


Confidence in the hill climbs...I think I held back too much on the run. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone way more than I did, but I think this may have been due to the lack of race experience this year.


Regina Beach is always a great race. The weather was awesome and there were so many good friends there. It was great to see Johno and Gwynne come out and cheer us on before leaving on their trip to France.