Long Day
Aug 30, 2011
Raced Ironman Canada yesterday. This may have been one of my toughest days on a race course yet.
The goal is always the same for me barring conditions, have a personal best and no injuries. In 2009 I came in at 10hrs and 8min. For this year I would have been really happy with taking 8 min off and coming in under 10hrs.
I arrived on Wednesday and the sun just seemed to get hotter and hotter. Race day the predicted high was 34 Degrees. I arrived in at the race start nice and early and got all my gear ready, re-pumped my tires, prepared my gatorade and food for the bike and applied sunscreen (I still burnt).
I felt settled and calm when the gun went off to start the race. After battling the thrashing for the first 500m of the swim, the athletes stretched out and I found my holes and got into a rhythm. I popped out of the water, and crossed the mat at 67:47, which was a great start for me 3 min faster than my best. The day was off to a good start.
I quickly transitioned onto the bike, and took off. It is always hard not to go out too quickly for the bike, especially with the back half of the course so difficult. I settled quickly and felt strong early and a little push from the wind down to Osoyoos, was welcome. About 30k in I though I heard something catch my tire and sure enough I had a flat. I pulled over and quickly changed my tire and pulled out the sheet metal screw that was in my tire. I filled my tube with a CO2 cartridge and made it to the next aid station and pumped my tire back up. I figure I lost 8min but more importantly my momentum. The stress of changing a flat, losing time due to mechanical difficulties, was hard on the psyche. I pushed hard back on the ride and made up some ground on my time but pushing into the wind on the way back a little harder than planned left me fairly depleted. I also found it tough to stomach much for nutrition due to the heat, so I stuck to gels and energy drink, a bit of a departure from the norm. I finished the ride in 5hrs and 27min.
I came into transition, and got my shoes on for the run. As I started off I did not feel too bad, but the heat was intense. I made it through the first two miles of the run feeling not too bad, but as my body temp rose my energy seemed to suck out of me. Miles 3-6 were tough, I was just so hot, I just could not get any relief. As we ran along Lake Skaha, a light breeze seemed to ease things a little, and I found my legs again. Unfortunately this did not last I made it to the halfway point, and my legs left me again and did not return for the rest of the way. I ran the marathon in 4 hours, my slowest time by 20min.
I finished in 10hrs and 43 min. 10hrs and 33min if you take away the flat tire issue. I am disappointed with the day, but that is unfortunately how things go and I learned a lot from the day and hopefully build on it.
Now it is time to give the body some much needed rest. Will take two to three weeks light, depending on how the body feels and prepare for my next race ( North Face trail Championships in December 50miles).
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