What a day! For those who were there, you can understand how the weather severely hampered my efforts on the run. It was a great start to the day though - with a fantasitic swim. I was quite pleased with my time, as I haven't been training with a team this year but I was still only a few minutes longer than my Ironman Canada time. Th
e start was the most violent I have ever experienced. I choked almost immediately after diving in and had to go vertical, yet keep moving as I was been trampled. It was bad until the first change in direction and then again under the bridge. I was a bit sad when the swim was over, cause by the end I had really been enjoying it and could have kept going in the water! My transition was quick, no change tent here so it's much quicker. I felt good going out on the bike.
The bike started with a major flat section, something that I am not used to here strangely enough and I found it boring and uncomfortable in the saddle. The first hill, the Beast, was just that - a total killer. I had the training though, so even though I might been slow, I was steady and felt good. The second hill, to Forch, was a more gradual climb and much more my style - I even passed a few people on this hill on the last lap. We had a great downhill for a while (I hit 70km/hr at one point) and then another flat section leading to Heartbreak Hill. True enough, it was rather steep but not too long so again, the training was there. It was so awesome to see Rebecca and Tim (my Canadian cheering squad) at the top of the hill. The next two loops went well, although it was getting hot and I had run out of personal food by the last lap. And the aid stations had run out of bananas. Looking back, although I felt really amazing on the bike, I can see that I made the mistake of too much water and not enough powerade on the bike, which lead to the problems I had on the run. That's the beauty of a triathlon, it's three disciplines, so it doesn't really matter how well you do in the first two if you crash on the last. My bike time was excellent - over 27 min faster than before, plus I actually enjoyed a good portion of it and was smiling most of the way. I remember thinking about how beautiful the countryside was and singing to myself on some of the downhills.
Transition to the run was good, legs a bit rough but feeling ok, and well hydrated. Little did I realize that I was already in trouble. The run was SO HOT. It was over 30°C and good portions of the run were not shaded. It was a 4-loop course, which has it's good and bad points. The first aid station was before 1km but the next one didn't come til 3km - and the run was in the sun almost the whole way. I started to realize I was in trouble near the end of the second lap. I was feeling quite naseous and having trouble eating. I kept drinking, but still too much water and not enough electrolyte replacement. By the third lap, I was in serious trouble and knew that there was no chance of beating my previous time - it became a matter of survival and just crossing the line. Rebecca met me part way through the third lap and we walked and ran togther for a few km. I told myself that if I could run during the third lap that it would be ok to walk the fourth. I started the fourth lap and really felt awful. At least it was getting later and the sun was going down. I have to say that it was simply a battle of wills to keep putting one foot in front of the other - especially since after about 1 km during the last lap, I developed a hugely painful blister on my baby toe that made it vitually impossible to run. That and the major nasea ... Rebeccca and Tim met me at 2km, and walked with me. Tim went to capture the finish and Rebecca was with me til about 100 m from the finish line. Which I crossed in 14:44:13 - running with my Canadian flag outstretched above my head, wearing the t-shirt signed by all my students and friends from JFK. I shed a few tears at the end - I was so happy to be finished.
This event was really the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. There are a few of you who will understand what it was like, but for most people it seems totally crazy to do something like that. I found out later that I had been suffering from hyponatrimia - basically an electrolyte imbalance (too much water, not enough sodium) - a condition that affects endurance atheletes competing in high temperatures. I struggle to make it to the end and thinking about everyone's support along the way really helped. From the encouraging emails, to the texts and phone calls I had during the race, and of course the in person support from Tony (who I didn't get to see,) Tim and of course Rebecca who was there with me to the end. I couldn't have made it without all of your support. I am not sure when the next one will be but I know that for some totally unknown reason, I will do another one, someday.
Results follow:
SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL POSITION
1:03:12 6:57:06 6:35:52 14:44:13 1437
TOTAL SWIM - 3.8 km
1:03:12
1:39/100m
420
TOTAL BIKE
180 km (6:57:06)
25.89 kph
1371
FIRST RUN SEGMENT - 10.5 km
10.5 km (9:24:41)
7:16/km
SECOND RUN SEGMENT - 21 km
10.5 km (10:52:29)
8:21/km
THIRD RUN SEGMENT - 31.5 km
10.5 km (12:33:31)
9:37/km
FOURTH RUN SEGMENT - 42 km
10.5 km (14:43:27)
12:22/km
TOTAL RUN
42.2 km (6:35:52)
9:22/km
1437
TRANSITION
TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE
2:57
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN
5:06
e start was the most violent I have ever experienced. I choked almost immediately after diving in and had to go vertical, yet keep moving as I was been trampled. It was bad until the first change in direction and then again under the bridge. I was a bit sad when the swim was over, cause by the end I had really been enjoying it and could have kept going in the water! My transition was quick, no change tent here so it's much quicker. I felt good going out on the bike.The bike started with a major flat section, something that I am not used to here strangely enough and I found it boring and uncomfortable in the saddle. The first hill, the Beast, was just that - a total killer. I had the training though, so even though I might been slow, I was steady and felt good. The second hill, to Forch, was a more gradual climb and much more my style - I even passed a few people on this hill on the last lap. We had a great downhill for a while (I hit 70km/hr at one point) and then another flat section leading to Heartbreak Hill. True enough, it was rather steep but not too long so again, the training was there. It was so awesome to see Rebecca and Tim (my Canadian cheering squad) at the top of the hill. The next two loops went well, although it was getting hot and I had run out of personal food by the last lap. And the aid stations had run out of bananas. Looking back, although I felt really amazing on the bike, I can see that I made the mistake of too much water and not enough powerade on the bike, which lead to the problems I had on the run. That's the beauty of a triathlon, it's three disciplines, so it doesn't really matter how well you do in the first two if you crash on the last. My bike time was excellent - over 27 min faster than before, plus I actually enjoyed a good portion of it and was smiling most of the way. I remember thinking about how beautiful the countryside was and singing to myself on some of the downhills.
Transition to the run was good, legs a bit rough but feeling ok, and well hydrated. Little did I realize that I was already in trouble. The run was SO HOT. It was over 30°C and good portions of the run were not shaded. It was a 4-loop course, which has it's good and bad points. The first aid station was before 1km but the next one didn't come til 3km - and the run was in the sun almost the whole way. I started to realize I was in trouble near the end of the second lap. I was feeling quite naseous and having trouble eating. I kept drinking, but still too much water and not enough electrolyte replacement. By the third lap, I was in serious trouble and knew that there was no chance of beating my previous time - it became a matter of survival and just crossing the line. Rebecca met me part way through the third lap and we walked and ran togther for a few km. I told myself that if I could run during the third lap that it would be ok to walk the fourth. I started the fourth lap and really felt awful. At least it was getting later and the sun was going down. I have to say that it was simply a battle of wills to keep putting one foot in front of the other - especially since after about 1 km during the last lap, I developed a hugely painful blister on my baby toe that made it vitually impossible to run. That and the major nasea ... Rebeccca and Tim met me at 2km, and walked with me. Tim went to capture the finish and Rebecca was with me til about 100 m from the finish line. Which I crossed in 14:44:13 - running with my Canadian flag outstretched above my head, wearing the t-shirt signed by all my students and friends from JFK. I shed a few tears at the end - I was so happy to be finished.
This event was really the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. There are a few of you who will understand what it was like, but for most people it seems totally crazy to do something like that. I found out later that I had been suffering from hyponatrimia - basically an electrolyte imbalance (too much water, not enough sodium) - a condition that affects endurance atheletes competing in high temperatures. I struggle to make it to the end and thinking about everyone's support along the way really helped. From the encouraging emails, to the texts and phone calls I had during the race, and of course the in person support from Tony (who I didn't get to see,) Tim and of course Rebecca who was there with me to the end. I couldn't have made it without all of your support. I am not sure when the next one will be but I know that for some totally unknown reason, I will do another one, someday.
Results follow:
SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL POSITION
1:03:12 6:57:06 6:35:52 14:44:13 1437
TOTAL SWIM - 3.8 km
1:03:12
1:39/100m
420
TOTAL BIKE
180 km (6:57:06)
25.89 kph
1371
FIRST RUN SEGMENT - 10.5 km
10.5 km (9:24:41)
7:16/km
SECOND RUN SEGMENT - 21 km
10.5 km (10:52:29)
8:21/km
THIRD RUN SEGMENT - 31.5 km
10.5 km (12:33:31)
9:37/km
FOURTH RUN SEGMENT - 42 km
10.5 km (14:43:27)
12:22/km
TOTAL RUN
42.2 km (6:35:52)
9:22/km
1437
TRANSITION
TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE
2:57
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN
5:06
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