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 Swim
Comments: The first 300 m was chaos! I was swam over and punched and grabbed and was wondering if I was even going to make it to the first buoy. Eventually, it opened up and I found some clear water. Navigation was ok, but was hard to find a few buoys as there was a bit of mist off the lake. I found that I was all over the course, made the first turn no problem and was then swimming into the sun, couldn't figure out if the next buoy was a turn buoy or not (red vs orange) and swam past it, looked up to sight and no one was there!! Apparently I should have turned 20 m ago. no a big deal but a little off course. Back into the groove and ticking off the buoys when the wetsuit started to rub against the neck. Shit! nothing I can do about it now. This had never happened before, oh well. Made it back to land and walked the last 30 m to test out the calf. What would you do differently?: Learn to sight better. I am a lot faster than this in the pool and faster than some of my teammates who had quicker times than me. I was shooting for 1:15 to 1:20 and hit the mark but still disappointed that I couldn't swim faster.  Transition 1
Comments: Got help from the wetsuit peelers and then tried to run to transition. The calf decided that this was not a good idea and that we should walk....very difficult when hundreds of people are cheering for you to run and do your best. Forced a bit of a run, made it to the tent. First Ironman transition ever and to sum it up in one word....chaos! There were people and stuff everywhere. Found my bag and a spot, got changed and walked to my bike. Decided to check the tire and it was flat again!!! I had a "Pit stop" with me and tried to use it but couldn't get it to work properly. Went over to the mechanics and had them help, they got it inflated with the pit stop and I prayed it would hold. Finally out of transition and on the bike What would you do differently?: Slowest transition ever!!! Between the calf and the flat tire, I could have a full meal next time and do better. Oh well, Coach Jamie said it would be a problem solving day and I had my share already.  Bike
Comments: Started out nice and steady, knew it would be a long day and I did the 70.3 so knew the last 20 km was tough. The first section on the highway was awesome, pretty quick and comfortable, made sure to eat and drink in regular intervals and take in salt as well. I put on a 12-27 for this race as the last 20 km had me grinding up a few of the hills and I knew that would be disastrous for 180 km. Finished the first loop feeling strong and the rear tire was holding well. For the second loop I decided to take the Ironman perform drink which didn't sit well but was fine when training. Next time I will definitely be using my special needs bag. On the second loop the wind had really picked up and the speed dropped off a lot. This was tough mentally as I wanted to push and keep a good speed up but this was going to be too much and I didn't know if I would be able to run yet. The last 20 km was rough the second time around as the wind and distance had taken its toll and I was struggling up the hills. Tried to recover a bit on the way back into transition and get some fluids before the marathon What would you do differently?: Use my special needs bags and drink my own mix and not rely on the perform drink. Special needs looked like it was really well organized and it would only take 30 se to a min to get your stuff and get back in the saddle. Transition 2
Comments: They had volunteers to catch your bike for you, so you didn't have to rack it!! Jump off the bike and both my feet were numb?!? That has never happened before...walked to the tent and got changed. Decided to change the shorts as my butt was sore and I didn't want to get chaffing or make it worse. Stopped to get some sunscreen and then headed out. What would you do differently?: Perhaps run through transition if my calf would let me. Other than that it went smoothly.  Run
Comments: So due to the calf strain 3 weeks ago, I figured that I might have to walk the entire marathon. Any running would be a victory but the goal at this point would be to finish and I figured I could walk it in about 7 hrs. I walked/limped for the first 5 km until I got to the gravel trail , where I figured it would be softer and I might be able to run. I started jogging small 200-300 m sections and the calf wasn't rebelling too much, hit the turn around and kept jogging/walking back. Walked a good section through the old village of Mont Tremblant and then started running when we got close to the beach, walked the last two hills and decided to get special needs for some more salt. Jogged through the village and back out onto the 2nd loop. Saw some teammates who were so very excited to see that I was jogging. Got a huge round of applause which lifted my spirits. Jogged most of the second loop, but the quads were starting to get pretty tired. With about 5 km to go my left heel was getting sore and I figured I would have a little blister (foreshadowing) Hit the 3 km to go sign and convinced myself to run. A teammate ran a little ways with me, chatting and giving me tons of encouragement, I was able to run the last two hills and start down to the finish line. This was awesome!!! I made it and the crowds were awesome, high-fived a ton of people and looked to Mike Reilly to finally hear those famous words! "You are an Ironman!!" It felt so good! What would you do differently?: not have a calf strain?!? Considering I could run some of it I was super happy, not my ideal debut run for the ironman but it shouldn't be too hard to get a PB next year! :D Post race
Warm down: As soon as I crossed the line my calf was on fire! Started limping straight away and my quads were done. Got some food and went to find my wife! This was one of the best feelings in the world, to complete this race after all the training and issues that occurred leading up to it. When I took off my shoes back in the hotel, I had a massive blister on my heel, about twice the size of a toonie ($2 coin), the blister goes through the top layer of skin and part way through the second layer of skin. The doctor and nurse who looked at it this week thought it was pretty rough looking and i have had to wrap and get it treated everyday so far. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of run fitness and a calf strain. Event comments: This was an awesome race!! Highly recommended, it was my first Ironman and I have already signed up for next year. Last updated: 2012-11-13 12:00 AM
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Canada
World Triathlon Corporation
25C / 77F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1323/2306
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 61/100
Drove up to Mont Tremblant on Thursday, which took way longer than it should have and we got there at like 10 pm. Friday and Saturday did early swims and rode for a little while. Three weeks prior to the race I strained my left calf doing my last track workout before my taper and hadn't been able to run since as it was way too sore. Was only walking on it properly the week before the race and it was a little twinge on the Friday. I had accepted the fact that I might have to walk the entire marathon but the new goal was to finish no matter what, even if it was 16:59:59. For this race I was also borrowing a friends race wheels, as it was my first IM and wanted every advantage I could get as it would be a long day. considering I had no idea what would happen off the bike.
Up at 4:30 am, probably should have been up at 4 am, ate oatmeal and a bagel with almond butter, got my stuff ready and headed down to transition to pump up the tires. When I got there my back tire was flat, like really flat. I had never ridden tubulars before this weekend and was very worried. A teammate told me that they bleed a lot and that it was cold that night so pump them up and see what happens. I brought them to the mechanics and he check it out, said it should be fine. Ok, rack the bike and get to the swim start. Did about 100 m of swimming and then head to the start as I was in the first wave.