Swim went really well - before getting into the water I was taking note of the other wetsuits - all fullsuits except for one person swimming without a wetsuit. I was hoping that I would be able to hold my own and was very happy with the result. I was still short of the line when the horn sounded and just started swimming - reminding myself to swim easy and in control. Because this is a river swim even with the fog it is easy to navigate as I just watched the bank - as long as I was parallel to the bank, I knew things were going well. We were swimming into the current to start the race and after about 400m, I checked on the field a couple of times and there were probably 5-7 swimmers ahead of me in the lead group and I was leading the second group - this had the rest of the field but it really started to spread out just before the turnaround. At the turnaround, one swimmer pulled ahead of me and we both manage to get a little tangled in the buoy line (the current made it hard to tell where the line actually was) and we looked at each other and commented on it. After that, we were swimming with the current and back towards the start line. There were two buoys on the other side of the start line, but due to the fog, unless people were paying attention just prior to the swim start, it would have been easy to miss the second buoy. The guy I was following from the turnaround turned at the first buoy and although I tried to get his attention, he headed in early. I swam the rest of the course and came out of the water in 41:38 - a nice easy effort with my HR in check the whole time. Afterwards, Victoria said that there were at least three swimmers that shorted the course and it doesn't appear it was noticed (no wonder due to the fog - glad I wasn't a guard on the swim course).

Nothing - great swim!

My entire plan for T1 was to take my time - I was going to wear socks and wanted to apply sunscreen so it was definitely going to take longer than my usual short course T1. Overall, faster than I anticipated so that's all good. Managed to do everything but no rushing at all - even had a quick drink to rinse the river out of my mouth before getting going. Victoria was right there taking pictures and she was telling me to take my time - not sure I said much but it was nice to have her there cheering me on!

Nothing.

The biggest thing I learned was that I was coming in with an overinflated view of my bike strength - I found out that my bike computer is off by approx 5% which lead to believe that my training rides (at 1/2IM effort) were around 30km/h when actually they were probably closer to 28-29km/h. Definitely a big difference in what I thought I would ride. I was positive I was going to break 3 hours on the ride.
The first lap went exactly as planned, I was able to get my HR down for the first 20' and ride a z1 effort. After 20' I started eating according to my nutrition plan and that went smoothly for the entire ride. Also, at 20' I started upping the effort into a low z2 and was able to make good time. At the turnaround I still had lots of water so I didn't take the handoff, just turned around and maintained my low z2 effort. My plan was to maintain this effort for an hour before stepping up my effort in a mid/high z2 for the hour after that. Finished the second lap having been aero almost the whole time.
The start of the second lap, the winds had picked up and it was mainly a headwind going out. Also, at the aid station I missed the water hand off so I had a little less water than I would have liked for the first half of the second lap. On the second lap I was at a mid/high z2 effort for the duration (as I realized I wasn't going to go sub 3) and tried to stay aero the whole time. Just before the turnaround I biked past a construction business that had many portapotties around - since I had been looking for a good place to stop (lots of wide open farmer's fields and houses) I stopped and took advantage of the portapotty. Probably just under a minute all told but I felt much better. Once I hit the turnaround, I really started to cramp through my neck and shoulders - although my goal was to be aero for the whole ride, I was getting pretty uncomfortable and losing power. As a result, for the last 10k or so, I was in and out of the aero position - tried to stay aero for all but climbing but definitely not as much as I would like. Also, at the 10k to go marker (which was the turnaround for Oly and Sprint) there was lots of traffic and gave me a good boost going into T2 maintaining a steady pace and passing lots of people.

1) Fix my bike computer.
2) More time in on the bike
3) More time in the aero position

Again, really good transition - taking my time making sure I applied sunscreen, had a quick drink and then got my shoes on and tied before heading out.

Nothing

Getting set to run 20km after the swim and bike is a daunting task. I tried to hit the road at a nice steady pace (trying to get HR into z1/low z2) but I wasn't able to. I should have walked a bit to get it down but instead I just tried to run more slowly. I was passed by a guy doing the Oly and he said he felt like he wondered why we did this. I told him I wondered why I signed up for the long course. He replied he was glad he didn't sign up the long course. We laughed for a couple seconds and then got back to work. For the first out and back I was about 5bpm higher than I wanted which put me in mid/high z2. The first lap went well other than that and at the pace I predicted but it didn't set me up well for the remaining three laps. I was taking water approx every mile (three aid stations) and sipping some and pouring the rest on me. I was also taking a gel or gatorade every lap. Also, in an effort to stay cool I sought out any shade that I could find. At the end of lap 1, Victoria was there to take my picture and cheer me on - I told her that I was feeling good and the next two laps should be around the same pace.
On the start of lap 2 I was passed by someone going out on lap 4 and he was running probably 1' to 1.5' faster per km than I was at this point - very humbling to see but inspiring all at the same time. Lap 2 went fairly smoothly, I let me HR go up towards the top of z2 and planned to keep it there for the next two laps. I was very successful in doing this, however, my pace was nowhere close to what I had predicted. My pace was about 20"/km slower than the first lap and at this point I knew that pushing a little too much on the bike and first lap was going to cost me. Finished Lap 2 still feeling good but starting to dread two more laps. Again, Victoria was there to cheer me own and tell me that I was looking good.
Lap 3 was were I really started to wonder what I was doing - although I didn't really hurt from a physical standpoint, from a psychological standpoint the last 10k seemed like it was almost insurmountable. I just kept plugging away, putting one foot in front of the other and by the time I got back to finish lap 3 things started to look up. Victoria asked how things were and I told her not bad - just 5k to go and that I would see her in around half an hour.
Finally, heading out on lap 4 things started to feel pretty good again. I debated on whether or not I wanted to push the pace for the last 5k or just enjoy the run. I checked my watch and knew that even if I was able to take 4' off the last lap I still wouldn't break 6 hours that I would just enjoy the scenery. I was passed by a guy who was on his third lap and trying to make up time from his swim. Finally, rounded the corner into the park saw the finish line. Decided that I wasn't going to sprint out the last 100m or so - after more than six hours I don't really see the point. Got to the finish, feeling really good - not fast but definitely good overall. Managed to only walk the aid stations for the run and besides being slower than I wanted, I'm happy with my effort for the first go at this distance.


1) Pace the bike better
2) Walk during the first 5k if required to control HR
3) Run more in training

Crossed the line, grabbed some water, pieces of bagel, bananas, oranges - pretty much anything that wasn't nailed down and started eating. Other than that, sat down and talked to Victoria - it's so great to have her support - not only do I escape for long periods of time to train during the year but she got up at 4:30 to watch me finish at 12:45! Glad to have her in my corner - it made the last two laps that much easier knowing she would be there still cheering!


More base training on the bike and run.


Great race with lots of volunteers - I'm very please with my overall results and how I feel today - legs are pretty sore and part of my back and neck are burnt but other than that I feel good. A great learning experience and next time I'll know better going into the race what to expect.