Despite the fact that they got a 15 minute head-start, it was awesome to be out on the course with some great pros including 2006 Ironman World Champion
Michellie Jones (finished top woman, 11th overall), Ironman Canada winner Tom Evans (1st overall) and local Calgary superstar/two time Oliver champion Kyle Marcotte (3rd overall). Distance triathlon, like distance running, is one of the few sports where the average age-grouper like me can be out there with some of the best in the world – very cool. It was also great to line-up next to my dad, who was competing in his second half-ironman. I’m happy to report that, despite the rain and tough course, he finished in a personal best – congrats dad!
As advertised, the day started cool and rainy. I got off to a good start in the swim, settling into a decent pack of “similar speed” athletes. The two-lap swim was relatively uneventful, as I ended up finishing the 2k in 32 minutes (61st of 755) –slower than I had hoped, but far less taxing than expected. I feel like I barely broke a sweat during the 32 minute swim – not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
The bike starts off quickly as I hammer the first 10-15k like a man possessed. I pass 6 – 10 riders and get a brief glimpse of what it must be like to be a pro as a camera vehicle drives beside me filming for a solid minute. With my bike decked out with race wheels and new aerohelmet I am feeling fast as I hammer through the rain.
Unfortunately, my love affair with the bike course is short lived, as about 40 minutes in reality hits me. The road degrades, the wind picks up and my legs start to feel heavy. My downfall is compounded by the fact that I decided to start the ride with no water/gatroade bottles on my bike. As I blow through the first aid station (not yet set up) I curse my rookie mistake.
Generally, I love racing and have no trouble forcing my mind to dislocate from the pain my body is feeling, today is different. I’m riding ok, but mentally I just can’t get into the zone. My weak mental state is harmed even further by good friend Curran flying past me at the 38k mark of the race. Curran is a strong rider, but there is no way he should be overtaking me that early in the bike course (I am a slightly faster swimmer). As Curran passes I shout a few words of encouragement but also feel my own race slip away a little.
The rest of the bike is pure survival, as the combination of a rolling wet course and my weakened mental state make for a tough final hour. The 6 – 10 places that I made up at the start of the ride are now gone as a good 6 – 10 riders pass me on the home stretch. I finish the 93k bike in 2:35 (32nd overall).
I start the run feeling relatively strong. As is generally the case in triathlons, I begin reeling in person after person, as my relative weakness on the bike is offset by my relative strength on the run. At the ¼ turnaround (two loop out and back course) I see that Curran is running strong about 2 minutes ahead of me. I’m happy that he is having a good race and figure that the only way I will catch him today (we are relatively evenly matched on the run) is if he blows up – something I am praying doesn’t happen today.
I run the rest of the half-marathon relatively steady, passing a few more but failing to make up much ground on Curran. I finish the 21k run in 1:28 (18th overall) and the whole race in 4:41 (
21st overall). Curran also runs a 1:28 and finishes in 19th, 2 minutes ahead of me.
Following the race I had a lot of time to think about the day’s performance. Despite my decent results in all three components (no personal bests, but within the acceptable range), why was I so unhappy with my race? After some reflection I come to the realization that, while my physical race was acceptable, my mental race was not. For some reason I was just unable to push myself as hard as I should have in any of the three disciplines. The swim felt downright easy, I hated every second (or 75% of the seconds) of the bike, and I was unable to “make myself hurt” on the run. While I’m not sure what the solution is, I was relieved to figure out the performance/post race letdown feeling disconnect. Now all I have to do is figure out how to improve the mental aspect before Great White North on July 6th…
Postscript:
One of the goals of this race was to qualify for Ironman Canada. Early on in the run I realized that that likely wasn’t going to happen as there were at least two athletes in my age group ahead of me (2 spots) and they were all running well. Two of those ahead of me in my age group were friends Curran and Ryan Murray – great guys who truly deserved their tickets to the big show in August. I will have another shot at an Ironman Canada entry at Great White North in five weeks, I really hope that by then I am fit, both physically and mentally to take my spot…
As long time readers of thisishooper will know, I love shoes. Given my love of fine runners, I've been understandably pumped with my two most recent purchases, a pair of of New Balance racing comps and a pair of Newtons. 
