Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out? It went alright I guess. I had a lot of nerves and some trouble sleeping but felt ok race morning.
2. How did you feel pre race? Leading up to the race I was very nervous about the swim and worried that I would have real trouble out there.
3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race? Nothing comes to mind.
4. Did you feel ready for the race? I definitely felt ready physically. As you know I was having some challenges mentally with the swim but I knew I had done the training to do well if I could over come this. One thing I don’t think I was as well prepared as I could have been was in the area of nutrition – both for the race and during the year of training.
Swim
1. Where did you start? Let almost all of the other swimmers go before starting and then swam out on the inside of the buoys.
2. Did this work for you? It worked very well. I was alone most of the way out to the first buoy and then was in the middle of the pack on the way back in.
3. How did you feel? I felt good…I was calm and comfortable for the most part – probably my best swim all year.
4. Any problems? I think I took in a fair bit of lake water and it may have contributed to the stomach issues I had later on the bike and especially on the run.
5. Positives – great day – great swim for me.
6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place? I think I was alright in this area even though I didn’t sight as much as I had in training. I found that there were some many people to my left and right that I trusted I must be on track and it worked out.
7. Did you get smacked? I didn’t really get smacked although I felt really congested with bodies everywhere on the way back in.
8. Were you drafting efficiently? No – I found that I would draft for a little bit but then would need to pass the person I was drafting and never really found any feet I could just sit on. I had never drafted before either so I am not sure I even know what I am doing.
9. What was your time? 1:21:13
Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike? I think it was pretty good. I almost missed getting sunscreen. My time was 5:26
2. How was your nutrition strategy? I forgot my bottles so that threw a bit of a wrench into things but thanks to you I had my water bottle and one bottle full of carbo pro. I had to throw the other bottle of carb pro away at the start of the bike because I had no holder for it (it was suppose to go in my special needs bag). I tried to make up the calories (400) I had planned to take in with this bottle.
3. How was your hydration? I started cramping (calves) at the top of yellow lake hill so maybe not as good as I thought it was.
4. Any mechanicals or flat tires? Thank god no
5. How were the climbs? Felt ok
6. Any problems? My stomach was bugging me the first 3 hours – I hit the washroom at the special needs area and felt better the rest of the ride.
7. Positives – I was so high after the swim that I just felt great out there. My time 5:55:30 was good from my perspective and I felt good out there for the most part.
8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy? I was on a real high for the first 2 – 3 hours following the swim and then hit a low spot after the rollers and in the Cawston area. I felt better during the yellow lake climb and coming back into Penticton.
9. Did you know where you were on the course? I had a general idea for the most part after riding the course during the camp weekend in early August
Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run? It was alright – had some trouble getting my compression socks (T1’s ) on. My time was 4:40.
2. How was your nutrition? I took a gel every ½ hour and alternated between water and Perform as I did on the bike but I did get sick of the Perform and stopped taking it half way through the run. I had been taking 1 salt pill every ½ hour on the bike but increased to 2 per ½ hour after talking to Tara – Lee and telling her I was cramping still.
3. How was your hydration? As above – maybe not as good as I thought given the cramping
4. Any problems? I felt good the first 10 km of the run (my time was 53 min) then my stomach really started acting up and I had to hit the washroom every aid station – 6 or 7 times on the way out to OK Falls. I think I only hit the washroom once on the way back in to Penticton. My legs didn’t let me work at a heart rate over around 140 for the most part I think. I felt like aerobically I could do more but the cramping and stomach issues prevented me from going harder.
5. Positives – First 10 k was good and I felt good at the finish.
6. Any lows and highs during the run? Felt like turning around about half way out to OK Falls
7. How did you feel finishing? I felt pretty good – very excited finishing. I wish I would have known how close I was to breaking the 12 hour barrier – I think I had enough in the tank but thought it was out of reach.
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
I felt very good about my race. I had set a goal and thought I could do it in 12 hours and that was exactly where I ended up; however I was in a better position in terms of time at the end of the bike than I expected. When I started the run I felt very confident I could break 12 hours but my run was a bit disappointing for me. I am signed up for next year. No issues with the organization of the race – the volunteers were awesome.
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