Ironman Canada 2000 race report
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2001
Yep, it's true, I finished Ironman Canada 2000.
The wind was up and lake was wavy, so my swim time of 1:41.34 was 5 minutes slower than last year (despite the fact that I had been logging significantly faster swim times in every race this year up to IMC). Bumping about with 1800 other swimmers didn't make the swim any easier either ;-)
My transition #1 of 7.04 was about 3 minutes faster than last year. I guess the two "wetsuit strippers" who pushed me down and peeled me were more aggressive than the pair last year and I just generally was more "together" after the swim. (Considerably more swim hours put in this year...)
The first 40 miles of the bike are generally flat (with a pretty steep but mercifully fairly short hill and then a fast downhill in the middle). With a strong tailwind from the north and pushing a big gear on this section I
averaged about 20.5 MPH. I knew I had to because of what was coming. Not too many miles from the US border we turned north and the tailwind became a headwind. And the first of the two big climbs arrived. I struggled up Richter Pass (a 7 mile climb with a few downhills tossed in for relief) and didn't feel too bad, finding a (slow) rhythm (if 7 mph can be called "rhythmatic"!). Then came about 15 miles of rolling hills, which were a bitch because the wind really came up and even was gusting stronger (I'm sure it was more than 50 MPH at times). It was all I could do to hold the road.
And then there was the increasing gloom of darkening clouds and the totally socked in mountains ahead. Next we turned on a road paralleling the one we were riding on, but going the opposite way for about 12 miles (disconcerting) but somewhat with the wind (great). Then we turned around and rode the other way for about 15 miles (sort of obliquely against the wind, but not so much that my speed was held down too much). That's when the rain started. Oops.
It got harder and it felt like water was pouring down my torso and out my bike shoes! We climbed up Yellow Lake pass (about 5 miles, shorter but a little steeper than Richter, so I was going about 5-6 MPH). The rain and the wind weren't too much a problem on the climb (except when we went downhill in stretches), but by now my average speed was slipping considerably below the 17 mph I needed to average to have a 6:30 ride (my goal, 15 minutes better than last year). I knew I might be able to make up the difference on the descent back to town (hit close to 50 MPH on it last year), but it really started pouring, the wind was still blowing hard and the rain turned to sleet. I was freezing (and a number of competitors became hypothermic here--some even had to drop out on or after this section)! I chickened out (displayed unusual common sense) and really clamped on the brakes to keep my maximum speed at 37 MPH (and less in the turns). Some competitors went a lot slower than that (but the pros and many of the top age groupers let it all hang out and managed to get through it unscathed). Anyway, after a long, hairy descent I was back on flat land, only four miles from the run transition (with 108 miles raced) when I had a flat! I started fixing it and then had help from the bike support van. 15 minutes lost on an already slow ride. My total bike time including flat was 7:20.11, way slower than my 6:45 last year. Oh well, I survived!
Transition #2 was 11.11, a little slower than last year, but I was really wet and cold, so I needed to get myself dry and together for the run. (It was just cloudy and about 68 degrees in Penticton at the beach on Okanagan Lake. The rain and sleet had been confined to the mountains to the west where we were riding.)
The run. Ahh, the run. The salvation of my race. I have learned to eat and drink better on the ride and on the run. More frequent Powergels and more Gatorade for the energy and sodium. Add Pringles, especially good for sodium. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich at mid point on the ride. And toss in bananas for potassium, a few orange slices, and regular quantities of chicken broth (instead of more Pringles) on the back half of the run. Oh yeah, and be in better condition with considerably more riding miles and some more run miles this year. The result? NO RUN CRAMPS! I ran every step, pretty comfortably. Not exactly record marathon time (which no Ironman triathlete can achieve after the swim and bike), but 4:53.33 (11.11 pace, with 10's to start and then a just little fade in the closing half) is a lot better than 5:20. And it could have been better I think if I hadn't run pretty conservatively because I feared I would cramp.
The finish was incredible, even more so than last year. Many thousands of cheering spectators lined the course and, especially, the last three miles or so. Wow! What a rush to be an Ironman once more. I ran into the final section hands above my head cheering, high-fiving, and then did a leap through the tape. Volunteers grabbed me, hung a medal around my neck, and, in a moment, Sherry was there hugging me.
I spent the next 2:45 cheering other competitors until thousands of us tried to cheer in the guy that we hoped would be the last official finisher at 17 hours. He was run in by Lori Bowden, the female winner who came back to cheer on us age groupers, and Graham Frazier, the president of Ironman Canada. Despite all the support, he came in at 53 seconds after midnight, as fireworks were set off on the lake. They gave him an official time, called him an official finisher, and hung a medal around his neck anyway. Now that's class!
P.S. For some reason I could never expand this posting to family and friends into an “epic” race report like I have done before. I think maybe it was because the bike leg was so disappointing. Much time has passed and with IMC 2001 looming it is much easier for me to revisit this. I’m still not going to expand it, but at the least I thought others might find it interesting now.
