The plan was to wake up early find a parking spot that Natalie could get the car out of at midnight when we were done so the alarm was set for 3:45 but I was up before it. I got dressed up for
the early hours and Nat made me some eggs while half awake I was very impressed as her eyes were barely open and I was like a kid on Christmas morning :) Off we go we found a spot rather close on the east side of main that nobody would be able to block us in and walked to transition. A volunteer made a mistake of saying "oh your just a spectator so you got that way" I think as soon as he said it he regretted it and realized that 5am no coffee in the system people might not appreciate his humor.I went and got body marked, found Thor and borrowed a bike pump from someone making certain to have air in the tires. I got out of transition area and found Natalie by the Peach, ran into Mike, Jen and Greg who joined Natalie in a prime swim viewing spot. I went back to transition to find the last Porty line for the morning before relaxing in the grass for the 30 min warning before getting the wet suit on. As I was relaxing I saw Pro Scott Curry and said hello, then Jasper Blake who was wearing #1 was getting ready right next to me. A lady asked how much he paid to get #1 this year he just smiled and said nothing extra, she had no clue she was talking to the guy that got 3rd last year and won this race in 2006. He was very humble and offered a bunch of us his sunscreen which I did use. After Natalie's horrible experience with some arrogant athletes I wished she could have spoke with Jasper to see that the top guys aren't like the wanabees she saw the other day. I put my dry bag on the fence and went to the beach, I gave my glasses to Natalie who was right on the fence with elbows up to guard her spot from the people pushing there way in for a good viewing spot.
I lined up a few different times on the line trying to think of where I wanted to be, I saw Santa an older guy that Mike, Jen and I cheered for 3 years ago. I sang along with the Canadian Anthem feeling great pride that we didn't have to hear the American one as this is IM CANADA baby!
I thought I heard the Cannon "Martha" go off, but others have told me that it was not there this year.... (boo!) I walked out to about waist high with all the others doing the same. I had some people behind me, I actually turned to see how many people might run me down. Nat was watching with binoculars and because she saw my face watched me for a long time. I only got bumped once by someone. I tickled someones toes as they slowed up in front of me. I think I actually passed a few people in the swim but then of course got passed by them later. Out at the Sailboat turn I waved at the diver in the water and made the turn I was giddy with pride that I said I wanted to be at the house boat in 1 hour and when I did the 500m between boats I did it.
This third leg was the most interesting. I got ran over by a canoe... seriously I was swimming along took a bump on the shoulder and as I took my stroke grabbed the gunnel (side) of the boat and damned near tossed them into the lake before realizing what was going on. Later I had a large powerboat drifting as their anchor slipped and I could not see the markers or the towers that I was using to sight. I was not swimming tight to the markers like everyone else so all the kyackers were telling me to go more to the right but I felt ok. I rolled on my back for a moment as I wanted to release some pressure off my goggles and I had a kyacker right there asking if I was ok, which was good to hear that was what they were doing. Somewhere ahead of me I found out later was having a heart attack and rescue was doing the best job they could. RIP Wally Wiwchar of Fort Saskatchewan, AB.
I looked at my watch as I came closer to shore and I was happy, very please indeed as I was well under the swim cut off as that was my biggest fear of the day, I was not worried about anything else I had to do other than getting waist high in the water before 9:20am. You fast guys don't know this but the rule is you must be waist high standing in the water at 9:20 if you are to keep going. I have a photo from a few years ago taken right at 9:20 and there are 3 people in the photo. 2 are standing waist high and 1 guy is swimming 4 feet behind them only two got to keep going on that day. Last year I met the guy that was still swimming when I was volunteering. That photo has haunted me for 2 years now I did not want to be that guy.
I pealed off my wetsuit to show my wonderful burger jersey because I think in the 15 triathlons I have done I wore the burger jersey for 10 of them. I am known as the burger man (right Sara "1 crank") and I wanted to proudly show that the burger man made it. After talking with my team I have no recollection of what Mr King said about me when I came out of the water, I have no idea where people were. But I was VERY happy to be done the swim. Nat said that Steve told a story about how I missed cut off at Sylvan the first time he saw me and how much I have improved to be comfortably out of the water now.
SWIM DONE 1:59:27 2584 of 2602 (I finished in front of 9 people!!)
I was taken good care of by the wetsuit strippers they had a lot of practice by the time I got there. I got my bag of gear and went into the tent. I found a chair and got dressed and ready for the bike ride. I walked to my bike and dropped a cliff bar that I was trying to put in my back pocket. I didn't go back for it as I wasn't certain where it was. I just kept walking through transition as it was not the place to make mistakes and hurt myself like in Wasa.
TRANSITION ONE DONE 0:05:11
I got on the bike and was very happy as I was in my element. I heard my name and I turned and looked at a sign according to Rob and Chris. They witnessed a guy get cut off by a dude waving to his people and ended up doing a full on plank flip. The waver had no clue of what he did. Chris checked the stats and The Flipper finished the race but what a way to start the bike. (Jordan has a photo of it)
I pushed the pace through town as I was energized as I passed a few people. I did pretty good for pacing out to McLane Creek (20km) and I climbed it with no stress like I did back in July. By this time my HR was becoming normal thank goodness. I remember following someone that didn't have the best bike handling and thought I better get ahead of him.
The ride to Osoyoos looking back at the graphs I really wish I was a bit more level, the HR and Speed are bouncing around I just kinda wish I could have had some nice lines instead. But that being said up to the 75km mark I was more in the HR zone 2-3 and as I went up Richter I got into zone 4 a couple times but not for long. I watched a guy just as we got to the top fall over. He was trying to eat a powerbar and lost concentration and just fell over. I asked him 3 times if he was alright and he just kept saying "lesson learned"
The seven rollers I lost count of so I was not certain where I was in the set. I was very depressed when I saw the Special needs turnaround about 50 feet from the highway and all the people there. I knew I had some time before I would get there on that cursed road to no where. But I finally made it to Special Needs Station (120km) I pulled over and a guy held my bike while I munched on my sandwich as I was taking a break. I had learned in testing that I can't eat, breath and ride at the same time. A lady offered me sunscreen and I couldn't turn it down cause it was HOT! I wish I had put some on my legs as there was this little strip of white skin on my legs that got it's share of sun today and hurt the next day, guess the shorts were riding higher than usual.
So at the aid stations so far I had been putting a Nuun tab in the aero bottle then jammed a water bottle in to fill. what ever was left was dumped over my head and drank right there before the bottle drop zone. Now I was stopping at aid stations just to get off the bike seat for a moment. I noticed more and more Ambulances that had their lights on so I was getting a bit concerned. At the last aid station before Yellow there was 2 guys in dire straights and a volunteer was trying to get them a ride back. Moments later I saw another Ambulance with lights going towards them.
As I started the climb to end all climbs I just focused on peddling, my feet were hurting where the cleats connect to the pedal. I remember trailing behind one of the 18 year olds (age is written on calf) and just as we were coming up to the last curve before the top he pulls over ans asked "Hate to ask this but does anyone have any extra water please?". I did not unfortunately, I hope he did alright. When I got to the top I had 3 gulps left in my bottles. I pulled over and buddy filled up both my bottles and dumped one on my back. I knew that I was going to have fun on this downhill. I looked around for Rob's truck and didn't see it so I was a bit sad as lots of the fun spectators had left. I saw a photo of Brian from Tri It dressed as Elvis, Dad said superman was there as well. So I cruised with a couple guys along the lake and then dropped them like rocks as the decent started. I didn't realize it but Rob, Chris and Dad were the third car in the group that went down with me so they took photos of me as I filled my bottles and then as my best friend Gravity took hold. I got up to 68km/h and when they passed me I must have had the biggest shit eating grin on my face as I was finally letting myself have fun as I was in my element. I lost them as traffic built up as the course turned back onto the main highway.
I was still smiling as I rolled into town finally knowing that I had the time cut off beat as I knew I would but it was a minor concern in the back of my head. All I can say is I am SO glad that I did not have any mechanical issues
BIKE DONE 7:53:28 / 2468 of 2512 of people finished the bike
/ 22.8k/hr avg / 68.7k/hr MAX / 142 avg HR / 172 Max HR / 4257 cal / 1987m up 1974m down
I left the mighty Thor in the hands of the volunteers to rack and they handed my run gear bag. I found the first chair in the tent and just sat down. there were guys joking around me that they were going to just go for a bit of a walk. I stopped at the potties (2 on bike, 1 transition, 2 on run for those that are wondering)
As I was walking to the exit of transition I saw Amber Dawn and her husband Darren walking with his bike. I remember thinking how did she get in here as she is not doing the race this year. I remember asking him if he won the whole thing as he looked showered and changed (he got 3rd in his age group 29th overall) I saw them again in the finishers gear line and he said he was so out of it when this happened. It felt really nice to have such a fast guy congratulate me on my race. Amber met me when I was training for my very first race and has seen me progress from there.
TRANSITION TWO DONE 0:10:35
So I walked the first couple km and I got busted by Amber as I heard her yell "Now is not the time to save your energy Randy! Get running!" But I just couldn't do it looking back at the graphs the HR was not crazy until I ran past my team at the Cherry Lane mall. That's where my HR spiked up to about 200, but it was worth it to see Mom, Dad, Natalie, Wanda, Rob, Torry, Chris, Tegan, and Felicity all in their red shirts. So I had to run when they saw me.
I was running 1 min walk 1 min with a guy named Tim and as he finished running past his crew they took a short cut and he had to run past them again. we got back together and he was so out of breath and we took an extra long walk break to get us both back on track. Around 17km I lost him as I couldn't keep pace up a hill. I went though an aid station that had an ambulance parked and I had to go around it, I saw someone with a TCR jersey on, I didn't recognize the guy in it but I was worried.
I realized now that because the smog or smoke was in the air it was getting dark earlier than I had planned so running with the sunglasses on was causing some issues. So I took them off and ran blind for a while, needless to say I was getting freaked out. Natalie and my parents surprised me by being at the turn around, so I was shocked to recognize the glow in the dark design that was on Natalie's shirt. She had my good normal glasses in her hand and was waiting in the pitch black to get them to me without any officials seeing just in case it was thought to be outside help. I felt so much better and more confident about where my feet were stepping, it was very cool to have her run along side of me for a short bit. I got my special needs bag and drank my bottle of Ensure got my lights that attach to my hat which were an amazing idea. Those lights saved me from a few times where I could have rolled my ankle from the side of the road. The last thing I remember being said was from my wonderful father "Your gonna finish this right?" my response was something Jen wrote on my arm "Finish or Flat Line"
I joined up with a guy from Hawaii that was doing the race and we would walk for a while and then run for 30 steps and then walk again. I think at Mile 16 I saw Sister Madonna she looked like she was in a bad patch but I was happy to hear she finished.
Just as we entered the street lights of Skaha Tim & Lana caught back up to me and Darren and we started running 1 street light and then walk to the next one. We stayed together until my body needed to stop for a bathroom and Darren walked until I caught up but Tim and Lana went on ahead. I was able to actually run properly after that much needed stop.
The run into down town I barely remember it was the last few KM, I do remember faintly hearing the announcers. When I was about to run to the hot corner Mike and Greg found me. They had been looking at their watches and thinking they better find me and motivate me with all the verbal abuse I could handle to make it before midnight. Thankfully it wasn't needed today :) Darren and I were still doing street lights and I remember running up to part of my people and they were standing under a light post instead of saying hello we both pointed at the pole and said "run" I think there will be a photo of two exhausted guys pointing at that pole.
There was this last aid station that I really don't know why you would need to have a banana or gel in the last km of the run. Somehow this local girl decided that she was going to run with us. It kinda pissed me of that she was bounding along chatting and smiling as I tried not to drag my feet. One of the people on the side yelled at her "Don't get them DQ'd" when we went past that aid station again she pulled off and clapped.
We ran past the light post where I saw my Dad at, I can't remember who else was there for some reason. I heard my sister on my left side saying she was so proud of me. Darren and I got closer to the lights of the finish line and I could hear Steve King's Voice raspy from a day of stories. We got to a pole and it was suppose to be a walk but I looked at Darren and said lets just run the rest of the way. I think he might have wanted that walk break as he ended up pointing that I could run ahead of him for the finish. I started taking good long strides in the lights and passed a guy just meters from the line and the look on his face was shock of how can you be going that fast.
RUN DONE - 6:26:26 / 2334 of 2381 people that finished the run
9:09 min/km / 2953 cal / 129 Avg HR / 207 M HR / 1073m up 1052 down
I crossed the line with a big grin on my face. I had two elderly ladies as my finish catchers that their job was to take care of me till I was claimed by someone outside the fence. I almost didn't get my medal as I got past the guy handing them out. As a dude cut my chip of my ankle I was properly medaled and someone wrapped me in a foil. One of the catchers asked what shirt size I was and I couldn't remember what the word was that except that it had a L. she looked at me and said "large" yep that's the word I was looking for. I got my photo taken and then they pointed me to some cookies and pizza. Pizza man said Peperoni or Veg... F**K the veg I just exercised for 17.5 hours he laughed at me and handed me two big slices of heaven.
My catchers got me to the gate and I looked out and didn't recognize any red shirts, but then Mike Jen and Greg ran up and said they would claim me. I was just so happy that I didn't get moved into the med tent as I must have barely passed the tests. Natalie came around the corner gave me a big hug and then ran to a bathroom as she had been waiting for me to finish. We had some good laughs about the day and then Natalie and I walked back to the car and she drove me back to the motel. There was one last barricade and Nat and I switched seats to get the last little bit home. Nat made me have a bath before passing out just in case I could not move very well the next day (guess it was today now).
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2832 numbers registered - 498 behind me
2602 finished the swim - 18 I beat in the swim
2512 finished the Bike - 44 I was quicker
2477 Started the run - 60 I ran faster than
2381 finished the event - I finished in front of 47
I was ranked 2584 swim, 2468 bike , 2334 run and 2334 overall
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On this 2 year journey my coach Mike Pasco www.e4life.ca guided me through
36 hours of weight lifting
167 swims for 196 km in 150 hours
147 Runs for 819 km in 123 hours
144 Bike Rides for 3931 km 191 hours
Plans said to do more but as I learned life has a way of messing with the best made plans.
I was able to keep my weight in the low 190's instead of the icky 210 I was at before.
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I want to thank all my family and friends that have been on this journey with me.
I have decided that next year Iron Man will not call my name. To be honest I don't know when my next opportunity to dance with that distance will be. I do know that I will not be able to train for this event while doing 12 hour shifts. I have put off a lot of life decisions that I will have to take care of before setting my sights on this in the future.
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