2021 North Shore Master Swim Meet

It's been a while since I've competed in a swim meet, so when the opportunity came, I was sure to put my name down. So on October 16th, I signed up for the North Shore Masters Sprint Meet.

Each participant could choose 3 individual events to compete in as well as a few team relays. I opted for the 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, and the 200m Freestyle. 

After a meeting with other swimmers from the Coast Swim Team (under Coach Stewart), I was put on 2 relays; The 200m Freestyle and the 200m Team Medley (swimming backstroke). 

We had an amazing turn out from our team and quickly claimed our spot on in the stands. The master list of heat starts was passed around frequently due to the high turn around between heats. The longest heats were 200m so time between heats was sparse. 

200 Meter Individual Freestyle

Soon it as time for my first event, the 200m Individual Freestyle. As we lined up at the blocks I cheered for my teammates who were in the heat before me. 

The officials noticed that everyone from Coast wore the same kit and were impressed with our numbers, not just in total, but also by how many of us there were in each heat/event.

I opted for an 'in water start' and was sure to get the specifics from the officials on how to proceed. I have never practiced starting off the blocks and did not want to add anything new to throw me off.

The start was sounded and we were off. I could see the advantage of started off the blocks in my periphery but knew I was a fast swimmer and could catch them. 

I found a good rhythm and stuck with it, slowly building speed as I went. 

150 meters in I could feel my heartrate start to climb. I switched to a 2-beat kick for the last 50 meters to keep my speed up but my heartrate down. 

I finished 3rd or 4th in my heat. After a round of fist bumps from my teammates, I waited in the water for the rest of my heat to finish, then climbed out.

One event done, time to stay warm and cheer on my teammates before my next event.

My official time was 3:25.79. This is possibly my personal best for a 200m swim AND it was enough to win my first place in my age group. I have never won my age group in anything before (and I don't dare look up how many were in my age group). 

100 Meter Individual Freestyle

Next up was the 100 meter freestyle. Once again I opted for an in water start. I put in a great effort and felt I could turn on the gas more knowing I only had 100 metes to swim. 

My heartrate went up after the first 50, but I knew I could push through!

I caught a glimpse at the other lanes when breathing and thought to myself, "Am I winning this heat?"

I waited for another breath to confirm, "I am winning this heat!"

This pushed me even harder and as I plowed into the wall for my finish I could just see the next swimmer touch after me. 

I felt fantastic, but did not want to show it. I did not want to boast or make others who worked just as hard or harder feel bad. I gave the second place heat finisher a thumbs up.

I gave the swimmers to my right and left fist mumps, then we all climbed out of the pool.

I was still riding the high of winning my heat, but again did not want to show it. The walk back to the stands went behind a water slide. Once concealed from view by the water slide, I beat my chest 3 times with my right arm. Them emerged to the cheering of my team.

My official time was 1:31.41. Only about 4 seconds off my personal best for a 100m swim. But it was enough to win my second place in my age group (once again I don't dare look up how many were in my age group). 

4 x 50 Meter Freestyle Relay 

For the 200m relay, I was the third swimmer in our group and the only one opting (once again) for an in water start. I had worked out the transition with the second position swimmer so there would be no confusion (and more importantly no collisions). 

I pushed off the wall as soon as I saw our second's hands touch. I pushed hard on this. My breathing rate was half of what I usually do and my kick rate was double. Despite the hard effort, I did manage to keep my form and technique. I did not want that to suffer. 

Not mush to say about a 50m sprint. Our team finished with a total time of 2:22.93 and my personal 50m time was 42.30. This gave us third place in our relay division. 

50 Meter Individual Freestyle

Not much to say on the penultimate event. I did however step outside my comfort zone and decided to start of the blocks this time!  I made sure my goggles were on super tight. There was a little jostle as I entered the water, but they stayed on!

I did this 50 meters pretty much the same as the 50 meters in the relay, but the start of the blocks got me an extra few seconds.

My official time was 0:40.00 and it was enough to win my third place in my age group (once again I don't dare look up how many were in my age group). 

4 × 50m Team Medley (Mixed)

Next was the event I was looking forward to, the 4 × 50m Team Medley. I was assigned the backstroke and had spent an hour in the pool the night before practicing all the things I needed to practice to not get disqualified. 

Backstroke in an in water start regardless so nothing new here. Plus I had practiced my starts and turns the night before. 

I got a good push off the wall and felt very stable for the first 25 meters. I had counted how many strokes it was from the flags to the wall in my training session the night before, so there was little danger of running into the wall.

I was at the flags much sooner than I thought, I counted my strokes and executed the turn. I did get some water up my nose but knew I had to push through. Next time I may wear a nose plug.

I made it top the wall and saw the next teammate leap over me into the pool. 

Our team finished with a total time of 3:20.18 and my personal 50m backstroke time was 01:04.13. This gave us third place in our relay division. 

I enjoyed swimming a new stroke in competition and may start to venture out of my freestyle comfort zone on the next meet. 

You can read the Coast Swim Team's official blog entry of this event here.

2021 North Shore Triathlon

The end of 2021 has become a whirlwind of racing and life in general. That being said, these next few race reports may be lacking the level of detail you have come to expect from me.

On October 11, 2021 I race the North Shore Triathlon (Sprint).

I got up super early to make the drive to North Vancouver. After finding parking and grabbing all my gear, I made my way to transition.

I picked a spot near what looked like bike in/out. After carefully setting up my transition area, I took a walk around the pool building to try and scope out what transition would be like. 

I found the finish line around the back and then found the route from the pool to transition. It was on a trail up a hill. As soon as my mind thought, "That will kill our feet!" I saw volunteers laying a carpet down the hill. Whew!

After a last minute trip to the washroom, all the athletes waited in the parking lot for their starts to be called. There was some confusion as the race announcer was just saying "Ok, if you are in the fast group, head inside!" Well, what was the fast group? What are the times? Everyone in the parking lot looked to have the same questions. I walked up to the race announcer and asked if he could call out times too. After that, the call outs went smoother. 

I decided to seed myself in the front of the 10:00-10:30 minute group. The swim was only 444 meters (weird pool size I know). My group was called, and we headed inside. We took off our warm layer of clothes, put it in our drop off bag, and lined up. We all self-seeded based on our times. 

They let us out of our holding area 8 at a time. We went back outside and in through another door right into the pool area. We lined up against a wall and waited for out start. 

The Swim

After dropping our masks into the trash, we would wait for the official, drop in, and go. 

The official warned me that the water was shallow. I dropped in not realizing it was only 2 feet deep. This threw me off and I did not get a good push off the wall. 

Another wrench in the works was that the shallow side was the same side where you swam under the ropes to enter the next lane. Usually (like at UBC) I would push off the wall and go under the ropes on the push off. But the water was so shallow, I could never get the timing right. 

As I continued on the swim, I ended up passing several people. I was careful to only pass at the wall, or if no one was coming the other way. I even had to dodge head on collisions from a few swimmers going the wrong way. 

I should have have seeded myself in the wave ahead of me. And based on the number of people I was passing, some of them should have seeded differently too. But this is how it goes with a pool swim. I did my best not to get frustrated and just kept swimming. 

At the last length, I was going to pass the swimmer in front of me but then changed my mind. The effort put forth in a surge for the last 30 meters would not be worth it. I knew I'd have to truck up a hill in the October cold once out of the pool. So I just drafted until the end of the swim. 

I climbed up the steps and made my way out of the pool area and outside. It was cold. I went up the hill, found my bike and took my time drying off. 

I had packed a pair of thermal leggings and a thermal long-sleeved, but opted for just arm warmers instead. The main reason being I just didn't want to deal with putting all that on. And if I got hot, they are not easily removed. 

I took my time getting ready for the bike and it was soon time to go. 

The Bike

The start of the bike was a gradual uphill to the main road. The bike was feeling sluggish and I could not tell if it was me, the hill, or a flat tire. I jumped off the bike and checked. Nope, tire was good, let's get it! 

After a right turn onto the main road I enjoyed a slight downhill. This was short lived however as a climb started soon after. I could see by my power numbers that I was pushing too hard, too soon. I reigned it in and continued on.

The first lap of the 4 lap course was all about easing in and reconnaissance. During the second lap I continued to take it easy on the climbs, but laid the power down on the descents. Lap 3 and 4 got even faster respectively. I spent more and more time on the aero bars as the race went on. 

Soon, I was turning left to head back to transition and start the run.

The Run

The run started out on a nice trail through a wooded area. I was able to hold an ok pace until the trail started going uphill toward the road. I walked up the hill, but started to run again once I hit the road. 

I ran on the main road (the same as the bike) for a bit until the course took me into a local neighborhood. Then it was back on the main road for an out-and-back.

I was running up and down the same hills I had previously cycled on and did my best to hold pace going up. By the end, I was walking up the hills and running down them.

When I reached the top of the last hill, I upped my pace, knowing that I was almost done.

I ran past transition and back into to wooded area at the start of the run. I picked up even more speed now as I could hear the sounds of the finish line. Maybe a little too much speed as I tripped and almost bailed on a tree root. Luckily I was able to steady myself and continue on to the finish. 

This was yet another race I normally do not get to do because of work. Yet another reason I am glad I switched companies. For the amount of training I was able (or not able) to do, I feel good about my performance and hope do this again in the future. 

Swim:   00:09:48 (0.44k) 

Bike:     00:48:14 (17.6k)

Run:     00:42:54 (5k)

Total:    01:40:56 

2021 Vanier Park CX

Once again I was fortunate enough to take part in a local race. This time it was the Vanier Park Cyclocross race. I was signed up to do this race in 2019 as my introduction to the sport, but the race was cancelled, making Aldergrove my intro to CX. 

Jen, Thomas, and I arrived early so I could register and do a warm up lap of the course. 

The course was very technical from a riding perspective. There were only 2 points where I needed to jump off the bike. The rest of the course was lots of twists, turns, and rollers. The course was also surprisingly wide. I felt that even if I was going to be lapped, I would have plenty of room and not need to slow down.

I finished my warm up lap in about 15 minutes. So I set my race goal at 2 laps, since this was a 30 minute race. I thought about going back onto the course to practice a few of the more technical spots, but I had done well on my practice lap and did not want to over think anything. 

Then it was time to start. I lined up in the back knowing I would end up there anyhow. The start was an uphill so I made sure to be in the proper gear. Then start horn went off and the pack took off. 

I was soon passed by a few people but felt I was moving at a good speed. At one point I had to stop due to a wipe out in front of me on the slippery pine needles. 

After that it was just the simple task of navigating the twists, turns, and rollers. A few of the rider who passed me were now beginning to fade and I was able to catch up fairly quickly. 

I made my way to the first section that required me to jump off the bike. At this section, riders went down a hill, made a 180 degree turn and then went back up the hill. However, on the uphill, there were 2 barriers. So at the bottom, you needed to jump off the bike while making the turn after coming down the hill. I had practiced this on the warm up lap and felt pretty confident. This was the section I did not want to over think. 

I executed it perfectly (perfectly enough for me anyway) and ran up the hill over the barriers. I could see and hear Jen and Thomas cheering. At the top of the hill, I jumped back on my bike and rode on, focusing on getting my heart rate back down. 

I navigated the twisty course and was soon at what was called The Belgian Steps. This was the second section that required a dismount. I jumped off the bike, ran up the steps, and jumped back on just before a downhill. I quickly clipped back in before using the downhill speed to aid in the following uphill.

I made a right and turn and bombed down the hill that I knew marked the end of the lap. As I flew past timing tent, I saw the number 3 displayed. I took this to mean we were doing 3 laps. Awesome. That is one lap more than my race goal. 

Lap 2 was more of the same. I was now for familiar/comfortable with the course and could speed things up. I was even able to pass a few more people.

Lap 3, I was feeling really good. I was taking the turns much faster, I was pushing up the hills, and taking more advantage of the downhills. 

I came down the last downhill expecting my race to be over when I realized I had one more lap. I had the read the sign wrong. 3 was not the total number of laps. 3 was the remaining laps, meaning 4 in total. I was not mentally prepared for 4 laps, but I took it as a challenge.

I pushed hard on the 4th lap, knowing it was for sure my last. I was passed by a few of the race leaders. They passed and offered up encouragement as they went by. It makes me love this sport even more when the first place rider can lap someone in the back, but take time to cheer them on. 

Soon I was at the last downhill before the end. I threw my bike into gear and sprinted down that hill. I crossed the line with a big sigh of relief.   

This course is my second favorite course when it come to CX. I had a ton of fun. My goal was 2 laps and I managed 4. I was able to turn my brain off and just ride. I set some new heart rate records but never felt as though it got too high. 

4 laps in 37 minures 54 seconds and I didn't finish last!

Cross is back and I am looking forward to more racing!

2021 Vancouver Triathlon

First off let me give you a quick update. In my last entry, I talked about Ironman Washington 70.3 in September. This did not happen. Land border restrictions would not allow us to cross the border to Seattle and I have deferred this race to 2022. 

Ironman Arizona (the full) was still going ahead in November, but we decided as a family that we were not comfortable travelling just yet. So once again my 5 year dream of a full Ironman has been pushed again to 2022. 

I have also started coaching indoor swimming with Coach Stewart and will be starting to take more of a lead coaching role in the open water courses come the summer. 

My new job has been going very well. They are very much what was promised. Great projects, challenging work, but much less overtime. My work life balance has been great and my mental health has improved.

I have also decided to not continue with my YouTube channel. Life has gotten very busy with a full time job, training, coaching, and family. I had a vision for what I wanted my channel to be and to accomplish that I would need to pour too much time and resources into it, time and resources that need to be directed elsewhere. There is too much going on in life right now and something needed to put aside to ensure I got the downtime I need. Unfortunately, it has to be the YouTube channel. This blog and my Instagram will now serve as the main source of race reports and training information. 

So here we are! Back to racing!

Now that you are all caught up, here is my race report for the 2021 Vancouver Triathlon.

As stated before, I am continuing to help coach open water classes with Coach Stewart and we were excited to learn that Coach Stewart/Swim Smart would be an official sponsor for this race. 

With the race being on Monday, we ran a swim clinic on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Coach Stewart worked with the more advanced in each group, while Coach Oscar and myself lead the beginner groups.

After the Sunday clinic, Stewart, Oscar, and I setup our tent for bike drop off. We had the perfect spot right next registration. We had a good time talking with the athletes, current and (hopefully) new clients. 

I dropped by bike in transition, very close to bike out, and went home to prep the rest of my gear.

The next morning I got up super early. Coach Stewart was kind enough to give me a ride so Jen could have the car to bring Thomas to the race.

My swim start wave was the second to last to go, so I spent some time in the Coach Stewart tent answering any questions from the athletes. 

Just before the first start wave, I setup my transition area. Turns out I had picked a spot near some friends. We were all excited to be racing and grateful for the opportunity.

After spending some more time at the coach's tent, I went to watch the first wave start. It was there that I ran into my coach, Coach Powell. We had not seen each other in person for a very long time and we chatted about the race. He asked how I was feeling about Arizona. I told him the same thing I said in the introduction above. It was a super tough decision to make, but in the end, it was the right one. And I look forward to focusing (more) on the next year.

It was getting close to my time to start, so I went in the water for a warm up swim. The water was cold. But I knew from the swim clinics we ran that it would warm up as we got moving. 

After a quick warm up I made my way back on shore. I needed to get some water in/on my goggles to keep them from fogging up so I walked up the waters edge past all the other athletes in my wave. As I walked past, I let them know I was not jockeying for position. 

But as soon as I splashed my goggles in the water and turned to return to the back of the pack, the horn blew. I stood still and let the pack run by me. It had been a long time since I had raced and I did not want to swim with the pack. I waited a few seconds then started my race.

The Swim

I noticed from watching the earlier starts that the current was pushing everyone to the right. So as I made my way from shore to the first turn buoy, I made sure to aim more to the left when sighting.

The turn buoy was yellow, as was my wave wave start swim cap color was yellow. This made it challenging to sight the buoy directly. Luckily a tanker was anchored in the perfect position for me to sight off of. 

I had to stop a few times because my goggles were leaking. It was an overcast day, so I was swimming with my clear lensed pair, a pair I don't normally use. I figured if I had to stop every so often to fix my goggles, that would be ok. There was nothing I could do about it now. 

I took the first section nice and easy. I had plenty of room to get into a rhythm all the way up until the first turn buoy. Then things got crowded.

I swam out past the first turn buoy to fix my goggles. I took them off and gave the rims a good squeeze. Well that did the trick! No more leaking goggles for the rest of the swim.

The next section to turn 2 was fast. We were swimming with the current. The current was pulling us to the left a bit, so I compensated. 

After the second turn buoy, it was a straight shot to shore for an Australian Exit and then lap 2. 

This section took forever as we were swimming against the outgoing tide. I stayed calm and just kept with my stroke count. 

I swam past the yellow buoy and swam as far up to shore as I could (swimming past those who had stood up too early).

When I got onto shore and went around the land buoy, I was surprised how many fit looking swimmers ran past me. Then I realized it was my line. Many times in swimming it is not the fastest swimmer, but the person who swims the least distance. If the current pulls you 100 meters off course, that is 100 extra meters you have to swim.

I entered the water on lap 2 feeling great that my sighting skills had not let me down. I did knock my foot on some rocks and found out after the race that I did indeed cut my foot. 

As soon as the water was deep enough to swim in, I started lap 2. 

I made it to the first turn buoy just as the next start wave caught up with us. Needless to say, this made the turn even more crowded than the first lap.

The course remained crowded for the rest of lap 2. I stayed calm and continued have good lines. 

I swam onto shore as far as I could and popped up to finish the swim. I walked up the incline off the beach and made my way to transition. 

The same swimmers who passed me during the Australian Exit between laps ran past me again. It gave me a good feeling that swim was consistent between laps. 

I took my time in transition. I knew this was a not a race with pressure. I got ready for the bike and was off. 

As I exited the transition area and made my way to the mount line, I saw Jen and Thomas walking down the road in the distance. They saw me and cheered.

The Bike

I started the bike leg nice and easy. My goal was to keep my power under 200 watts for the whole bike section. I know I am capable of more, especially over 40k, but I wanted to save some energy for whatever I could muster on the run. 

The bike course was one I was very familiar with. At least until the city decided they wanted to put up concrete barricades all along the road. I get it. They wanted to make the park safer for bikers, but they way they did it just seems unnecessary. Either way, I could not change it, so I went with it. 

I kept with my strategy and was soon at the hill. I took the hill very easy. It was the only spot I did not keep my power under 200. But again, it's a hill I've done hundreds of times. 

The downhill was separated into 2 lanes. Usually the lanes are open and I would stay to the left until I got to the sharp turn at the bottom. Then I would swing across to the right lane as I hit the apex of the turn. But now there was no room to do that. I decided to stay in the right hand lane, to allow those with better descending skills the room they needed.  

At the bottom of the hill there are some fun twisties, but once again the barriers made them too narrow and crowded to fully enjoy. 

As I swung around for lap 2, I could see and hear Thomas and Jen cheering. 

Lap 2, 3, and 4 were pretty much the same as lap 1, but a bit less crowded. There was lots of encouragement both to and from other riders, especially on the hill.

I finished the bike feeling good. As I entered transition, I saw Jen and Thomas. I stopped for a bit to wave at Thomas. 

I entered T2 nice and slow, not looking forward to the run. My run had not had as much training lately and was no where near what it once was. I had fully accepted that this race may be Swim, Bike, Walk. 

The Run

I got out on the 4 lap run course and started walking. I definitely did not want to start off to fast. Once I got a bit further down, I started to run a bit. I would continue this run for a bit, walk for a bit, for pretty much the whole run.  

At the end of each lap there was a hill. I walked this hill each time. And each time, Jen and Thomas were there waiting for me. It was so nice to have them out on the course. Every time Thomas would see me, he would scream and clap. 

As I approached my final laps, I began seeing more of the same runners. We would encourage each other and ask "Which lap?"

I was so relieved when someone asked and I got to respond, "Last one!"

Soon I was up the hill. Then running down the hill. I could seen Jen and Thomas just to the right of the finish chute. I stopped, grabbed Thomas, and we both ran across the finish line.

While this in no way reflects what I am capable of in this type of race, I am not upset. I know I can do better and I know what to work on. This was the first race after 2 years. 2 year that include an ongoing pandemic and our first child. I was just happy to be in a race environment. 

Swim: 00:37:37

T1:      00:05:33

Bike:   01:35:04

T2:      00:03:48

Run:    01:35:04

Total:   03:49:09

I am not sure if I would do this race again. I felt the bike course was a bit too crowded. While the race organizers limited the number of athletes this year (due to the pandemic), the narrowing of the roadways in the park still made for a congested course. I can only imagine what it would be like with a full field.  

If I did do this race again, I would do their version of a Super Sprint and just go all out to see what I was capable of. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this race report. As mentioned in the introduction, this blog combined with my Instagram will now be my main platform for race reports and training updates. 

Up next.... 

CX is Coming! 

Training Update and Virtual Races

I'm "back."

I know it's been a while, but as I am sure you are all aware, there has not been any racing over the past year. The last official race was back in March of 2020. Since then, I have been busy with work and fatherhood.

My 2020 race schedule got pushed to 2021 and most of those races were cancelled this year as well. So 'virtual' racing is the way to go this year (at least for now).

Over the past fall and winter I was able to get my training back up. I rode mainly indoors on zwift or outdoors on my gravel bike. I purchased a treadmill last summer which got its fair share of use over the winter months. And the local pool allowed for 75 minute reserved swim spots. The gym was hit or miss based on what Covid restrictions were in place at the time. So I was able to keep some semblance of my normal training schedule. 

The goal is still Ironman Arizona in November. I am currently doing 2 swims (open water), 2 runs (one shorter and one longer), 2 bikes (one shorter one longer), and 1 strength workout in a week.

I would normally get 2 gym sessions in a week, but I recently changed jobs. I switched to a company that is known for working very little overtime. This helps me be around my family more, have more time to train, and helps with my mental well-being. That and the gym sign up schedule no longer lines up with my work and/or training schedule. 

I am once again coaching open water swimming with Coach Stewart this year but have opted to not give private lessons to ensure some free time at home. 

With the vaccine roll outs here, things are slowly starting to return to somewhat normal. I should be able to get a second gym workout each week and take part in more group rides. 

Racing is seeing a return as well. I am still signed up for Ironman Washington 70.3 at the end of September and Ironman Arizona at the end of November. International travel restrictions are being eased for Canadians who have had both doses of a vaccine. My wife and I should be receiving our second dose within the next month. Locally, the Vancouver Triathlon at the beginning of September is going ahead with limited numbers. This will be an exciting time to race in an actual race environment rather than virtually.

Speaking of virtual racing, I did do 2 virtual races this year. An Olympic distance triathlon in April and a half iron distance last weekend (June 27th) . These were to replace 2 races I had been signed up for that had been cancelled. 

The Olympic distance went pretty well. Myself and Coach Stewart booked time at local pool for the 1500m swim. While my wife waited in the parking lot with our bikes, we did our swim. I finally achieved my goal of a sub 30 minute 1500m swim. Granted it was in a 25m pool, but I am still going to count it.  

After the swim, Stewart and I changed and headed out on the bike (after a lengthy flat tire change in the parking lot). I had mapped out a bike route that was roughly 40k. It was part of the Richmond River Road Loop most cyclists from this area know. 

I was still on the fence about if I would race this or just treat it as a training ride with a friend. I don't think I ever actually made up my mind because I seemed to do a bit of both. At some points in the ride, we'd be riding along comfortably and chatting. But on other sections I hammered it. As you will see later, this was not a great idea.

The bike route ended at my house, where we put the bikes in the shed and transitioned for the run. Once out on the run I realized the constant surging on the bike had drained me of energy. The 10k run turned into a 10k walk. 

Along with the mistake on the bike, there were a few other factors that plated into my bonking on the run. 

First: The only pool time we could get for that day was in the afternoon. Most races start first thing when you are fresh.

Second: At that point in my training, I had not done any brick sessions. Nor had any of training sessions been over 3 hours. My body was good until after 3 hours. 

Third: I had not planned my hydration/nutrition as I would have in an actual race. 

I took all I learned from this and have since implemented it into my training.

Swim--00:29:22

T1 -----00:35:01

Bike ---01:26:18

T2------00:08:05

Run ----01:53:19

Total ---04:32:04

The second virtual race was an Ironman 70.3 distance race organized by my coach, Coach Powell. There were about 10-15 of us all doing different events ranging from Olympic distance, to duathlon, to half iron distance, to aqua bike.  

I was all set to race the half Iron distance, but that weekend was the hottest on record. And I am not talking hottest on record for June. Or hottest on record for Vancouver. Or the hottest on record for British Columbia. It was the hottest on record EVER in all of Canada. 

My mindset was, if I had signed up a race and it was that weekend, I'd still race it. So I will plan accordingly. I had plenty of hydration/nutrition on my bike. I had my race belt/bottle for the run. And the run course when by 2 water fountains and 2 outdoor beach showers on each lap (a total of 8 water fountains and 8 showers). I could refill my run bottle and run under the cold showers to cool off. That, and the end of every lap went by transition, where I had a cooler full of ice ready to be stuffed down my shirt. 

While setting up transition, I was feeling really good about the day. 

After setting up, I made my way to the water. A few bald eagles flew overhead and I knew it would be a good day. I am not superstitious about alot of things, but I always take an eagle, a hawk, an owl, etc. sighting as good luck.

The water was like glass, perfect for sighting. I got in and did a short practice swim. Then at 6:30am, I was off. 

The swim was going to be about 4 laps clockwise around 3 buoys and included the swim out to buoy 1 and back from buoy 3. During Lap 1, I just eased into a good rhythm and let me body warm up. I took note of the current and made sighting adjustments. From buoy 1 to buoy 2, sighting to the right and aiming just between 2 tankers in the distance, got you straight to buoy 2 with the current. From 2 to 3, sighting to the right and aiming for the end of the pier got you right to number 2. From 2 to 3, it was pretty much a straight shot. 

Lap 2 and 3 got a bit more crowded as those doing the Olympic distance started their swim. I was able to do a bit of drafting, but soon found that those I was drafting were not accounting for the current. So I kept my line. This ended up being a game of leap frog. I would have a straighter line and swim slower, while others swam faster but did an arc. We always met at the buoy. 

Once at buoy 3 on lap 4, I looked at my watch. It said 1800 something meters, so I headed to shore. Once out of the water, I checked my watch. 2015m in 40 minutes. I was pleased with this. My best 1900m swim in a race is close to 37 minutes. Subtract the extra 215 meters I swam today and it gets me close to 38 for pacing. 

I started the long trek to where we had transition. I did not run, but I didn't walk either. It was more of a brisk walk/jog. I was feeling good.  

After a speedy but deliberate transition, I started out on the bike.

The bike was once again 4 laps. It went from transition along the water, up Spanish Banks hill, around UBC to the turn around on Marine Drive at Kullahun, back the way we came, an out-and-back on Chancellor, back down Spanish Banks hill, to the turn around at the first parking lot at the bottom. Then we got to do it all again 3 more times.

 

This is an area I train in alot, so I knew the roads pretty well. I knew where the downhills were and the false flats. I knew where to gain to speed and where to pull back. 

That being said, I probably went out to hard on lap 1. I missed the 2 turn arounds and added some distance onto a few laps, but that would end up working in my favor later. 

On lap 2, I tried to reign it in a bit. My goal was to keep my cadence around 70-75rpm while keeping my power under 200 watts. On the hills I would aim for 60rpm and under 230 watts. I also began to see more and more teammates out doing their respective races.

On lap 3, the wind started to pick up. This route is notorious for having a headwind on the false flat sections. Lap 1 and 2 were wind free, but lap 3 and 4 were not. 

By lap 4, I was feeling the heat. I had followed my hydration plan perfectly but found myself out of water about halfway through my final lap (more on this later). I was beginning to fade. I ended up skipping the last out-and-back on Chancellor, but since I added some distance on the wrong turn arounds on lap 1 and 2, this still got me close to 90k. 

I biked back to transition, unsure if I would continue. 

Jen and Thomas were waiting for me at transition to cheer me on. Jen could see I was wiped. I grabbed some water, sat in the shade and debated if I would continue. By now, we were in full midday heat on the hottest day in history of Canada. 

I decided not to continue. 

I could have gone out and tried one lap to see how I felt, but I was not sure what would be gained by it. Running in that heat could only end badly. Sure I would have probably been fine, but how would I have felt later that day? Or later in the week? The risk was not worth it. So my half Iron became an Aqua Bike. 

Swim--00:40:45

T1 -----00:11:31

Bike ---03:25:13

Run ----DNF

Total ---04:27:03

So aside from the record setting heat, here are a few things that factored into my decision to cut my race short. 

First, lack of aid stations. I was carrying 3 hours of hydration/electrolytes on the bike, but usually during a race, I would grab more water. I would usually drink about half the bottle and spray myself with the other half to keep cool. Aid stations would have also provided extra hydration and support on the run. While there would have been ample opportunity on the run to grab extra hydration and cool off with water, there was non on the bike.

Second, mental image. This may seem like a trivial thing, but I feel the more I explain, the more it might make sense to you. I do still struggle with body image issues and am very aware of how I look (or least how I think I look) when bulldozing through a half Ironman, especially in heat. That being said, in my mind, there is a huge difference between being at a race and having the spectators know exactly what you are going through. It's a race. They expect to see people suffer. It's a part of the sport. But just random people out on a Sunday afternoon, they have no idea that I have already swam 2k and biked 90k and that I'm trying to finish a 21k run. In my mind, they just see a fat guy struggling to run in the heat. While I know that should not bother me, being physically tired has a huge impact on you mentally. I could not deal with the physical strain of the distance and the heat in that compromised mental state. It would have dragged me down mentally and killed my morale.   

Overall, given the day I am very pleased with my swim and bike time. I am also happy with my decision to cut the race short. All afternoon I was completely exhausted. I could not image how I would feel if I did the whole thing. There have been and still will be plenty more half Ironman races. I know what to work on and where to go from here. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my update and pseudo race reports. I have just over 2 months of training for my next Olympic Triathlon and about 3 before my next half Ironman. I will take what I have learned, adapt, and crush my upcoming races. And if factors outside my control pop up again, I'll deal with them on the day. 

Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel in the 'Links' section to right of this entry.