I was at transition shortly after 6AM to find the lake with white caps, the wind a blowing and the rain a coming. It was crazy and we were all nervous about swimming in that lake. The race announcer told us we were in the eye of the storm and eventually it would be decided whether or not the weather would change our day. While waiting the race announcer was able to ring up Simon Whitfield, she was a training partner of his, who wished us all luck and recalls some nasty weather he has raced in. About 5 minutes before the mens' race start they called the swim and the long triathlon became a long duathlon. The waves were so bad the safety crew would not have been able to reach any racer if in trouble. A cheer went up by all the athletes. The triathletes had the option of switching to the short course duathlon or remain in the long distance. I decided on the long which meant a 7.5K run / 56K bike / 15K run.
Shortly after 9am the girls headed out and I was pacing with my DRTC buddies but one of those gusts of wind came up, knocked my hat off and I was off chasing it (only for a second or two) but it meant I was behind the group. I'm actually glad this happened as I decided to run my pace and not others. At one point I looked down to see in huge letters BR day 3 turn here. This was the marker left by the road crew from the Bike Rally which brought a smile to my face. Eventually I made it back to transition, found the bike, changed my shoes and headed out. The bike route took us over the causeway on to highway 2 to Gananoque. This is a section of the road that I have ridden with the Bike Rally so could visualize it before the race. Being of small stature, also known as vertically challenged, the heavy cross winds were a huge challenge but overall I was pleased with the bike. The only exception was the need to look at the time which scared the heck out me as there is only a set amount of time to complete the race. I felt defeated at that point which was not a good feeling with another run about to start.
At the start of the second run my lower half was sore and it was extremely tough to get into my run/walk routine. I don't recall my glutes hurting so much which later had me wondering did I use them more on the bike to stabilize against those winds. I wonder if that mistake of looking at the watch had done me in mentally more than physically. I ended up walking most of the distance but even walking was a challenge of mind over body. Sometimes you just wanna give up but it helped immensely knowing Barry, my Coaches and team mates were waiting for me at the finish line. I did make the finish line and received my participant medal. Another race done and lessons learned including hydrate much more the days before, don't look at your watch during the race or you'll over think the outcome, how important having friends at the finish line helps and how much I would rather swim then run.
The other thing I learned was the craziness those who choose to sign up for a full Ironman distance have. I think about the training I put in for a half and they train for double the distance. The dedication they put into preparing for this one event is just unbelievable. Even more remarkable is how the weekend warriors who attempt an Ironman must still manage their family and job life. Then there is the pain ! Its hard to describe what this is like and I can't even think how it must feel at the end of an Ironman. The pain is eventually replaced by a sense of accomplishment and soon forgotten. I think the Universe gave humans this unique gift of forgetting most bad things because if we did not we would live in fear and not attempt something again. Or we are given the chance to meet someone who will help us overcome the fear.
I will leave you with this quote I found on Simon Whitfield's page which I think sums up life even if its a triathlon reference and why I should not have looked at that watch.
“It’s about the process. It doesn’t matter what you do tomorrow and it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. It’s about today, and making today count. That’s especially true in training, but it’s the same mentality that I carry into racing. Focus on the task at hand, not on the finish line, or the next part of the race, but what it is that is right there in front of you in the moment.”And some pictures (Thanks Susan)
- Jordan Rapp2011 Long Course Triathlon World Champion
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| Finishing the first 7.5K. |
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| Bike start |
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| The Coaches and Allison cheering me to the finish |
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| A boy and his Dad crossing the finish together. An Ironman to who it matters the most his boy and his family. |
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