Ironman Calgary 70.3

So first things first: Thanks to all the volunteers at the race who gave up some of their long weekend to make athlete packages, set up transitions, strip wetsuits and the list goes on. Another big thank you to all the family and friends of all athletes who showed up in the blazing HEAT to cheer on the athletes. My entire family and several friends came out to watch the run portion which mean alot to me since it was my first Ironman 70.3 race!

I just checked the donations webpage and in total, our Suncor Triathlon team raised $4876.01 which will be matched by the Suncor Energy Foundation. A few non-Suncor athletes joined in raising money so in total we've raised $10 452.02!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all my co-workers and friends who generously donated.

Now for the race summary starting with some stats:
Total time 6:02:13
1900m swim 45:13
Transition 5:36
94km bike 2:59:19
Transition2 1:40
21.1km run 2:10:26

The entire year I heard about how cold Ghost Lake would be but it was pretty much perfect! I didn't even need the thermal cap and there was no need to double cap. I started near the center of the pack which was a mistake since I got passed by a ton of people. One person kicked me in the face. Luckily they missed my nose and teeth. All I had to do was tread water for a bit as I drained the water and repositioned the goggles. I settled into my pace pretty quickly. I had troubles swimming straight on the way BACK since there was a good 600m between the two buoys. At one point I looked up and saw the kayak right in front of me, the girl pointed to the left which was the direction that I SHOULD have been travelling. Many people said their swim times were about 3 minutes long....but i'm stil happy with finishing a 1.9km swim! I had many doubts throughout the year and honestly didn't believe I could swim the entire distance. Next up is the Philippines which will be a NON-wetsuit swim which will be the REAL test to my swimming abilities.

I forgot to pack a towel, so I could get all the grass/dirt off my feet before putting socks and shoes on. It felt like a smooth transition.

I executed the bike portion as I had planned. the first 20 minutes was easy spinning until the bottom of the Grand Valley Hill. I kept the heart rate under control and also began eating and drinking fluids. The hard work on the hills (golden triangle and sylvan camp) paid off as I passed quite a few people. I looked back to the heart rate data and the only time i went above my Ceiling was coming DOWN horse creek road! I guess the fresh pavement and downhill got to my head and I hammered a little too hard.
Highway 22 Hill went really well. Honestly it was a blur and I can't remember the details. I do remember cars lined up on the right side since we had a left turn onto springbank road. As I passed one cyclist, he looked over at me. At that moment, his rear tire popped. I wonder if he thought it was my fault for making him move over to the right.....who knows.
I started to feel a little tired after the 2nd aid station and a bit of a cramp on the left quad. It wasn't because of dehydration since I had to pee a couple times. It was possibly because of electrolytes since I dropped my NUUN drink in the first 20km of the bike.

The first 10km of the run felt great and I thought I was on pace for my 1:45 half marathon. However once I was in Weasel head, I knew I would have to slow down. I felt a cramp coming in the back of my knee. Once again i'm not sure the reason why. I wasn't overly hot, was drinking ALOT. My suspects include lack of Calcium, bad positioning on the bike, not wearing compression shorts...

I saw my support crew at the 16km mark which helped get through that km. but 17-21.1 included ALOT of walking. I didn't know how i'd feel crossing the line...I wasn't super emotional, just tired. It's funny because I was more emotional on the bike, thinking about the finish than I was at the ACTUAL finish.

Thanks to Ken and Celine for the awesome photos!!