Great White North Post race report.....

Well I survived!!

So I thought it would be good to do a post race report for one you can get an idea what the race was like and two I can look back it when I do this race again NEXT YEAR!!
Yup I decided already I want to go back and do this race again...and try it a year I am not training for Ironman...

I went into this race hoping I could do it close to what I did it in 8 years ago (that was 6:42)...well did not just come close I nailed it out of the park with a 6:13 (unoffical time).....This shocked me in ALL areas...
What was even better is I did not kill myself on this race a I tried it at a pace I knew I could hold for longer...so next year we are going to take it up a bit and my goal to break 6 hours.....we shall see!!!

So we arrived in Stony Plain on Saturday afternoon it was so HOT about 30 degrees when we arrived. So we checked in and then headed down to the beach so I could check in my bike and they has an open water swim. So Amber and I got on our wetsuits and headed out to test out the lake! It was already HOT outside but the lake was soooo warm....so it made it a nice swim...minus the fact it smelted like goose poop!

After we headed back to the hotel and off for supper.  Those who know me know I have a very sensitive stomach so what I chose to eat the night before was a big decision. That whole day I drank up to 5 litres of water and I ate very clean....no sugars and limited my starchy carbs.....I wanted a clean slate for race day...My mistake for dinner I chose a whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and spinach. Which sounds healthy....but it was still a bit too heavy and my stomach did not like that during the night....oh well live and learn..

I did not have a great sleep...hotels.....tummy issues etc...but still the alarm went off at 5:50am and I was ready to go...

I let the kids sleep a bit and I headed down to have a quick bit of breakfast...again careful on my choices. So I went with my trusted granola and PB on toast....

Headed back to the room kids were ready to go an we headed out...

Stepped outside to realise the weather prediction which was a mix of sun and cloud was WRONG...it was all CLOUD...and windy!
As we pulled up to the lake it started to rain...not alot but enough...

We got set up in transition then pulled on that ever so sexy Wetsuit...Here is a pic of Amber and I before the race..

We got our self set up on the beach....here is a pic of all the athletes ready to start..

This race was a beach start so once the gun goes you run in and start swimming...I wont say I RAN more like a slow saunter ;-).......got in none the less and started to swim....first 100 metres of any lake swim in tough for me...I feel a bit panicked and hard to catch my breath. The bonus of this race was the water was warm and we were quite spread out on the beach...
After that first 100 metres I got into my groove. THis course was a 2 loop swim around the lake a total of 2 km....I was hoping for a time of 50-55 mins....my watch said once I exited the water 43 minutes....I was pumped....way better then I thought...

here is a pic of me getting out of the water...

So next was transition....here is where I could have been a bit quicker....I spent about 10 mins here (oops) but with the weatheer wet and chilly...I took the time to put on a jersey and arm warmers etc...not easy when you are wet..

Then I was off on the bike course (90km)

What I do like about this race...is this is very FLAT bike course.....which is nice compared to other races. The downside this day was as soon as we started the bike it started to POUR and the wind began...so this added a bit of a challenge....but with that it was still a nice bike...and with it being an out and back course the trip back (45 km) the rain stopped and so did the wind....
On this leg I was hoping for a 3:45-3:50.....my watch showed about 3:13 once I got to transition...so again happy! I did not push too hard on the bike...I held back due to wanting to have a good run etc...so I do know I could have took some time off that bike and pushed even harder...
I also played around with some nutrition on the bike...I ate a whole PB and jelly sandwich and a banana...and did it all without getting off my bike....impressive I know ;-)....it was good and was the right amount of fuel I needed plus my HAMMER liquid supplement.

Then it was the run....I felt strong going into the last leg (21 km run).....I took off and really watched my pace...learned my lesson last time...so I stuck around a 6min/km and held it pretty close to that...I felt good through the run....in my head I just kept think okay I am getting close to 12 km and what is my knee going to do?? 12 km came and went and I still felt great!! This course again was flat...which was nice...and the rain had stopped so just cloudy..perfect weather. I took the time in the run to chat with some athletes..I ran beside 2 athletes that were so inspirational....the first was a 68 year old man...yup 68!! This was his 6th half and he has done 4 Ironmans...he was so sweet and we chatted for a while and I told him how I thought it was so great he did this.....I picked up my pace after that (I knew I could not let a 68 year old man beat me ;_)...I continued next I ran with another women she was 65!! This was her last race...she had been doing half ironman and ironmans for 30 years....CRAZY!!! Again an inspiration!!  I now was at 15 km....6 more to go...I then ran beside a friend who is also training for Ironman so we stuck together to the end and held a good pace...and still no pain!!
1 km to go......I said "What the Hell" picked it up and took off to the finish...felt strong and excited to finish...turned to corner and there was my family...I told my kids they could cross the finish line with me so they were waiting. Unfortunately Jade got hurt a few minutes before so she did not want to run but Zach was ready to go...SO here we are running to the finish..

I crossed the line at 6:13 (my time) official times not posted yet! My time in 2004 when I did this race was 6:42 and my half last year in Calgary 7:20....so I was so happy with this time!! I know my training paid off and so thankful to my coach Jen who helped me get here. I feel confident and ready for Ironman...of course I have 6 weeks of training to go.....but now I know "I can do this"..

The finish....

So I was very happy with my race...now the recovery was a different story......After the race what my plan was to drink my recovery drink......insread I ate a greasy burger....oops....

then I needed to ice and stretch....well since Jade got hurt.....we needed to get to Red Deer..so I jumped in the car and sat for 1.5 hours...got to Red Deer I quickly showered and changed and we went off to Urgent care...there i sat for 5 hours.....so I really started to get sore........

A side note...jade is fine...she has a weak elbow that pops out of joint...so after 5 long hours..the Xray tec got it back in place......

So yesterday I did ice and stretch.....which helped but not ideal foresure!

So now I had 2 days of rest...well kinda I teach spin tonight....for me will be an easy ride but not for everyone else..then I am back at training tomorroow....so here is the plan for the week:

Tuesday- Easy Spin

Wednesday- 140km bike (CRAZY)

Thursday- 45 min steady run

Friday- 3 km lake swim

Saturday- 5 Km fast run (Okotoks Tri) 80 km bike

Sunday- rest....well not really Stampeded day with the family!!

If you took the time to read thanks for reading ;-)