Ironman Canada 2011. I am not sure what to say really. I swam, i biked, I ran. It was a day.
I dont want to mince my words and i have made an effort to be honest and straight forward in this blog, to be "real", if you will. So let me say first that I was happy with my day. In 2009 i collapsed while running in 3rd, so it was better than that. Last year, i was pregnant, so i had to be patient. Earlier this year i DNFed at IM Brazil. But at Ironman Canada, i had the best day i was capable of and i ended up in 4th place, only 5mins shy of my best time on that course. Not bad really.
My day started out with a sub-par swim. It was ok, but not great. The intensity was lower than i am used to (even for IM!) but i couldnt seem to get going. The bike and the run followed suit... i said to Clint after that i knew i wasnt going to blow up because i couldnt go hard enough to be in danger of that! On the run, maybe the fact that i couldnt exert myself saved me from breaking down in the heat like so many did. Maybe.
How's this for consistency; I came out of the water in 4th place (all placings are amongst the pro women, since the age groupers are in an entirely different race in so many ways), had the 3rd fastest T1, 4th fastest bike, 5th in T2 and 3rd fastest run, finishing finally in 4th. These stats say as much about my day as anything. I was consistent. And strangely, I was by myself ALL DAY! I passed one girl on the bike and one girl passed me. Other than that, i was just out there, chugging away, doing my thing. Its almost funny to think about now.
Most women have a couple days a month when they wont perform as well as they would on the other 28 days. Ironman Canada fell on one of these days for me. I actually had no idea why i was so lackluster during the race until the next day!! Aha!! Since having Rosalee things have been a little topsy turvy when it comes to girlie bits and hormomes and such. Anyway, I am not complaining. I am not saying "I would have gone faster if only..." I dont know that for sure. What i do know is that i look forward to more racing. 9 months ago i gave birth to my little girl and I am awfully pleased by how fit i managed to get over the last 7months or so!
Now for the thank yous, there are so many people to thank, but i dont want to bore you so i will keep it short. David McColm was out there with his camera and captured some great shots as you can see. I was delighted to see that ProCityCycle had set up a tent on Yellow Lake and Bill was even out on the run course giving me splits! Thursday before the race i visited the Zoot tent and got some sweet new kit. The new endurance 4" tri shorts are the most comfy shorts i have ever worn. And thanks to Bob Palmer from Sportexcel I have improved my ability to stay focused and perform at my best on race day.
Thanks to the Mercury Rising team who continue to be my inspiration. Thanks to Carrie, Shelley, Clint, Pearl, my mom and all the other people screaming there heads off out there! You guys are awesome.
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