What can I say HOT! HOTTER! EVEN HOTTER!
The Oliver Half Ironman would prove to be tough as by the time we began our run the temperature would soar to 35C and by finish it had peaked to 38C. The water stations had a hard time keeping up to the demand. The water stations were always packed with people and grabbing water and running was difficult. My first 10k of running was fine. I felt I had a good tempo going but after that it was like someone cranked the temperature up and the wheels came off.
Here is how everyone made out:
Ryan Murray
Swm 26:53
Bike 2:32:05
Run 1:48:40
Final time: 4:47:36
Placing 10/39; 23/376
James Schneider
Swim 35:44
Bike 2:56:34
Run 2:04:56
Final Time: 5:37:13
Placing 24/72;129/376
Dan Barker
Swim 32:10
Bike 2:51:53
Run 1:50:14
Final Time: 5:14:17
Placing 11/72; 69/376
Sandra Yaworski
Swim 39:38
Bike 2:55:10
Run 1:57:04
Final time: 5:31:52
Placing 2/48; 33/303
For me, this was 11 minutes slower than last year. This year my swim was exactly 3 minutes faster, my bike 3:15 faster, and my run was 1:57 compared to 1:39 last year. The good news is that my age category record which I set last year still stands at 5:20:35. Had it been in the lower 30s, I feel I would have crushed my previous record. I say this confidently, as the last two years, I have done Osoyoos in similar conditions and have held it together on the run. I think the biggest difference this year is that I did not spend time in Penticton, like in the previous two years, to adjust to the heat. I recall last year biking in Penticton in mid-May, we hit temperatures in the the mid to high 30s for the entire week. I love the heat and have always competed my best in the worst heat conditions but this time I had zero preparation for this heat. I think that most Albertans were in the same boat.
Dan got his Ironman Canada spot and had a smoking time for his first Half Ironman and for an old dude of 45+. Dan commented, "I had a great race. I wish it was hotter."
James bettered his time over last year by close to 10 minutes. James had blisters on his feet and seemed to enjoy walking on the asphalt with bare feet to soothe those blisters.
Ryan did awesome for his first Half Ironman, and like me, suffered on the run. Ryan commented, "I have never done anything in this kind of heat before except for laying on the beach." Kyla smiled indicating that Ryan may have participated in other events in this kind of heat.
Sandra just complained that she could not put any pressure on her feet as the arches of both feet cramped severely in the last 5k. James attempted to talk to Sandra, but she firmly told James that she would not like to engage in conversation until it was all over.
In the end, we all had burgers, chips and pepsi. In a week we all will have forgotten about how DARN HOT it was!
How HOT! So hot that my digital reading on my wireless computer was no longer reading and had to wait until later to revive itself. So hot that my cell phone, which I left in my car, would not charge until it left the heat of the Okanagon and entered Golden. So hot, that my anti-perspirant melted so I smelled all the way home. So hot, that my smarties melted. So hot, that I had three slurpees and three 1.5 litres of water on the ride home. So hot, that today I am still peeing yellow. So hot, that I will have a stupid looking tan for the rest of the summer.
You learn you can do your best even when its hard, even when you're tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage.
-Joe Namath
2 comments:
I heard the race was hot...Was it? haha
Congrats to you and your athletes for their stellar performances!
Jen W
So in a nutshell here’s what happened (to me at least, my buddy Dan was dancing around so much with anticipation on his first half Ironman I am sure he wet his wetsuit before he got in the water):
Pre Race Days
Everything went fine and we hydrated/fueled properly before the race including 4 bottles of wine on Friday night with huge steaks and pies for supper at Erin’s dads place.
On Saturday, we did a 20/20/20 swim-bike-run and I had a flat during the ride (shades of things to come). It was hot that day clocking in at 35 C+ so we deflated our bike tires before checking in the bikes (didn’t want them to pop overnight). Dan learned the importance of hydrating days out before the race as I made him drink 2 – 3 litres of water per day. We had a great supper at my friend Donna’s place in Penticton with lots of salmon, rice, pasta and salad – no wine.
Race Day
Swim Portion
The water was nice and warm but cool enough for wetsuits. Dan and I started off on the inside closest to the buoys as everyone else lined up on the outside. It worked well because after the initial scrum (I think I kicked someone in the teeth behind me) the pack dispersed nicely. I managed to swim the first 1000 m in 17:30 and the second 1000 m in 18 min so a PB for me at 35:30 on the swim. And it was the first time I have actually passed slower swimmers from the 3rd wave so I was really excited when I realized I was passing them. Normally, the girls in the second wave pass me which can be demoralizing.
Bike Portion
After a quick 3:30 transition time I was on my bike and racing out on the course. I was feeling fine and my legs felt strong but at 10 Km I heard a bang and my back bike tire went flat….##&^%#$&^%$^%*% bike. The race gods were with me though as the Bike Barn truck was right behind me when this happened. They ran over, grabbed my back wheel and immediately starting fixing it. It took a little longer than usual as they checked it over to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with it as I had a flat the day before on it too. Meanwhile I’m standing there with my bike in hand and the entire field is passing me by. Approximately 10 minutes later I was back on the road again and making up ground passing cyclists (Thanks BB guys for helping me out). The ride felt really good and I was clocking some good times (I played cat and mouse with a few younger guys before blowing them away). I got stung by a bee or wasp during the ride but at least he stung me in my big fat beer belly so it didn’t hurt too much. My fueling seemed good too as I went through 4 gels, 3 bottles of Ultima and 1 baggie of nuts/banana flakes. In the end I did the 93 km course in 2:49 but I think without the flat I would have done it in 2:40.
Run Portion
After another quick 3:45 transition time (including pee break) I was off on the run when I realized I had made an equipment error for the race. I was dressed in black shorts and an orange tri tank top but I had on a black cap and with the temperature at 35C and rising I knew this wasn’t good. So, immediately at the first aid station I soaked my cap and drenched myself with water. I started off the run with a shorter step and slower pace to try and work myself into it but the temperature was grinding me down. I was drinking lots of water and I tried a flat coke at one of the aid stations which picked me up 10 min later. By the second lap I was drenched with ice under my cap and I was poring water on me every chance I got. I realized that was making squishy sounds as my runners where full of water. This was a bad thing as I could feel the blisters forming on the tops of my little toes. My run had turned into a turkey trot by this time and I started to feel some GI issues forming as well (bloated gas). A few kms down the path I managed to alleviate this a little bit and I profusely apologized to all the runners around me. One guy laughed and said he’d be in heaven if he could have passed gas at that point so I knew that I wasn’t the only one having GI issues. I plodded on and Sandra caught up to me so I kept up with her for a bit. But we got to the last hill and I walked it while she trotted on (she was having feet issues too but she didn’t want to stop as she felt she wouldn’t be able to start up again). I rounded the last curve with my runners squishing, farting along and feeling the blisters on my toes but I finished the race in 5:37. Not my best time but I’m happy I finished as a lot of people were dropping out on the run.
So, things I did wrong:
I had new runners for the race and I thought I had broken them in with a couple of weeks of training but the water drenching caused blisters to form on my toes.
My nutrition seemed good on the bike but I had GI issues on the run so I’ll have to modify it some more so that I have enough energy for the race but not too much carbs that it causes me bloating.
I’ll have to pay more attention to clothing detail especially in very hot weather. My black cap was one contributing factor to the blisters on my feet.
Things that worked for me were the swimming has improved immensely and my new chain/cassette on the bike worked great. I had done a minor adjustment on my bike seat position as well (that was a crap shot whether it would work or not) and that worked in my favor also. So, for the big race I’ll have to work on my fueling/nutrition and start piling on the miles.
James
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