So, that was Friday afternoon, getting ready to drive north. My race (an Olympic Distance Triathlon) was the next day (Sat July 12th) so we had asked our good friends (the sweet Donaldsons) if we could crash at their place in Port Carling the night before, so that race morning would be little more manageable.
My sweet Mother in law (thanks Julie) took the kids so my wonderful wife and I could drive up together. Last time we did that (drove up to Muskoka just the two of us) was, literally, more than 14 years ago. What a treat. We LOVE our kids, but were reminded that, come 'empty-nester' days we'll be fine just the two of us, 'cause we still really enjoy each other's company. The drive was fun.
Pulled into Donaldson's at 9:30pm, hung out with them 'till 11pm then tried to sleep. Was very restless, up every hour for sure, just like before a shoot day or a Sunday when I'm in the pulpit. I wasn't stressed though, just accepted the fact that, nights like those, I'll never really sleep well.
Up at 5:30am, out the door at 6:00am, and at the race start by 6:45am, all's well. Sign in, get my bike and my gear settled, hang out with my wife (who knew many of the hardest-core racers, as she's moving in higher and higher circles as a pro-trainer these days) then took in the race day briefing and walked to the Segwin Ferry for our ride out to the swim course start.
Now, before you go any further, you should read THIS which is the tale of my first 'tri' which was, truly, a life-changing--but horrible--experience. Then you should read THIS, which tells the tale of last year's race, my first time running the Olympic distance, and my first real 'redemptive' experience after the debacle of 2010.
Now, on to 2014.
That's my exit from the swim course. Swim was tougher this year than last. Part of that was surely due to the fact that I'm now swimming the course all front-crawl, whereas in the past I'd split the time between front-crawl and breast-stroke. Front crawl is harder work but makes for a faster time. There was also more boat traffic in Gravenhurst Bay this year than last and that contributed to some significant chop on the last 1km stretch from out in the bay into the wharf. That said, I swam faster and felt pretty good getting out of the water. I think I took maybe 5-10 minutes off my time from last year.
Then the bike.
You'll know, if you read the links above, that--first time I did this--the bike was my undoing. Last year was my first year with my new (used from a friend) bike (pictured above) and I was a lot faster and more solid than before. This year I added about three to four km/h average to my bike, which doesn't sound like a lot, but is. My arms were sore from the swim so I was actually looking forward to getting off the bike and onto my feet for the run portion.
The run.
As a former University linebacker I'm built (and have trained) to sprint ten yards and hit somebody really hard. I never wanted to be 'skinny' until I started these races; now I envy my twig-like friends and want to 'grow up' (by the time I'm 45) to be just like them. Re-training my body to run longer distances has been quite the journey. I'm thankful to say that this year was the first year I felt like I truly 'owned' the run.
I'd planned to run the first half at 2/3's capacity (until my legs 'opened up' after the bike--which usually happens somewhere between 2-4km into the run) and then run the last 5k as fast as possible, ideally getting faster each km.
And that's what I did.
The best part of the run was that no one passed me after the 5k turnaround (and I'd been passed A LOT so far that day) and I managed to pass 17 people and, when I heard some of them cuss as I passed them (like I used to cuss when I got passed), I will admit to allowing myself the slightest rush of satisfaction.
At the 9km marker (1k to go) I started feeling my emotions rise to the surface again and, rounding the last turn (pictured below)...
I started sobbing a bit (keeping it in my chest as much as possible) and that had the strange effect of constricting my throat so that I couldn't breathe. I thought to myself, "This must be what asthma feels like..." so I forced myself to quickly calm down so I didn't shame myself (and my family) by passing out fifty yards from the finish.
And, just like that, I was done. Official times aren't posted yet but we're pretty sure (Niki timed me as I went) that I took 20-25 minutes off last years time which, in triathlon, is a HUGE accomplishment.
Pretty cool.
Never thought I'd be 'that' guy. Never thought I'd do this kind of thing, but I've been telling people that the discipline from competing in this sport is leaking over into every area of my life and, for that, I'm truly thankful.
Thankful to my sweet wife for continuing to urge me to get and stay fit. Thankful to Robbie and Kate for suggesting the first one back in 2010. Thankful for what that first miserable failure taught me. Thankful that I've promised myself I'll never feel that bad again. Thankful that I've been able to keep at it. Thankful for friends like Miki and Tom who keep me inspired and feeling somewhat inadequate. Thankful for a body that works. Thankful for forgetfulness, wherein I forget how bad that was, and begin training for the NEXT one.
Ironman 70.3 is the next rung on the ladder. Swim 1.9km, Bike 90km, Run 21.1km. DOUBLE what I just did.
Oyyy. Better start training.
(later today, in fact)
T
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