Many folks have asked how I wound up choosing Canada as an Ironman venue.  The story begins a few years back when I decided I would attempt one at every age between 40 and 50.  My official deadline for completing IM43 was September 19, 2018.

Canada was not the original plan.  I wanted to do Ironman Texas in April and try to crack the 12 hour mark.  In typical Slowpope fashion I procrastinated and the race sold out.  I looked at the remaining races prior to September 20.  For some reason Canada caught my eye.  I’ve heard Whistler is beautiful.  I figured we could make a summer family vacation out of it.  Sarah and I talked it over.  The race hit 90% capacity and I knew it was now or never.  I signed up.  Not long after that it sold out.

The training started and here I was six months later.

PRE RACE

The morning started like most others.  Up at 2, early breakfast, back to bed.  Up again at 3:45 and the day officially began.  Most of our gear had been dropped off the day before so all I really had to do was drop off my nutrition (they did not want that in our bags overnight, some nonsense about bears ravaging the transition areas in years past).  I caught the bus to the swim start, prepped my bike, and started trying to get my head in the game.  I knew a long day was ahead.  Exactly how long I had no idea.

SWIM (Goal 1:30, Actual 1:37)

The swim was a rolling start which means you seed yourself with swimmers of your same pace.  The race began and athletes started into the water.  I did not do a swim warm up so I knew it would take me a few minutes to settle in.  I made my way out into the waist deep waters of Alta Lake, put my head down, and off I went.  For about a minute.  Right away I got a little panicky.  I still don’t know why open water does that to me.  I made my way to the nearest dock and grabbed on for a good 30 seconds.  Physically I knew I was fine.  Mentally I just wasn’t there.

I spent the majority of the first lap swimming from one support kayak to another.  Rest 20-30 seconds, and off to the next.  Finally around the half way point things started settling in.  Despite the breaks I was still right around 45 minutes.  The second lap went much better; still a few breaks, but only one or two of them.  My goggles never fogged up which was a huge blessing.

About 10 minutes from the finish I knew what was coming.  And it hit like a tornado.  They had let us get well into the swim before starting the 70.3 swimmers.  The fastest among them were gunning for a spot at the 70.3 world championships.  And they blew through us slow 140.6 swimmers like nothing I’ve ever seen.  The propulsion I could feel from their kick as they did was unreal.  Luckily it was a fairly small group, but then the chase wave came through.  I can honestly say I came out of the water with some of the fastest swimmers of the day.

BIKE (Goal Sub 7:00, Actual 8:01)

I came out of the water a few minutes behind schedule but feeling good.  Mentally things still were not clicking but physically all was good.  I rolled out of transition and the hills began immediately.  I knew that there was not going to be a flat stretch of road all day.  It would either be up or down.  And that proved to be 100% true.

The bike was three loops.  There was a stint on Alta Road, a longer section on Highway 99 (the Sea to Sky Highway), and then a climb up Callaghan Valley Road.  As I started down 99 for the first time I realized I had not started my bike computer (remember that head thing I keep mentioning?).  I’ll come back to that later.  I just remember going down 99 for what seemed an eternity.  While most folks would be loving every minute of it, all I kept thinking was “I have to climb out of this – three times today”.  I made it to Callaghan Valley Road and started what would prove to be one of the most difficult climbs I’ve ever done.  It wasn’t crazy long, but at a 10% grade it didn’t have to be.  For the first time of the day I started really watching my power numbers.  My race predictor estimated I would max out at 180W.  I was hoping to never cross 200.  As I made the climb I was easily in 200-250 territory.  Uh oh.

I made it in and out and back onto 99.  For most of the climb up 99 I was again pushing 200W.  Miraculously I finished the first loop feeling decent.    Much to my surprise the second loop went about the same.  I was a little slower but we had lots of cloud cover or shade so it didn’t feel terrible.

As the third lap started the skies opened up.  The sun was full force.  I had insane cramps in the fourth toe on each foot.  The party was officially over.  It was about this point I realized my stomach was not feeling great.  Nothing terrible yet, just a little unsettled.  In hind sight it’s crystal clear what happened.  I’m used to my watch and bike computer beeping in unison every 15 minutes reminding me to hydrate and take in nutrition.  I don’t always hear my watch but usually do my bike computer.  Early on when I started my bike computer late I should have decided then and there to run with it for nutrition the rest of the day.  I didn’t.  Sometimes I heard my watch.  Sometimes I didn’t.  Some of the times I did I was on a steep climb and decided to wait until I reached a better spot to grab something.  Some of those climbs lasted through 2 or even 3 notifications.  I was digging a pretty substantial hole without realizing it.  Not to mention some of the nutrition I had was getting hot and my stomach was not liking it.  (I usually try to take in 400 calories / hour on the bike.  When it was all said and done I was at about half that, and even further behind on hydration.)

My biggest mistake of the day was just grabbing one water from an aid station before heading onto Alta for the last time.  I should have just stopped, emptied the hot stuff out of my bottles and refilled them with cold Gatorade and ice.  I didn’t realize how bad I was getting.  As I made my way in it was all I could do to push the pedals.  I started feeling like I needed to throw up.  This stretch had one hill after another.  I walked my bike up two of them trying to cool down.  The one water bottle I had picked up was not cold to begin with and was all out hot by the time I reached the final turn around.  I used it to spray my head and back as I came back out but simply could not drink it.  In the meantime my mouth was completely dry.  I knew I had hit a new low point in my triathlon career.

Side note for those of you that like numbers: there’s a metric called TSS that factors in duration and intensity.  The goal on the bike is to keep it around 280.  At 300 you are basically blown for a run.  I came in at 374.

And one more: here’s what BestBikeSplit predicted my power at vs what actually happened.  The yellow zone is anything above 200W.  If you plan to do this race be sure you know what your minimal climbing power is.

RUN (Goal 5:00, Actual 6:20)

I had managed to get in and out of the swim-to-bike transition (T1) in 10 minutes.  I spent 27 minutes in T2.  I had to cool down.  Only it was still bumping 95 outside.  I really, really felt like puking.  There was some water there but it was not cold.  I spent a few minutes talking with Sarah and the kids.  They were rock stars and really encouraging.  Finally Morgan said “Dad, shouldn’t you get going?”  She was right.  It was time to find out how this party would end.

I walked out of T2 and decided immediately to walk the first 3-4 miles and let my body recover.  I was less than a mile in when a man walked up beside me and said “Hey, are you doing the race?  You just missed your turn!”  That’s how mentally out of it I was.  I walked right past the sign on the sidewalk directing me around the corner.

As I started back on the path I immediately ran into Justin.  Justin turned out to be the best thing that happened to me that day.  He was in about the same situation I was in.  Except he had no socks.  His day had gone about like mine mentally and in the pre-race craziness he managed to take his running socks to the swim start.  Turns out they didn’t do him much good there.  He had some in his special needs bag which is typically located at mile 13.  He had extended family in town for the race to watch him complete his first Ironman.  No pressure.  The two of us did some quick math and determined that if we could walk at a 15 minute pace for the next 6.5 hours we would cross the finish line about 15 minutes prior to the official end of the race.

For the next 6.5 hours we literally walked stride for stride.  I took in as much ice, Gatorade, and water as I could stomach at every aid station.  I added a sip of Red Bull to get a caffeine bump.  Man it was good.  By mile 4 I felt like a whole new person.  I could tell he was recovering as well.  We managed to jog a few downhills but his shoes were rubbing his feet pretty good.  I had some cream to help chafing so I offered it up and it seemed to help.  He had some of that in his special needs bag as well.  If only we could get there.

We came through the village around mile 13.  There were Sarah and the kids waiting with a smile.  We did some quick high fives but I let them know I literally had to keep walking or I was going to miss the cut off.

Justin and I rounded a corner and he made a b-line to the special needs bags.  We were both blown away when we were told we were not able to access them yet.  We were on a section that went a few miles out and then back.  We were told we could only access them when coming back the opposite direction.  They were literally right there.  We were on a sidewalk with traffic going both ways.  We were just on the wrong side.

Out we went to Lost Lake and five miles later at mile 18 Justin finally got his socks.

The final hours of the day were spectacular.  The only “race” left was against the final cut off and I never once doubted we would make it.  The scenery was some of the most amazing I have ever seen.  If there was ever a marathon to simply walk and enjoy, this was it.  I can tell you more about Justin than I can some of my co-workers I see every day.  We talked races.  We talked family.  We talked highs and lows.  And we did it all at exactly a 14:57 pace.

As we approached the finish line we did one last high five and I sent him on his way.  A minute later he was an Ironman.

POST RACE

I crossed the finish line feeling the best I have ever felt physically.  Don’t get me wrong.  I was sore but the run is usually what destroys my body.  Given my extended walk my legs were not as bad as they have been before.  I realized I had zero knee issues on the day which was remarkable.  I congratulated Justin and then met up with my family.  It was a great ending and I was glad the day was finally over.

One last sad story.  For those of you that know me well you know I’m a fitness data junkie.  I love to analyze numbers, especially for things I’ve never done before.  I was really looking forward to analyzing my data from the race, especially the bike.  My watch is advertised to be able to last through a 17 hour race.  I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch.  Before I could save the activity it died.  When I charged it and turned it back on – no activity.  All that power and elevation analysis on the bike?  Gone.  It was a sad, sad day.

Update – I have to say a huge thank you to Mike on the Garmin forums who was able to actually recover my race file!  You, kind sir, are amazing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The venue: Whistler is hands down the best race venue I’ve experienced.  I heard someone say it was the “perfect combination of outdoor life and five star luxury” and that’s spot on.  Our time share exchange was located just a few minutes from Ironman Village, T2, and the finish line.  It was perfect.  There is a ton to do and the scenery is amazing.  It really feels like some Swiss or German ski town (not that I’ve been to one, but it’s what I would expect).  I’m glad we decided to stay for almost a week post-race.  It was a fantastic family vacation spot.

The course:  Ironman has a history of being one of the toughest things a person can do.  In recent years races like Arizona and Texas have grown increasingly popular due to their being fast and flat.  I’m not downplaying folks that are looking for that in a race; I’m usually one of them.  But this race seems to bring back the challenge of doing something that borders on impossible.  The DNF (did-not-finish) rate was on the upper end of any race in recent North American history.  That’s what I signed up for.  And that’s exactly what I got.  If you want to test your limits this is the perfect course for you.  In the back of my mind, even though I finished, I feel like I have unfinished business here.  I’d love to come back with a buddy (I’m looking at you Wakin) and see what I could do on a better day.

THANK YOUS

I’d be remiss not to thank the folks in my life that made this day possible.  Sarah, Jackson, and Morgan, you guys are amazing.  You let me put in a ton of time preparing for this thing.  You held me accountable when I didn’t want to put in the work.  You very likely did your own marathon on race day chasing me around.  I love you guys and am thankful for you more than you’ll ever know.

To D3 Multisport, thanks for training plans that work.  Your plan and feedback over the past six months had me 100% ready for race day.  Let’s do it again.

To my Burleson training crew (Jason, Katy, Couch, Albert, Richard, Yolonda, Gwen, Brad, Chandler, Kody, Ironox, and others I am certainly missing but not intentionally), thanks for the encouragement you guys and gals provide.  Here’s to each of you crushing your next race.

And to the One that makes this all possible, I’m forever thankful.  As I looked out on creation for 17 hours it further imprinted on me that this creation could not be possible without a Creator.  I was continually reminded of Romans 1 where it talks about God’s invisible qualities being clearly seen through what He made.  I’m thankful to be physically able to push my limits and realize what a gift that is.  As much as I love all that this world has to offer I’m reminded that it’s just a temporary residence.

So what next?  I turn 44 in about 7 weeks and the clock resets. I’m contemplating not procrastinating on Texas this year and making another sub 12 attempt.  But I’ve got a little time to decide.  For now I’ll simply enjoy seeing another medal on the wall when I jump on the bike trainer.