Prestige Half-Iron Race Report - it's all mental
A quick report...
4:45. 14th place. 1st place 30-34 AG.
SWIM was COLD. 15C. I slacked the first lap of the swim. More goggle problems.. I'm going to throw them out and buy new ones... uggh. Lost my draught while adjusting them. Swam the second lap at a proper pace cuz I was pissed at losing my draft. Crappy goggles meant poor sighting and I went a bit off course. Swam 32 and change..
BIKE. I was feeling ok, and working it well for the first 70km. The course is mild rollers, with mostly smooth roads. Temps were mild... around 20C, with a light wind that was getting stronger. Was chasing the slowest Montana dude for the first 50km or so til he finally pulled away from me. Fell apart mentally just before the final turnaround and probably gave up a few minutes, and was passed by another dude. 2:35 bike split was ok... but not great.
RUN. Just couldn't bring it together. Went through the first lap in about 50mins... wasn't trying very hard. I was even walking some aid stations. The lead women started to get close though, so I actually started to work, and pushed myself to the finish just ahead of her. 1:37 for the run... a very slow time for me.
No real issues except my mental game. I just didn't want to hurt that much yesterday. I spent too much of the race in my comfort zone. I think I used up a lot of my race mojo in Oliver and Victoria already this season. Time to rest my body and reset my mind... and be ready for Canberra in just over 3 months.
Congrats to Heather, first half-iron ever and a 5th place showing for $100 in prize money!
The race organization, just like Wasa, was outstanding. Everything is perfect. I will recommend this as THE race to enter to anyone.
A couple of updates...
Jason LapierreLast week, a well liked and well known athlete in the triathlon community was tragically struck and killed while cycling near Cochrane. The driver suffered a medical problem (stroke?) and crossed the highway striking Jason Lapierre head-on, likely killing him instantly.
Jay was a tremendous athlete I had the privelege to train/race with several times. If you remember my Chinook half-marathon report, hewas the one who convincingly kicked my butt! He was also a very established coach in the Alpine ski community, and will be greatly missed by his athletes. While I didn't get to know Jay as well as others, I will truly miss him. He was a seriously funny guy, I respected a lot, with a passion for sport very few could match.
Live life to the fullest every day, you never know when your time may be up.
Prestige 1/2
The Prestige 1/2 Iron is this weekend at Norbury Lake outside of Cranbrook. I'm finally healthy, fit, and ready to rip it up. I'm hoping to post a good result to submit to Tri Canada and beg for a spot on the Canadian LC team for Canberra World's in November. Last year in Fredericia I could have competed for Canada, but was unaware it was possible to get on the team outside of a qualifying race. Either way, it is 90% certain that I will be spending the winter in Australia from November to April. Still working out the details.... more soon....
Canada Day Weekend Report
Got some new toys for the bike on Friday:
From the website:
Rotor Q-Rings help to minimize the time spent in the dead spot while pedaling. While oval chainrings have historically been controversial, we believe that allowing a rider to fine tune the chainring position offers opportunities to minimize the dead spot never before realized with conventional chainrings.
I'll need to tweak the setup (all the holes allow you to fine-tune the position), but I seem to notice an improvement in power, I'd need a power meter to measure it though. I had to replace my front chainrings anyways due to wear... so for a little bit extra money thought I would give these a shot.
So.. with my new rings on, Frank and I set out on our Epic Canada Day ride. We managed almost 200km! I was pretty tired at the end.. but didn't feel too bad. I spent a lot of of the last 60km chasing Franks wheel.... he flew up Highwood Pass. I suffered, and suffered more!
That night, before diving too far into the wine, Heather and I decided it would be great to go to Edmonton and watch the half-iron on Sunday in Stoney Plain. So we threw our gear into the Subaru and off we went! Suprisingly, after my epic ride, I was awake the whole way!
Sunday was hot, but the conditions were pretty good for racing.. some pretty fast bike times! I pulled out my bike and zipped up and down the run route, cheering everyone on. I kinda wished I had done this race again this year... it's a fun fast course. Congrats to everyone who raced, plenty of PB's out there I think.
On our way back from Edmonton on Monday, we stopped in Red Deer and ran along the river valley. Red Deer is one of my favorite places to run. I'm sure the locals get sick of the same old paths.. but it was a treat for me. I think the last time I ran in Red Deer was the half-marathon about 4-5 years ago.....
