Race Day:

  • Woke up at 4:00 am, ate 2 PB&J sandwiches, and headed to transition for opening at 5:00 am. Got there at 5:15 and set up my transition area, looking at some others to figure out the best way to do it. Walked to drop everything off at the car and realized that was a bad idea. Walking to the swim start took a while, and by the time I was there, it was around 6:45. I didn't jump in the water the day before (which was a big mistake), so I did that quickly at 6:55 am, and that's when I really freaked out. I realized I couldn't swim; I was choking on water, and my wave was starting at 7:10. I did the best I could and went to the wave start at 7:05, mouthing to my fiancée, "I can't swim," probably freaking her out too.
  • The weather was cloudy and about to rain a little bit. It was just wetsuit legal, and it was a game-time decision.

Swim (1:00:37 - 3:08 min/100m):

  • I started at the back of the pack because I was freaking out as I was walking down into the water. So I told myself I'd just go and take it easy. As I started swimming, I freaked out, realizing I couldn't swim comfortably. I tried to slow my breathing, which might have helped a little bit. But when I started hitting people, I panicked; this was my first time swimming with a large crowd around me. I think I stopped at 200m and raised my hand for a kayak. I held on, caught my breath, and saw my wave pass me. As I saw the next wave start, I decided to continue, this time aiming for the next kayak at the 2nd buoy. Before I got there, I panicked again or maybe because I saw the safety boat. I stopped and grabbed on. Here I stayed the longest, 90% ready to give up and just get on the boat. I saw my wave pass me. The nerves, darkness of the water due to no sun, thoughts of swimming out into the middle of the lake, getting hit by people, the waves, and my arms getting through the initial tiredness all contributed to this gloom. The next wave passed, and there was a gap. I decided if I was going to do this, now would be the time. I pushed again and aimed for the next kayak, which was close to the 3rd buoy. Somehow, I made it, but I ended up stopping again and grabbed onto a kayak, catching my breath, but this time not stopping for too long. As the next wave came through, I decided to just go. By this time, I was treading water for a bit already, and along with my breathing not being correct, I started to feel a small cramp. That, along with the rest of my concerns, was terrifying. But I started to get a decent rhythm. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see the water and didn't sight as much as that messed up my rhythm too much. This actually caused me to swim left of the buoy and zigzag across the course. My fear didn't subside, but I pushed through. Round the yellow buoy, onto the next buoy. Just aiming for the next buoy each time. Rounding the next buoy and starting my swim towards the channel. I was counting my strokes, admiring how beautiful the sky was, and I think this was just enough to keep me from thinking of my fear. I finally felt better, but still not comfortable. The sun came out so I could now see my hands in the water. Heading into the channel and seeing land made my heart feel better, but I was still scared, though less so. Heading into the channel, there were so many people, and everyone was swimming on top of each other. I couldn't get a proper rhythm going, getting slapped and kicked or slapping and kicking other people. But I managed to just swim. Upon seeing the building, I was so happy. I think it was the last 300-400m at that point. I just aimed for it, and when I got out of the water, I was ecstatic; I wanted to cry. I remember thinking to myself, I don't care if I finish anymore. Finishing the half-Ironman is an achievement, but to me, this swim was the crowning achievement. Pushing myself I can do; I learned that from the Canadian Military, but getting over fear itself was something else.

T1 (9:47):

  • I realized that I was way behind and at this point worried I wasn't going to make the cutoff, so I ran to the transition and made it in just under 10 minutes. I stopped the watch when I got out of the water, but the transition supposedly starts when I get into the transition zone, which was about 100m away, so I ran. I think I laid out my stuff pretty well. My entire age group had already left, so I had a lot of room. Washed my feet of dirt and sand, got my socks on, grabbed my nutrition and my bike, and left. Didn't realize I forgot my salt tabs for my water until 5km into the bike.

Bike (3:43:59):

  • It was raining when I started, which didn't bother me; I was just happy to be out of the water. I found it cold, though, and hoped it would warm up. What I found out, though, was that I started cramping already, probably because of treading water when I stopped in the swim. At this point, I was going on momentum. I was doubting myself if I could do it as my legs were cramping. I also realized I forgot my salt tabs, so I knocked down a Clif Bar, which I now believe is terrible because it was so dry. I trained with it because I didn't need to carry too much nutrition with me, knowing the aid stations were giving out Clif Bars. I made it a mission to eat a Clif Bar every 30 minutes, and because I didn't have salt tabs, I grabbed Gatorade instead of water. The beginning hills were hard but doable. I realized I did push too hard on the hills, the first 10km being a 350m elevation gain. My legs were still cramping, but somehow, if I continued the consistent motion, I didn't have too much of an issue, knocking down a 16-20oz water every hour and 2 Clif Bars. I hoped that I had enough sodium and again cursed myself for forgetting the salt tabs. I stopped at each transition as I brought my own bottles, not having experience grabbing nutrition and bottles on the go and also not really aiming for time. The first 60km was nice, just riding and pushing. I realized there were times when I zoned out instead of thinking of the pain, which was nice except when it came to the uphills. Coming into the last 20km was probably the worst, even though it was mostly downhill. There were a couple of brutal uphills, and I had to stop at one of them because my legs gave out. I got off the bike to try to stretch, but both my legs cramped in every way, so I decided to just stand, catch my breath, and get back on the bike. This proved to work; I didn't have to get off anymore and powered through the rest of the way, cursing every uphill and relishing all the downhills. Coming into the transition, I was relieved, but I still had a half marathon to run.

T2 (4:21):

  • My running socks were wet from the rain, and I didn't properly cover them/flip them over, so I continued with my biking socks, which proved okay as I was worried about blisters which seem to happen from time to time. I grabbed my nutrition belt and went on my way, but it was a bit demoralizing as everyone was gone and people were already finishing the race as heard via the announcer.

Run (3:14:23 - 9:17 min/km):

  • The run was very difficult. I was already cramping from the swim and bike. I was a bit worried as my heart rate spiked to 168 and wouldn't come down at the pace I'd like. The cramps continued, but I was able to get a proper forward motion at a slow pace that allowed me to just keep going. My thought was to just go until I couldn't anymore, and it seemed like this proved okay. In the first km, my nutrition belt kept falling if it was kept at the back, so I realized it was too heavy and turned it to its side. In the future, I'll probably get another nutrition belt. It was 2km in when I realized I could run at a 155 heart rate without any issues, but it was very slow (9:30 min/km). Every time I sped up to 7:30-8:30, my heart rate would spike to 165+ and I would immediately start cramping. So I kept this slow pace mostly throughout the race just to finish. I also had salt stick electrolyte chews which proved to be my savior as whenever I wasn't consistent with taking it, I would cramp. But when I immediately threw two down, the cramps would subside within a minute. At 9:30 min/km, my gait probably changed from 6 min/km, which caused my calf injury, so it seemed my calf didn't have the issue I thought it would have. But I was worried there would be issues throughout the race. The aid stations were great, grabbing 3 cups of Gatorade, throwing 1 cup of water on my head, getting ice whenever I could, and getting some salt gummies when they had them. Along with GU gels every 20 minutes and electrolyte chews approximately every 15 minutes, I was able to keep moving, not cramp too much, and not bonk. At 15km, my back started hurting, and I worried that I wouldn't finish, but again I pushed through and it didn't get worse. The last 2 km, I think, was the worst. I was running on empty, and I think willpower just got me through it. Finishing was great, but I didn't get as emotional as I thought I would because I just wanted the pain to go away. I was just happy it was over.

Overall Time:

  • 8:13:04