Well I'm back home & the body feels like it is almost recovered. Don't have much time from now until Calgary 70.3 but i'm excited to see what some tweeks here & there to my fitness will do to my performance come August 2nd.
All in all I am satisfied with the race. Since i've moulded myself to be incredibly hard willed with high expectations especially out of myself I felt a lot was left out on the race course.
The swim was a 2 lap course around hubbles lake just west of stony plain alberta. I felt really strong & controlled in the swim & was able to take the birdmans advice to make sure I draft with someone & made sure I was always near a hip or a set of shoulders to propel me forward. I exited the water just a little over 31 minutes which was a personal best for me.
Hopped onto the bike & out of transition required climbing a small hill with enough of an incline to keep my heartrate a little higher than I wanted out of the gate so I backed it off slightly. I felt strong & maintained for the first 30km & then some more inclines & rolling hills came along on the way to the genesis plant. I made the mistake of using too much carbo pro in my water bottle & didn't dilute it enough to avoid upcoming digestive problems a little later in the race. As the race progressed I felt the need to constantly adjust myself on the bike seat as some minor saddle sores were starting to become quite uncomfortable. I was struggling to generate similar power to my regular training rides & just felt flat. Then came the wind for the last 15km & I really struggled. Came off the bike around 2:35 which was another personal best for me. I have to keep going. I know I can do better but cmon Jevon your at a personal best keep it going. So I did. The run was an absolute struggle for me. This being my 2nd 1/2 ironman I thought I had an understanding & appreciation for the pain inflicted on the body for this type of event. I saw my girlfriend perched in the shade just off the run course after about 3km & she looked so relaxed I asked myself what the hell are you doing? Just go lay beside her.. Your not running anywhere close to your capability & it's just not your day. Just quit. I battled this the entire run course & it tested my mental fortitude beyond what I ever expected. I neve wanted to quit more in a race than this one.
I finished the day with a personal best under 5 hours for my second half ironman. I had a personal best on every leg of the event which I am very pleased with. I still feel there is more to be had in a half ironman event this year for me & I will have to now focus on racing with no regrets for the next one. That is all an athlete ever wants. A complete race. To know that they were able to throw everything they have on the table & not hold anything back.
Although I know it wasn't my best day, I pushed on & finished the race. As birdman would say "you banked that" now that feeling of suffering is embedded in your mind for the next race. These types of races I feel will give me the ability to turn feeling good on raceday, to feeling strong on raceday. The next time I feel flat, I will know that much more about my body & be able to push it to the next level. Maybe that's the preliminary step to the state of discovery.
Jevro
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