This frigging App.
So I will be more concise this time around and post b4 something untoward happens again.
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It rained, hard. Arg, London.
It was freezing.
Family (mom, dad, Sato and Ame) and friends (Chris and Bob) were about for support. Thanks all!
Mud mud mud; my white leather Pumas met a dark fate while setting up in transition. What was I thinking...
This was transition before the day before the rain and mud:
Freezing muddy Serpentine lake, lots of ducks. Visibility of a mud puddle, no drafting here.
Big Staging paddocks, lots of adrenaline and tense guys ready to hit it. Heats of 100 or so launching every 10 minutes, over a several hours. Big field - 2 heats of a 100 or so guys just for my age group!
Standing in the paddocks watching an earlier heat:
Our turn comes up. Walk out on the blue carpet, find a slot to squeeze in the dark water... 'Ready..' Horn blast!!!
Swim is off!
(More heats staging in foreground)
I'm near the front, I think
Swim felt good, but no drafting here.
One small benefit: no sun reflecting in eyes while sighting! 11th outta the swim, lotsa fast dudes here.
Transition - its a very long run barefoot in the mud. Trying to stop suddenly at their bikes on the muddy slope, dudes are wiping out, banana peel style.
I forgot to lube outside of my wetsuit and lose a chunk of time wrestling out of it, dang! Beginner mistake..
Bike - dangerous, lots of crashes. Lotsa traffic! Lose my front wheel on first sharp corner but catch it and stay upright. Take it down a little after that.
Cobblestone speed bumps on course almost take me out (whitfield style!) and jolt my Oakleys off. They bounce off behind me where they meet their demise.
Pass heaps of people, but get passed by a couple dudes as well. Make gains on a few fast guys with more aggressive cornering.
Feeling a little pessimistic about my bike fitness overall though, worried I was giving up a lot here...
Hitting this at 45kph...
...resulted in this:
Run - felt real slow for a km or so.
Weirdly, my calf hurts again, a bit like last year.
After 2 k or so I found my rhythm and start speeding up. Finally passed a few faster guys.
Just coming level with my little buddy Dan (thanks to Dan 4 the photo!)
Approaching finish shortly
Passing an Ozzie
Turning in to the finish...
After crossing the line, nice chat with Chris and Dad:
Figured best I could hope for... maybe top 15?
Got pipped by a tall lanky Aussie right at the line, bugger had a good kick and I was spent. It wasn't for the win, so not that big a deal...
Had a nice chat with some fellow Canucks in the finish area, we all commiserated with each other over the rough day.
I walked back to the dorm and had a quick shower. Started packing, when Chris rolled he couldn't help but look up results:
6th!!
Better than I thought, faster run (17:40 I think) than expected.. Huzzah!
Gonna have to crush it in Edmonchuk next year...
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