Ironman Canada Photos

OK, so I'm feeling a little lazy about posting (and just about everything else, except chugging Sleeman's Dark) right now. So my slacker alternative is to post a bunch of photos. Many thanks to Van Pratt of Penticton, who I believe takes better pictures than ASI (the official photographer of Ironman North America events). See more of Van's work at

http://bikebarn.ca/photogalleries.html

That's me heading south on Main Street right after the swim, about 8:20 AM. Note how my shoes are not done up, and my gloves are still on the aerobar extensions. This is a way to save time in the swim-to-bike transition: Do it once you're on the bike and cruising. There is a slight downhill section on South Main where I put the gloves on and fastened my shoes, while I had momentum.

The "after" photo, at about 179.5 km, (that's the bleachers at Starbucks in the background) coming back down Main Street. I have the gloves off already, and my feet out of the shoes, ready to hand off the bike to a smiling volunteer. With my Impact Multisport top and Bike Barn shorts, I was cheered like a local (both are based in Penticton). I was hammering it hard for an Ironman Canada bike split PB, which I got by about a minute. On a tough day, and a tough course, sweet!

Somewhere in the first two miles, feeling like sh1t but not showing it. My legs and stomach were rebelling seriously, and I was begging my body to please cooperate for just another 24 miles. I know what I said earlier about leaning forward and keeping the hands high, but I think I was rounding a corner here. There was plenty of time ahead to focus on proper form.

Emptying the tank on Lakeshore, only a couple of hundred meters to go. The finish line draws you in like a magnet here, and the buzz of the crowd gives you wings. It's an undescribable feeling, to finish an Ironman!