Ironman Canada is probably the second-most often written-about Ironman other than Kona, and there are already several RRs on here. As such, I’m sure I have nothing new to add regarding the course (it’s hard); the venue (it’s far away); or travel logistics (it’s complicated).
[IMG=600X300]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/IronmanCanada08.png...
[i]Yes, I swam in my bibs. No, I don't ride a tri bike and yes, I felt dorky with a disc coming in damn-near last place in my AG. No, that's not Crisco on my legs. It's super-industrial sunscreen soothingly applied by Lunch Lady-hot volunteers, not tittering High School cheerleaders, in which I was disappointed.[/i]
[b]I can, however, offer three observations[/b]: First, meeting trifuelers increased the connection not only to this forum, but to the sport and event itself. Tri is a solo endeavor, and racing an Ironman is often a lonely adventure. I travel to most Ironmans by myself, so knowing others on the course, even if they are former e-cquaintances you recently met in person, is comforting and encouraging. You very well may not see them on the course (I didn’t; they were all ahead of me), but you know they’re there.
[b]TriFuel Meet Up[/b]
[img=600X300]http://www.trifuel.com/files/SAM_2604.JPG[/img]
[i]I'm the bald guy. Lee, who I reference in this post, is to my right.[/i]
![http://www.trifuel.com/files/SAM_2604.JPG[/img]](http://www.trifuel.com/files/SAM_2604.JPG[/img]){kind=link}
Lee and PoC volunteered, and I saw both of them in T1 and T2. They were exceedingly gracious. Lee found me at the finish, late into the evening, and personally Sherpa’d me through bike and gear pick-up, and even loaded my bike into my car. Again, a very gracious host indeed. Since I travelled solo, his assistance afterwards was invaluable.
[b]And that leads me to a request, nay a demand[/b]: as Warren, PoC, and Lee flawlessly executed, I decree that it is now incumbent of all of you to schedule a pre-race meet-up at every Ironman at which you race. The week prior to the Ironman (or any 140.6, really), post on trifuel.com a location and time to meet. PoC simply wrote, “Meet at the Peach on Friday at 9am,” and “Meet at Smith & Co Coffee on Saturday,” and that was all that was necessary. Buy a trifuel shirt or hat and wait for the hordes to approach you, whispering introductions like a neophyte at a secret society meeting. Pre-race meet-ups should be a pre-requisite for writing a race report. As such, if you return and post a RR without either scheduling a pre-race meet-up or attending pre-event, then boo on you.
[b]The second observation[/b] is that with experience comes perspective. Ironman Canada was my sixth to date. Now, before you chalk this up to retroactive rationalization of a poor performance, I have been on record in other posts stating that I was not expecting a PR at Canada, nor was I planning on putting in a PR-worthy effort. Perspective comes with completions. I knew when I signed up that Canada was not a good course for a flat-lander Texan. Being held in late August also meant that I must train in June, July and August – our hottest months by far. As fate would have it, we Dallas residents have had our second-longest streak of 100-degree days in recorded history. Also, living at 500’ elevation in an area not know for vertical variety, I realized well in advance that no matter how much “hill work” I would have liked to have done prior, it was simply a geographic impossibility in the southern reaches of the Great Plains. Finally, knowing my history of doing very poorly in warm if not outright hot conditions, I fully expected these three variables to limit my potential on race day. And I was fine with that.
I finished in 15 hours. Sure, I would've liked to have gone faster, but I’m not disappointed in a 15 hour finish. I’m fortunate to have had enough Ironman experiences to be able to say, by comparison, I had a bad day. If Ironman Canada 2011 was my first, then yes, I’d be bummed. But I honestly had a good time. Ironman Canada is all about the bike course. It is breathtaking, brutally unforgiving, in an arid, inhospitable region with an intimidating profile. But meeting trifuelers and benefiting from their experienced, committed service, really salvaged an otherwise grueling day.
[b]Finally, I did observe a few oddities[/b]. I was taken aback when I went to pick up my chip and was asked to "make a donation in exchange for a chip strap." That's not a donation. That's a sale. A donation, by definition, does not include an exchange of a good and/or service. If it was, can I file a $5 deduction with the IRS? (No. I now have a cheap strap to show for my $5.) They provided a chip, but no way to affix it to your ankle, so unless you already owned a strap, they put you in a position where you had to buy one. And conveniently they only took cash.
I was also surprised that Ironman Canada ran out of water on the bike course. They didn't run out of hydration, but there were stops that had no water. How many years experience do they have? I also think the medal, which is small, made of plastic and adorned with a very generic, unadorned ribbon, looks chintzy and is an unworthy representation of that race. And the finisher shirt is a very odd color. Is that purple? Glad I bought a nicer one at the Expo. And by the way, who cares if the [i]pre[/i]-race Expo shirts don't say "Finisher"? Anyone can buy "Finisher"-branded goods at the [i]post[/i]race Expo, so it's not like they check to ensure you had an official finish before they sell you over-priced technical Ts.
[IMG=300X200]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo2.jpg[/IMG]
[i]Canada compared to Germany[/i]
![http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo2.jpg[/IMG]](http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo2.jpg[/IMG]){kind=link}
[IMG=300X400]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo1.jpg[/IMG]
[i]Every bit of Canada's marketing material is Red and Black, which builds great brand imagery. But for some reason their finisher shirt is ... purple? Maroon? Pink? Either way, possibly saving a few bucks on an over-inventoried color only dilutes their branding. I have no plans on wearing it.[/i]
![http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo1.jpg[/IMG]](http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/photo1.jpg[/IMG]){kind=link}
[b]UPDATE: E-mail from Ironman Canada[/b]
[IMG=600X900]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/GraFra.png[/IMG]
![http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/GraFra.png[/IMG]](http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x158/endurasports/GraFra.png[/IMG]){kind=link}
Ha! I love that you swam in
Ha! I love that you swam in your bibs! I don't you need a TT in Canada. Your bike with wheels is a beauty. I'm glad you had a good outlook on a brutal day. Tri is done solo, but it's others that make it possible to finish - I completely get this.
It was great to finally meet you! :)
6 IM's is a solid body of
6 IM's is a solid body of work!
congrats on no. 6!
very cool that you got to connect with more trifuel e-quaintances
Loved the report Ryan! Loved
Loved the report Ryan! Loved the bibs too...I agree. Trifuel meet ups should be a requirement.
A plastic medal?
Great RR and great pics. I
Great RR and great pics. I agree that meet ups are a requirement. It was great to put a face to a name last year in Florida and meeting you was one of the reasons I decided to sign up as we talked about it a bit when you finished. I hope to meet others as a competitor this year.
At 6 bills a whack, a plastic medal? Brother, can you spare a dime?
Awesome report!! I cannot
Awesome report!! I cannot wait to meet Ironmom, jarhear, brittda, and I think someone else at CdA. The pictures are beautiful.
sad, sad medal. SERIOUSLY! sad.
I know we've already met face to face, but come do Oilman in Conroe
Great job and it was nice
Great job and it was nice meeting you also. Glad you found the beauty of the bike course despite the monster climbs and heat. Ironically I'm interested in doing a different ironman but insist it's hilly....perhaps st George. I hope you return to do another IMC in the future.
Best wishes for future races.
Warren
I enjoyed the RR Sooner.
I enjoyed the RR Sooner. "Lunch Lady-hot volunteers." Priceless!
An Ironman finish is an
An Ironman finish is an ironman finish.. Congratulations.
I would be so pissed at that metal..... wait.. and that T shirt.
You did well to face the
You did well to face the hills & heat and still prevail, Sooner. Good on you - you deserve better than the Plasticman medal! Thanks for sharing your insights.
So can I have your
So can I have your T-shirt?
I kid.
Congrats on the finish!
A pleasure sir! I know what
A pleasure sir! I know what it is like going to an IM and not knowing anyone (IMAZ). Glad you had a fun time. I like the RR as it is unique, as you are. 100% agree with the cintzy medals they hand out every year. In comparison to all othe IMs they suck. It was great to meet you and all other trifuelers. Thanks Paul for seeting this thing up.
bluebirdbiker wrote:A
[quote=bluebirdbiker]A pleasure sir! I know what it is like going to an IM and not knowing anyone (IMAZ). Glad you had a fun time. I like the RR as it is unique, as you are. 100% agree with the cintzy medals they hand out every year. In comparison to all othe IMs they suck. It was great to meet you and all other trifuelers. Thanks Paul for seeting this thing up. Oh ya, congrats Ryan on #6[/quote]
Great RR, great time, and as
Great RR, great time, and as always a great outlook. I look forward to a 2012 Cozumel meetup with fellow trifuelers per your suggestion.
Clearly, the experience
Clearly, the experience hasn't humbled you. PROWESS!
Well done Sooner a pleasure
Well done Sooner a pleasure to read
Finishing your 6th
Finishing your 6th Ironman.
Having the courage to attempt it with less than optimal training.
Meeting fellow Trifuelers and developing more POSITIVE relationships.
Writing a realistic, informative, and entertaining RR.
Calling out the rest of us to make triathlon less individual and more of a community.
Not complaining about any of the things under your control.
Continuing to inspire many of us through your unique perspective on life.
Yeah.....why aren't you humbled?
gfd wrote:Finishing your 6th
[quote=gfd]Finishing your 6th Ironman.
Having the courage to attempt it with less than optimal training.
Meeting fellow Trifuelers and developing more POSITIVE relationships.
Writing a realistic, informative, and entertaining RR.
Calling out the rest of us to make triathlon less individual and more of a community.
Not complaining about any of the things under your control.
Continuing to inspire many of us through your unique perspective on life.
Yeah.....why aren't you humbled?[/quote]
Exactly. It would take outstanding character to do that and remain humble. Duh.
Well done Sooner! Sorry for
Well done Sooner! Sorry for the chintzy swag.
Sooner great to see you in
Sooner great to see you in action even if only in photos. Your bad day will probably be my good day. I was sure the word medal was a derivative of the word metal, perhaps POC will correct me on that. I have read two RR for Canada in the last 24 hours, KitKats on her blog, and this one. Brilliant stuff. I am just bummed we are not on the same continent :-)... Enjoy the recovery time.
OH and a request, you said you had a bad day... I get why you say that, but I think Kit Kat makes the point that just getting to the start line, makes it a good day. For us lesser mortals full of ignorance, is there something that went wrong on the daym that you might have changed, if you did it again, or was this 'not as good as other days' in the lap of the gods somewhat?
Oh and purple is the color
Oh and purple is the color of Royalty and Wisdom and the enlightened.
Loved your RR, a big
Loved your RR, a big congrats! And sorry to see your sorry medal and shirt. That might even rival my Grey/Orange IMFL shirt for ugliness, I have yet to wear that one even to wash a dog in. Your lunch lady caption totally cracked me up!
On the meetup idea, I am SO looking forward to it at IMCdA next year. I was all by my lonesome at IMFL and it will be really nice to see some familiar faces before the race, and hopefully on the course.
You are a total stud muffin for training in a Texas summer AT ALL. I would wilt into a small puddle. Congrats on IM #6!
Congratulations on the
Congratulations on the finish, and thanks for a great report. I'm signed up for next year, and it will be my first IM. With some of the 'greed reports' surrounding IMC the last couple of years, this might end up being my first and last WTC Ironman event. Seems like they've recently put a premium on increasing the revenue and decreasing the value of the product they're selling.
I still have a year to go and I'm already wondering if it was a mistake to give my money to WTC. Hey, at least I'll have low (or no) expectations, right?
First off, congrats again
First off, congrats again Ryan! Second, I like the shirt color... ;)
As for the medals and water on the bike, for those who don't know, the race did send out an apology on this. The water was their mistake (I think they said it was distributed incorrectly). Tough mistake for the competitors, but at least the race accepted responsibility. And the medal was an error on the part of their vendor. It wasn't what they ordered, or what they approved, but when it arrived like that near the race they didn't have time to get a new batch. Now, there are ways to mitigate that error -- order them to arrive earlier, fix it afterwards and send the updated ones, etc. But at least they acknowledged that it wasn't ideal.
jtrimom wrote: I know we've
[quote=jtrimom]
I know we've already met face to face, but come do Oilman in Conroe[/quote]
Come on down, there's at least two of us doing it!
Donation for a chip strap, seriously? I think I would have lost it right there.
dkhartung wrote:jtrimom
[quote=dkhartung][quote=jtrimom]
I know we've already met face to face, but come do Oilman in Conroe[/quote]
Come on down, there's at least two of us doing it!
Donation for a chip strap, seriously? I think I would have lost it right there.[/quote]
not to threadjack, but did you hear that there's a possibility of Oilman becoming a duathlon due to Lake Conroe being so dry?
jtrimom wrote:dkhartung
[quote=jtrimom][quote=dkhartung][quote=jtrimom]
I know we've already met face to face, but come do Oilman in Conroe[/quote]
Come on down, there's at least two of us doing it!
Donation for a chip strap, seriously? I think I would have lost it right there.[/quote]
not to threadjack, but did you hear that there's a possibility of Oilman becoming a duathlon due to Lake Conroe being so dry?[/quote]
Yep pretty hard to swim in a dry place, that much is true.
Come to Vancouver or Seattle
Come to Vancouver or Seattle in November and you can swim in the street gutters. We all take advantage of that after the ride home from work! Sometimes we just swim home :-)