A growth opportunity - again!

So finished up the Great White North Triathlon yesterday.  Unfortunately, it was not a personal best that I was hoping for nor was it a sub-6 hour performance.  As was the case last year I was challenged - even more substantially this time - on the run. 

Things started well enough with the swim.  Weather was quite agreeable and, for a lake swim with the weather we have had this year, I would even call the water warm!  What I noticed this year versus last year is that the chaos of the start did not seem to dissipate as early as it seemed to last year.  I have to believe that was in direct relation to a greater number of participants in the event versus last year.  Ultimately, I didn't feel that I really got into proper swim rhythm until well into the 2nd lap of the swim.  I should have know I was in for a challenging day when I experienced some feelings of pre-cramping in my legs.  Nevertheless finished the 2k swim in 42 minutes - 1 minute faster than last year.

On to transition.  I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but I have found that after a reasonably lengthy swim that my coordination becomes challenged!  In my mind it seemed like I was struggling mightily to do simple tasks like putting on my socks!  Don't know what kind of time I wasted in transition - probably around 8 minutes - but even when I started moving my bike out to the beginning of the bike course I realized I hadn't secured one my bike shoes and then (just like last year) almost fell on my ass as I tried to mount my bike.

The bike gave me some of the same experience as the swim.  In the first number of kilometres on the bike, my legs felt quite tight and I really felt that one wrong move would send me into cramp mode.  So there is likely some nutritional nugget in there that I have yet failed to grasp.  In addition, I'm thinking it's back to getting IMS and leg massage on a more regular basis in the next couple of months before Ironman Canada.  In my pre-race plan I was targetting a 32.5 km average speed which would bring me comfortably under 3 hours on the 90 km course.  I had little wind to contend with throughout the course.  Unfortunately, what little there was seemed to always be a headwind - coming or going!  At the end of the day I was disappointed with the marginal improvement I made over last year's performance, shaving only 3 minutes off of last year's time to get in at just under 3 hours on the bike.

The transition to run went smoothly but from then on it was really painful.  Don't know if my asthma or still lack of conditioning played a factor but within the first kilometre I was experiencing (right side) chest pain which at that point I tried to chalk up to a too tight heart rate strap.  Took it right off at that point but to no avail.  Ultimately I experienced almost continuous pain in upper right chest and lower back which I chalked up to lungs/diaphragm.  Regretably, that helped me to an even worse performance on the run than last year.  And I knew that was where the most hope for improved end time would come.

So marginal improvements on swim and bike in this race taken away by more significant fall off on the run. 

So what does that mean now?  Well as of today 54 days to Ironman Canada.  Less than for real training.  Real concern for my run performance at this point.  Not as much progress on the bike as I would have hoped.  Lingering questions about nutritional intake.  And the irony of all is that my swim - the element I most fear in the triathlon - continues to be my best element!  Ooi!