Ironman Canada

What a great day and what a great event. Made really special by the 4,500 strong Iron Crew who help you through the day and the thousands upon thousands of spectators cheering loudly all the day the atmosphere in the finish chute and the mile leading into it was awesome.
We had a beutiful day for the race. Clear skies to start with but what I took to be a heat haze later in the day was actually smoke from an out of control forest fire a couple of hours away.
The swim start was very well behaved and considerate. I had no trouble with conjestion.
A very fast t1 where the hellers pulled the wetsuit off me.
Tailwind for the first 50k of the bike made for a fast opening section despite conserving energy. Richter pace was nice but the headwind with the rollers was a real leg sapper. The support was unbelievable on the climb up to Yellow Lake and the road a complete chalk mural.
In t2 I really didn't want to head out for the run. My feet hurt and my legs spent. My first three miles were pedestrian at best and an unwilling pedestrian at that. Things did get better and I then jogged between aid stations all the way to the 18 mile marker. I had some company up to that point but from there it was a solitary battle to keep going I'd jog 1200 steps and walk 200. Oh, and I was allowing myself to walk up hills so it was a relief in find an incline.
But once into the final mile the cheering from the spectators helped me to run all the way to the finish line and I completed in 43 seconds over the 12 hour mark.