Matt's Race Report - NB Half

I figured I would try to be timely with this post. Before I got any further....HAPPY FATHER's DAY. Hope everyone had a great day. I'll let Amber complete her own race report so without spoiling it, she did amazing.

First half ironman out of the way - now that it is down, my goal was 5hrs. I figured this was doable but I would have to push. Turns out, I didn't have to go crazy and my time was 4:51:25 - I'm really happy with that result given that this is only prep for Ironman Canada. Fitness seems to be ok. Definitely room for improvements.

Swim (29:33 - 1:34/100m)
Nothing like being in a small pool with 500 of your closest friends all trying to get to the same location in a hurry. Better than Shawnigan but I have to be more aggressive. I managed to place myself in a good position for the start. I got off to a good start going hard for about 100-150m. Managed to get some feet for a bit of a draft. The problem was that I kept getting spit of where I wanted to be so I ended up swimming alone for a bit. This made for a more tiring swim than planned. Definitely slowed a bit towards the end.

T1 (1:50)
Definitely slower than planned but not horrible. I had a terrible location in the far corner.

Bike (2:42:14 - 32.2kph)
Bike started off pretty good and I got in to a good rhythm. Overall I was happy with the time but things were not great. I was never so happy to get off my bike. Right hip was tight right off the get go but that settled down. Around the 35k mark, my lower back was giving me some terrible issues. Felt like I wanted to cry at one point. First time this has happened. If my lower back is tight, usually it goes away. This time, I was not so lucky. Did at least 10k out of the aero position at one point b/c it was bothering me so much. It definitely zapped some power. It was pretty windy at points and the down-pour of rain at one point sucked. All in all, time was good but I was not comfortable. I also did not eat or drink enough but I'll let coach Noa in on that.

T2 (1:29)
Still a little slow but I ended up putting on socks as I had a blister from my shoes the other day. Also elected to use my fuel belt for the run.

Run (1:36:20 - 4:49/km)
I felt pretty strong off the bike. The cadence and turnover was going well. That slowed down at a couple of points but for the most part, it was good. Still too tight in the shoulders. Had 2 gels and a little bit to drink (not enough fluids). The course was around Elk Lake and it was nice to run on the trail. My right calf/Achilles and hamstring were not too horrible but they were tight at times (I've been having issues for the last 3 wks with these - recovery week should help). Overall, I was really happy with the run...just need to build on this as we move forward.

Overall, the race went well. Things could have been better from a logistical standpoint but the overall result was good. Standing in the line for the port-o-john 10 minutes before race start with no warm-up complete and the wetsuit to put on is not the best plan. I really have to sort out nutrition and I need to take a bit better care of my body.

Points to Ponder
This is a non-draft legal event on the bike. There was definitely a lot of drafting as a couple of packs whipped by me on the bike. That being said, there was one individual that sat on the wheel of anyone he could (bib 286) which is definitely not in the spirit of the sport. Oh well....some people...
The volunteers were awesome yet again and the race was very well organized....

That's it, that's all....back to packing....almost forgot we move in less than a week.

Cheers. M