The swim sucked. Pure and simple. Had to tread water a few times to relax. Seemed to take forever to get going in a good rhythm. 20 minutes for 1000M, not upper crust performance. I think a better warm up is in order and i should swim more with the top half to my wetsuit when the water is cold. I will pay heed to this for Whistler as last year it was way way cold in the swim at Whistler. Swim time 20:24 - 60th about.
The bike was as good as i could hope for. Once onto the road and the climb to the Nordic Centre, i passed people steadily. Maybe 30 or more people. Onto the trails and i kept up the pace, passing people on the climbs, flats and non-tech sections. The only place i had troubles and got off my bike was the Laundry Chutes - just could not manage the descent, rocks and switch backs. Oh well, anyone who passed me here was soon caught on Ziggy's. Had a great bike and swear i did not see my AG winner pass me, but he did somewhere after the swim as i beat him out of the lake. Bike time 1:33 ish (about 10 mins faster than in 2010) 13th overall.
The run went well, better than well, fabulous i suppose. Ran almost 9 mins faster than last year. Just held a steady pace and never went into the red zone - maybe i should have. Passed a few people each lap and was passed once - in the finish chute as i had a minor cramp and really was not interested in sprinting. Run time 43 and change - 16th or so overall.
In the end, was 19 minutes faster than last year, yet fell from first to second in AG. Was 17th overall. I had a great great day after the swim. I can not complain as the winner of my AG - John Monk from Canmore - finished 8th in the Xterra WC in Maui last year. So to be up there with the pointy end of the results is dam satisfying. John is going to Whistler and will have a great big bulls eye on his back, at least i will visualize one on it for him.
Sorry no pics at time of publishing. Later all and stay upright.
