Ironman Canada - the Swim

Just in case you stop reading after the first paragraph of this blog, I need to say something up front:
If you have never been to British Columbia, you need to go. There's a reason why it says "Beautiful British Columbia" on their license plates. It is drop dead gorgeous up there. The drive from Vancouver to Whistler is like Big Sur on steroids. Go there. You will not regret it.

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The Thursday before Ironman Canada, I arrived in Whistler with my support crew (my husband and his parents). And before I say too much about the race, I owe a big thank you to them for helping with so many things during race week. Racing an Ironman is truly a team effort, and I couldn't have done it without their support!

Arriving three days before the race gave me the perfect amount of time to relax and take care of things. We swam in Alta Lake, strolled around Whistler village, worked on jigsaw puzzles, hung out with old friends, met new friends, and ate ice cream.

My husband and I rode our bikes to Alta Lake a few days before the race... what a beautiful setting!

Practice swim in Alta Lake
(photo from my cap and goggles' point of view)

As always, race day announced it's arrival with an early morning alarm. I made breakfast, got my things together, and walked over to catch the shuttle to the swim start. I arrived at the lake with plenty of time to spare. Once I took care of all the little race morning bike and gear things, I sat down in the changing tent and slowly chewed my way through an energy bar while trying to relax and waiting for time to pass.

Ready to race... love my Coeur Sports aero tri top!

Soon enough, it was time to put on my wetsuit and warm up. I found my husband in the crowd and gave him a kiss before wading into the lake. Alta Lake is one of the most amazing places I have ever swum. The water was the perfect temperature (and crystal clear), and the lake was surrounded by snow-capped mountains. As I waded into the water, I looked around and took in the beauty of the morning. I swam for a few minutes, and then stopped to watch the sun rising over the mountains. It was casting the most amazing light on the mist over the lake, and I couldn't stop smiling. It was magical.

Sunrise over picture-perfect Alta Lake while warming up

I couldn't stop smiling. It was magical.

Like a lot of Ironman races now, Whistler had a self-seeded rolling swim start. (This means that instead of everyone starting at the same time, you all stand in a corral and funnel into the water in a continuous stream of people. For a number of reasons, I prefer a good old fashioned mass start... but that's a topic for another day.) I lined up close to the front of the fenced-in area, and waited patiently. Someone sang the Canadian national anthem, everyone cheered, and they fired the cannon for the pro mens' start. We had 5 minutes before our race started, and I started getting teary-eyed. What the heck? I definitely didn't see that coming. I literally had to take my goggles off a couple times because they were filling with my salty tears. And I can't really explain why... except that Ironman can make you do weird things... and apparently, for me, getting emotional before the start is one of them.

The cannon fired again, and that meant our race had officially started. I followed the people in front of me as they started to make their way through the starting arch and into the lake. The staff controlled things so that only a few of us were entering the water at a time. It was strangely calm and organized.

After I crossed the timing mat (and my race officially started), I ran out as far as I could and then did a few dolphin dives so I could quickly get to deeper water and start swimming. I soon found myself following another woman who was going the perfect speed. Swimming behind her was amazing... not too hard, and not too easy, and she swam a straight line, too! Feet like that are hard to find, and when you find them, you stick to them like glue. My mission for the swim became clear: these are your feet; don't let them go.

I glanced at my watch about halfway through the first loop, and was surprised to see a time significantly less than 15 minutes. I kept concentrating on keeping my stroke efficient and sticking to the feet in front of me. At the end of the first loop, my watch said something that started with a 27, and it felt surprisingly easy. I could hardly believe it!

Alta Lake is one of the most amazing places I've ever swam

About halfway through the second lap, we rounded a turn buoy and things got crazy. The feet I had been following slowed down and started doing random breaststroke kicks. I was super confused as to why someone would be doing that in the middle of the race. (In hindsight, I think maybe the girl ahead of me had water in her goggles or had to fix her swim cap or something, but in the moment I was really confused.) Anyway, when that happened, I gave up on following her feet, and just kept swimming while looking around for other options. I found some more feet and followed them for a minute or two, but then they slowed down and I had to find another pair. This happened a few times, and then I told myself I was the swimming version of Peter Sagan and was going to have to freelance my way to the finish. I have no idea where that thought came from, but it was kind of fun to have a new focus. I literally pictured the sprint finish of a cycling race while I jumped from person to person getting a few seconds of draft here and there on my way to the finish. Hey, whatever works, right?

As we made the final turn towards the swim exit, the girl I had been following earlier in the race magically appeared again. When we exited the water, I wanted to thank her for helping me swim so fast, but she was gone as quickly as she appeared. Apparently she was fast at transitions too. I glanced at the clock, and saw a time that started with 55. FIFTY FIVE!!! That was several minutes faster than my best Ironman swim time, and was the fastest swim in my age group! While I was really happy with my swim, I also knew that there was still a long day ahead of me. So I quickly and quietly celebrated my swim, and then I got to work on making the rest of my day just as great.

Pumped about my fastest Ironman swim ever, and ready to get to work on the rest of the race. 

(Look for another blog post with my bike and run recap... soon, I promise!)