(September 2, 2002)

I'll begin by saying that IM Canada was an incredible experience, from the time I got my email notification about the lottery spot until the 160 km point on the bike, where I pulled myself from the race. 160 km? Yep - you read that right. But more on that later.......
 
I arrived in Penticton - lots of nervous energy, a pretty wicked sinus infection.....but raring to go. My bike arrived at the same time as me (yay!) and in good shape (yay!) - thanks Norm for all your assistance on that one. Given that I was feeling slightly under the weather, I took it pretty easy on Friday and Saturday, just getting my stuff ready for the race and spending time with my partner and another friend who came out to cheer. Drove the course on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to see that the 'climbs' had been far more ominous in my active imagination! Of course, on Sunday I found out that they are also much easier in the back seat of a Blazer.
 
So race morning arrives. Still 'stuffed up', but I chalked that up to one more little challenge along the way, knowing that the day ahead would not be easy - nor should it be in order to earn the title "Ironman". Arrived at the race, feeling a bit nauseated but anxious to get things underway. Once everything was in order with my bike, transition and special needs bags, I made my way to the swim start. The funny thing is, as soon as I took a few warm-up strokes in the water, all nervousness left and I felt remarkably calm.
 
The swim was great. Hardly any body contact and probably one of the 'straightest' swims I've ever had. Out of the water in 1 hour, 22 minutes – no Ian Thorpe, but for me - a great swim! Through the strippers and into the change tent, and about 8 minutes later I was off on the bike.
 
The bike felt great. I couldn't stop smiling. I was taking it really easy for the first 50 km or so, into Oliver and onto Osoyoos. There was a slight head wind, but nothing crazy. Out of Osoyoos and up Richter's Pass - and in all honesty, I loved the Richter's climb. Onto the climbs out of Richter's, and they all went well also. By this time the weather had started to clear and the sun was coming out - finally - my kind of weather! Reached the half way point at 3.5 hours, which was a bit slower than I had hoped, but I was feeling good so I was happy about that. Arrived at Special Needs (which is about the 120 km mark or so) and spent 10 minutes there stretching, taking in some 'real' food and re-grouping for the last 60 km. Left there to finish the out-and-back section where the wind seemed to pick up a bit, but the sun was still out (sporadically) so I was still smiling. 
 
Heading up to Yellow Lake the wind really started to pick up and it started to rain a little bit. No big deal really. Then the wind picked up again, and at one point I was pedaling on a slight downhill, going 16 km/hour. Yikes. Then the rain hit, combined with  thunder / lightning and a pretty extreme drop in temperature. Got to the top of Yellow and then Twin Lake, still in the pouring rain - drenched and getting quite cold. Hit the screaming downhills - and my body just started to shake. I was so cold that I could barely get the pedals turning over to make it to the top of the next small climb. Another downhill - 
now even colder. So - there I am heading into the more major downhills on the course, I can barely see because of the rain and my entire body is one huge goose bump and I am shivering, pretty much uncontrollably. I do have this slight problem of getting cold very easily so this wasn't abnormal to me, but what was making me nervous was that with all the shaking, which I couldn't get under control, was that I was really having difficulty manoeuvring my bike. At this point, I had a major battle with myself, as I approached Aid Station # 10 (at 160 km). I knew it was all downhill into transition, where there were hot tubs etc waiting - but that in between that and me were some serious downhills that required some navigating around corners etc, with wet pavement and the fact that I didn't know if my body would be able to manipulate the bike in the directions it needed to go. I stopped at the aid station, with the intention of staying for five minutes or so, warming up and heading out again. As chance would have it, two of the volunteers at the aid station were nurses, one of whom was a triathlete. They took one look at my 'convulsing body' threw me in an RV and piled blankets on top of me. Their diagnosis - I had hypothermia. They told me they could get me warm but it was my decision as to whether or not I would continue. After 10 minutes, when the shivering still hadn't subsided, I made one of the toughest decisions I've had to make, and pulled myself from the race. I don't like not finishing something I have started (except as my partner pointed out, finishing the kitchen renovations!) At that point in the race, even though I was so close to transition, dry clothes and hot tubs - I felt that I couldn't safely get from 160 km to there without chance of a major wipe out. The sad thing is that a woman pulled into the aid station just after me with the same symptoms, took a garbage bag from the volunteers and continued on her way. She crashed about 5 minutes later. When the 'ambulance' came to claim me from Aid Station 10, there were six others in the van, all wrapped in blankets like I was.
 
It was a bizarre day - and a tough one. It was hard to hear everyone talking about perfect weather conditions, when it was the weather that was a major contributor to my DNF. But - after much analysis and speaking with others, it would seem that if I had been 10 minutes faster or 10 minutes slower on the bike, I probably would not have suffered the same fate. However - one can say ' what if' until the cows come home. It just wasn't meant to be on that day. Lessons learned? Definitely. Will I try again? Yep. I'm going to go back to sprint and Olympic distance next summer, as was always the plan, but have
targeted Ironman USA in 2004. 
 
I suppose what made this the most frustrating is that I felt great otherwise. My legs were a bit tired and I was ready to be off the bike - but I wasn't dreading the run by any stretch of the imagination. I think it is safe to say that the race unravelled in about 10 minutes. Crazy.

Thanks to all for your support – both in sponsoring me in my campaign for Bruce House and also in the interest in my progress – before and during race day. Sorry I couldn’t pull through with the perfect “Hollywood” ending – but I know I made the right decision in terms of my future well-being.

As an aside – I decided to enter a sprint distance race in Ottawa at the last minute. It was held this past Saturday (August 31) along the Rideau Canal. Had a great race – wound up fourth in my age group and 15th overall. All in all – a pretty decent race and a great wrap-up to a season that provided many memorable moments.

See you next year?

Bill

(August 21, 2002) – With four days to go until Ironman Canada, I thought I would share a few of my journal entries. The first is from my last week of training, prior to the taper – thought some of you may be interested in the finer details! This is not the heaviest week of training that I did – but gives a rough idea of the process!

• Sunday August 4: day off (work commitment)
• Monday August 5: 160 km ride (two 50 km loops of primarily up and down hill + 60 km of flats) + 55 minute easy run
• Tuesday August 6: 2000m endurance swim + 500m drills
• Wednesday August 7: 12 km tempo run
• Thursday August 8: 75 mins Spin (strength and speed work) + weight circuit
• Friday August 9: 4 km open water swim + 18 km run
• Saturday August 10: core strength and stretch session
• August 10: Holy crap! Two weeks….and it will be here. I feel ready – but of course I won’t really know for sure until the day. I have determined a race strategy that I feel good about and am fairly organized with respect to nutrition and special needs. Two week taper has begun – but between packing and work stress, I don’t feel I’ve really had the opportunity to totally rest – but after the move will be three good days of r and r and pre-race psych up. I plan to watch a lot of motivational movies, watch my nutritional intake (not too many empty calories and cut down on caffeine) There is nervous energy and excitement beginning to coarse through my veins – combined with sometimes remarkable calm. All will be good.
• August 20: Last run today – 6 km nice and easy. Just took time to enjoy the weather, the great Ottawa running/bike trails along the Rideau Canal and the opportunity to reflect on how much has been done in preparation for August 25. When a dream has been brewing, either subconsciously or consciously, for 20 years – it is a bit overwhelming when it is about to come to fruition. A lot of time has been spent in the past few days dealing with mental anxiety – wavering between “all set to go” and “what if I don’t finish?” This is my challenge alone to deal with, and I feel quite confident that the “all set to go” mentality is much stronger. The other just keeps me grounded! I know that I’m not going to be winning any medals or setting any speed/time records – but this time all that is irrelevant. From the time the swim starts to the end of the run/walk/crawl J it is all about the finishing chute and me. It will be done. 

(August 7 / 02) -I hate to admit that it has been almost one month since I posted my last update. Wow - time does fly. No excuses...just a lot on the go.

The major component of my training is completed, with my focus now on tapering properly for the big day - August 25! After months of preparation - it seems hard to believe that the day is now less than three weeks away. As it grows closer I'm sure I will experience a bevy of emotions - but the bottom line is....I am prepared and up for the challenge. This past weekend represented my last hard three days of training. Because of work commitments I fell a bit short of what I had pegged as ideal, but I am still happy with the mileage I got in. I think the bottom line is, I am arriving at the starting line healthy and raring to go. I know that I have a lot of support behind me as well - which totally rocks! The latest issue of Capital Xtra, a community newspaper in Ottawa included a small write-up on my fundraising endeavour - which was great. The more people that know, the more pressure I have to drag my butt from start to finish in Penticton.

Well - an important part of any training plan is lots of sleep - so I'm off. Thanks again. Another update will be posted in the near future. Until then, I leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

(July 13) - Training continues to progress nicely. On July 7 I completed the Peterborough 1/2 Ironman in a little under six hours. It was a tough day given the heat and the bike portion, which is nothing but hills - but, this was a perfect training day for Penticton! I took the day off from training following the race and then got back into things slowly on Tuesday. Now back to full steam for the weekend and heading into the final four weeks of training before the Ironman taper begins. The race seems to be approaching must faster than I had anticipated - but I say....bring it on! While not taking it lightly, I know that I am up for the challenge - and will be even more ready in six weeks. That's all for now. Have a good day!
 

(July 4) - As of July 4, everything is going great! Once and a while I wonder if I am training enough, but I suppose that one is always going to question that when training for something of this magnitude. This weekend coming is my last race prior to Ironman Canada, a 1/2 Ironman in Peterborough, Ontario. 

On July 1 I attained a significant goal, in the completion of a 4km open water swim. That felt excellent to get that under my belt. I think it is also notable that at this point in time, I am totally injury free (knock on every piece of wood you can find!)

Motivation is, to be perfectly honest, sometimes waning. It is hard to get out of bed when you know you have a six hour training ride ahead of you, followed by a one-hour run. The weather over the past week or so hasn't helped either, as it has been incredibly hot and humid. However - when all is said and done, I get out of bed and I do it - because it is what is going to help me achieve my dream. On August 26 I want to lose the nickname "Ironvirgin" (so lovingly bestowed by a fellow Ironman Canada participant, who completed Ironman USA last summer) and replace it with "Ironman".

I will endeavour to update this page on the site at least once per week.

Thanks for dropping in this time! Hope to have you visit again.

(August 7 / 02) -I have to thank everyone who has sent in donations thus far. The total is continually rising, which is great. With 19 days until race day, I'd like to see the total go up even more - and faster! So make sure you solicit friends, family, co-workers, fellow students, pupils - whatever! A special gift will be presented to the individual who puts the total over $2500!

(July 13/02) - After just one week, we have passed the $400 mark! Thanks to all who have contributed to date. As promised, the first 10 submitting pledges are: Dr. Patricia Benoit, Dr. Susan Vail, Cathy Aldrich, Sean Neville, Ian McCoombs, Gwen Shea, Cheryl Cooper, Trevor "Dave Scott" MacMillan, Maggie Kishibe and, my mom - Sheri Bridel. Thanks everyone - and keep 'em coming! Bruce House provides essential services to persons living with AIDS - and count primarily on fundraising/community support to do it.