Great race report! I wonder how much the number of participants affected the difference between your target times and your actual times. Sometimes a crowded swim gets you to the swim exit faster and having someone to chase down on the bike can be a great incentive. That might depend on how competitive you are though. Nice that you got to race with your wife! Congrats to you both!

You didn't happen to WIN the 50-59 (M) did you - you bastard ????

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Yep - that was you! =-) the response from "the turtle" will be forthcoming.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

No question in my mind that was a factor. Although I pride myself on being internally motivated, I felt so good after the race and the following day that I knew I could have pushed harder in the race. More people around in all 3 legs might have encouraged me to do that. I consider myself very competitive. Attitude, not performance ;o)

That was you? So we met after all. And on the field of battle no less.

As I passed another in our AG he told me you were leading and were just up the road. I didn't believe I was that high in the standings. Even so, when I saw how fast you were running down from the OK Falls out and back while I was hurting walking up, I saw no possibility of catching you.

It was good to meet you at the awards. It's really rare that you get to race someone in a Full. The fact we were going for the win made it that much more intense. I look forward to the next time.

The Specifics
Male, 50 years old, eight- time Full Distance. Last Penticton race was a 10:47 in 2010. Quintana Roo CD 0.1 with Specialized Tri-Spokes. Hoka Bondis.

The Swim
Unsurprized. Not as many people to draft and guide me so I was left to the whims of the pack. The pack didn't last and I thrashed about for 15 minutes until rejoining a fellow thrasher. I used his energy and eyes to get me to withing 300 M of the shore. No drama through the swim. Target swim 1:14. Actual 1:16

Transitions
Both were a bit slow, or maybe I should say purposeful. The smaller numbers gave me a chance to spread out my stuff and focus. A definite improvement over IMC. About 8 minutes totals.

Bike
Very easy for the most part. Was strange "racing against" the folks doing the 1/2, but then again, there are always "heros" in the 1st 2 hours, so had to work hard to throttle it back. I did not succeed.


Got to the Husky by 9:53. Soloed Richter Pass, 7 rollers, and the run into the Cawston out and back, where I once again saw the rest of the race. My race strategy was to go HR of 135 for hours 1-2, 140 to the Special Needs and 145 (ish) for the remainder - I was undisciplined and went too hard because conditions were great and legs were fresh.


Climbed Yellow Lake with a few fellows and we had some good fun on the descent. Getting back into town we were BLOWN back into transition. Took a few gels going down Main Street and had a sloppy dismount. Other than the ½ racers, nobody...(!) passed me on the bike. Good for ego. NOT good for legs. Target Bike 5:35. Actual 5:42

Run
Opposite of the other 2 legs. Felt terrible and the results were damning. Minor cramping in the right hamstring as we did the parade lap by the lake, but after some salt tablets and water things were ok. I thought I was MOP until I saw all the people behind me and so few ahead of me. Despite my slow pace, I did manage to pass a few people ahead of me. But NOT JOrdan Bryden who was on a mission! The area from Downtown to Skaha Beach was sort of a run and that was the best running I would see for the next 18 miles.


Had a major energy drop and quad meltdown between Skaha Beach and the turnoff for McLean Creek Road. Had my crisis moment of knowing I would not go under 11 hours and had to change my plan on the fly, or ....limp. New goal was to finish the race with as little walking as possible. 3 minutes later I was walking, as somebody turned the switch OFF. Got bored of walking and hammered back some EFS gel, 2 salt tablets, and started "running" again.


Stuck to the plan and ran slowly from aid station to aid station. Morale steadily improved and I looked forward to that difficult section about 2 K out of OK Falls. Had one older fellow pass me at the turn around of the OK Falls out and back section, and saw quite a large number of folks starting to catch up to me there. Two of them I noticed beat me at the Oliver Half, earlier in the year and one of them (Tom?) asked me how far it was to the turn around.


I was relieved to reach the special needs turn-around and grab my extra supply of Tums and Saltstick tablets. I downed the last of the EFS gel and headed up the hill out of OK Falls with a renewed sense of optimism. Ran by myself until about km 30 (?) when somebody caught up to me at the aid station.


The first thing that came to mind was, "from here on in, it really gets grim. For 99% of the people left at this point, they're possessed with one thing, finishing. They are saying to themselves if I can be standing at the finish, I've won. And they're right, but, for the gifted (in this case - stubborn) few, for our 1% who are still competing (well, in my cases "competing again") that are still racing, they are doing more than standing. They are thinking, can I catch that guy ahead of me? What about those guys behind me? (John Downey, as it turned out), Are they gonna get me, are they coming on me? Are they picking up on me? Can I get him? Cause I'm gonna tell you something. This is it, the last hour of this triathlon, on the pavement at 110 degrees (closer to 90) that's when were gonna find out who the hell the Challenge Penticton 50-59 men's champion really is!"


The race was on! And as Tom mentioned, we pretty much ran together for the next 30-40 minutes. I noticed that I would pull away on the hills but he would catch me on the downhills and on the flats. Yep - the tortoise and the hare.


However the tortoise had a few tricks up his sleeve, or should I say...up the road. Penticton's version of Palani Hill (well, in my heat, sugar, caffeine, and fatigue soaked mind it was !) ~ the "big" hill that drops us down to Skaha Beach. I thought if Tom was on the rivet, a bit of a push here might break him. I was ready, hell, I even had a few stalks of grass from the San Elijo Lagoon in my left shoe. So, at the base of the hill I left. And by the top of the hill, I suspect I had a lead of about 50 metres.


It was not enough. Tom was strong, and cruised down the hill, and the flats, getting smaller and smaller as he faded into the Okanagan sun as we ran Westward to the finish line, some 4 K away.


All alone again (naturally). Even in my best races I disliked the long grind of a false flat on South Main Street from Yorkton Avenue to where we rejoin MAIN, Main Street after the Husky Gas Station. My tires deflated by a surging Tom, I trugeoned, passionlessly to the Boston Pizza. Then things changed. I got my mind right, yet again (thank you Montana Huckleberry Hammergel). Since my time goal of 10:40 was long gone, and I wasn't REALLY sure, of where I was in my age group, I said to myself, "You have nothing to lose. Starting at KM 40 nobody passes you, no matter what, even if that means collapsing in a ditch and having your face eaten off by weasels."


So for about the 1st time in 3 hours I ran through an aid station. (not sure if it was the last). While running, I grabbed a Pepsi, then I hit the throttle for the finish line, passed 2 more people within the last 500 metres to the finish line, and crossed in 11:42.


Post-Race Analysis/Lessons Learned


Target run sub 4hr. Actual 4:thirty something

Target Total Sub 11. Actual 11:42

The Bad
Squandering a great running build by not being disciplined and not believing in myself and going too hard on the bike (DONT race by feel).

The Good
Persevering mentally...and physically after my quads turned to lifeless cement. Being nicer to my wife and volunteers even when things were going poorly. Age Group second. Good nutrition with no stomach issues. Enjoying, as always the training process and people that got me TO the start line. Back in 2016 or 2018. Maybe a relay next year.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

(rather than clog up the forums - I'll add my RR here too, thanks for letting us piggyback Tom O!) I'll add a few thoughts for next years organizers who sound keen and ready to make a good run at this. I'll preface this all with how much I love Penticton and want a triathlon to succeed. Also add that I did IMC in 2010, and volunteered 3 other years at Ironman Canada, and this is my first Challenge series event to judge by.

I did the half iron, and felt a bit like a fraud. People afterward would say 'Oh you did Challenge Penticton?' and I'd have to keep verifying that it was only the half distance. I have too much respect for those who have done the full at Challenge/Ironman. Personally I really didn't enjoy it being a mixed race with full/half/full relay/half relay. It really screwed up your pacing as you don't know who's truly racing you, and you're not all "in it together". Like on the run back along Skaha, say you're both in the Ironman/Full, and you and another are battling it out or also supporting each other... with this set up you have a fresh relayer flying by while a full'er is pushing on. I do realize bibs were colour coded so you knew who was in what race, if you looked for it. Also no body marking whatsoever so who knew what age group you were in.

On to the RR and thoughts, I'll try not to ramble. This could either go under a race report or the other thread about 'Numbers 2013 vs 2014 in Penticton'.

Check-In and Pre Race
-Very well run, smooth, super fast. Of course there weren't many participants so that makes it easier. I really noticed a different vibe in town with so much fewer people around. It wasn't the same.
-Farmers Market on Saturday is not to be missed, but I think the City of Penticton missed a huge opportunity by not extending it to go until 3 or 4pm. At exactly 12 all the vendors were rushed as usual to shut down just so cars could crawl along at the busy main and winnipeg intersections. Main street was PACKED and Im sure businesses make a killing from walk up traffic. As soon as they opened it to cars myself, my family, and friends headed to the hotel and beach.
-Bike check in-super easy. Though conflicting information from volunteers about a)if we'd have access to bags in the morning and b)if the bib needed to be worn on the bike. Some swore it had to be, some didn't. The race meeting later clarified you didnt I believe.
-Race meeting: the RD bragged that he was responsible for removing the Lakeshore drive part of the run finish, instead putting it at the start. Again, tradition! More later.

Swim
That iconic feeling of entering the gauntlet, the lions lair (?), and walking down onto the beach by the peach, was just not there. Wave starts fully killed this off. I'm a horrid swimmer but I am all in favor of a mass start, hold to tradition! Pros went off at 645 ish, then half's at 730. Halfs were mixed with the relayers doing the half of course, so perhaps 600 people? If you'd ever seen the 2500 person lineup compared to this - like my friends and family had - it was very strange. Also strange we didnt walk over a timing mat, we just strolled out through the public to get onto the beach for warm up and then were herded into the start.
The half swim merged in with the full who had set out ahead of the halfers. The merge was a bit ugly, as can be expected. Wet suit stripping was a dream, there were 7 strippers (!) for every one of us. The tents were full but thats fine. My swim was what I expected, felt good, wasn't kicked in the teeth, I'll call it a win.

Bike
The half course followed the IMC route until Oliver (42km or so), then veered up into the hills. I found it to be harder than riding Richters or Yellow Lakes personally, as this half route had steep sharp uphills that ground you to a halt. Or perhaps I was just out of shape. I did enjoy the route no question, and it connects around Skaha and you can go downhill or flat for the last 10-15km if I recall correctly. My watch told me about 800m of elevation on the route all in the last half and mcleans hill road. Into T2 to barren wastelands of tent space. My only wish is that I had fully changed into my running gear here. Instead souped up my junk with vas and ran out.

Run
The run course changed, everyone ran out and down Lakeshore to the Sicamous, then back, around the Peach, through bike transition racks, and then up main. With the finish being a straight shot down Main St. At the race meeting the RD said 'the old way was just cruel to run past the finish'. I actually think that the traditional way was FAR superior. When you finish you get a hint of the finish line, the cheering crowds. You take a hard left and run up Lakeshore, like Konas Alii drive (spell?). The old route had hundreds of people lining Lakeshore cheering you on. You knew you only had 2 kilometers to go and anyone can push themselves to do that at the end right!! It was very strange to run down main into the finish, bring back Lakeshore finish! Regardless the Halfers route went up Skaha and back, nothing amazing but very beautiful no doubt about it.

Bad
-no body marking at all. This meant you had no idea who was in you age group, let alone your race.
-halfs merging with fulls on the swim
-run finish should be on lakeshore drive
-organizers were adamant that you could NOT remove a bike or bag until after 6pm. Many halfers would be done by noon. Many halfers also wanted to GTF home to Calgary or Vancouver et cetera. I noticed they changed this rule on the fly thankfully but it had some people pissed off theyd have to finish - drive to hotel in Naramata/Oliver/Summerland - drive back to pick up bikes. Just my opinion, seemed like this tri was organized by a runner not a triathlete, but I could be way off as I dont know those involved.
-there were a lot less people spectating as well (expected though)

Good
-beer garden set up was fantastic! no big security guards checking ID, it was casual and fun. VIP tent seemed a little too fenced off, but they always do.
-expo was open and laid out simple.
-transition bags were well set up.
-racing in Penticton is a dream.
-volunteers worked their butts off
-how funking amazing is Symonds?
-how funking amazing is PENTICTON? Bring it back to its glory. New city council at some point. Ironman Whistler stays (it has many pluses), Ironman Canada returns triumphantly to Penticton. It would sell out old days style you watch. Challenge becomes Challenge Penticton 70.3 and sticks to the half and half relay if they really want the bigger numbers.

I have mixed feelings about the "new/old" last 2 K of the run. (long course)

• On the one hand, it was really nice to be FINISHED right after the long downhill on Main Street. It was also nice to be over half done at the special needs station in OK Falls.
• On the other hand, that distance has to be made up....somewhere. In the case of this year, it was through that strange extended parade lap as we returned to the Big Peach & around the walking path by the Casino/Hotel and by doing a spirit crushing out and back right before the OK Falls special needs area.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast