After a really poor spring of preparation I did some “cramming” in June with a few long rides and some decent swimming. I figured that after all of the years that I’ve been at this sport that I could “bluff” my way through a 1/2. My plan was to race as well as I could and use it as a motivator to get my training back where it should be. It certainly served its purpose from this respect since I turned in my slowest ever 1/2 by close to 10 minutes with one of the worst runs of my life.
The swim was ok except for the “self seeding” concept which frustrated me. Being a non-sprinter when it comes to swimming (and everything else I guess) I don’t understand the people that seed themselves with a red or blue cap so they plan on a 33-40 minute swim and then charge into the water and wrestle and slap around someone with a white cap planning on a 30-32 minute swim. Wouldn’t it make sense to try and get onto someone’s toes if you know they are planning on swimming 2-3 minutes faster than you? By the time I was halfway through the first loop things were sorted out and I got into a good pace. I came out of the water feeling good but 1:00-1:30 slower than my usual 2k swim right around 32.
Once onto the bike it took a while to get going. Maybe the month of “cramming” was catching up to me but took about 15k before I started to feel good and I was able to go pretty well from 15k through to around 70. It was a little depressing when I got to Hastings on the way out and saw the leaders coming back since I’m usually a lot further up the road before I see any of the return traffic (even when they are as fast as Len and Ian in the water!). Once I got to 70k I could tell that the heat and wind and lack of fitness were catching up to me quickly and my lower back was killing me. Off the bike in 2:38 so 8-10 minutes off what I’d normally do in that leg.
Usually I love to get off my bike and get running and even though I felt pretty spent, Sunday was no different. I figured that I’d reel in some of the “groups” of riders that had gone by earlier and I did take back a lot of ground over the first 4k then things got really ugly. I was doing a shuffle and checking my watch and just wanting to get done with the whole thing rather than doing any form of “racing” for the majority of the shuffle which was 1:38 vs. the 1:20-1:25 that I usually can lay down in a half.
I was able to stay under 5 hours but it hurt a lot and I guess that using the Peterborough half where it is always hot and windy may not have been the best way to start my season. I guess that I’m getting too old to whip myself into half IM shape in 5 weeks 
It was a tough day and my daughter said to me after that I shouldn’t be too discouraged since a poor race might mean that I’d getting lucky with a draw prize … I did and got a pair of Adidas shoes which is cool since I don’t win many draw prizes ever.
It definitely gave me a boost for getting back in shape and after camping the night after the race I did 92k home on the bike Monday. I wasn’t planning on doing another 1/2 this season but now I figure that I’ll take Dev’s advice and join him in Ottawa or Montreal later on