2013 Ironman Canada, Whistler - Race Report <— lots of pictures, a little more course info, and a long race report
1st, big thanks to DesertDude, Brian Stover of Acclerate3.com for getting me to my KQ goal in just 11 months.
I contacted Brian in September 2012 after being off the couch for 2 years. As a self coached athlete, I had some good results (5hr 70.3, 3hr 26.2, 10:45 140.6), but had completely plateaued in training despite totally burring myself with hard workouts. Brian let me enjoy training again, and the results followed.
The most useful things I have to contribute about the course:
There are 4 big negatives on the bike course:
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some of the descents have technical curves. It wouldn’t be a big issue solo, but with a few hundred squirrely triathletes it gets pretty sporty.
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there is an aid station on the long descent to Pemberton in what is maybe the fastest part of the course. Its a bad place to bleed of speed as it hurts you for a several minutes.
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drafting is a real issue. There are lots of places where guys get sucked in on the descents; I can forgive that though. The real issue is the flat section out to Pemberton. I’m not new to draft packs and pacelines. These were pelotons. The real gripe is that most athletes don’t understand or refuse to ride legal. It would be easy and fast to stay legal and roll a long rotating pace line, but instead it looks like the local century. Guys are wheel to wheel just cruising along. It really hurts the strong cyclist, the aero weenie, and the rule stickler. Then worst part was the moto crew was doing a fantastic job harassing guys on the climbs, but the area of the course where there was a significant gain to be had was void of officials.
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the bike finishes up rolling through Whistler Village. It’s a convoluted web. It’s hard to tell where to go, and its challenging to stay on the gas there.
and about the venue:
We also did the Whistler tasting tour. There are lots of restaurants, and this gave us a chance to get a sample of several. Along the way, Emily learned to open bottle of champagne like Napoleon and we got to see a -20C room for tasting vodka. I really wanted to check it out, but I wasn’t confident it was a good pre-race decision.
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Finally was the* Scandinave Spa*. I was reluctant, but this place was amazing. $50/person with the Ironman discount gets you as much time as you like to enjoy the spa. I recommend bringing a robe, they are handy and they rent them for $12/person if you don’t bring one. The idea is to alternate between hot & cold therapy. For the day after the race, it felt amazing. My 2hrs was too short, but it went like this:
Jacuzzi - cold pool - Jacuzzi - cold shower - sauna - cold pool - comfy temp room for a quick nap-Hot waterfall Jacuzzi - cold waterfall - steam room - cold waterfall - outdoor hammock cocoon nap.
There’s no talking and lots of relaxing. Honestly it sounded lame, but it really was just what I wanted.
Restaurants
Corner Mexican - very bland Mexican food, small serving size, skip it
Element-tapas and breakfast. Diner was good, breakfast was great, go early or prepare to wait.
Wildwood bistro. This was a little off the path, but within walking range. We had breakfast here, and it was the best breakfast we ate.
Crepes Montague, good stuff. Small little trendy shop, lots of crepes of course.
21 steps pre-race meal yummy. Its a little snazzy, but good food again. Not my favorite, but not bad.
The old spaghetti factory-Pre-race pasta. It was pasta. meh.
Sushi village-I am a sushi lover. This place rocked!
El furniture warehouse-all the food is $5. And they make a fantastic burger.
Finally, several people asked me to compare and contrast IMLCabos & IMCa. They are both new venues and there isn’t a lot of info on them. Here is a snap shot. IMLC had a tougher swim, no doubt. The bike and run were a lot harder at IMCa, but showing up to IMLC unacclimated and having to deal with the heat is a big issue. We had a perfect day at IMCa. Every other day we were there had crazy winds with MASSIVE gusts. Rumor is they will move the date to July next season, so that will make for a toasty run too. Despite IMLCs 41% DNF rate, IMCa is definitely a tougher course. I think we saw the worst IMLC had to offer and the best IMCa had in 2013.
IMLC had 5-700 less bike elevation, and I rode 10W less AP.
IMLC had 2-300 less run elevation, but I consider myself quite a bit fitter. IMCa was a much tougher run for me. I attribute it to the way the elevation give and take played out. I think it would be a faster course if it were ran in reverse.