My hottest Ironman to my coldest Ironman in 4 weeks!
Swim: For the first time in history it was a non wetsuit swim because it was so hot. I ended up swimming or drafting behind Trevor Wuertle and I had my best swim to date for an Ironman. I was 6:30 back of Andy Potts.
Bike: I felt pretty good the first lap and then on the second lap I wasn't as strong. I still had a decent bike split as I geared up for the run.
Run: I started out ok but things started going downhill. With the temps hitting 106 degrees I was doing everything I could to stay cool. I was staying cool but not drinking enough fluid at the aid stations. That being said, I got really dehydrated. In the middle of the second lap I made sure to stop and drink multiple cups to see if I could bounce back. Thankfully I was able to run the last few miles strong. The last few miles were my fastest miles at 6:20 pace. I ended up finishing 8th overall.
This was the hottest Ironman I've ever competed in. The whole run was on blacktop with hardly any shade.
Ironman Canada
Swim: It was a Blue Seventy wetsuit swim with the water being 67-68 degrees. I was able to swim with someone but i still didn't have my best swim. I was about 11 minutes back of the lead swimmer.
Bike: Thankfully the day before I bought a cycling rain jacket. Without this, I would have not finished. Right from the swim it was pouring rain and cold rain. It felt like it was upper 30s to lower 40 degree rain. The rain made my whole body go numb. While descending on the bike I tried pushing it to try to stay warm. It didn't really work. I was talking to myself out load to keep myself coherent. As I approached T2, I thought my feet were the warmest part on my body since i wore booties.
Run: I got off and started running and my feet were numb for the first 3 miles. My muscles/body said no. Not the normal no but the body isn't functioning no. This was a battle all through the bike and on to the run. This mentally made it the toughest Ironman I've ever done and I completed around 35 of them. For this race it was more about survival and I was happy to just finish the race in 7th overall.
Hopefully I have the hottest and coldest races completed!