Good Swim + Killer Bike
+Tough-it out Run = 1 New PB!! 
Time: 4:14:35, which is 1:07 faster than my PB of 4:15:42 from 2008.
Swim+T1: 42:48 (swim alone by my watch was 40:14)
Bike: 1:55:06 - this is a HUGE PB for me. Previous best time on the bike was 2:01:12. ETA: pace on bike was 29.3kph
Run+T2: 1:36:44 (don't have my watch handy, so not sure of my net run time).
ETA: Swim 2K, Bike 56K, Run 15K.
ETA: Swim = 40:14, T1 = 2:54, T2 = 1:28 (but I also have a second "split" of 1:20 before the run, so add 1:20 either to T2, or my run time of 1:34:01)
The Long Story:
I stayed at the C-Moss B&B, along with Mark and his wife Hayley. It was a very relaxing way to spend the day/night before the race. Up at 6, ate breakfast, and out the door just after 6:30. All the pre-race stuff was smooth and uneventful.
Our spots were pre-assigned in transition, so no fighting for a spot. All the usual pre-race stuff: body marking, chatting with friends, getting my chip, into my wetsuit, etc. The men started first, 10 minutes ahead of the women.
I lined up on the right hand side, in direct sight of the first buoy. The swim is sort of a dog-leg shape to the right. It was a little rough at the beginning, but then we all settled into our paces. Unfortunately, there was a woman ahead of me who was swimming the same pace as me, about 1/2 a body length ahead, but she couldn't swim a straight line (or maybe I wasn't
). Hit the 1000m turn buoy in about 20min, so was happy with that. There was a lot more room on the way back because there were many potential routes to take. I approached the dock at the end and swam to the two biggest/burliest guys I could see to pull me out of the water and onto the dock. Hit the lap split on my watch and it showed 40:14 - awesome! Thanked the volunteers and ran to my bike. I took my time in T1 (2:54) to make sure I didn't forget anything. Goal #1 achieved: 42:48 (goal was <45 min).Off onto my bike. The course is great. My previous PB on this course was 2:01, but I didn't think I'd done enough training to pull off a ride that fast. That said, with the hip problem I developed this week I was concerned that I might have to shut things down on the run and walk if I started to feel pain again, so I made a point of hammering the bike, not worrying about "saving myself" for the run. The way out was great - I passed a few women (and a few men who'd started 10 minutes ahead!), got re-passed a few times (usually on the uphills). I got up to a max speed of 52kph a few times (4 good downhills - two on the way out, two on the way back). After the turn at Gananoque, I was concerned for my time because there was a very nasty head wind the whole way back. But I'd actually put my Garmin in my Bento Box, so I wasn't really looking at it, just cycling by feel. It wasn't until I hit the stop button coming into T2 that I was shocked to see that not only had I broken the 2-hour barrier, I'd SMASHED by previous PB by 6 minutes!
I had a nice smooth T2. I grabbed some water from a volunteer and started out on the run. I forgot to start my Garmin until about 2:50 into the run (and forgot to turn it off right after crossing the finish line), so I don't have accurate run stats. I ran by feel and hit the first Km marker in 5:33! I hit Km 2 in 11:33, so that was good. My first 5K was 28:xx - right on track. But after that, things started to get really tough. From 6-9K there wasn't a speck of shade, so it was a tough long slog in the heat and sun. I had to walk a few times (mostly on steep uphills/downhills, but also at the water stations). I started to feel the pain in my hip (the injury that started on Wednesday night) around the 7K mark. It wasn't as intense as it was the other night, so I was just mindful of not pushing the pace and over-straining it. That wasn't a problem because I was having a tough time in the heat. I was tired and it was a tough slog. I took gels at 6K and 12K and those really helped. I had to walk the final uphill near the Kingston Pen, but then I hit the 12K marker (and a nice flat section in the shade, followed by a downhill) so I got re-energized. I made a pact with myself that after the next water station (about 2.5K from the finish) I couldn't walk anymore. I could slow down my pace, but no walking. I should also mention that when I hit the 9K mark and looked at my watch, I could see that despite my slower than planned pace, I was actually on track for a PB if I could manage a 6:30-ish pace through to the finish. I hit 10K at 3:43, so that meant I had 31 minutes to run the final 5K to get that PB. Honestly, that's what kept me going; I knew I'd be pissed at myself if I walked or slowed down in the last 5K and missed my goal by a few seconds/minutes.
After the final turn onto Ontario Street I could see the finish line in the distance and really just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not slowing down. When I was finally able to see the clock it said 4:24, but my race had started 10 minutes later, so I knew I was in sub-4:15. A new PB!!
And then the BEST part of the event: the post race food!!
Lasagna, salad, potatoes, rice, bread, diet Pepsi, and pastries. This event has the BEST post-race food - even better than Ironman!Thanks so much to my gracious hostess, C-Moss, and her human, Jo-Jo.
Jo-Jo also did an awesome job as run course director - shout out to you and your team of volunteers.La, out.
way to go sistah!!! 
but they sound GREAT!) just on its' own, never mind that you had to do two events before it. WAY TO GO!!!! Glad you dug deep to attain a PB. What a testament to your hard work you have been doing, but also to your courage as that is what it takes to go all-out even when feeling yucky!
