Unfortunately I missed the women's Olympic tri coverage - my stomach pangs won out over the race and by the time I had finished the feed, it was all over. I was bound and determined to make sure I watched the mens race, so I ate on and off al day long to keep the munchies away.
How about that Simon. In your face CBC anouncer .... I never thought Simon looked tired, shoulders tight, and on and on ..... Being a Canadian comentator, you would have thought he could have been a bit more positive. By now, everyone has seen Simon's run in Sydney, how could you not believe the dude would come back. I was screaming at the TV and for a moment, I thought he had done it again - WOW, our sport makes for some exciting finishes. Thanks Simon for another awesome performance.
The second triathlon in as many weekends was IMC. Maybe it was just me but the crowds seemed much larger than in previous years ....... Check out Lakshore after the swim start.
I manged to catch a few fellow Polar athletes, Carolyn Hubbard and Scott Jacobsen on the bike and run - Scott and Carolyn looked focused and strong, so I am not surprised to hear that he had a great result.
I am often asked if I would ever try my hand at the Ironman distance - my response is always the same "nope". I tip my hat to each and every finsher, I even get teary eyed when I see friends finish or hear of athletes who have overcome significant adversity to be in the race. It's just not for me, I'll stick to appreciating those that take on the challenge of the Ironman event.
It was great to be there as the last person crossed the line before the midnight cutoff - a powerfully moving experience for me each and every year. And so ends tow weekends of triathlon. I'm now back home and switching my focus to a few running events (yet to be determined) before the end of another season.
Duncan
Hey Duncan - sorry I missed you at the apple.
Re: the swim - I actually have a little theory on the swim that I put on my race report on facebook. I have found that the swim in ironman, despite the thousands of people all starting at once, is relatively tame. For the most part, everyone gives you space, if people start crashing into one another, they usually just back off, and the only really congested areas are the turns. In contrast to some of the smaller starts and races, which I have found to be full of sharp elbows, and the odd punch etc. So my thought is that in the ironman swim, most people know they are going to be out there for many hours after the swim, and they don't bother expending the energy to engage in the "fisti-cuffs." Even in the short races, I think it is a waste of energy, and takes away from race focus to engage in that kind of stuff. It's frustrating though . . .
And re: the CBC commentator - yeah, I think he was giving Simon a bum deal . . .I was screaming at the TV too, and thought he was going to pull out the gold, it was a great race.
Great posts . . . talk to you soon . . . .Scott