Vancouver Long Distance RR and F/T Triathlete Status in Jeopardy! :D :D

So two weeks after the big kahuna race in Coeur d'Alene, what better way to combat post-m-dot depression than by doing a recovery race in your own backyard, right right? C'mon surely I can't be alone...:D

What a poser! :P

The Vancouver race was fun. Despite being well rested (ehem lack of training) physically from the earlier than usual Ironman two weeks ago, the mental preparation and hoping racing more would increase my fitness on race day was wishful thinking at best. Perhaps some dream-slayers will say I got overly ambitious trying to squeeze 5 triathlons in less than two months and a marathon before that... But dang, it was certainly well worth it. Just enjoying triathlons while I still can and having a lot of fun. No regrets. :) 

In short, the swim had some usual tough ocean currents, moderate winds on the bike, and hot conditions on the run with no ice at aid stations. It made for some fun racing but slower times as a result. Excuses excuses I know they are quite weak! :)

The swim was a game of mad physics and applying vectors to swim to the bouys. They started a new swim wave feature, which makes it a bit lonely swimming with the 40 peeps vs 200++peeps in previous years. I.e. gone are the days of luxury drafting in the waters. Also the extra ocean current made for some extra swimming mileage distance relative to water.  

Mad physics on the swim!

Swim Splits (hey at least I was consistently bad at swimming physics):

Lap 1 19:04

Lap 2 19:13

The bike was uneventful and might be a bit tougher than last year. I tried picturing the winds from the Coeur d'Alene race and making sure I had better nutrition than from Oliver race this year. 

Suffering some s-miles on the bike...:)

I had to really muster up some strength for the run. It was hot and there was no ice at the aid stations which made for some lovely warm showers. In all, business as usual, I've been through quite a bit of suffering this season and this wasn't going let me from not finishing.

Beautiful backyard style racing.

Finishing grind and pretending to look "fresh"!

Quietly sneaked sub 5! 

PS - I'll be starting a new job opportunity next week with an exciting new team and it's bittersweet news that I will no longer racing as a full-time unemployed triathlete. The run was fun while it lasted (no pun intended). Got to pay 'em triathlon bills somehow. :)

PPS - Thanks for zee continued support! I very much appreciate it. Hopefully more racing to come very soon, but going enjoy some down time from racing now. :)