Charlotte's Day in Penticton

Ironman Canada done, but definitely not dusted.

I was 6th female overall in a time of 10.12. I am not disappointed with my result, but I know I can do better. Third place was only 3 minutes faster, and I feel it should have been within my capabilities.

It was fantastic to be there when Belinda Granger finally held off the "Bentley Blast". She really deserved the win.

We had the perfect day to start with. The lake was like glass, the skies clear and there was no wind. I swam well, was very comfortable and came out in a group with Lisa Bentley and Amanda Lovato in just over 59 minutes. Leaving town the crowd was
enormous. It was a big rush, and hard not to speed up with the cheers.

Onto the road I kept within my heart rate ranges. I was careful not to go out too hard since there was 70kms of flats to start with and then hills, hills and more hills. I thought I was going along ok, but my 5 hour 50 minute bike split says otherwise. I think I just rode way too conservatively and needed to be more
aggressive.

The last 30kms was a downhill back to town where I thought I would make up time, but the headwind lessened this.

I was off the bike in about 16th position, so I knew I had a lot of work to do. The run course is an undulating out and back along Skaha Lake. The 1st 21kms was into a head wind and pretty tough going, but towards the turnaround I had a good look at where my competitors were. Apart from Belinda and Lisa, the others weren't looking too flash. Turning around I was now heading for home, had a tailwind, and lots of carrots.

This is the best part of the race for me. I was picking off girls one by one, and gaining energy each time. I got plenty of support from the crowd, and was told 3rd was a possibility if I kept going. In the end I ran out of road.

Coming into the home straight, an out and back to the finish, I caught sight of 5th, just ahead, and better still - [she was] walking! But as the crowd urged me to "get her" she saw me and started running. Well I picked up my pace and stayed with her, but her final sprint saw me with nothing in return. These little legs had no sprint in them.

My 3.18 run split was the 2nd fastest after Lisa Bentley, I negative split, and I was happy with that. I had let the strong riders get way too far down the road, and had too much catching up to do on the run. The course definitely suited the strong riders, but its amazing few of them were able to run well off it. The hills on the run made it extremely fair. You had to be a biker and a runner.

I don't know if this race will be on my schedule for next year, but I do want to go back and conquer it.

I now look forward to a new look at training, and the build to Ironman Western Australia in December.

Thank you all for your ongoing support.

Charlotte