[Photo link at bottom of post.... if you find one of yourself please take it - just leave me a note in the comments... Thanks!]
Sunday was the Subaru Shawnigan Lake International 1/2 Iron.
If you are going to slap a grand title like that on a race it better be good - and this one is awesome!
Although the race was by no means large (around 300 competitors in the 1/2, Oly, and Sprint) it is star-studded (simon whitfield, brent mcmahon, jasper blake, katya meyers, lisa mensink), well organized, and in one of the most beautiful venues you can imagine. I had to hand it to Lifesport - they have a great event - and kudos to my friend John Botelho who is the race director.
This event is pencilled into my race calendar for next year.
This year I was supporting my good buddy Kevin who was racing on his 307th birthday.... just kidding Kev....
Also, Vincent, who I met right here in the blogosphere...
And, Mark Shorter, who I know a little from the North Shore racing community...
Before I get ahead of myself..... the trip started with a 10 minute ride to the ferry in Horseshoe Bay - rather uneventful except for the flat I got. Of course I had NOTHING - no tube, no tire levers, no pump, no co2, zip, zilch.... all on my other bike. Luckily I ran into a super nice couple that had everything - they patched my tire and I was good to go on the other side. [Note: Karma... I always help people with flats - it's my policy. When my turn came the first person I asked basically had every single thing I needed.... it was awesome.]
Upon exiting the ferry I promptly took a wrong turn and rode north for 5 minutes... (no map either.) Normally I am like a sea turtle (as my good friend Llorn always says) when it comes to direction - not this time. After that issue was sorted, I settled in for a quick and highly enjoyable 55km on loooooong rollers south to Duncan where Kevin and I met for dinner.
Kevin had lined up a B&B called Shirley's Cozy Nest. Fortunately the nest featured a cot for yours truly... placed conveniently at the foot of Kevin's 200 sq.ft king size bed. I fell asleep watching sweet triathlon movies from the 90's - that decade was tragic for triathlon style.
You really MUST click on this one to see it full size...
Anyway, I shouldn't turn this into a full report since I wasn't even racing... my boys all did really well - Kevin PR'd, Vince rocked it and took 5th among the men, and Mark Shorter took 2nd in his age group.
I had a blast taking photos (and I am getting better!) but left VERY hungry for Escape from Alcatraz in a few weeks. One can only do so much watching.
Here are a few more from Sunday:
Simon Whitfield did the 1/2 swim and the Olympic Swim/Bike...
Katya Meyers about 1km into the run...
Race Leader... not sure who it was at this point...
A few minutes before the cannon....
Damn it LeBron...
Here is a link to all my photos from Sunday:
Tweet this!
