The Barrelman 70.3 - Loved IT!!!!

Fastest Swim Winners- Left to Right- Me, Richard Pady, Angela Quick, Lee Hart

Yes, that's me all decked out in triathlon gear!  Although it may not look that way in this picture, I had just finished the Barrelman 70.3 (half-ironman distance) and felt like I needed to desperately lay down.  Currently my legs are screaming at me saying ' Sheila, you are crazy for what you put me through', but my mind is saying 'Woohoo, I did it and with only 5 weeks of true Tri training'.  See the guy on the end, Lee Hart, he's my coach.  Thanks to his training and advice I didn't only finish the distance, I came second in my age group and 4th woman overall, claiming a qualifying spot for the 2015 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Sweden.

THE SWIM-For the three days before the event I felt pretty ill, nerves, what had I signed myself up for?  Lee expressed no doubt that I would finish but I don't think either of us thought that it would be pretty. It looked like it was going to be a rainy, stormy day, which for the swim and run not a big issue, but for the bike, a little nerve racking.  We had a group of us from Tri-Hart at the event, which helped keep my chatty self distracted and calm my nerves some.  Also, luckily for me, my coach, Lee Hart, was in the same swim wave.  We started in the fourth wave at the Welland Canal, Lee took off like a shot, and I played the game of catch up.  Within a few hundred metres we were swimming side by side and chasing down the previous waves like we were killer whales mowing down a herd of seals.  It was fun and motivating to have him there and the nerves disappeared.  Fifteen meters from the finish line my left calf started to cramp up- crap- I flexed my foot a few times and managed to work it out by the time I hit the exit.  Lee had the fastest 2k at 25.00 and I had the second fastest swim, 25.03, of the day.  After that Lee was gone like a shot, he ended up 2nd in his age group and 7th fastest man overall.

Barrelman Winnings

My goals coming into the Barrelman were:

 1. Win the Swim- there was a prize involved

 2. Cross the finish line- so I could claim my swim prize

THE BIKE-So I took my time through transition 1, had a drink and a Shot Block (as I was just cramping in the water), ran past the line and popped on my bike.  Let me just say, the first 40km of the 92km ride were brutal! Not just for me, an inexperienced rider, but for the Pros and Elites too.  The wind was incredible.  I fought to stay on my bike for the first third of the ride.  There were riders that were blown right off the road!  It was daunting and I was wondering if the wind would ever end.  After the course changed direction and the speedometer on my bike went form 20km/hr to 38km/hr and even, for a brief moment, hit a max speed of 49km/hr (that's good for me), things started looking up.  The sun had come out, the ride no longer felt arduous, and unlike several unlucky riders, my tires stayed firm. When the 85km marker appeared I was so excited!  Only 7km to go!! Then the head wind hit; it was the longest 7km bike ride I have ever been on.  Finally, the cones into transition 2 appeared so I took off my shoes and pedalled to the line in Niagara Falls.  My bike average was 32.1 km, that was 2km/hr faster than the sprint at Guelph and a great improvement. The volunteers led me to my bike area where I found the bag with my running gear.  Put on my shoes, stuck my nutrition in the pocket of my tri-suit and jogged onto the run course.

Women's Barrelman 2014 results 

THE RUN-As I ran through King's Bridge Park and onto the road a few people said " great job, you are running a great pace".  I certainly didn't feel that way as in my head I heard Lee saying " hold your pace, don't go faster, hold your pace, you want to make it to the finish."  So I looked at my watch, hmmm, 4:30/km, I knew I wasn't holding that for another 19km so I backed it off.  The run course ran by Niagara Falls twice, which was really cool.  It also had us run up a pretty big hill, twice. And I don't know if it was because I was so hurting from the bike or if it really was this way, but most of the run course felt as though it was on an incline.  The story when I'm 80 will be, " In my first half-ironman the run course was uphill the whole way!" Through the first loop of the course I looked at the finish clock as I ran by; if I hustled I may be able to break the 5 hour mark!  But again that voice said--no--you still have 11km to go.  So I held my pace and went up that big hill again.  As the 17 km mark came into view,  my body was saying to my brain" I don't know how much more I have for you" and my brain said to my body " you are doing so well, we are almost there".  Yes, after a 2k swim, 92km on the bike (with insane winds), and 17km running I was giving myself encouragement.  My breathing was starting to labour, and I could feel my body starting to weaken so I counted down by 1/2kms until I saw the 20km marker and knew I was going to make it.  I passed the line at 5 hours and 3 min.   I accomplished my goals!

Tri-Hart Competitors at Barrelman

I am thankful to my teammates, Natalie and Mandy, who took care of me afterwards, as I felt like I wanted to cry and pass out (my body was so weak).  After a while I recovered, as you can see I made it to the podium.  I loved it!!  I loved the race, the sense of accomplishment, my teammates, watching others cross the line beating their personal bests! It was an incredible experience to be a part of.   I would recommend going to a triathlon event just to take encouragement from all those people who triumph across the finish line, regardless of the pain, the weather, or their injuries.  

A true competitor keeps going regardless of the conditions.