After a great sleep I woke up 2 minutes before my alarm. I was refreshed and ready to go. I had a bowl of cereal, some yogurt and a piece of toast with jam. Deb and I drove down to the starting line to drop off the needs bags and get the body marking done. It was still dark as I headed into the transition area to get set up for the race. I spent a bit of time pumping up bike tires and waiting in line for the port-a-potty before putting on the wetsuit and heading out to the water.
The sun was just coming up over a very calm lake and the string of buoys seemed to go on forever.As I waited for the start of this very long day I chatted with some of my teammates about the excitement and nerves of things to come.
It is a mass start race so 2800 people all start at the same time. My plan was to wait a minute until the first wave of swimmers started out and then get going.
The first 400 meters and I was feeling fine. 600 meters and still going. 800 meters and I noticed that I was still surrounded by other swimmers. Wait a minute, I think I am going to do this! I seem to be swimming as fast as the rest of these guys! I past the first house boat at 48 minutes, the second at 1 hour. I am now turned and heading back to shore. 1800 meters to go. I bump into other swimmers and keep going. I put my head down and my bum up and keep swimming. At one point a kayaker tells me to steer more to the right. I correct my direction and soon I could see the bottom again.
When I arrive at the beach I had to stand up on some slippery rocks but I made it! I had finished the swim. All the training and days and nighs of going to the pool had paid off. It was a tremendous feeling. Deb, Karen and Garnet were on the shore cheering and clapping as I ran out of the water and on to the first transition.
It took me 9 minutes to get changed and ready for the bike. first the wetsuit strippers then grab the gear bag with my helmet and shoes. Some volunteers threw on a splash of sunscreen and I am off on the bike.
I rode past the crowds on the streets and I saw my name in chalk in the middle of the road.
It said "Yay Ricky B!" How fun.
I felt good and kept a steady pace. My plan was to save some energy for later on.
The first real climb happens about 15 kms on the McLean Creek Road. This was the first test of my climbing legs and thing went well until I reached the crest of the hill where I miss a shift and derailed my chain.
I had to stop and get off to reset the chain on the gears and start up again. All the time gained on a strong climb was lost to a bad shift. With greasy fingers I continued.
The ride out through Oliver and Osoyous was great. Past the orchards and vineyards along the highway. I kept spinning away and conserved energy waiting for the climb at Richters Pass.
The weather was holding as I started my ascent. I worked my way up the hill slowly passing riders and bikes. There were a lot of people out cheering on the racers and it was sort of a carnival atmosphere. The wind picked up a bit at the top of the pass but it still felt great to put that hill behind me. Now the race begins!
Up and down the seven rollers and on to the out and back where a special needs bag was packed for me. 120 kms done and now refreshed with a peanut butter and banana sandwich, I head back up the road and on to Yellow Lake.
I hit a bit of rain on the next part of the ride. At the turn off to Apex Ski resort there was a gauntlet of spectators along the climb that were right up close and cheering on the riders. For a moment I thought I was in the Tour de France. Flying down the hill and towards Penticton I was having a blast. I rode past spectators along the road that were cheering and clapping and it is a feeling I will never forget, An emotional moment for me was when I past a woman who was sitting at the edge of the road and she was sitting in a lawn chair all by herself clapping and cheering for ever rider that went by. She look like she had some physical challenges so she would never be able to compete in this event and yet she would still spend her day sitting out in the rain, giving encouragement to those of us who were lucky enough to pass by.
As I rode into town and onto main street, I was feeling strong, so I picked up my pace a bit. I saw Deb and Garnet and Karen waiting along the street near the Husky. It was so fantastic to see them and knowing that they were out there cheering me on gave me an extra boost.
It was a very cool feeling to ride down Main Street pass the spectators along the fences and on to the second transition.
I handed my bike to a volunteer and ran to pick up my T2 bag. There was another volunteer there that was there to hand me my bag and I jog in my bike shoes into the change tent to get ready for the run.
9 minutes later I emerged ready to go. I am not sure what took me so long, but I do know I need to pick it up a bit.
As I ran along the Lakeshore Drive, a hugh wind storm blew in from the lake and was whipping sand across the road and at the spectators. The wind seemed to be over 40 kms and I was glad to be off the bike.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to run a full marathon at this point, but I knew I can run a half marathon so I just had to get to the halfway point at Okanagan Falls. It was 4 o'clock and I am on the run. I saw Deb, Karen and Garnet near the edge of town so I ran up to them I asked " Has the Nun passed by here yet?". She hadn't.
The sun came out and it was very pleasant along running along the lake. I first saw Brent Draker who is the fastest on the Cops for Cancer Ironteam. Since the run is an out and back, I would run past all the members of the team and that made for a pretty entertaining run.
I made it to Okanagan Falls where I saw Byron and he said "Looking strong, Your going to have a good time" as I went by. That was very encouraging.
I got my special need bag and drank some Ensure and tried to eat a Banana dog but I did not feel like eating much.
Hung on to my shirt and vest just in case I got cool later. As I ran out of town I thought, I now just need to run a half marathon to bring it home.
I managed to be able to keep pushing up the hills and I would take a short walk as I took a drink at the aid stations.
The people along the run were fantastic. As I passed by spectators along the road I would hear things like "Go Cops for Cancer" or "I'm a cancer survivor thank you" and the one that made me a bit emotional was " Cops for Cancer... you guys are great". Not because we are great but I think because of the charitable work we do as a team. I am very proud to be a part of this team and proud of the work we have all done to raise money for the Cancer Society.
As I ran past the 25KM sign I thought only 15 kms to go anybody can run 15k. then 10k to go heck that is just a training run. I thought of my runs past Fort Edmonton and up Keillor road. I thought I can keep it going.
I made the turn on to Lakeshore Drive and I saw Deb at the corner. 3K to go and I was still at full stride, (or at least it felt like it). The sun had just set and it was now dark. I ran into the finish area to the crowds, lights and crossed the line at 13:48:24 hours after the starting gun.It was an amazing day!
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