New Balance Half Ironman Race Report

Race #2 in the Subaru West Coast series, and I was looking to move up 1 spot and get on the podium, as Jordan Rapp wasn't racing this one. Prize money went 3 deep ($1000, $500, $250) so that was extra motivation as well.

The course:
1 big rectangular loop in Elk Lake (1.9km)
2 loops throughout saanich, plus an out and back section from transition area (87km)
2 x 10km loop around Elk and Beaver Lake (20km)

Race Day:
Up at 4:30 for a quick breakfast, and hit the road at 5:15 for the short drive over to Elk Lake. Through body marking, pump up the tires, short run warm-up, and then get the wetsuit on and a short swim warm-up. The was a bit of a breeze from the south which made the first 800m stretch of the swim a bit choppy, which was music to my ears! It would help in my plan to be out of sight, out of mind.

For the second race in a row, I wasn't ready for the start of the race, which again happened with a blast from the howitzer from the local army branch. I quickly put my head down, and aimed for the first turn buoy 800m out. I ended up coming out of the water in 23:10 with almost a 4:00 lead. Quickly through transition and onto the bike.

I had ridden the course a couple weeks ago in training, and knew that it was going to be a tough bike course. I tried to ride controlled and effectively on the first loop, spinning up some of the hills, so as not to fry the legs too early. I managed to hold off both Trevor Wurtele and Andriy Yastrebov until roughly 65-70km or so on the bike. I was able to key off of them once they went by, but they pulled away in the last 8km or so, and I just tried to limit my losses at that point.


I was roughly 1:00 down on Andriy off the bike, and about :30 down on Trevor. I had no idea where Steve Kilshaw was. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me to catch Trevor, as he had run 1:20 at Boise 70.3 a few weeks ago. Off I went onto the run, trying to spot Trevor up ahead. I was able to run pretty well throughout the first loop (37:15) but fell off a bit on the second loop (39:50). Andriy ran really well off the front for the win, while Trevor ran really well for second. I hung on for 3rd place, and a little bit of money.

I thanked Jasper after the race for opting not to race (he's battling shingles right now) and allowing me to sneak onto the podium! Also thanks again to Jordan Rapp for allowing me the use of his extra Zipp disc!

All in all, I'm happy with the way the race unfolded. I've still got a few things to work on for the long course races, as I had quad cramps/spasms in the left leg again. It might be a case of not enough sodium intake, or perhaps a muscle imbalance.

Andriy Yastrebov 3:57:14 27:06 2:16:41 1:12:06
Trevor Wurtele 4:00:57 27:15 2;16:32 1:15:40
Daniel Wells 4:02:58 23:10 2:21:34 1:17:09
Stephen Kilshaw 4:05:37 27:06 2:20:29 1:17:01

Full results can be found here