IMC 2011

Video feed starts in a few minutes. I'm texting Susi, she says Julie is ready to go! It's cool there now, but going to be scorching hot later. The coffee is on, I'll get breakfast in a minute. The plan is to update this post periodically throughout the day. Race stuff. Random dribble out of my brain. Who knows? In any case, I know the racers are milling around, doing last minute things, like stand in a porta potty line, hoping for things to move at the right time. Nuff said.

Where is the video feed???????
Well that sucks.
Pros are off, and my buddies will be going any second.
No video on the Ironman.com site.
No video on http://www.livestream.com/ironmancanada?rsvptoeventid=412291
I wonder if there is another denial of service attack happening?

Still no video. Susi is watching, most pros out of the water, and top age groupers.

Julie is out of the water! Race clock says 1:23, minus 15 is 1:08. Yay! Ironman site is beyond slow. Very disappointed.

Race Clock 2:04
Most of buddies are out of the water. No times for Pro's Ullie Bromme, or Jacqui Gordon. I wonder what the story is there.

Race Clock 2:22
All buddies are out of the water. I had to check twice, Lana and Leanne were out within seconds of each other. And Madonna Buder is out of the water! She had a problem with her wetsuit last year, so it's great to see her on the bike. Here's the latest times. Not accurate to the second, and not counting T times.

Number	Name	Swim
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09
775	Todd H	1:09
780	Dan B	1:39
1635	Chuck K	1:31
1868	Dave T	1:49
2338	Tawnee P	1:21
2518	Richelle L	1:12
2553	Amber H	1:15
2594	Julie A	1:09
2600	Jennifer M	1:15
2710	Leanne S	1:43
2747	Lorraine C	1:04
2917	Tessa P	1:23
2979	Patty I	1:16
3115	Valeska T	1:30
3182	Jill K	1:16
3195	Lana S	1:43
3235	Madonna B	1:48

Race Clock 2:56

Looking at transition times. Sara was in and out in 1:24. That's 84 seconds. If it's the same layout as last year, I'm not convinced I could run from the swim, collect my bike, and get to the exit in that time, to say nothing of getting my wetsuit off and putting bike stuff on. Other people have times in the 3 minute area, which is amazing to me. No word on if Uli and Jacqui DNS or pulled out of the swim for some reason. Hope they're ok. The site blog feed, slow as it is, says the wind is picking up. That was nasty last year, and it happened just near the start of the run for me.

Still no video feed. The actual site doesn't even say there will be video feed, but the tab says audio/video, and it just says the live feed has expired. I don't know if there is an unexpected technical problem or what. At least the IM Louisville shows a video box, IMC doesn't even have that. I see two possibilities: 1 - They planned to do it and are having problems, like the Denial of Service attack last year. This implies good intentions and poor execution.

2 - They didn't plan to do it at all, which just damages their brand even further. Maybe they couldn't figure out how to cope, and didn't even want to try. Or they figure they can make more money by selling the DVD if there is no live feed. In either case they have disappointed a lot of people.

I suppose there is a third alternative, that it is there, and I don't have the right site, or my own system or ISP has some issue, but I know Kelsey in South Africa, and Leana can't see the video either.

Race clock 3:18
Sara is in third at the bottom of Richter's Pass! Looks like 17 minutes back. They're saying "very strong" winds on the out and back. This might be turning into a very tough ride for the age groupers.

I'm off for a book club meeting. There will be wine. And other nibblies... Back in a while.

Back. Race Clock 7:35
Susi texted me, Julie on her way back into town. I've checked where people are, see the list below. Now,  at least, the video is trying to show. Lets see how that works out.

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike 2	Bike 3
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58			5:28
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09			5:00
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02		6:10
2600	Jennifer M	1:15		3:30	5:24
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12
2747	Lorraine C	1:04			5:47
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57

Clock Time 8:38
Jordan Rapp won about 10 minutes ago. More of my buddies are off their bikes, and probably pretty happy about it. Video is working!! Yay. Guess what I'm doing for the next bunch of hours?

No info on where the lead woman is. Looks like Torsten Able is second. And third coming in, Bert Jammaer in 8:42 I think. Julie is heading past the Skaha Lake marina, looking strong.

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike finish
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58		5:28
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09		5:00
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11	6:13
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11	6:25
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16	6:39
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11	6:13
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13	6:23
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02	6:10
2600	Jennifer M	1:15		5:24
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12
2747	Lorraine C	1:04		5:47
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08	6:11
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08	6:07
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57

Race Clock 9:26
First age grouper, 9:27 or so.
Second and third women nearly there. No word of Sara, last I saw she was 4th.
Jennifer M is having a great day out there, hope it continues.

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike finish	Run 1
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58	1:57	5:28	1:34
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09		5:00	1:52
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11	6:13
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15	6:47
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11	6:25
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22	7:06
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16	6:39
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11	6:13
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13	6:23
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02	6:10
2600	Jennifer M	1:15		5:24	1:54
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12	6:36
2747	Lorraine C	1:04		5:47	1:54
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08	6:11
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23	6:46
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23	6:52
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08	6:07
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25	7:05
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57

Race Clock 10:22
At the 10:16 mark a guy stops about 10 steps from the finish line. He hauls out a ring box, kneels down, and proposes. She accepted. I admit that isn't something I would have thought of. So far just a few of my buddies have made it to OK Falls, but I'm starting to look for some of them at the finish line. So far Madonna Buder has not come into T2, according to the notoriously late athlete tracker. Just as few more minutes to the bike cut off. I hope she makes it. It seems like she just missed the cutoff by a couple of minutes. Crap. Here's the times for my buddies:

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike finish	Run 1	Finish
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58	1:57	5:28	1:34	9:46
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09		5:00	1:52
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11	6:13	2:26
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15	6:47
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11	6:25
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22	7:06
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16	6:39
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11	6:13	2:17
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13	6:23	2:12
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02	6:10	2:28
2600	Jennifer M	1:15		5:24	1:54  10:36!!
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12	6:36
2747	Lorraine C	1:04		5:47	1:54
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08	6:11	2:33
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23	6:46	2:07
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23	6:52
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08	6:07	2:35
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25	7:05
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57	no

Race Clock 12 hours
It's starting to get dark, though it's hard to tell because the camera operator keeps playing with is settings. So far the only person that hasn't reached OK Falls according to the tracker is Lana, and she well could have done it.

Jennifer and Lorraine both finished under 11 hours, and I haven't seen anyone else I know crossing. Though it is hard when little packs arrive at the finish line together. They changed announcers at 12 hours, and I don't care for the new guy. More jokes about ironman virginity than I need to hear.

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike finish	Run 1	Finish
33	Uli B	no
36	Sara G	58	1:57	5:28	1:34	9:46
42	Jacqui G	no
208	Josh K	1:09		5:00	1:52	10:58
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11	6:13	2:26
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15	6:47	2:58
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11	6:25	2:52
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22	7:06	2:48
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16	6:39	2:11
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11	6:13	2:17
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13	6:23	2:12
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02	6:10	2:28
2600	Jennifer M	1:15	1:53	5:24	1:54	10:36
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12	6:36	2:25
2747	Lorraine C	1:04	2:01	5:47	1:54	10:57
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08	6:11	2:33
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23	6:46	2:07
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23	6:52	2:30
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08	6:07	2:35
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25	7:05
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57	missed it by a couple minutes

Race Clock 13:14
Richelle, Amber, Patty, Todd, Tawnee, Julie, Tessa, Jill, Leanne. Yay! I was beginning to get a bit worried. Especially since that one announcer's pronunciation made it nearly impossible to figure out was crossing the line. Here's the list, sorted by finish time. Hope everybody is ok, it was a hot one today!

Number	Name	Swim	Bike 1	Bike finish	Run 1	Finish
36	Sara G	58	1:57	5:28	1:34	09:46
2600	Jennifer M	1:15	1:53	5:24	1:54	10:36
2747	Lorraine C	1:04	2:01	5:47	1:54	10:57
208	Josh K	1:09	1:47	5:00	1:52	10:58
2518	Richelle L	1:12	2:11	6:13	2:17	12:15
2553	Amber H	1:15	2:13	6:23	2:12	12:20
2979	Patty I	1:16	2:23	6:46	2:07	12:25
775	Todd H	1:09	2:11	6:13	2:26	12:41
2338	Tawnee P	1:21	2:16	6:39	2:11	12:45
2594	Julie A	1:09	2:02	6:10	2:28	12:57
2917	Tessa P	1:23	2:08	6:11	2:33	13:03
3182	Jill K	1:16	2:08	6:07	2:35	13:04
2710	Leanne S	1:43	2:12	6:36	2:25	13:22
33	Uli B	no
42	Jacqui G	no
780	Dan B	1:39	2:15	6:47	2:58
1635	Chuck K	1:31	2:11	6:25	2:52
1868	Dave T	1:49	2:22	7:06	2:48
3115	Valeska T	1:30	2:23	6:52	2:30
3195	Lana S	1:43	2:25	7:05	2:57
3235	Madonna B	1:48	2:57	missed it by a couple minutes

Race Clock is 13:41
Wrap up, since I have to be at work tomorrow. I was really grumpy they didn't have the video working for the swim exit. At least they figured it out. I know it's kids doing the tape, but it's been a bit of a mess. There have been a bunch of people trying to grab the tape and hold it over their head, but the kid on the other end doesn't let go. They've been dropping it as the person is reaching for it. And there was a collision between one athlete and one of the tape kids. That's a crappy way to end a race.

Valeska! 13:45.

I was disappointed that Sister Madonna Buder missed the bike cutoff by a couple of minutes. That's gotta hurt. Can she try again next year? Age has to catch up to her sooner or later, but I am still seriously impressed.

Watching this year was really interesting. This hasn't filled me with any desire to do it again, mainly because of the heat. That can't have been any fun at all this year. Congrats to all the finishers!