That was a hard day

I had heard from several people that Ironman Canada was easier than Ironman Lake Placid. Its not. I am not sure if its the heat or the terrain or both. I don't know what the temperature was but it was at least mid nineties and probably hotter. I ran by the thermometer at one point late in the race when it had cooled off alot and it was 89 degrees. The swim was full body contact the whole way- punching, kicking and getting hit it the face. I felt ok in the swim and was happy with my time (1:10). On the bike I did not feel well from the start and had stomach problems; Gatorade was making me sick. I had been drinking it the day before to be hydrated and it was not sitting well in my stomach. When we got to the first hard part of the bike course (Richter Pass), I was feeling sick and didn't know if i was going to be able to finish. I stopped drinking gatorade and switched to water and things got a bit better. By the end of the bike ride, I was feeling better and things started to turn around. When I left the bike to run transition, I was figured I was 9 minutes ahead of my lake plaicd time and I felt good again. My legs felt good and I thought I would have a good run. It was fine for the first hour and I ran 7 miles in the first hour. If I had kept anything close to that pace, I would have had a great marathon and finish time. I should point out that there were a huge number of people walking. There were more walkers than runners by far. Somewhere in the second hour, I began to slow down. It took me 2 hours to get to the half way mark which was still not too bad. I started to have cramps in my legs and in my chest. I kept running and am pleased that I never walked other than to stop at aid stations but it took me 2.5 hours to run the second half of the marathon. I felt strong on the last 5 k which just shows how your mind kicks in when you know you are almost finished. My finish time was 12:03. Not to get too dramatic but I think I had a touch of heat stroke as I felt quite sick afterwards for the rest of the evening. I feel better now the day after.