Here I am at the end of the triathlon, thinking ahead to the next race.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Mission Accomplished!
Yesterday was the big race. I woke up to rain here in Toronto and as I was leaving around 6:30 a.m. it got quite heavy and I was sorely tempted to turn around and crawl back into bed rather than brave the elements. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking, but what if in Grimsby this has all blown through already and the weather's fine? So I pushed on and sure enough by the time I got there the rain had stopped. The course site was a sloppy mess, the sun never did appear and there was a couple of short bouts of light rain during the race, but I'm glad I went. Here's the official breakdown:
1. The Swim - was relatively disastrous. I've been doing really well in the pool, my usual time to complete 750 meters is 16-17 minutes. Unfortunately swimming in an open lake is entirely different and as much as I had hoped to get at least one open water swim in before the race, my schedule didn't allow it. So cold lake water, waves and the restrictions of a wetsuit, made breathing difficult and I felt like I couldn't get enough air, which is a scary feeling when you're in deep lake water. Twice I had to stop and gasp for air while clinging to a rescue kayak and seriously thought I was going to have to abandon the swim. But thankfully, the kayakers were really great, calming and supportive and about half way through when my nerves settled and I got into my groove and swam quite well - if only I could have done that the whole way.
2. The Bike - went really well. I maintained an average speed of 26 km/hr throughout and so finished in under an hour which was my goal. As luck would have it, because of the rain they altered the bike course to remove the hill affectionately dubbed "The Beast", so the whole bike course was a nice flat stretch.
3. The Run - also went well. I managed to run at about the same pace as I had 8 years ago the last time I did a triathlon, so I was happy with that.
My goal had been to beat my time in my last triathlon which was 2 hours 27 minutes and 6 seconds. In public, I was aiming for 2 hours and 17 minutes, privately in my own mind I was hoping to finish in 2 hours and 5 minutes. My time (even with a horrible swim) was....drum roll please...2 hours and 7 minutes and 41 seconds. So all in all I'm pretty pleased and even after my near death experience in the swim, I'm trying to set my next race. There's a tri in Guelph lake at the end of August, but I'm not sure I want to do another that soon. I may aim for a duathlon in September. I'll keep you posted!
1. The Swim - was relatively disastrous. I've been doing really well in the pool, my usual time to complete 750 meters is 16-17 minutes. Unfortunately swimming in an open lake is entirely different and as much as I had hoped to get at least one open water swim in before the race, my schedule didn't allow it. So cold lake water, waves and the restrictions of a wetsuit, made breathing difficult and I felt like I couldn't get enough air, which is a scary feeling when you're in deep lake water. Twice I had to stop and gasp for air while clinging to a rescue kayak and seriously thought I was going to have to abandon the swim. But thankfully, the kayakers were really great, calming and supportive and about half way through when my nerves settled and I got into my groove and swam quite well - if only I could have done that the whole way.
2. The Bike - went really well. I maintained an average speed of 26 km/hr throughout and so finished in under an hour which was my goal. As luck would have it, because of the rain they altered the bike course to remove the hill affectionately dubbed "The Beast", so the whole bike course was a nice flat stretch.
3. The Run - also went well. I managed to run at about the same pace as I had 8 years ago the last time I did a triathlon, so I was happy with that.
My goal had been to beat my time in my last triathlon which was 2 hours 27 minutes and 6 seconds. In public, I was aiming for 2 hours and 17 minutes, privately in my own mind I was hoping to finish in 2 hours and 5 minutes. My time (even with a horrible swim) was....drum roll please...2 hours and 7 minutes and 41 seconds. So all in all I'm pretty pleased and even after my near death experience in the swim, I'm trying to set my next race. There's a tri in Guelph lake at the end of August, but I'm not sure I want to do another that soon. I may aim for a duathlon in September. I'll keep you posted!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Some Thoughts the Day Before the Big Day - 1 day to go!
Since I haven't had time for blogging lately there have been random accumulated thoughts building up in my brain so here's the big brain dump:
1. As I previously mentionned, music like IPods etc are not allowed while racing a triathlon for safety reasons. So I've usually had a soundtrack for the race running in my brain. Those of you who know me well know that I love a band from Newfoundland called Great Big Sea. Previous races were run to the inspiration of lyrics like "and I say, way hey hey it's just an ordinary day, and it's all your state of mind" and "when I'm up I can't get down, can't get down can't get level, when I'm up I can't get down, get my feet back on the ground". This time around Great Big Sea has a new album out called Fortune's Favour that I absolutely love and so I think it will be lyrics from Walk on the Moon that inspire me - "this is my one small step, this is my walk on the moon". If you ever get a chance to see Great Big Sea live, it's the most fun you're likely to have at a concert and you'll pay for a seat, but not likely ever sit in it because they'll have you on your feet through the whole show.
2. I'm sad to report that my two friends that were going to race with me have had to pull out of the triathlon, so I'll be going solo - which is ok because I'm not sure I really want too many people I know to see me in full swim regalia with the goggles, swim cap and wetsuit - it's not really an attractive look.
3. On wetsuits - I tried mine on after 10 years of not wearing it and forgot just how tight these things are. I can get it up to my waist after considerable, sweat inducing effort, but I can't possibly zip the thing up myself. I went to Endurosport today to ask if that's how it should be and was assured that it was the right size for me and you do in fact have to be a contortionist to be able to zip it yourself.
4. This week - pre-race week has been ridiculously easy, I'm just worried that I've lost some of my endurance and I feel like I've gained 10 pounds from being (in relative terms) sedentary. Days that were consumed with a 600 m swim followed by an 80 minute bike ride are now just a 20 minute bike ride - it seems like way too little effort. My seasoned triathlon pals assure me that this is ok, but I'll actually be looking forward to picking up my activity level again next week - so I say now, perhaps I should reserve comment until after my 2 hour+ workout tomorrow.
Wish me luck!
1. As I previously mentionned, music like IPods etc are not allowed while racing a triathlon for safety reasons. So I've usually had a soundtrack for the race running in my brain. Those of you who know me well know that I love a band from Newfoundland called Great Big Sea. Previous races were run to the inspiration of lyrics like "and I say, way hey hey it's just an ordinary day, and it's all your state of mind" and "when I'm up I can't get down, can't get down can't get level, when I'm up I can't get down, get my feet back on the ground". This time around Great Big Sea has a new album out called Fortune's Favour that I absolutely love and so I think it will be lyrics from Walk on the Moon that inspire me - "this is my one small step, this is my walk on the moon". If you ever get a chance to see Great Big Sea live, it's the most fun you're likely to have at a concert and you'll pay for a seat, but not likely ever sit in it because they'll have you on your feet through the whole show.
2. I'm sad to report that my two friends that were going to race with me have had to pull out of the triathlon, so I'll be going solo - which is ok because I'm not sure I really want too many people I know to see me in full swim regalia with the goggles, swim cap and wetsuit - it's not really an attractive look.
3. On wetsuits - I tried mine on after 10 years of not wearing it and forgot just how tight these things are. I can get it up to my waist after considerable, sweat inducing effort, but I can't possibly zip the thing up myself. I went to Endurosport today to ask if that's how it should be and was assured that it was the right size for me and you do in fact have to be a contortionist to be able to zip it yourself.
4. This week - pre-race week has been ridiculously easy, I'm just worried that I've lost some of my endurance and I feel like I've gained 10 pounds from being (in relative terms) sedentary. Days that were consumed with a 600 m swim followed by an 80 minute bike ride are now just a 20 minute bike ride - it seems like way too little effort. My seasoned triathlon pals assure me that this is ok, but I'll actually be looking forward to picking up my activity level again next week - so I say now, perhaps I should reserve comment until after my 2 hour+ workout tomorrow.
Wish me luck!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Bring it on! - 13 days to race day!
This week is the last week of intensive training before the race. Next week is a pretty easy week to rest and gear up for the big day. I feel very ready to race, but there can always be some unknowns thrown in come race day - choppy water, a hundred other bodies kicking and flailing at the same time and currents to battle on the swim, a windy day for the bike ride, blisters and sunburn for the run. I'm on track for my goal to better my time in theory, but it'll all come down to the conditions on the actual day - bring it on!
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