Base Borden Army Run - Half marathon

A year ago I started road racing and ran my first 5K. It was the same year that Base Borden started doing a charity run to support Operation Hero which is a scholarship program for Canadian’s military youth. This is a fun small run with about 600 people. This year I decided to come back and run the half marathon instead of the 5K! I am not sure what I was thinking, but after a year of gaining some running experience I thought I might be ready to run a half marathon. Several years back when I took up running I tried to train for a half marathon, unsuccessfully. I wound up injured and was not able to complete the training. So to come back after a year of running, this was a major milestone for me.

I positioned myself at the back of the pack which probably wasn’t a great idea because the race was timed according to gun time, which adds extra time to your race. I also started out slow, concerned that I wouldn’t have enough energy at the end of the race. I later realised that this was not a good idea, because not only was I dropped from the pack of faster racers and unable to draft off the faster pack, but also because I ran with people who were slower runners, and I ended up running completely alone for most of the race. This is poor race strategy and a beginner’s mistake. The first part of the race was on pavement and had some difficult hills. For me the hills just slowed me down, as opposed to wear me out. At about 8K, the race went off road. At first it was ok, but after a few K on the gravel path my feet started to hurt. The stones were really sharp and the footing was loose. The scenery was really pretty but the terrain was difficult. I have experience running on trails but they always slow you down. In fact, it is more difficult to propel yourself forward when the footing is loose. I kept hoping the trail running would end but after 6K of running on gravel, the trail turned to sand! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Finally at around 16K the race went back on the road. This was fine although we were introduced to some more steep hills. I took in two gels, one at about 8K and one at 16K. I didn't slow down to eat them, because I couldn't afford the time. I had lost so much time on the hills and loose footing, I knew I was going to have trouble finishing the race with a decent time.

This half marathon was the most difficult race I had ever run, and it wasn't because of the distance. I think if I were to do this race again I would have to train specifically for the conditions of this race. Ie. Hills, sprinting the first and last 5K, as well as resistance training. I also think I would need the mileage required for a full marathon and not just a half marathon. All in all though, the day was great. The weather was beautiful and I am so glad I had the experience. The results haven't been posted yet, but my watch said that I completed the half marathon in 2:05:21 with an average pace time of 5:55. I am not sure where I placed in my AG, but probably above average. Thanks Base Borden for a great run, hopefully I will be back next year, but it definitely won't be for the half marathon (I don't think)

Scotiabank Waterfront marathon 5K

So this season I decided to run the scotiabank waterfront marathon just so that I could gain the experience of running in a very competitive field. This race typically attracts a lot of elite runners in all age catogories, as it is a big event with over 20,000 runners in it. They give out large cash prizes for the winners and everyone at least goes home with a nice finisher's medal. It is quite the event. A couple of weeks ago I found out that we had to go and register a day in advance for the race and get our timing chip. I was really lucky because my friend Richard was able to come with me. He knows a lot more about the city and driving down there. I wasn't even sure how to get to the exhibition stadium, but it turned out that Richard knew the area fairly well, and we made good time once we got on the hiway.

When we arrived there were a lot of people there. They had a really big expo set up dedicated to running. It was great to get all kinds of free samples and see all different running equipment all in one place. In fact, I really lucked out as they were handing out free coupons for greek yoghurt, of which I buy about 4 containers of per week!

I won't mention how many I took, but it probably was equivalent to half my race fee! Richard and I got temporarily separated when I went to activate my timing chip. There were so many people inside the expo that we ended up having to phone each other in order to reunite. Funny thing was that at the time we were only a few steps away from each other! Silly, but it sure was a good thing for cell phones. After that debackle Richard and I decided to we should make some careful meeting plans for the next day. This was important because I wasn't going to be carrying a cell phone.
Before leaving the expo, I thought it might be a good idea if I bought a fuel belt for carrying gels. The following weekend I was planning on running a half marathon and I was concerned that I may run into some nutritional issues due to the spacing of the aid stations. I found a belt that I wanted at the Running Free booth; this was good because I had a gift certificate from them that I won at a race earlier in the year. It turned out that I couldn't use the coupon at the expo. I decided to save it so that I could hopefully pick up a fuel belt at one of their stores later on. Richard and I soon left the ex and headed for our second destination, Endurosport which is a high end bike store in Toronto. I ended up buying a pair of swim googles and a tank top from them, things I had not seen in other stores. Richard and I looked at the bikes briefly but neither of us were in the market for the types of bikes they sold. We did get some useful information from some of the clerks though, about aero equipment, so it wasn't a total waste of time.
We ended up leaving the city fairly late because we had run into traffic earlier leaving the ex. I was really fortunate to have Richard drive us around; Richard appears as "cool as a cucumber" when it comes to city driving. I, on the other hand, am slightly more neurotic.

I will come back to this point a little further on in the post.
We got back to Newmarket at about 5:45pm, so we actually had time to go to the Running free Newmarket location. We made it to the store with 5 minutes to spare, but when we went to open the door of the shop, it would not open. We knocked on the door and saw a clerk in the back. He seemed to be happy to let us in, however I doubt that he really was. Especially considering the fuel belt I wanted in the store had no price on it, and the purchase practically crashed his computer as he tried to give me the merchandise. He ended up making up a price which was the same as the value of the gift certificate, and I ended up owing him only a penny! He was so nice to us. I tell ya, who was on my side that day!

By the time we left the store I think Richard and I were starving. I thought it would be a great idea to just go to the grocery store and pick up a pre-cooked chicken and some salads. It would be faster and cheaper instead of cooking and/or going out for dinner. Another thing that I am thankful for, that Richard is so agreeable! I was so hungry by the time we got back to his place that I could of eaten my running shoes.
I think we spent the rest of that night trying to figure out and driving plans and meeting plans for the next day. It was very complicated because the race started at the ex and finished at Bay and Adelaide. It was recommended to take the TTC, and most people probably did, however we were from out of town so that was a bit challenging for us. We also needed a comprehensive meeting plan because I was running to Bay and Adelaide and Richard wasn't sure how he was going to meet me, since you couldn't drive anywhere near the finish. We ended up making three meeting plans in case two wasn't enough. Eventually we settled on plans that we both thought might work, and all that was left to do was get a good rest for the race the next day. We had a few minutes to spare before bedtime, so Richard ended up showing me his Bowflex. I found this really interesting because Jay and I see the ads for it on TV all the time and wondered how it worked; we don't know anyone else who owns one. I can't really afford to buy one but it seems like you can do a lot of exercises with them. It was great I got to see how one works.
The next day Richard and I weren't too rushed leaving to go to Toronto for the race. We left at around 9:30 and didn't run into problems until we tried to get off the Gardiner expressway. Because lakeshore was closed for the race, there was traffic backed up really badly at Spadina. In fact I think we sat there for half an hour not really moving. Once again, Richard was as cool as a cucumber.

I on the other hand, was freaking out because I thought I was going to miss the race. Once we got off at Spadina, I didn't really have a concept of how close we were to the ex. Turns out that it only took us about 10 minutes to get there including parking underground at the DEC. I got there with just enough time to use the bathroom and find my spot in the correct corral. It was really cold out so I kept my sweater on until the last possible minute.

It took them a few minutes to get organized so Richard had plenty of time to set up and take photos of the start. The first corral were the elite runners (sub 20min). In fact there was even a preliminary corral that went first; a man in a wheel chair.

I can't imagine what that was like, having all these faster runners running with you at the start of the race. I was in the second corral and I don't remember passing him so he must have been pretty fast! It took me awhile to get through the starting gate, and as I went buy I threw my sweater at Richard.

I am glad he was there because I didn't really want to leave it behind. I took off running with my jacket on, but it wasn't long before I had to peel that off and tie it around my waist. I started off running pretty fast, but I realized that I would have to slow down or else I would be crawling over the finish line.

Even though I try to run my 5Ks pretty fast, I have to be careful, because I am not that experienced. The race was pretty windy, (I think 40km/hr winds)and I was pretty exhausted at around 4K. I tried very hard to maintain a good speed as I approached the finish, but it wasn't easy. My legs were tired, I was running with a new pair of shoes, which might have been the problem but I managed to cross the finish line under 25 minutes. The clock was on gun time so I wasn't really sure what my actual time was. My watch said 24:28, however I think that was a bit off.
After I finished there was a smorgusboard of snacks and drinks for the runners. We also got free emergency blankets and a nice finisher's medal. I made my way to the family meeting area for our first meeting plan, however after waiting for about 20 minutes I did not see Richard. It was a little challenging crossing Bay street, however I was able to get through the fence and it wasn't long before I was able to meet Richard and our second meeting place.

This was good because I wanted Richard to get a chance to see our finish and maybe take some good photos there. By that time it was about 1pm and we were able to begin boarding buses to go back to the DEC. Little did I know, I should have waited for them to post the results.
Richard and I arrived safely back at the DEC

and we ended up heading back to Newmarket. Once again we got stuck in some major traffic which held us up. Again Richard was as cool as a cucumber, where as I was fit to be tied. We ended up both deciding that if there is a next time, we are going to take the TTC, just like everyone else! I guess we will need a new plan for that. LOL.
It took us so long to finally get back to Newmarket that I didn't have much time to spend there. Because it was Juliette's birthday I had to get back as soon as possible. I also didn't want to be driving after dark because the weather did not look good.
By the time I got back to Collingwood they had posted the results. My chip time for the race was 24:30 and I had come 2nd out of 321 people in my age group (W40-44). I was actually surprized that I had placed so high. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't stayed for the results because I knew that they were giving away medals for top 3 in each Age catogory and the medals were really nice; a great keepsake.
I thought I might have to drive back down to Toronto to get my medal, but my friend Natalie agreed to pick it up for me. It is a good thing I have such great friends like Natalie and Richard, who helped me get through all the bad planning. I really enjoyed participating in the race, but I will admit, next time if I do it again, I will plan much better. Now just a few more days to rest before I attempt to run my first half marathon.
Thanks Scotia bank for a fun and memorable experience. Hopefully I will be back again in the future!

Wasaga Beach Triathlon

This was the last race of the 2011 season. We had great weather for this race. I mean it was sunny and not too hot. The water was incredibly calm, and we were very lucky because Wasaga Beach can be very choppy. At the beginning of the year I decided to do the olympic triathlon at Wasaga Beach instead of the half ironman in Muskoka. The reason for this mainly was because I didn't think that I had the experience or mileage in order to complete a half ironman. I have never even run a half marathon before, let alone bike 90K. I think I made the right choice, however stepping up to the Olympic level is a pretty big step from the sprints I have been doing. I didn't know if I would be finish in reasonably good condition. In fact, I had know clue how I would even do in this race, with the training I put in this season. I was in a really competitive field, there were lots of elite AGs in my category, and they were competing for this huge cash prize.
While I was waiting for the race to start I saw a vendor who was selling bike helmets and I needed a new one because the one I have is too big for me. So I bought it. It is kind of space-age looking.

I didn't warm up for the swim, only because it was 1500m and I wasn't going to race it. I tried the breathing pattern my coach suggested but then after awhile broke into 2s on my stronger side. This was ok, except there was a delay after every breath. Next season, I am going to work on my breathing patterns specifically for racing. I didn't do that this year and it showed up in my 1500m race. I have to learn to race on 3s, and train on 5s, I think, instead of 2s and 4s. I am going to ask my coach when I see him in the fall. My sighting was much better for this race, as I have been practicing it in the pool. The olympic swim is easier to sight for because I am not leading the pack. In fact for the first 3rd of the swim I am swimming with a pack from my wave. It gets a little more difficult at the end, when the stronger swimmers pull ahead and then I am pretty much by myself again. But the good thing is that I was still 11th out of the water from a pack of 31 women. My time was 31:54 which included the run out of the water which wasn't too bad; Wasaga has the most difficult swim transition because it is so shallow you have to run for quite some distance through the water to get out, and it affects your time.
I had a pretty good transition onto the bike, although I took careful time to put my bike shoes on. But once I was on the bike course everything was fine. The bike course was extremely flat which doesn't favour my skills. I look for a hilly course because it gives me opportunities to increase my average speed, and there were only two small hills on this course. I tried to bike as aggressively as possibly, but I did remain conservative, only because I wasn't sure how hard to push myself. A few sections of the course were crowded but it was much easier than biking in a sprint. I don't consider myself to be a strong cyclist but if I was I could see the olympic being a better distance for these riders. I ended up with a bike time of 1:17/40K. Better than what I have done in the sprints this year.

The run course was pretty easy, there were a few twists and turns and some trail running, but it was easy to pace, because there was only one small hill. I keep an aggressive pace, but again, I had to run a bit slower than in a sprint because it was 4x the distance that I was used to racing. I passed quite a few people on the run course, but was passed by only one woman who was not in my AG. I didn't really know where I was in the race, only because I didn't see any woman in my AG on the course, except for one who passed me on the bike course. This is a bit good for me, because it will force me to work more on my cycling skills. Last year I was being passed more by people on the run. This year, all the passing occurred in the bike course, and a couple on the swim, however there were mostly guys. My run time ended up being 53:34 for 10K which was a pretty good run time. However, I know I could improve a lot in the running still. My total time for the race was 2:46 and change which is almost 20min faster than my first olympic race. I am hoping next season to shave a bit more off that time, which will put me more at the top of my AG. My AG happened to be one of the most competitive AGs in this race, so I am not that disappointed. It was a good experience, just to let me know where I need work to improve. Thanks MSC for a great race day, what a lot of fun!

Guelph Lake II sprint triathlon

Oh boy, I said I was only going to do one subaru race this year. I kept coming back for more because I love the matching Tshirts and plaques. I even posed for three pictures because they look so cool. You can tell I have my priorities straight! And now for the report!

I went into this race with a bit more strategy after the debacle at Orillia. Since I was well aware that I would be one of the first out of the water for my wave, this required a swim strategy so that I would not get pushed under the water again. It was practically the same swim course as Orillia so I positioned myself on the far left side of the beach. Then I swam and outside line, remaining at least 5m away from swim buoy #1 and #2. Once I passed by swim buoy #2, I headed straight for the exit buoy. By this time I was ahead of the pack for my wave and my position didn't matter, because at this point all I had to do was dodge the odd person from any previous waves. There were a few, but because the crowd had thinned out, it didn't matter. It turned out that I was 5th overall out of the water, first female, exiting with a swim time of 8:48. Although, Guelph lake has a really long exit from the swim course which really adds to your time. I estimate around 1.5minutes, it is difficult to tell.
Unfortunately while running up the hill to the transition zone I tripped and badly injured my foot.

My toe hurt when I tried cramming my foot into my bike shoe, but the baby powder I had put in my bike shoes really helped get my foot in. I racked my bike the wrong way. Instead of having the handle bars facing towards me in the transition zone, they were facing the other way, and I couldn't get my bike out because my water bottle was blocking its removal from the rack. I struggled a bit which cost me a few seconds (about 20) but eventually got it out. It was a short transition to the bike course, so I didn't get the added advantage of running in my new bike shoes. I didn't seem to have trouble clipping in either which was what I thought would happen with the new shoes, and very quickly I was off on the bike course. The pavement is rough at guelph, but I didn't let that phase me. My bell keep ringing which maybe was a good thing. Again I spent a lot of time cruising down the middle, but a fast swim time got me on the bike course quickly and I was ahead of the pack. I passed many people on the bike course, but this time I made sure I stood up on hills and any time I had to slow down after making turns. This seemed to help my bike time as I came out with a much faster bike time than the first guelph lake triathlon and at Orillia. Guelph lake is an easier course to go fast on than Orillia, but I think with more work on my racing skills I should be able to do better at Orillia in the future. I finished the bike course in 20 minutes and 45 seconds, including the two short transitions in and out.
By this time my injured foot was killing me. I took time to carefully put on my running shoes which I knew was going to be a problem. And in no time I was off on the run course. My bike leg wasn't too bad, but it was still there and I had a bit of work to shake it off. It was incredibly hot on the run and difficult to run really fast. Guelph lake is also a difficult run course because it has several small hills. I kept a strong pace, but I knew with the hills I was going to be slower than I was at Orillia. I ended up running the 2.5K in 13 minutes, which was 44s faster than my time in June. I was pretty happy, although my goal to run 2.5K is 12.5 minutes, which is the time I had in Orillia.

My overall time in this race was 45minutes and 45 seconds. I was first in my AG, and 5th overall female. This is PR for this distance. Everything went really well for this race except for me injuring my foot. I am just lucky I didn't break a toe because I have an olympic distance triathlon next weekend! Oh well, I am just cruising until next weeks race. Then it will be the end of another great season. Thanks Subaru, for another fun race!

Orillia triathlon 2011

I signed up for the Orillia race this year, with some slight reservations. I have done this race twice in the past, and will admit that it isn't my favourite race. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that there is a large dock located to the left of the swim course which makes it difficult to swim out to the first buoy, especially if you are swimming in a triangle. The large dock blocks the pathway to the first buoy especially if you are swimming, keeping the buoys on the left. I warned people near me to watch the dock because it is easy to get pressed up against it with all the kicking and splashing that goes on during the first minute of the race. The second reason is that the bike course is very difficult, it is hilly and full of twists and turns. I don't mind the hills but the sharp turns make the course quite tricky. It is the type of course that you can't bike at full speed either you risk having a crash. Nevertheless, the timing of this race was appealing to me so I signed up for it.
The morning of the race it was quite gloomy, in fact it threatened rain the whole way there. Luckily I left in plenty of time for the race, which wasn't a great plan because it actually started to rain right before the beginning of the race, so there was a bit of standing around in the rain. Unfortunately in all the hubub of finding a place to park, I accidently locked my keys in the car. It was a good thing I had removed all my equipment from the car before doing so. I decided to deal with the problem after the race, which of course probably didn't put me into the right frame of mind.

When the horn went off for the swim, I will admit I didn't go out slow. I actually ended up gulping a large amount of water, probably because I got splashed in the face by the person on my left. From now on I will most likely start out from the far left to avoid this happening in the future. I managed to cough out the water but it took me awhile to get my breathing under control after that. The next thing that went wrong is that I had someone grab me and use me and under person as a platform from which to spring up and over. I looked up and saw that this was a women from my wave. I couldn't believe that this behaviour occurred in a beginner race. Not Cool. This person's competitive maneover didn't pay off for her in the end, which I will discuss later. I was a little concerned because the other person was a weaker swimmer than I and heard one of the kayakers try to help them as they were trying to recover from the incident. I felt bad for the person, as it will probably be their last tri after something like that happening. I also had a bit of difficulty in the swim because I had trouble sighting. There didn't seem to be anyone to follow, and in the past I have always relyied on following other people to know where I am going. This swim, even though it beat me up quite a bit taught me a couple of valuable lessons. One being that I must start in the right position at the beginning of the race, so that I am swimming on the outside line, not the inside line during the swim portion. The other that I need to practice sighting. Now that I am a stronger swimmer, I am finding myself one of the people who is leading the pack and I need to learn how to sight as I swim. This was never a skill I needed in the past but I do now.
The transition from the swim course went quite well, except that the run up was again tacked on to the swim time, which doesn't give you an accurate swim time per 100m. When this happens it makes your swim in a sprint seem slower than it is. In this course my time was 9:04, which was the second place time in my age category.

The transition to the bike was long and awkward. I had a lot of difficulty running fast in my bike shoes, because the pavement was slippery from the rain. Once I was on the bike everything was fine. I biked fairly aggressively, except for the fact that it was a technical course and there were a lot of cars on it. The pavement was also slick from the rain. My bike time ended up being just over 22min which was also a second place time for my age category.
The transition to the run was difficult because it was long and there were quite a few people blocking me as I was running with my bike. Once I was able to get around everyone I picked up the pace, dropped off my bike and slipped on my running shoes as quickly as possible. I ran as fast as I could even though I had bike leg. I used the high turnover strategy to shake the bike leg off the best that I could. After about 2K the running seemed easy. I ended up rolling over the finishing line with a 3rd place running time of 12:29.

My overall time was 47:31 which was good enough to land me a first place finish in my age category. It turned out that the women who tried to push me under the water to get ahead is a weaker triathlete even though she appears to be a stronger swimmer. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be aggressive. I personally don't understand why you need to ruin another person's swim to get ahead. Next time I will steer clear of the buoys that is for sure. I just hope that other person won't give up tris as a result of some other idiot's actions! Thanks Subaru for another great race!

Training summer 2011

For the last two weeks of my training period for this season, I have been enjoying the terrain of the Haliburton Highlands. This terrain is definately not for the weak-hearted. Even though the air is clean and the country side is breathtaking, the terrain is relentlessly hilly. This is great for me because my spring training routes contain no hills. I have been on vacation in Haliburton and my legs are screaming obsenities at me as I try to put in my regular mileage.

The swim route is fairly benign, as it is all open water swimming in a small lake, however the bike route feels like one is biking on roller coaster, you are either climbing up a steep hill, or coasting down at speeds of over 50 km/hr. It can be quite the challenge especially if you have run earlier on the same route. I will admit some of the hills have got me into walking which is not something I am used to on my flat spring training routes. It is humbling and makes me aware of just how much more base building I need to do before my big race. As all Ontarians know Haliburton is considered cottage country and most visit to relax and rest. And sometimes partake in a little recreational activity. My friend Nat is one of those people.

She will often go out biking with me, and in the past we have been caught out biking in some interesting situations, like large thunderstorms. We even once had to be rescued. This year we have been lucky though and we got in two good cycling days. Although I think she is ready for physio now because the cycling routes have put her in the pavement. Other than that though it has been a great two weeks. Normally I spend more time in Haliburton, but this year it is only for a short period and then I am back to my normal training grounds. One last swim and then I return. See you next year Haliburton county, thanks for some great weather this year!

Bracebridge tri relay. 2011

It was an incredibly sunny and hot day at Annie Williams Park on August 6, 2011. I had to pick Tara up quite early (7am) to get there to register in time for the race. When I arrived at Tara's aunt's place, she was ready to go with bells on. It took us about an hour to get there and we had no traffic. Once we got into Bracebridge I wasn't exactly sure where the park and we ended up following someone who was also going to the race. Turns out he didn't know where he was going either, and we ended up making a wrong turn. It wasn't that complicated to find the park after all, and we were more than an hour early. Tara and I weren't allowed to register until Natalie arrived so we were left to wait for her in the transition zone. We started to panick around 8:45am when Natalie still hadn't arrived. The reason we panicked a bit was only because I needed to get our team's timing chip so that I could get ready for the swim. Other than that it wouldn't have been a problem. Finally at about 8:50am, 10 minutes before the start of the race, I went back to the registration desk and asked if we could our timing chip and the women reluctantly let us have our chip. In the meantime I sent Tara to get my cell phone which was in the car to see if Natalie had left a message. We found out that Natalie had left a message and she was running late. Natalie arrived just in time for the start of the race and Tara and I were once again relaxed.

I got my wetsuit on and went down to the river to warmup for the race. Interestingly, Bracebridge this year was a time trail race for sprint tri national championships, so instead of doing mass wave starts they let each person go on their own 5s apart. I was the third last to go and there were 290 people in the sprint tri in total so it took awhile to finally get to me.

It was strange starting by yourself because it was difficult to tell where you are going. In fact other than passing the odd person, most of the time I felt like I was swimming by myself. I found sighting very difficult and I actually wound up in the middle of the river halfway through the race. One of the kayakers was yelling at me as I was swimming in center of the river, and finally when she was able to get my attention, I redirected myself to swim near the shore. This wasn't good either because I ended up almost hitting a dock a few minutes later. I ducked so that I could swim under the dock which was fine but I am sure that swimming in this zig zag direction was not good for my overall time. I finally exited the swim with a time of around 15 minutes. The swim distance was 750m and it had a small transition tacked onto to the end of the swim and my official time for the swim leg was 15:31s. The switch of the timing chip to Natalie went very smoothly. Before long she was off and biking on the 20km bike trail leaving Tara and I together in the transition area.

Tara had to wait again while Natalie was on the bike course, because Tara was doing the last leg of the tri which was a 5K run. The Bracebridge tri has a really good 5K course. It is fairly flat and it is an out and back course. For this reason I decided run the run course in order to practise my pacing for 5K and 10K courses. It was a great idea because while Tara was waiting for Natalie to return from the bike course I got an opportunity to run the course twice. By this point in the day it was pretty hot and by the time I finished the second loop of the run I was ready to jump in the river to cool off. So I did.

I passed Tara on the run course and cheered her on. She looked fairly "fresh" compared to the other athletes. She ended up finishing the run loop in 24:56s.

And Natalie finished her ride in 49:31s. Overall our team did really well, we finished 4th out of 8 teams and missed the podium by about 1:35s.

This result was much better than expected since our Kushog Lake relay team came in last place last year. After the race, Tara's mom took some pictures of us.

We were just about to collect our bags when a women came over and grabbed Tara's bag and started to leave. Both Tara and I started to chase after her and the women was stunned when we tried to grab the bag away from her. She said: "this is my bag." Tara and I were both confused when we started to realize we both thought the bag in question belonged to our team and we had accidently placed all of Natalie's belongings in this mystery women's bag. Items included car keys, money, event Tshirt and a water bottle. We were horrified when we realized that it was lucky the women hadn't returned earlier and taken her bag before we had realized the mistake. What an adventure! All and all though I think we had a great time and I think Kushog Lake will be back in full force in the future! Thanks again MSC for another great triathlon event. See you next year when Kushog Lake returns for another shot at the podium.

5K Highland Yard Charity Race: July 29th.

The race was an event held in Minden Ontario, on July 29th at 6:00pm. We arrived at the race about an hour early. I found out just after I arrived that this is the last year they will be running this race. This is unfortunate because I was really happy when I found out there was a race up in Haliburton because it meant that I could also visit my mom at the same time. The charity run is an AMICI group organized race to raise money to allow underprivedged kids to go to summer camp. The event was started in 1971, and has been running with much success since that time. Although this year is supposedly the last year it will be running, I am hopeful that another charity will take over this excellent event.

We arrived at my mom's just before we had to leave. It was great because we had enough time to unpack our stuff for our two weeks holidays and still had time to get a quick snack before we had to leave for the race. My husband came with me which was great, because he was able to get a shot of me running as well as some shots of the race site.

I started at the front of the pack when the horn went off, only because it was a walk/run and I wasn't sure where to place myself based on the experience of the other runners in the group. Although several people passed me early in the race, my starting place was fine because after the first 300m noone passed me. If your starting position is good, this is exactly what should happen.

I started out a bit fast in the beginning, and even though I felt fine, I had to force myself to slow down. I ended up getting a bad cramp which may have been a result of going out to fast. I also wondered if maybe I had too many snacks and/or drank too much water before the start of the race. I tried really hard to run out the cramp using good breathing but it remained with me for the whole 5K. It wasn't good because it interferred with my ability to run. I did the best I could though and tried to keep up with the pack.

The first three kilometers were fairly straight forward but the last two were fairly grueling. There were some tough hills that were a bit relentless. I am not a big fan of racing when there are hills, but nevertheless I perservered. When I rounded the corner and saw the last 400m stretch before the finish I was feeling a bit tired but I was able to maintain a reasonable strong pace to the finish. I tripped over the finishing mat and managed to cross the line with a time of 26 min and 3 sec.

My time was a bit faster than I expected considering that I had a bad cramp and that I don't run 5K that fast in training. I ended up winning 3rd place in my age group (W40-49). My finish was 3/16 for my age group and 16/63 for my gender place. I was absolutely thrilled with the results because it was my first medal in a road race. This is an excellent accomplishment for me because I consider running to be a weakness. The prize for winning 3rd place was a water bottle, which was great because I needed a new one which would fit in my bike holder, so I was also very happy about that.

What a great race! I hope to do this one again in the future so I am hoping that another charity organization will pick this race up again for next year. Because it is a great purpose for a charity race and I was glad to be a part of it.

Summer 2011 Training: Working in the city and mountain biking?!

     I was hired to work on a writing project for the ministry of education and it required me to stay in York Region for two weeks.  Training down there was quite a challenge.  Where I was staying and working had limited options for places to do some serious biking/swimming/running.  I also had a challenge training around my working hours.  The first week was the most difficult because I was on a heavy training schedule that consisted of 20 hours of training.  I ended up having to get up every morning at 5:15am and going to the Markham YMCA where I either swam or participated in a spin class from 6-7am.  Then after work I went to a local high school track and ran 9km.  I wasn't able to get all my weekly biking mileage done this way and it forced me to try to get it all in on the weekend, between my two working weeks.  I was really exhaused after the weekend because I had to swim 2K, run 12K and bike 95K all in two days.  When I went back to the city for the second week, I could barely keep my eyes open driving back on the Sunday night.  The nice thing about the second week was that it was my rest week.  I timed it well, except for the fact that our work was cut short two days and I ended up heading back up North two days early.  I didn't entirely rest though, I will admit to cheating a little on my rest week, as my friend Richard introduced me to my first mountain biking experience.  Who knew there was a beginner mountain biking trail located in the heart of Newmarket! 

     We started our journey by leaving Richard's house and connecting with the local walking trail in his residential area, located behind the upper Canada mall between Yonge and Bathurst.

When we started out it was a bit busy, there were a lot of cars and people in the neighbourhood.  This was a bit of a challenge for me because I had clipless road bike pedals and shoes.  And as anyone knows who uses them, the reaction time is slower because you have to clip out of your pedals before stepping down.  It can be a recipe for disaster if you are hit by someone who isn't paying attention to where they are going.  For this reason I spent the first 30 minutes of our trip feeling extremely anxious as I was riding.  Luckily Richard lead the way, giving me hand signals and making me aware of possible danger.  This helped me extend my reaction time if necessary.  Once we reached the main trail which was near the Tannery, I felt much more relaxed.  This was because all we encountered from then on were other bikers and a few pedestrians, who were very respectful of our presence on the trail. 

     We choose to head north on the trail which ended up to be a really great idea.  The scenery was beautiful.  For example part of the trail followed the Holland River, in fact, this section was where I enjoyed my first mountain biking experience, as the trail gradually went from being paved to crushed gravel, to hard packed dirt and eventually a narrow dirt track.  Even though it was rough and a bit technical in spots, it was well worth the effort.

     Richard and I set out quite late on our biking adventure because we both had to work that day.  So we were a bit concerned about making it back before sunset.  We did stop to take a few pictures however, and as a result Richard was able to get some great shots with interesting lighting.

     On the way back, it seemed to be less busy.  There were less cars driving on the back streets and fewer pedestrians.  We stopped to take one last photo on a bridge that crossed the Holland River before we got back on the gravel trail which would take us back to the Tannery.

     I am really glad that Richard talked me into going biking after work on the Wednesday because it left me with a sense of hope.  I couldn't imagine living in York Region and not having access to a good biking trail.  I guess I am spoiled with where I live because there are all these interconnecting bike trails for serious bikers.  And a serious biker can go a couple hundred km on these trails with almost no interruption caused by traffic.  I will admit that I am not used to being a nervous biker, and until this experience I never saw a need to upgrade my comfort bike to a more sturdy trail bike with something other than road bike shoes to wear on my feet.  A couple of days later I found myself in a bike store wondering if I should upgrade my bike to a more appropriate training bike.  I am not sure yet if it is the right decision for me, but it did put the thought in my mind.  I guess I have my friend Richard to thank for opening my eyes to a new bike experience!  Thanks so much for sharing one of the best features of York Region to me, I look forward to biking again with you in the future.

Guelph lake sprint triathlon 2011

     My first tri of the season.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  I love the Guelph lake site, as long as the event is held at the first beach it is an absolutely glorious race to participate in.  One year it was held at the back beach and we found it difficult to get out of the park after the race. 

     The race started at 10am and it was a warm sunny day.  I got there in plenty of time, and I actually had time to practise the swim.  There were 375 participants in this race; tris in Ontario have become quite popular in the last few years, and as well as being popular they have always become quite competitive.  For example, even though this was a short sprint level race, the girl who won in my AG just finished Ironman Florida last season.  This is just an example of how competitive the field for tris has become in Ontario recently; there were 47 women alone in my age category.  This just shows the growth in popularity of tris over the last few years in Ontario. 

     I was in the last wave, and there were four waves of nearly 100 people in each wave.  We started about 9 minutes after the actual start of the race.  The swim was fine although I swallowed some water and had difficulty breathing for about a minute until the water in my lungs cleared out.  I finished first in my AG in the swim with an 8:54 for 375m.  I believe some of the first transition might have been tacked onto the swim time, because it seemed like it took me a really long time to get to the transition area, which was very far away from the beach. 

     After the swim we had to run up a large hill to get to the transition area which was about 300m from the beach.  Unfortunately I haven’t done a tri for awhile and I forgot to set my stuff up properly which cost me some time.  My bike helmet was done up and so were my bike shoes.  This cost me about 20s in the transition area, which turned out to be a costly mistake. I felt like one of the three stooges trying to get my bike stuff on.  One I got my stuff on the rest was easy.   

     The bike course was fairly challenging.  It was really congested and I found it difficult to go really fast, because you had to be careful passing people.  There were also cars on the course.  It was a good thing that there was no yellow line, because I had to pass about 100 people once on the bike course.  It was almost impossible to pass in some cases, and I am pretty if there had been a yellow line, I would have been DQ'd.  Another challenge with the bike course, was that the first 1km we had to endure several speed bumps just to get out of the park.  This was also a problem because it was just too dangerous to go fast.  I don't know if the challenge of the bike course affected my race time, because my bike split seemed a bit slow.  21:49 for 10K.  I did bike the day before the race, so lack of adequate rest, may have also contributed to a slower than usual bike split. 

     Once I got to the transition area, I had more difficulty with my gear.  I couldn't get my race belt and my running shoes on.  I ended up focusing on just putting my shoes on and leaving my belt to put on once I was on the course.  The run was fairly hilly.  I ended up running the 2.5K in 13:44 which wasn't the best time in my AG, but it was a good time for me in a tri. 

    
     My final time was 48:16 which was my fastest time for this distance race.  I ended up placing 2/47 in my age group, 20s behind the leader.  I felt pretty good about my results considering that the leader in my AG is an Ironman athlete.  Probably with better transitions, and a better bike split I would probably be able to do better in the next race, although this is a good result for a field that seems pretty competitive.  I asked one of the athlete's near by to take a photo of me near the swim start. 

     Thanks to the WTC, subaru triathlon series for a great start to the 2011 tri season!  Will not see you next year, but maybe the year after!