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.
First place! Well done :)
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