What a great day for a race. I drove down to Newmarket the night before the race, and met up with my friend Richard. We went out for a good carb loading meal that night before the race. We choose a good buffet restaurant Frankie Tomattos in Markham. They had a great selection of foods so we were able to load up on several plates of food. Yummy! After dinner we were so full. Or at least I was. The race wasn't until 9:30am the next morning, so we had plenty of time to get up and make breakfast. We got to the race site an hour early which was great because Richard had plenty of time to take some great photos. Wow, downtown Newmarket sure has changed. What a great site for the race, so much better than last year at the Upper Canada Mall. No busy traffic and a beautiful park. This is a race I hope to do every year from now on. There were a few hundred people in the race, not exactly sure but when the gun went off, it was difficult running in such a big crowd. I started near the front and tried my best to run with the lead pack. There was a girl in my AG that went out a bit faster than me, and I had difficulty keeping up with her, she was about 20s ahead of me during the whole race. I ran as close to threshold pace as possible, but I got a cramp around 3K, which made it a bit difficult. I ran through it however, and managed to cross the finish line in 24:11. Not bad, but I felt I could have maybe pushed a bit more and made it under 24 minutes, since my PR last year was 24:30. Richard and I were in for a long wait, for the awards ceremony. While we waited I got a message from my friend Mark saying that he couldn't get anywhere near the race to meet us. They had all the roads blocked off. It was a good thing we had cell phones. I explained that he would have to drive around and try to meet us from the North side. A few minutes later we were able to catch up with him and chat for awhile. We tried to line up for food but that was out of the question, just too many people! We eventually waited and lined up during the start of the awards assembly. That worked better because there were less people in line by that time. The food was awesome. I managed to give Richard something to eat, otherwise he would have wasted away to nothing, waiting for the closing ceremony. Eventually they started the awards. The girl in my AG that had been 20s ahead of me, won the race, and in between me and her there were two small girls. I guess I should have pushed harder after all! I ended up coming 4th overall and winning the first place medal for my AG. This was because the gave the other girl the medal for winning the race instead of an AG medal. Oh well, it was great getting a medal for the race, it is always a good keepsake.
After the race Richard and I went for a bike ride at Fairy Lake and we rode along the same trail that we ran along during the race. It threatened rain for us but never actually rained. We ended up having a great day and get some great photos. I think Richard has become a professional photographer. After the bike ride we did a photo shoot for my body building file. It almost looks like a professional shoot, I can't wait until I get the real "after" shots. We were only doing progress shots and they look amazing.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Monday, October 24, 2011
Base Borden Army Run - Half marathon
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)
Friday, October 21, 2011
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!
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!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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 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!
Monday, September 5, 2011
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.
Monday, August 22, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, August 12, 2011
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!
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!
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