I had a bad race last year on this course so that haunted me when I went into the race. BUT it’s also nice to have done the course before so you kind of know what to expect or parts of the course that may be challenging.
Last year.
I was staying over at my friend’s cottage the night before in Tiny, ON, which is still about 90mins away from the race course. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much sleep and I knew I would get much sleep...probably like 4.5hours, which contributed to my stress race morning. I started the drive to the race site a little bit before 6AM, hoping to get there for 7:20AM, but I was not doing well during the drive and had to pull over a bit. That costed me prep time and I got to the race site at 7:40AM!
So anxiety was already super high as I was trying to get a warm up in and get everything set up.
SWIM: (1500m)
hey started the elite/pro group as a mass start rather than originally a time trial start. That was really nice so figuring out placing during the race amongst the other females who started in this wave was easier.
I was basically swimming alone for most of it. I could tell someone was drafting off me for the first half, then I drafted off that person after the turnaround for a bit, but couldn't hold on.
It was extremely hard to sight on the way back wit the sun glare so I just followed the shore line and splashes of swimmers in front. The way back did seem slower and make the swim seem longer I think it was because we were swimming against the current. The goal was to come in around 25 mins for this course, which I came close with 25:07. Much better than last year already!
BIKE: (42km)
I struggled big time on the bike mount..! So it’s definitely something I need to work on making smoother. I made 2 attempts to mount before heading out. Rough start!
This bike course is challenging for sure! Lots of rolling hills, some significant hill climbs, I definitely struggled with it last year, but again surprised myself again with how I performed on the bike considering it’s usually my weakest point. There was one section of the course where there was a quick left turn, then an immediate sharp uphill that I was not prepared for at all! I didn’t change gears in time and struggled big time to get up...almost had to clip out and walk the bike up! Other than that struggle, I was definitely fun to hit speeds up to 60+kph for some parts of the race!
RUN: (10km)
I really wanted a good run. Lately, I’ve been feeling really awful/not strong during the runs...mostly in pain and feet full of blisters. Luckily got new racers and REAL comfy socks!! :D. I think the socks helped tons to prevent the blisters from coming. (THANKS Blacktoe Running!) & I felt like I had a really good run! Well, I definitely felt good and strong during the run. I was aiming to come in around 42mins, but I think the run was longer than 10 km. I got 10.4km on my watch.
I was sub 4min to start, then kept a good 4 min pace for the first 3km. Then I tried to keep it steady and in rhythm. At the turnaround, I noticed a lady wasn’t far behind me and she was looking strong too! So that was great motivation to pick it back up after the turnaround. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win the fastest run...although I came super close!!
downhill to the finish!
Because of the mass start with the other female EAG/PRO, I was confident I was 2nd overall female behind Pro Miranda Tomenson and it was nice lots of volunteers, racers, and spectators were cheering and saying I was looking good for second place. BUT, there’s always an amazing lady who puts out an amazing performance, and started in a wave behind you. I never saw Fiona Whitby on the race course, but wow that lady can bike! Congrats to her for winning 2nd.
I finished 3rd overall female and 1st in the Elite female age group.
woohoo! super fun to break the tape at the finish!
Female Elite Age Group
Post race, it was super nice for Multisport Canada to announce and introduce the Ambassador team. I got to talk to lots of racers post race & had one particularly lovely conversation with a lovely lady. We were talking about how one of the most intimidating things about doing one’s first triathlon is getting the equipment and gears for it. She got lots of friends and family into racing their first and more after that because she was basically lending them wetsuits, bikes, etc. What a lady! Not only inspired others to do a triathlon, but got them to take the plunge and ‘tri’ it by eliminating the barrier of all the gear needed to do one. I feel like I would have started racing much sooner if I had that support.
MSC Ambassador Team
Overall, this was a much much better race experience than last year! Thanks to the Multisport Canada Team for putting such a great race, Blacktoe Running for keeping my feet happy, & Loaring Personal Coaching for the big mental support and coaching.
Ok….I’m now SUPER excited for a recovery week after racing 3 weekends in a row! Going to get recharging with some milk! :D