Last triathlon race of the season! I had a great season overall this summer! I thought last year was a great year, but this summer was even better. LOTS of people to thank for it!
There was quite a lot riding on this race if I was to place in the overall Elite/Pro Multiport Series Points. I had to not only win the race, but get 2 of the 3 fastest splits...so I was pretty nervous going into the race.
The race turned into a duathlon due to the very strong winds! Whitecaps were seen on the waters--enough to surf on! I was both a little relieved and disappointed. I usually don’t do so well with waves in open water swimming, but at the same time, my swim was improving in the pool during practices, and was hoping to see if it translates into open water swimming in a race situation. Plus, I feel I possibly could have had a larger lead for the rest of the race. On the other hand, I was pretty confident in my running for the duathlon option.
RUN (5km)
was definitely happy with my time and efforts for the first run. As it turns out, I went out too fast at the start, but I got competitive and knew I had to get some sort of lead. I think I ran like 3:15 for the first km or somewhere around there! Flat course and beautiful course. I felt strong during the run, and I could tell I was going harder than I did at the previous race. I wasn’t sure what strategy I was going for, but I did know that I needed to get the fastest run split, so that was motivation to push a bit. I was still conscious not to go out too too hard so that I enough to get through the bike and second run.
BIKE (20km)
Extremely windy conditions, which made biking interesting for sure! The winds were favouring pushing me around, so was swerving around a bit to battle it out. Otherwise, it was a flat and beautiful bike course, so great to get in some good speed! Overall, since biking isn’t my strongest, I think I held my end and did a good job at keeping the effort consistent and high, holding the speed I wanted. Around the 15km mark, Lauren caught up to me and I definitely panicked a bit! :p I definitely pushed a bit harder to keep up with her and not let her get too much ahead. We entered into transition basically at the same time, and there was no time for second thoughts as there was just a 2.5km run left that would determine the winner!
RUN (2.5km)
Neck to neck with Lauren! Great competition and great push. I worked HARD this last 2.5km to get ahead and I think it paid off. You can never be sure how far ahead you are. I kept hearing footsteps, probably could have shoulder checked, but I was too focused on getting in a good second run. Definitely almost one of the hardest I’ve pushed myself at a race.
I held both run under 4 min/k pace so super happy with that!
Overall, happy with my efforts for this race for sure! Came in as the overall women's winner...! with the fastest run for both the 5k and 2.5k. Definitely ended my triathlon season on a HIGH note. (Check out Triathlon Canada's coverage & my post-race interview!)
Honestly all the feels post race. Got to chat with lots of people and fellow racers post race, which confirms why I absolutely love this community!
BIG THANKS to John Salt and Mulitsport Canada for putting on such an amazing race and season!
overall winners!
What’s next for me?... CROSS COUNTRY with the York Lions. Stay tuned! :)