RACE REPORT: Georgina Sprint

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! :) 

RACE REPORT: Toronto Island

Definitely WAY overdue with this post, but things have been a little….quite hectic with school and other responsibilities. Bear with me as I try to update!

TORONTO ISLAND…… we get to take a ferry over! :D So let’s talk ‘boat that race! ;)
 

credit: @daniirey

I like the races that are close to home. It makes it so much more accessible and easier for my friends and family to watch what I love to do.
So BIG THANKS to all the support from friends and family who came out really early on a Sunday & in the rain!

This was my first time doing the Toronto Island Triathlon. I volunteered for it last year, but was stationed at the water station, so I never really got a sense of how the race site and race course looked like. So I had to be sure I got an early ferry that gave me enough time to set up, warm up, and get a feel for the course. Caught the 6:30AM ferry over. So I wasn’t super stressed about setting up and getting in a warm up.

When I went out for a bike warm up, I took a look at the waters, and saw how choppy they were with the wind, trying to brace myself for a challenging swim only to find out when I got back that it was changed into a duathlon. So this turned into my 2nd duathlon of the season!

A little relieved that it was changed into a duathlon because I tend not to do so well with big waves in the water. Mind over matter kind of thing. On the other hand, the first triathlon turned duathlon that happened this season at Nationals didn’t go super well. Didn’t really have a strategy for it, except not to kill my legs during the first run.

RUN 1 (5.2km)

Wet and slippery, I started the run with two other strong runners in the elite/pro wave (Miranda and Leah). I really enjoyed the run! And super glad we all ran together--definitely felt like we all pushed each other (or they pushed me at least!) and held good pace for the first 5k leg of the race. I don’t think I would have kept a sub 4 min pace without them around, so it was great to have a good racing field present. In the end, I was just happy I felt good during the run because I haven’t felt great running in a while. Maybe could have gone a little faster, but after my first duathlon debut, I wanted to keep it conservative so I had still had legs for the bike and second run.

T1
I was caught up and focused on staying with Miranda and Leah during the run that when we turned to go back into transition, I completely blanked and was lost in what sequence/where to start in the transition. It took a couple seconds to register where my bike rack was and that I was heading out to the bike, almost forgetting that I had running shoes on to take off!
Then the grass was slippery from the rain that I lost control of my bike as I was running it to the mount line. Bike fell over, and just my luck, my chain came off! So I had to stop and fix that before starting the bike. So very very slow transition and by that time, the gap between me and the 2 other pro females widen.

BIKE (19.5km)
It was a flat course for sure! But I had to be a little more cautious with the rain, making the roads a bit more slippery, some 180 degree turnarounds and tight roads, no-pass zones, and the crowds especially on the second loop. Not too much to report, but that yes, my biking isn’t my strongest, but it has improved since last season.

RUN 2 (2.9km)
The last stretch! Again, I felt good during the run! Super happy about that for sure!  Although there was lots of weaving through people as by that point, all waves were on the course and the run course is loops of approximately 1.25km or so.

Came out 3rd overall female and full of smiles! 

What kept me pushing and going was ALL the cheers from friends, family, spectators, and especially from the Blacktoe family. BIG thanks to you! For waking up early, standing outside in the rain all morning, and setting up camp so that I would be able to hear you guys shout during both the bike and run!
& especially to my gal pals chasing me around so I could hear you scream. Means the WORLD!! <3

Honestly, what’s so great about this race is that I got see lots of friends both racing and cheering. Lots even doing their very first triathlon!! Hoping they’ll get hooked! :)

RACE REPORT: K-TOWN Long Course

Tons of thoughts running through my head as I tackled on my first long course distance (2k swim, 56k bike, 15k run) at Multisport Canada’s historical K-Town race. (Super intimidated by the distance!) I wasn’t originally planning to do this race or this distance, but had to change some things around with my racing season to fit into my schedule.

So….! I did it!

With only weeks bit to prepare for the longer distance and still balancing preparing for other races, I didn't go into the race feeling completely ready. I also had some achilles pain nagging me the days leading up to the race. So the goal was to just finish the race the best I could!

As usual, had tons of nerves, but feeling very lucky that two of my teammates Billy and Emma were racing and gave lots of tips having done the race course before. (check our their race reports!) 
& great support from Coach Mark about nutrition, race strategy and pacing for the distance.
BIG thanks to all the support & giving me lots of reassurance I would make it out alive..! Thank you!!! :)

SWIM (2km)
The water were warm, & being able to start in the pro/elite age group wave was really nice and less intimidating than I originally thought. I luckily drafted off Billy and Emma the entire swim. (thanks!) I had trouble sighting the buoys and relied a lot on just following their draft. I could definitely feel the distance during the swim though! Felt like it was never ending….! even though it’s just 500m more than the standard distance.

BIKE (56 km)
My calf and foot seized up with a cramp immediately when I was doing my mount on the bike..which wasn’t fun at all! So slow mount/ start to the bike, but after that, I quite enjoyed the ride! I’m pretty surprised at how my biking has improved over the last year. (Thanks Mark! :D) I’m finding that I’m enjoying instead of the dreading the bike now!
There was a headwind going out on the bike, but after the turnaround...it was super fun going fast!! Definitely feeling strong throughout the ride. Got the hang of how to gage effort on the uphills, maintain speed and effort on the downhills and flats.

RUN (15km)
Oh boy! This run was painful! With the heat and the distance, I had to really mentally brace myself for it. I knew I had to be smart about pacing and not go out too hard at the start (like usual)...so I kept it real conservative, but I could feel the distance start to get harder and harder.

Then… the blisters starting coming & all the rolling hills were an added challenge. I could feel and tell by my watch that I was going s-l-o-w!

Water never tasted so good too!! I went for it almost every aid station to for a sip and to dump water on myself. (Thanks Multisport Canada & volunteers!) Definitely a big mental game on the run!
Fortunately, it was a super super pretty route to be running on! So I enjoyed that part of the run!

hurting. but a finish! 

It was a flight to finish, but I made it! Finished 4th place overall female and 2nd in the Elite female age group. I think I’m happy with my efforts on my first long course! Really makes me appreciate those who do the longer distances.
It’s something I want to revisit in the future for sure, but I can tell I’m definitely not ready for the longer stuff at the moment.

Overall Men & Females! 

Despite not finishing feeling awesome, I am really proud of myself for completing this distance!

Post-race, I was completely broken wobbling around with blistered feet, tight calves, achilles, and hamstrings. The festivities Multisport Canada and Recharge with Milk put on helped immensely!

All the cheers from spectators calling out my name was super awesome!
Thanks to all who were cheering from near and far! Especially the support from friends at Blacktoe Running and Parkdale RoadRunners  <3

BIG thanks to Multisport Canada for putting on such a great race. Fun atmosphere, beautiful setting in downtown Kingston and by Lake Ontario. It was nice to be introduced as one of the Ambassadors for the series. If you have any questions or just want to chat, I'm here for ya!! 

NEXT UP: Multisport Canada's BRACEBRIDGE OLYMPIC THIS WEEKEND!!!