School is finally over!!
I finally finished my undergrad (still waiting on one more grade, but all my exams seemed to go well), and am moving on to real life. Not much has happened since my last post just grinding away at training and making sure I finished school this year and didn't have to come back for another semester.
Back in November I went to Guelph for a talent id day, and we did a 400m free time trial and then a 3k run. In the 400 I miscounted and stopped at 350m then had to sprint the last 50m. I still managed to pb by 1 second and I swam a 5:00. It was a bit of a heart breaker because I know I could have broken 5 for my first time had I not stopped. Next up was the 3k. I had not run a 3k in about 5 years, and the last one I ran was not very pretty. My goal was 9 flat as this has been a goal since grade 9, but my best is 9:30 from a 5k. There were pacers going out at 9 flat so I thought I would just sit in and follow. Now November is not the best time for running fast, most of my time has been spent in the pool, and I haven't done workouts conducive for a good 3k in forever as everything has been geared toward the 10k. The first couple laps were a shock to my legs having to run that fast and we went through the first k in 3:01. After that I moved to the front and put in a bit of a surge to get us back on pace. This was a mistake though because I was really starting to feel it at 2k (6:00ish). I died off in the last k and came home in 9:09. Both good results for November and I know I am only getting faster. Last year my fastest 400 was 5:05 so I am already about 5 seconds faster there.
Over the holidays I am going to be spending a couple days in St. George at Angela's and then a couple days in Chatham at my parents', but we have to be back in London for the 28th to start swim camp. I am getting the awesome opportunity to do swim camp with the Western Varsity swimmers that are not going to Costa Rica. There is going to be some big swim mileage, and I hope my arms do not fall off.
My goal now that I am done school is to keep this updated a bit more often. Stay tuned after Christmas for my early 2013 race schedule as well as reviews of some of the products I used in 2012.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Off-Season Dilly Daddling
School is on and the real racing is over. I am sorry to have left my readers (does anyone read this regularly) for such a long time, but school is on and so are all the new seasons of various tv shows. The only reason I am currently writing this is because I am procrastinating studying for a geography mid-term that I have on Tuesday. I also though this would be a good day to blog as we had a swim time trial as well as some lactate testing on the bike.
After Lakeside we took a couple weeks of down time, but never took time completely off with no swim bike run activity. I have been giving an awesome opportunity by Ken Fitzpatrick to swim with the Western varsity and boy has it been hard chasing these speedy fishes around the pool. The good news is my swim times are already starting to improve. Today I cruised a 100 to get the feel of pacing for the 400 then gave it a go in the 400. I was 4 seconds faster than I was in March, but in March I was rested and tapered where today I was the complete opposite (14x200 on 3 yesterday morning and a 40 minute run with 5 minutes at 10k pace in the evening).
The running is going well, but it has been put on the back burner a bit with the swimming rampped up. I am feeling just as fast though and that was confirmed by lactate testing with Cliff a couple weeks ago.
Cycling is our other area of focus this year. In races this year I was losing a lot of time on the bike, and this was really obvious in Lakeside when I couldn't run down guys I had beat earlier in the year because they were just to far up the road. This winter I am going to be riding at the Forest City Velodrome, and I recently added a new member to bike family. I rode on the velodrome a bit a few years ago, and I am looking forward to crank it with some real cyclists as well as some tri folks.
I hope everyone's off-season is going well and you have managed to stay in shape over Thanksgiving. Only one more food holiday to make it through.
After Lakeside we took a couple weeks of down time, but never took time completely off with no swim bike run activity. I have been giving an awesome opportunity by Ken Fitzpatrick to swim with the Western varsity and boy has it been hard chasing these speedy fishes around the pool. The good news is my swim times are already starting to improve. Today I cruised a 100 to get the feel of pacing for the 400 then gave it a go in the 400. I was 4 seconds faster than I was in March, but in March I was rested and tapered where today I was the complete opposite (14x200 on 3 yesterday morning and a 40 minute run with 5 minutes at 10k pace in the evening).
The running is going well, but it has been put on the back burner a bit with the swimming rampped up. I am feeling just as fast though and that was confirmed by lactate testing with Cliff a couple weeks ago.
Cycling is our other area of focus this year. In races this year I was losing a lot of time on the bike, and this was really obvious in Lakeside when I couldn't run down guys I had beat earlier in the year because they were just to far up the road. This winter I am going to be riding at the Forest City Velodrome, and I recently added a new member to bike family. I rode on the velodrome a bit a few years ago, and I am looking forward to crank it with some real cyclists as well as some tri folks.
I hope everyone's off-season is going well and you have managed to stay in shape over Thanksgiving. Only one more food holiday to make it through.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Lakeside Pre-race: The Showdown
Tomorrow morning will be the grand finally of the MultiSport Canada Triathlon Series. Like most TV series this season finally is promising to be a good one with numerous story lines to follow. The first and most important will be the race that morning. This could be one of the most stacked field in MSC history with Richard Pady, Cody Beals, Andrew Bolton, Keith Marchant, Jim Sunners, Myself, and I am sure I am missing some. Then we have the race within the race for the money. For the big money prize Richard and Cody will be battling head to head for a $1000 pay check, talk about pressure. Behind them there is going to be a battle for who gets the third place pay out of $500 with 20 points separating 3-5 with my self being down 105 points. However, I am the only one yet to do the 4 races, and I have the potential to be the biggest mover. You also can't forget the women's race with Angela Quick and Paolina Allen going for the big prize.
If you have ever read Put Down and Prognostications, of CIS XC, here is my (biased and not well researched) view of tomorrow's grand finally. I will do it in order of the way the standings are now.
1. Richard Pady - If the award went to who has the nicest wheels in the field Richard wins hands down. However, it doesn't and he is going to have to ride those wheels hard to get the win. Probably the most outstanding resume in the field dating back to before I could even walk. Richard has had the fastest bike split at 3 races this season and looking for him to back up a strong swim with an even stronger bike. With Derek Quick not racing Pady could lead out of the water and hold this right through t2. At Wasaga he took the lead on the bike and didn't look back. He has to watch out for fleet footed Beals chasing him down.
2. Cody Beals - Mr. Consistent Cody Beals has placed 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 3rd in his MSC races this year. After bursting onto the scene with a 33:56 10k at Huronia, he has been posting fast run splits everywhere he goes. With a strong swim, Beals has to hope to have a strong bike to stay close to Pady and give himself a chance to take the win and the money.
3. Andrew "I race every weekend" Bolton has done the most races in the series this season, but to bad for him they only take your best four. Andrew doesn't have the monster bike of Pady or the quick feet like Beals, but he puts together a strong race from start to finish. Look for him to be near the top in all three disciplines.
4. Mark Linseman - I am not sure if Mark is going to be racing tomorrow or not. If he is, he is another strong cyclist that will be hoping to get away during the bike section. The question will be how well has he recovered from 70.3 Muskoka where he placed a strong seventh. Everyone else only race a 5k/30k/5k duathlon last weekend.
5. Derek Quick - Uber swimmer of the series Derek Quick will not be racing Sunday because he had bigger fish to fry (is it similar to cannibalism when a fish eats a fish?) in Buffalo. Beals and myself should be glad he isn't there because there is no chance of him pulling Pady with him in the swim.
6. Jim Sunners - Can the old and wise beat the fire power of the young guns? We will see come Sunday.
7. Alex VanderLinden - I am the only one that hasn't done 4 races and have the most to gain (or lose) out there tomorrow. After a rough race at Huronia I will be looking to have a strong swim, and put myself in contention from the beginning. A top 3 moves me into 3rd in the series, but that could be a tall order in this stacked field. I am probably the weakest cyclist in the group, and will be looking to make my move on the run.
Not Part of the series is Keith Marchant of Burlington. Usually one to race the Subaru Triathlon Series Keith has crossed over to add another twist to the race. Keith was 4th in Bracebridge behind Beals, Bolton, and Linseman, but ahead of Pady who was 5th. Keith was another one to race a 70.3 last weekend but he was at Vegas World Champs, will he be recovered from the race and travel? just another question that needs to be asked.
There also could be an age grouper who jumps in the mix. Francois Cote did this in Huronia where he placed second in a sprint finish. It doesn't look like he is registered, but could another take his place.
My prediction (hopes) is that Pady will be leading off the bike with myself and Cody trying to chase him down. I am hoping we have enough room to catch him and we have a 3 up sprint for the win.
It has been a wonderful season, and I am quite sad it has to come to an end.
If you have ever read Put Down and Prognostications, of CIS XC, here is my (biased and not well researched) view of tomorrow's grand finally. I will do it in order of the way the standings are now.
1. Richard Pady - If the award went to who has the nicest wheels in the field Richard wins hands down. However, it doesn't and he is going to have to ride those wheels hard to get the win. Probably the most outstanding resume in the field dating back to before I could even walk. Richard has had the fastest bike split at 3 races this season and looking for him to back up a strong swim with an even stronger bike. With Derek Quick not racing Pady could lead out of the water and hold this right through t2. At Wasaga he took the lead on the bike and didn't look back. He has to watch out for fleet footed Beals chasing him down.
2. Cody Beals - Mr. Consistent Cody Beals has placed 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 3rd in his MSC races this year. After bursting onto the scene with a 33:56 10k at Huronia, he has been posting fast run splits everywhere he goes. With a strong swim, Beals has to hope to have a strong bike to stay close to Pady and give himself a chance to take the win and the money.
3. Andrew "I race every weekend" Bolton has done the most races in the series this season, but to bad for him they only take your best four. Andrew doesn't have the monster bike of Pady or the quick feet like Beals, but he puts together a strong race from start to finish. Look for him to be near the top in all three disciplines.
4. Mark Linseman - I am not sure if Mark is going to be racing tomorrow or not. If he is, he is another strong cyclist that will be hoping to get away during the bike section. The question will be how well has he recovered from 70.3 Muskoka where he placed a strong seventh. Everyone else only race a 5k/30k/5k duathlon last weekend.
5. Derek Quick - Uber swimmer of the series Derek Quick will not be racing Sunday because he had bigger fish to fry (is it similar to cannibalism when a fish eats a fish?) in Buffalo. Beals and myself should be glad he isn't there because there is no chance of him pulling Pady with him in the swim.
6. Jim Sunners - Can the old and wise beat the fire power of the young guns? We will see come Sunday.
7. Alex VanderLinden - I am the only one that hasn't done 4 races and have the most to gain (or lose) out there tomorrow. After a rough race at Huronia I will be looking to have a strong swim, and put myself in contention from the beginning. A top 3 moves me into 3rd in the series, but that could be a tall order in this stacked field. I am probably the weakest cyclist in the group, and will be looking to make my move on the run.
Not Part of the series is Keith Marchant of Burlington. Usually one to race the Subaru Triathlon Series Keith has crossed over to add another twist to the race. Keith was 4th in Bracebridge behind Beals, Bolton, and Linseman, but ahead of Pady who was 5th. Keith was another one to race a 70.3 last weekend but he was at Vegas World Champs, will he be recovered from the race and travel? just another question that needs to be asked.
There also could be an age grouper who jumps in the mix. Francois Cote did this in Huronia where he placed second in a sprint finish. It doesn't look like he is registered, but could another take his place.
My prediction (hopes) is that Pady will be leading off the bike with myself and Cody trying to chase him down. I am hoping we have enough room to catch him and we have a 3 up sprint for the win.
It has been a wonderful season, and I am quite sad it has to come to an end.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Wasaga Typhoon Race Report
The season is quickly coming to an end and a new training cycle will be beginning soon. There is still one more race to go at the MSC Lakeside Triathlon, but on Saturday I raced their event in Wasaga Beach. The weather this summer has been amazing for training, but quite a few of my races have been in nasty conditions. This was by far the worst and unfortunately the Olympic distance triathlon got converted to a 5k/30k/5k duathlon. While I am a stronger runner than swimmer I don't enjoy duathlons very much and my legs hate them.
The first run started on the beach and we had to run along the sand for about 400m before turning onto the road. This was an interesting way to start and it reminded me of Chariots of Fire. I didn't want to go out to fast, but I knew it would be easier to run at the front before the packed sand got chewed up.
The first run started on the beach and we had to run along the sand for about 400m before turning onto the road. This was an interesting way to start and it reminded me of Chariots of Fire. I didn't want to go out to fast, but I knew it would be easier to run at the front before the packed sand got chewed up.
Every picture from the start line I am looking at the ground. Not sure if I am praying I don't fall on the bike or just focused.
The first run went very well. I knew Cody Beals and I were the strongest runners in the field, and if I stayed with him we would have a decent lead starting the bike. I felt very comfortable and based on recent track workouts I figured we were around 16:30. Turned out I was 16:34. I put a small surge in coming down the home stretch because I wasn't sure if there would be 10 bonus points for each leg or not.
First out of transition.
I knew the bike was going to be tough with all the cyclist chasing us so I wanted to just get out and settle into a strong pace. Boy is it a different mental game when you are riding near the front. The first 6kish felt really good and I was able to set my own pace. After this though I was forced to race the race if I wanted a chance to win. Cody passed me around this time and I forced myself to stay with him. I knew I could hang with him because we had similar bike splits at Huronia. Soon after that Richard Pady flew passed us. There was no way I could hang with Richard, but I hoped he was burning all his matches trying to get a buffer for the run. Not much happened on the ride back in except the rain picking up. Francois managed to catch Cody and I right before transition and the three of us came in together.
Ankle deep water for much of the run.
Going out on the second run I knew I was going to have to run fast if I wanted to catch Richard and get away from Cody and Francois. The first kilometer I went out flying and it was probably around 3 flat which is much faster than I know I can run, but I hoped it would put some doubt in my competition. After that I settled into a quick pace and just focused on keeping my form strong. I put in a surge around 3k and did not look back after that. I managed to get a gap on Cody, but my 16:32 was not fast enough to catch Richard, and I ended up second.
Coming down the home stretch.
Overall it was a great race despite the weather, and I was glad it didn't get cancelled. Next up will be Lakeside to close out the season. Hopefully all these guys will be at Lakeside as well and we can have a showdown.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Mental Toughness
Well the last couple weeks have been tough to say the least. You always hear about mental toughness and motivation, and I think people just begin to believe that elite athletes are always at the top of their game physically and mentally. This is not the case, and luckily I saw something from Macca confirming this during a time when I was struggling to stay focused.
I find August is a tough month. The end of the season is near, and it seems like the body is just calling for a break from the intensity of the race season. After Knoxville the main focus of this season was the Magog Continental Cup, and after I finished it was like my body went into cruise control. Workouts the last month have been all over the place. One day the lifeguards are probably thinking about jumping in to save me and the next I am swimming pb's.
The good thing is no matter what kind of lull you go through that fitness is there somewhere; you might just need to change things up a bit. That is what we did last week. I was thinking about racing Bracebridge this weekend, but decided I need to get in a solid block of training. So instead of racing, Saturday was my highest volume day I have done this year (5 hours) and the swimming volume this week was up'd as well.
I have 3 weeks until Wasaga to get the body going. The Recharge With Milk series is really spicing up, and it looks like it is going to be a close finish in the points race. Hopefully I can come up with a couple end of season victories to get on the top step. It has been a great summer racing some really strong guys, and hopefully it will continue next year.
Like always I have to thank my sponsors for allowing me to do what I love, and Cliff for leading the way.
PS I am doing a relay at the Bulldog Triathlon, a little home town gem. If anyone else wants to put in a team bring it on ha.
I find August is a tough month. The end of the season is near, and it seems like the body is just calling for a break from the intensity of the race season. After Knoxville the main focus of this season was the Magog Continental Cup, and after I finished it was like my body went into cruise control. Workouts the last month have been all over the place. One day the lifeguards are probably thinking about jumping in to save me and the next I am swimming pb's.
The good thing is no matter what kind of lull you go through that fitness is there somewhere; you might just need to change things up a bit. That is what we did last week. I was thinking about racing Bracebridge this weekend, but decided I need to get in a solid block of training. So instead of racing, Saturday was my highest volume day I have done this year (5 hours) and the swimming volume this week was up'd as well.
I have 3 weeks until Wasaga to get the body going. The Recharge With Milk series is really spicing up, and it looks like it is going to be a close finish in the points race. Hopefully I can come up with a couple end of season victories to get on the top step. It has been a great summer racing some really strong guys, and hopefully it will continue next year.
Like always I have to thank my sponsors for allowing me to do what I love, and Cliff for leading the way.
PS I am doing a relay at the Bulldog Triathlon, a little home town gem. If anyone else wants to put in a team bring it on ha.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Magog Report
Last weekend I was in Magog, Quebec for my first draft legal race. This race has been on and off the schedule since last summer depending on how my swimming was going. After Knoxville I was worried that I was not going to be able to swim fast enough to keep myself in the race, but I really wanted to get some experience in the draft legal format. With Magog being a 5 lap bike course I knew I would have a better chance of not being lapped than a race like Buffalo which is 8 laps.
Cliff, my brother, and I traveled up Thursday, spent the night just outside Montreal, and arrived in Magog early Friday morning. Upon arrival we drove the bike course then suited up for a short ride and run to shake out the legs after sitting in the car. I knew the bike course would be challenging, especially the 4 and 5 laps, with one bigger climb and a couple rollers, but the run course was 4, pancake flat loops. That afternoon was a quick swim to find landmarks for sighting and the athletes meeting. I thought I accidentally went to a meeting for a volleyball tournament because it seemed like I was the shortest guy there and surprisingly not the skinniest.
The elite men's race was not supposed to start until 11:45, and I ended up waking up early so I went out for an easy run in the morning to get the legs ready to rock and roll. We rolled down to the race site around 10 so we could catch the start of the Women's race, but the races had been delayed in the morning so we were about 30 minutes behind schedule. No biggie, something is always bound to not go according to plan so you just adapt and move on. I found a nice tree by the start line and got off my feet. Once the girls were out on the bike course we were able to set up our transition area and start warming up. I felt completely calm and cool before the race, compared to Knoxville where I was nervous and antsy. Warming up I was feeling great and knew it would be a solid race.
The Swim
Damn, I was really hoping to swim faster. 3:30 down on the main pack and 3 minutes on the chase pack is nearly impossible to shut down. I felt like I had a decent swim and the last 1/3 of the race I found some feet to draft in on. Coming out I was glad to see some guys around me, and I just hoped some of them would be able to ride.
The Bike
40k of riding scared for my life. The only goal coming into the race was not to get lapped out. Being down by 3:30 I thought we would be safe, but I did not want to take any risks so I went straight to the front of our group and was not going to wait for anyone. Good thing I did because the guys that came out of the water behind us and one guy from our group got lapped. Myself and one other guy were working well together for the first two laps and gaining on a couple guys ahead of us but going up one of the smaller hills he dropped off. I kept riding on and picked off one more guy. While I was hammering away the guys that had dropped off formed a pack of about 6 and started gaining on me. Starting the last lap I saw they had almost caught me, and I had the option of keep hammering and get caught by the end of the lap or ease up a bit and wait for them to catch me. I decided to ease up a bit as this would allow me to save up the legs a bit for the run and gain some experience in a pack as that was what this race was all about.
The Run
After a bit of a rough t2 (I have struggled with my running shoes all year) I was out on the run. The 4 lap run course had its pros and cons. Out and back 4 times is mind numbing and tough to stay focused on the race at hand, but it was nice to have crowd support all along the course when you feel like dying. Two guys that were a lap ahead caught me just after I started the run so I attempted to stay with them for a bit, but they ended up running 32 mid and 33 low which ended up being a bit fast for me. However, they pulled me up to a guy that was on the same lap as me. We ran together for most of the 3rd and 4th lap, but after hitting the turn around on the last lap I put in a surge got away. After losing a sprint finish a couple weeks ago I was not going to let it come down to a sprint again. I ended up running about 10s faster than Huronia. It is tough to compare races though especially when trying to compare draft legal vs non-drafting.
Next up will be the Tecumseh Triathlon. This is a solid local race with some prize money that usually draws out some of the stronger triathletes in Ontario and Michigan. Time to get back on the tt bike.
The elite men's race was not supposed to start until 11:45, and I ended up waking up early so I went out for an easy run in the morning to get the legs ready to rock and roll. We rolled down to the race site around 10 so we could catch the start of the Women's race, but the races had been delayed in the morning so we were about 30 minutes behind schedule. No biggie, something is always bound to not go according to plan so you just adapt and move on. I found a nice tree by the start line and got off my feet. Once the girls were out on the bike course we were able to set up our transition area and start warming up. I felt completely calm and cool before the race, compared to Knoxville where I was nervous and antsy. Warming up I was feeling great and knew it would be a solid race.
The Swim
Damn, I was really hoping to swim faster. 3:30 down on the main pack and 3 minutes on the chase pack is nearly impossible to shut down. I felt like I had a decent swim and the last 1/3 of the race I found some feet to draft in on. Coming out I was glad to see some guys around me, and I just hoped some of them would be able to ride.
The Bike
40k of riding scared for my life. The only goal coming into the race was not to get lapped out. Being down by 3:30 I thought we would be safe, but I did not want to take any risks so I went straight to the front of our group and was not going to wait for anyone. Good thing I did because the guys that came out of the water behind us and one guy from our group got lapped. Myself and one other guy were working well together for the first two laps and gaining on a couple guys ahead of us but going up one of the smaller hills he dropped off. I kept riding on and picked off one more guy. While I was hammering away the guys that had dropped off formed a pack of about 6 and started gaining on me. Starting the last lap I saw they had almost caught me, and I had the option of keep hammering and get caught by the end of the lap or ease up a bit and wait for them to catch me. I decided to ease up a bit as this would allow me to save up the legs a bit for the run and gain some experience in a pack as that was what this race was all about.
The Run
After a bit of a rough t2 (I have struggled with my running shoes all year) I was out on the run. The 4 lap run course had its pros and cons. Out and back 4 times is mind numbing and tough to stay focused on the race at hand, but it was nice to have crowd support all along the course when you feel like dying. Two guys that were a lap ahead caught me just after I started the run so I attempted to stay with them for a bit, but they ended up running 32 mid and 33 low which ended up being a bit fast for me. However, they pulled me up to a guy that was on the same lap as me. We ran together for most of the 3rd and 4th lap, but after hitting the turn around on the last lap I put in a surge got away. After losing a sprint finish a couple weeks ago I was not going to let it come down to a sprint again. I ended up running about 10s faster than Huronia. It is tough to compare races though especially when trying to compare draft legal vs non-drafting.
Next up will be the Tecumseh Triathlon. This is a solid local race with some prize money that usually draws out some of the stronger triathletes in Ontario and Michigan. Time to get back on the tt bike.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Back At It
I feel like every post begins with me saying I am going to try to blog more often, but I am a busy guy so blogging sometimes falls on the back burner.
Since my last update not much has changed. Still training away and putting in hours at MultiSport Zone so I can pay for all my racing and equipment. Training has been going really well with one minor hiccup last week when my ankle/Achilles flared up after running on some gravel roads. Luckily Jenn Entwistle fixed me up and gave me the go ahead to race this past weekend at MultiSport Canada Huronia Olympic distance triathlon.
With nasty weather rolling in overnight we were in for an interesting race. Luckily I arrived early on Friday and was able to drive the course. I knew there would be some slick corners, and I would have to be a bit cautious.
With fear of thunderstorms rolling in the swim was shortened to two loops and when this was done the course went from 1500m to about 1400m. I wanted a proper 1500m so I made sure to swim all over the place. Really I just could not sight to save my life which is weird because usually I am pretty decent at swimming straight. I came out in 19:51 which is the slowest pace I have swam this year. However, I did not know the course was short until after so when I heard 19:50 I was like damn I am flying lets get rolling on the bike.
Coach Cliff wanted some power data from this race so he lent me his powertap disc with the instructions of staying around 220w. Racing with power is so much easier than RPE especially on a hilly course like this one. I was a bit below the goal of 220w as my average was 210w with a normalized power of 215w for a time of 1:05:23 for 40.6k. The first 5k of the course were pretty much uphill and struggled to get into a rhythm here. After that though I managed to lock in and push away. Managed to stay upright through the slick corners even though my rear wheel did start to slide out on one corner. Unfortunately not everyone was so lucky and there was quite a bit of road rash and stories after the race.
Coming into the run I was in a similar position being down approximately 3 minutes on the leaders. I did not panic just made sure to get out at a strong pace. I thought the run was tougher than the bike with some short steep rollers where you would go down, cross a slick wooden bridge, and then back up. If you have ever run a course like this you know how hard it can be to get in a rhythm and unlike the bike there is no power meter for running. At about 3k I passed fellow MultiSport Zone athlete Derek Quick, and he told me the others were just up the road. This was one of the more competitive run fields I have seen at an Ontario race with 8 of the top 10 running under 40 minutes. Unfortunately my 34:38 was only good enough to lose a sprint finish for 2nd.
Next up is my first ITU Continental Cup in Magog, Quebec in a week and a half. I am looking forward to racing some of the best young triathletes in Canada as this is the Canadian U23 National Championships.
I am off to the track to crush some intervals. I am going to try and post a couple more updates before Magog.
Since my last update not much has changed. Still training away and putting in hours at MultiSport Zone so I can pay for all my racing and equipment. Training has been going really well with one minor hiccup last week when my ankle/Achilles flared up after running on some gravel roads. Luckily Jenn Entwistle fixed me up and gave me the go ahead to race this past weekend at MultiSport Canada Huronia Olympic distance triathlon.
With nasty weather rolling in overnight we were in for an interesting race. Luckily I arrived early on Friday and was able to drive the course. I knew there would be some slick corners, and I would have to be a bit cautious.
With fear of thunderstorms rolling in the swim was shortened to two loops and when this was done the course went from 1500m to about 1400m. I wanted a proper 1500m so I made sure to swim all over the place. Really I just could not sight to save my life which is weird because usually I am pretty decent at swimming straight. I came out in 19:51 which is the slowest pace I have swam this year. However, I did not know the course was short until after so when I heard 19:50 I was like damn I am flying lets get rolling on the bike.
Coach Cliff wanted some power data from this race so he lent me his powertap disc with the instructions of staying around 220w. Racing with power is so much easier than RPE especially on a hilly course like this one. I was a bit below the goal of 220w as my average was 210w with a normalized power of 215w for a time of 1:05:23 for 40.6k. The first 5k of the course were pretty much uphill and struggled to get into a rhythm here. After that though I managed to lock in and push away. Managed to stay upright through the slick corners even though my rear wheel did start to slide out on one corner. Unfortunately not everyone was so lucky and there was quite a bit of road rash and stories after the race.
Coming into the run I was in a similar position being down approximately 3 minutes on the leaders. I did not panic just made sure to get out at a strong pace. I thought the run was tougher than the bike with some short steep rollers where you would go down, cross a slick wooden bridge, and then back up. If you have ever run a course like this you know how hard it can be to get in a rhythm and unlike the bike there is no power meter for running. At about 3k I passed fellow MultiSport Zone athlete Derek Quick, and he told me the others were just up the road. This was one of the more competitive run fields I have seen at an Ontario race with 8 of the top 10 running under 40 minutes. Unfortunately my 34:38 was only good enough to lose a sprint finish for 2nd.
Next up is my first ITU Continental Cup in Magog, Quebec in a week and a half. I am looking forward to racing some of the best young triathletes in Canada as this is the Canadian U23 National Championships.
I am off to the track to crush some intervals. I am going to try and post a couple more updates before Magog.
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