Quick Woodstock Recap

Last Sunday was the start of local racing in Ontario with the MultiSport Canada Recharge With Milk Woodstock triathlon. This is one of my local favourites and John Salt always puts on a great race. Woodstock was one of the first triathlons I did and I have been back every year since (this year made 4 in a row). Over the years it has undergone some changes in the distance, but I still use it as an excellent way to see where my fitness is at the start of the season. Last year I won the race and the distance was 750m swim, 30k bike. and 7.5k run where I had to run down Mark Linseman. This year it was your traditional sprint distance of 750m, 20k, 5k, and I was hoping to repeat.

Pre Race
The weekend before Angela Quick and I competed at the American Triple T triathlon. Most of you will have read the few reports I did from Ohio, but for those that didn't it was 4 races, 3 days, 140+ miles, and everything was up or down hills. The fatigue from Triple T hit me hard on Friday and I thought I was going to drown in the pool and walk up the hills on my bike. Feeling so tired I did the minimum Cliff asked of me and took Friday and Saturday easy to try and rest up for Sunday. Woodstock was just another race on the schedule so we didn't plan on going in fresh and tapered.

Sunday came and I woke up nice and early to prepare, but I felt like I just didn't have enough time to pack and I was forgetting something. I usually do forget something, but this time I was in the clear and off to Woodstock.

 Warm up
Arrived to the race site a little later than usual, but luckily Angela saved me a spot on the rack right near the front, and I didn't have to worry about all kinds of stuff in my way. I threw my wetsuit over the rack to mark my spot and out on the bike I went. My legs didn't feel super snappy but a lot better than I felt on Friday and Saturday. After racking the bike it was off for a quick run. The best part about a run warm up is you can usually find a bathroom that not many people use and avoid the line up of nervous people that only want to make you nervous, and don't they no wetsuits are the best places to pee (especially when the water is cold). I finished up with some mobility drills and a quick dip and soon it was race time.

Swim
Any race Derek Quick shows up to is going to be a fast swim. I tried to get out fast and get on some feet, but I was unsuccessful. I was able to find a nice rhythm though and just focused on minimizing my loses in the swim. I am going to assume the swim was the same as last year and therefore I was just over 40s faster. Awesome.

Transition 1
Rather uneventful, but I did decide to lead the crowd in the YMCA dance as I ran past.

Bike
I was ready to hammer this thing. I managed to catch one of the younger guys in the first couple kilometres, but kept my focus on the small pack that looked to be just up the road. Distance is rather deceiving on the bike because a group can look so close, but you just can't close the cap. I managed to reel in Buddy Green at the turn around and Derek a bit after that. The front group of three was hammering and managed to put a little bit more time into me.

Transition 2
I never played baseball as a kid, but I would always hear about guys sliding into second while watching SportsCenter. So for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to try sliding in to second transition. What actually happened was a combination of many factors that led to disaster. Physics made me it's biatch. When I was getting ready to dismount the foot that had all my weight on it twisted causing my shoe to come unclipped. I felt my shoe drop and tried to save it but I couldn't get my back foot down fast enough. Based on the road rash and what I think happened I must have rolled on the ground then slid. I popped up quickly and off to transition I ran just hoping that I didn't scratch my baby.

Run
Leaving transition I was 4th place and 50s down on the leader. I took a deep breath told myself I had been here before and it was time to leave it on the course. No excuses about being tired from Triple T yada yada just do the work and pull them in. Heading on to the dam I had caught one and the other two were in my sites. I was like a hunter stalking his prey. I came up on Ben Sayles to take the lead just after the turn around. He was looking like he was running well so I put in a surge to try and prevent him from coming with me. From here on I ran scared. I love the feeling of running scared. In my head it  was something like don't look back, you know they are coming, just keep going, there is the finish, you got this, ahhhhh its over. I love the look on my parents face when I round that turn in first place. Sometimes I think they are happier than I am.

Post Race
After the race I was pretty sore from the crash. My ankle and hip were a bit bloody and my hand had a nice puff to it. Monday at work Jeff recommended I go for X-rays and the good news is that it came back as no fracture in my hand. I have managed to swim, bike, and run since the race with just a little bit of pain so I shouldn't need any time off.

A lot of people have been asking what is next for me and to be honest I am not sure. The next big one is Duathlon Worlds the beginning of August, but for June and July who knows. I have tossed around the idea of doing the half at Welland just to get a half over with, and I would also like to run a 5K on the track because I am feeling fit and would like to run a pb. I will have to sit down with Cliff and discuss what is next for me.

If you made it this far thanks for reading, and I hope the pictures spiced things up a bit. Thanks to MySportsShooter, Donna Quick, and my dad for the pictures.