A Quick Summer Recap
Thought I would do a super quick recap of all of the races I have completed so far this season. Enjoy!
Wasa Triathlon (standard distance)
This was my first Olympic distance triathlon in almost two years and I was pretty nervous going into it. The swim course was two laps and we did not have to get out of the water in between (super good news for us shorties). I had a good start and stayed with the lead pack of three guys and one girl for the entire swim. I was the first girl to exit T1 and was pumped to see how my new Cervelo P2 would fair on the out and back bike course. Unfortunately within the first 10min I was passed by two girls (passed is an understatement, they were basically just a blur). I decided to try to increase my power output and make it as hard as possible for any other girls to pass me. Amazingly, I accomplished this goal. For a person who normally gets passed by everyone - and I mean everyone - on the bike this was pretty exciting. I went into the run a minute off the second girl and within the first 2km was able to catch her. Unfortunately at the 6km another girl was able to catch me and I was unable to hold her pace. I finished the race third women overall, with a run split of 44:40 - this was my first time breaking 45min for a 10km in a triathlon which was pretty motivating as I had just recovered from an injury that had plagued me for 13 very long months.
Heart of the Rockies Triathlon (standard distance)
This triathlon takes place in Invermere and I can not find the words to convey just how hard of a course it is. I don’t actually think there are any flat sections on the bike - you are either climbing or descending - mostly just climbing. The first 5km of the run is mostly uphill, followed by rollers and then a descent that is so long it just hurts. I had a strong swim, exiting first out of the water despite having some issues with sighting. I don’t think I have ever been so happy with my bike. The course is an out and back so I spent the first 20km riding hard, trying to hold off as many girls as possible. My legs felt strong on the hills so I decided to increase my power output from what I had planned on sticking with (I would soon regret this). I managed to get to the turn around without being passed (I guess there's a first time for everything) and held this lead into T2. I left T2 feeling good, scoffing at myself for thinking I should go easier on the hills on the bike to save my legs. As soon as I started to run up the first hill (about 500m later) I knew I was in trouble and it was going to be a long, painful run. I got through the first 3km relatively ok and started to climb up the switchbacks. All I wanted to do at this point was walk. Thankfully, my mom was waiting for me halfway up this hill - just the motivation I needed to get through it. As soon as a got to the top two girls blew past me, looking fresh (I at this point was looking like a hot, sweaty mess). I had nothing left in me to try to challenge them and thought to myself third overall is still good. At the 7km mark I once again was greeted by my mom who told me it was time to run down the girls in front of me - at this point I could barely see them in the distance. My body did not want to run them down but somehow I was able to convince it to give it a go. I literally started to sprint as if there were only 200m left in the race, not 3km - I was so tired I’m pretty sure my “sprint" looked like Phoebe’s running in Friends. Somehow I managed to catch the one girl about 500m from the finish line. Things get a little foggy here but I was unable to catch up to the winner (4 seconds off). I collapsed at the finish line - happy that I had finished a race with absolutely nothing left to give. It felt pretty good to finish knowing i had put it all out there.
Canmore Grizzly Open Water Swim (3000m)
This was my fourth year competing in this race and my goal was to defend my overall female winner title. My time goal was to finally break 45min. The swim is held in Quarry Lake and for the 3000m you have to complete 6 500m laps, exiting the water after each lap. The start was rough - it seemed like everyone was sprinting and I went out a little harder than I wanted to trying to get into a pack. I finished the first lap as the lead woman in the 3000m and stayed here for the rest of the race. It wasn’t the most exciting race, as I was mostly by myself. The only memorable moment was when I was attacked while diving back into the water to start my third lap. I dove in, expecting to break the surface and start my first stroke. Instead, a huge weight fell on top of me, pushing me down and causing a pretty big spike in my heart rate. One of my teammates had dove right on top of me. I finished the race in 45:36, just shy of my goal. I’m pretty sure I would have broken the 45 if I had not been sabotaged :p hehe
Calgary Half Ironman (relay - swim portion)
Two of my lovely Kronos teammates and myself decided to tackle the Calgary Half Ironman. I was a little worried about how the swim would go as I had just finished a really hard week of training. The Kronos coaches were also competing in the relay division, with Lisa doing the swim. The race started in Auburn Bay and besides the rising sun making sighting a little tricky, conditions were perfect. At the start Lisa took off pretty fast and I sprinted to catch her feet. I spent the rest of the swim in her draft, exiting the water a couple steps behind. For the 1900m swim my time was 24:46. This time put me among the top pros so I was pretty pumped. I was kind of sad to stop after the swim. I wanted to keep going and finish the entire race. I definitely see myself as a future half ironman athlete - it can't be that much harder than the olympic distance, right? (future me is probably going to look back at past me and laugh at how naive I am). Janine went on to destroy the bike and Crystal rocked her run.
Edmonton WTS - stay tuned for a more in depth recap :)