JLAWG #3 - The race that was (barely)
August 24, 2009 | 12:22 pm
Great race! With some could-a-been-major hiccups. Put the highs & lows in bullet form to report.. It's fun to write about this stuff. And write at all again for that matter. Highs go first, since it was a very positive day. The 'lows' are just funny. And if they were elminated completely, would I still be having fun?
Highs:
*Sleeping in a familiar (and super cozy) bed at Snowdrift (the Law Family ski cottage in Wentworth.. sounds rough, hey?)
*Waking up to sun and on time (my alarm didn't go off.. phew!)
*Bridge Street Cafe morning coffee (my old hang out when attending Mount Allison University.. new faces, but same vibe which is rare and great)
*Filling up my water bottles at the Sackville (N.B) Booster House (an old school pump that pours out delicious and cold water... check it out! Just beyond the Irving/MacDonalds about 500 M before you make it to the University/start of 'town'
*Familiar friends and faces at the race (tons of MTA university employees, coaches, profs, deans, and their now big and grown kids volunteering, cheering, or racing!)
*NS friends are always nice to see.. especially in the same bike rack box (coincidental). Antar, Angela, Candice were there. And so were Jill & Marilyn (locked their gear in the car, couldn't race!), Racin' Ron MacDougall (he's ALWAYS racing), Jeff Timney, Mark Campell, Farley, etc. were all out there. As well as some Bridgewater Triathlon Club shirts..
*Short swim? Or just really fast now? Getting out at 20:00 for 1500 is not a normal thing.. But now that I've done it in back to back weekends, I'm starting to wonder if it should be. Or if New Brunswick is using some new aquatic measuring device.. Or forgetting to start the time till we're at the first marker? I'll take it!
*Biking 'with' Antar: Antar is moving really well now, despite a bit of a muscle issue a month ago.. Being that this race was a week away from his IM Canada, it was fun to bike with him for the full 40 K, knowing he wasn't going to drop me, or race me on the run. In that wind especially, it was great to play cat and mouse with eachother, and catch a ton of people with a smile on our faces.
*Passing Mark Campbell on the bike: Now in my Top 5 Athletic Accomplishements. I don't care if his seat was loose and in the full back position (as opposed to his usual full forward position). And, I think he loosened the seat after the race to be able to have an excuse. I had many options for comments as I went by him at 48 k/hr (thanks to the tail wind) that included 'Something wrong, Old Timer?' and 'Somebody learned how to bike...' (a la Happy Gilmore). But instead, I said nothing. And turned to look at him with a big, effortless smile on my face. He laughed out loud... and thankfully didn't put the hammer down and put me in my place as he easily could've with a stable, well-positioned seat.
Bike time: 1:04:54 for 41.5 K course. Average speed of 37.0 (exact same as Antar's), which is awesome and unexpected considering the wind. Thanks again, Mike, for the Felt 'Black Widow' loaner!
Fast T2 (from bike to run). No problems except a slight challenge getting a shoe on fast. And an official, yelling over and over and over that we leave our helmets fastened until our bike was racked. Take it easy buddy! We heard you!
Quick run, but not all out: Ran a 39:30 10 K to last years 36:50 on the same course. Couldn't see anybody to catch after I passed Antar out of T2. Turns out I was more than 2 mins behind the 3rd place guy, and nearly 10 mins down on Troy Allaby (eventual winner & super fast run @ 36:12) The 2nd place finisher -also in my 20 - 29 age category, ran 35:58! I'm glad I didn't push it on the run, cause I would've struggled to catch 3rd place, and risked injury or complete exhaustion. Not worth it before a drive home to Hali and a much anticipated pub crawl!
Ended up 4th in 2:04:42. Unsure of their measurement on the swim, and too bad the bike is long! But super happy with the power and speed I'm up to now. And cracking 2:05 in any Olympic was way more than I hoped. 5 mins better than last year at the same race, and 6 mins faster than last weekend.. When I improve on my morning prep and warm up, transitions, and lay down a <36 10K run (a ways away) I be ecstatic!
Another positive was the Solo-Rollin strategy.. I feel pretty relaxed most of the time when stuff goes wrong on race morning (not if in my case). But when I'm with people, I hate bringing them down or asking too much of them.. Being by myself, and less dependant on others forces my hand to problem solve, or better prepare in advance. And the benefits are paying off already with 2 great races back to back. Thanks of course, to all the casual support I garnered from various friends and competitors along the way! Not to mention, the driving is nice! 80's minidisc (yes, I said minidisc) the whole way up to NB and back for the Conquer Cancer Bike Tour (Vancouver to Texas) fundraising pub crawl for Mike & Meg.. I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can...
Lows (tongue in cheek, not really lows, but rather issues):
Forgot bike shoe insoles & swim goggles (got a pair to borrow from Angela Ripley, then just in time discovered both items in my car)
Came back from this discovery to find out from a panicked Angela, Antar, and Candice that my tire wall had a cut/torn seam and had blown out.. 10 mins to start. Calm Scrambling (TM) lead me to Jeff Timney and his extra back wheel. Jim from Mike's Bike Shop in Moncton hooked me up with a new long stem tube (I owe Jeff one) and we got the tire off of Jeff's wheel and it all worked out.. With 2 mins to start
*Missed the race briefing during this time.. never fun to miss the swim course description or rules/things to look out for...
*Got in the water, only to be kicked out for athlete count and swim start..
*No proper warm up (besides sprinting around), which I had hoped to do at this race..
*Transition #1... No prob, getting the wetsuit off... But then couldn't get my left shoe on because it had a CO2 cartridge and a bike too in it... Because there was no reason to bike with a repair kit, as I had no spare tube to bring along I had put them in there prior to start. Brilliant..
*Bike mount... It's my philosophy right now that I do better if I put my bike shoes on separate of the bike, run to the bike mount, and jump on and go (as opposed to fiddling @ low speed to get my shoes on).. This does not work, however, if I leave my cleat covers/protectors on my bike shoes. Discovered this on the mount line thankfully, rather than while rolling away.. Gave the clip covers to a nice volunteer..
*Bugs in the face.. on the bike, took a big bug to the cheek, sunglasses, head, and one in the lips (didn't enter the mouth, as I managed to catch it as it went in. Funny to have to consciously close my mouth while racing to avoid choking on bird sized bugs..
*Head wind: Brutal. As the course was two loops, we had a monster tail wind and a monster head wind two times each. Never fun to deal with, but cut through it okay..
That's all for this week's race report! My new bike is here... I just found out! Watch out... Wheel set included.
