The Swim: Probably my best in water swim time this season. I felt strong and confident, and swimming straight made a big difference. I was able to see everything around me as I spotted and in the last 100m, spotted a group ahead of me that I was determined to catch before exiting the water...and I did! However, my time was 17:49 because of the 500m+ run from the water to transition. I was disappointed because I really felt as though I put in a strong time in the water that was hindered because of the long run.
The Bike: what a fiasco! They decided to start the duathlon at roughly the same time as the first wave started for the triathlon, so by the time I was ready to mount for the bike (I was 2nd wave), my wave AND the duathletes were all trying to mount at the same time! It was ridiculous. For the entire 30km, I never had a breathe of fresh air around me. I was always jammed in the middle of a group, with idiots crossing the centre line to pass, passing on the inside, swerving throughout the pack to get through. It was really silly. I had a decent bike time (54min), but I probably could have broken 50:00 for 30km if I had had clean air. I did my best to pass as many groups as possible, but every time I would, a drafting group (lots of those out there...as seen by the penalty list posted at the end of the race) would envelope me and pin me in as I would attempt to pass a rider, thus slowing me down. Oh well.
The Run: started off strong...really strong. And, I felt good. I got myself into a group that were running fast, but also had a good rhythm. I was feeling strong and got to the turn around (3.5km) in about 16min, which would have given me a PB for 7km. However just before the turn around I developed a stich in my right side that didn't subside, and I had to slow my pace down and try and breathe it out. I finally got it out after running a slow through the 4km and 5km markers, then picked it up for the 6km marker and sprinted (downhill) through the finish line. Not the best time (34:49...4:59/km) but I was happy that I was able to push myself harder for the first half, and hopefully I will be able to maintain that type of pace in future races.
Overall: a really nice race, great course, great weather, well organized. I disliked the long uphill run from the water to transition, and obviously, the fact that there were so many people mounting at one time on the bike course.
I will definitely do this course next June (Guelph Lakes 1) as my very first Olympic distance race the day, and possibly use the Guelph Lakes 2 sprint in September to warm me up for the Muskoka 70.3, which I will be doing to attempt my very first half Ironman.
The Bike: what a fiasco! They decided to start the duathlon at roughly the same time as the first wave started for the triathlon, so by the time I was ready to mount for the bike (I was 2nd wave), my wave AND the duathletes were all trying to mount at the same time! It was ridiculous. For the entire 30km, I never had a breathe of fresh air around me. I was always jammed in the middle of a group, with idiots crossing the centre line to pass, passing on the inside, swerving throughout the pack to get through. It was really silly. I had a decent bike time (54min), but I probably could have broken 50:00 for 30km if I had had clean air. I did my best to pass as many groups as possible, but every time I would, a drafting group (lots of those out there...as seen by the penalty list posted at the end of the race) would envelope me and pin me in as I would attempt to pass a rider, thus slowing me down. Oh well.
The Run: started off strong...really strong. And, I felt good. I got myself into a group that were running fast, but also had a good rhythm. I was feeling strong and got to the turn around (3.5km) in about 16min, which would have given me a PB for 7km. However just before the turn around I developed a stich in my right side that didn't subside, and I had to slow my pace down and try and breathe it out. I finally got it out after running a slow through the 4km and 5km markers, then picked it up for the 6km marker and sprinted (downhill) through the finish line. Not the best time (34:49...4:59/km) but I was happy that I was able to push myself harder for the first half, and hopefully I will be able to maintain that type of pace in future races.
Overall: a really nice race, great course, great weather, well organized. I disliked the long uphill run from the water to transition, and obviously, the fact that there were so many people mounting at one time on the bike course.
I will definitely do this course next June (Guelph Lakes 1) as my very first Olympic distance race the day, and possibly use the Guelph Lakes 2 sprint in September to warm me up for the Muskoka 70.3, which I will be doing to attempt my very first half Ironman.
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