Well, it had been 4 weeks since my last race. I had planned my training accordingly, but the heat wave put some of my running plans into the drain. I swam a lot, got on my new bike when I could, but I had difficulty running in the heat. That would prove prophetic, as you'll read in my race review.
I had heard many great things about the Gravenhurst race. It was voted Ontario's best triathlon last year, so I quickly signed up for it. I mean, how often do you get to jump off a boat to start a race?
They took us out on the Seguin to the race start, and I was pretty nervous/excited. This would be my first full Olympic Distance race, as I only did the Swim/Cycle at Guelph Lakes I. Also, the swim at Guelph was 2 loops, which meant I got a break on the beach between laps. This would be a full 1500m in the water. However, swimming would prove to be the best/easiest part of this race. I jumped off the boat and swam to the race start. The Seguin 'tooted' its horn, and off we were! I started well, swimming the 1st 500m smooth and straight. I was spotting well and got into a good rhythm. The water was REALLY warm, warmer than the Holly Centre pool, which is a very warm pool. By the first (only) turn, the heat of the water had fogged my goggles. I made the turn, spotted the next buoy and couldn't see it. My goggles had fogged too much. So, like everyone else that could not see the next buoy (A LOT of racers had this problem) I spotted off what I thought was Boston Pizza (swim exit). However, I was too far to the right and ended up swimming towards the wrong side of the island. I had to readjust, took the time to clear my goggles so I could see the buoys, and continued swimming. All in all, I swam about 1750m due to this error, and ended up 3 minutes slower than I wanted to be.
The bike course was very rough. I had a hard time keeping control of my bike, and the rolling hills made it difficult for me to stretch out the new Cervelo. I tried to pace myself to take care of my legs, but that just made me more tired. I have learned that I only race well when I go all out on the bike...that saving myself for the run is futile. All in all, I had a good bike, finishing 51st overall at 1:11.
Now the run. This was the worst run of my life. It was very hot, very humid, and absolutely no airflow. I was having trouble breathing, very similar to the problems I had at the Guelph Lakes I sprint earlier this year. I had the triangle of pain with Gastrointestinal cramping, and couldn't adequately hydrate. My legs were very sluggish with no energy, and to top it off, there were no flat sections on the run. It was all up and down, but on the down I didn't have the strength to let gravity be my friend. I stopped 10 different times for an extended period of time (was hoping to do 10:1, but it became more like 4:2). In total, I finished the 10K out/back with a 6:20. Horrible, disgusting, unbearable. I have never felt so bad physically after a race, almost vomiting and having to go back to the lake to cool my body temperature. I also ended up drinking a pitcher and a half of WATER (unheard of for me after a race! Normally it's beer!) . In the end, it was a horrible race for me, and I can't wait to go back next year and exact my revenge.
NOTE: some reasons for my poor race: improper hydration, poor fueling choices leading up to the race, constricting clothing, not mentally prepped.
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