Sorry it's taken so long to write my race report for Muskoka 70.3 and this seasons' races in general. I'd like to say that I was busy training, but really, I was just lazy. It was a long season with 10 races, and the first time that I did off-season training by incorporating long runs on the weekends, and a lot of swimming exercises (not just trying to build endurance) in the pool. Add some Spinervals to the mix, and I was doing a lot more than I had ever done leading into the season, and then during the season. But, it all converged on one very cold Sunday at the beginning of September at Deerhurst Lodge, Huntsville.
The course is beautiful. Tough, but beautiful. I had gone up to the resort twice during the summer to bike the course, and had done a couple of long swims so that felt good, and I knew that if I just set a casual run pace, that would go fine as well. The Tuesday before the race I rode my Opus for a casual TT, but hurt/injured my achilles in the process. It was not severe enough to deter me from racing, but something that lingered in my mind (and came back on the bike course). Being my first Ironman brand experience, I was very nervous about what to expect in and around the lodge. Add regular Friday night traffic/construction, I was a ball of nerves on the ride up. I knew I wouldn't be settled until I was in my room at Deerhurst at the end of the night. Surprisingly, it wasn't the race that had me nervous...just everything else around the race! But Tanya and I got there okay, I got registered, had my meal, and settled in for the night. Both Tanya and I hardly slept that night, and as what was supposed to be a beautiful resort, we were not that impressed.
We woke up early Saturday morning, and walked around the resort getting a feel for transition, swim entrace/exit, and had a large breakfast. I racked my bike as soon as transition opened because I am very particular about where my bike goes. I prefer my bike at the end of the rack for that extra space during transition and easy spotting when coming out of the water. I got that out of the way, went for a warm up swim, into Huntsville for a bowl of soup and a beer (Guinness), and finished the day off at Kelsey's for dinner with good friends and fellow competitors Lloyd Smith and Kirsten Lowery. Now, it was off to bed for a 'good' night's sleep before the race. As I closed my eyes, I envisioned the entire race from the horn to the medal. Not a stroke, pedal, or step was missed. I knew this course, and I felt very confident that I would achieve the goals that I had set for myself.
Race morning, I was up at 3...but so was Tanya again, so I didn't worry about being too quiet. Funny enough, I was super excited to race. I was dancing around the room, singing to my ipod, and generally pumped to race. No nerves, just sheer excitement. Tanya was baffled, but I just felt great about the race. Going over the race in my head really helped. Knowing every corner, bump, hill on the bike, and the contours of the run make me comfortable. Essentially, I was ready. I put on my comp. tights to loosen up the muscles, had a bunch of coffee and a couple of bagels, and headed to transition to meet friends and get ready to rock!
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