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 Swim
Comments: It was overcast and a little breezy by the lake making the air a little cool. I was unable to dip my legs in the water to check if I would need to wear my wetsuit or not. I ended up putting the wetsuit on and I did not fight with it compared to the times I wore it last year. Still, I believe my swim time would have been a little better without it. The water was not that cool after all. We boarded the steamboat ship at around 8:00, my wave was starting at 8:49. I struggled with my stroke for the first 250 meters or so, it was my first wetsuit swim this year; I found my swim groove after that. I passed a couple of guys from the first wave and got passed by a couple of guys from the wave after mine. Overall, I was pleased with the swim but the run to the T1 took me a little while. What would you do differently?: Nothing much other than ditching the wetsuit if I would have been able to do a swim warm up before the race start.  Transition 1
Comments: Average T1. Could have been a little faster if the lady next to me did not move my bike while she was removing her wetsuit; my helmet, sunglasses and race belt fell to the ground and my bike almost did. I could also have been a little faster with the wetsuit removal. What would you do differently?: Faster wetsuit removal. The other things were pretty much out of my control.  Bike
Comments: No race wheels, 11 - 23 cog set on a hilly terrain, torrential downpours, thunder and lightning for about 25 km. The first 5 km was a bit rough, Jones Road was full of bumps and potholes; lots of lost bottles and spare tubes on the road. Shortly after the 5 km mark, the rain began to fall, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The rain was falling hard at times, stinging my legs and arms. I had to stop and put my sunglasses away as they were all foggy and could not see the road anymore. I also had to slow down on the downhills to avoid aquaplaning and other things hidden under the water puddles. I don't mind riding in the rain; however, I think I could have done better if I had my race wheels and my 12 - 27 cog set. I alternated between Gatorade and gel every 30 minutes throughout the ride. What would you do differently?: More hills? Nah, I think I'm doing fine in that area. Being less cautious on the road with these treacherous weather conditions? Nah, I just didn't feel like injuring or killing myself. Besides, I still have many good years ahead of me and want to pursue my triathlon endeavors for as long as I can. In short, I would not have done things any differently. The wheelset issue and weather were out of my control so I did the best I could with the equipment I had. Transition 2
Comments: I struggled putting my running socks on as they were wet and I needed them to be able to run without getting major blisters on my feet. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: Ok.... I crapped out on the run yet again. I had a hard time finding my legs on the first 3 km and was doing run/walks up to that point. I was running a little faster afterwards and even faster at the 5 km turnaround but it was too late for me to make up for lost time. I did experience tightness in my upper back and traps at times which prompted me to stop and stretch a few times. Did I mention the run course was HILLY? What would you do differently?: Running and tonnage are my limiters and I am fully aware that if I want to get faster, I need to do more speed drills (which I do, mind you) and lose some of that tonnage. I am working on both but I also need to do more hill repeats. Post race
Warm down: Walked around the site for a bit, stretched a bit, got my post-race food which I chowed down with the massage therapist I met before the race start and her two friends. Stuck around for the awards presentation and draws. What limited your ability to perform faster: The wetsuit, tonnage, not enough hill repeats during my training runs and not enough consistency with core and strength training. Event comments: I had a fantastic time doing this race, time flew by and I never asked myself when this journey was going to end. I chose not to race with my Garmin or watch. I wanted to allow myself to fully embrace my racing experience and focus on each task at hand instead. Endurance vs Speed... There was absolutely no doubt in my mind I was going to finish this race. The question was in how much time was I going to accomplish that. After having a feel of the course the night before, I became realistic about my bike and run time expectations and was right on the money for both, so the race was not a disappointment. I had fun and that was all that mattered to me yesterday. I will however push a bit more in my next Oly late August. The race site, courses, organization, volunteers, post-race food... I enjoyed everything about this race. I will definitely race Gravenhurst again next year and the ones after that. Even though I had a blast, I was feeling a little blue because I don't have a special someone in my life to share these experiences with. This is something I greatly miss and felt it a lot after I crossed the finish line. Profile Album Last updated: 2008-02-02 12:00 AM
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Canada
MultiSport Canada Inc.
25C / 77F
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 214/300
Age Group = Female 40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/14
I left home Friday at noon for my overnight stay in Bracebridge and stopped by Gravenhurst to check out the run course. I then made my way to Bracebridge by driving the bike course. I dropped my stuff at the hotel, relaxed a bit and then drove back to Gravenhurst to check the back portion of the bike. I'm glad I went to checkout the courses first, this way I was not going to be overly disappointed with whatever time I'd post as I did not expect this race to be a "fast" one.
I went for dinner once back in Bracebridge; I had spaghetti meatballs with a salad and one glass of red. I did a full body stretch/relaxation routine and sipped on a "Sleepy Time" herbal tea before going to bed.
I beat the alarm clock and woke up at 4:45. I showered, had a green tea, relaxed, had breakfast at 5:45 (1 cup Kashi cereal, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup blueberries). I then gathered my stuff together, paid for the hotel room and off to the race site I went.
I prepared my transition spot, picked up my race kit, got body marked and ate some cherries. Went to the port-a-potty a couple of times, caked my lady parts in Udderly Cream as well as my bike seat (great idea), walked around the site all the while sipping on Gatorade. I brought a smaller bottle of water on the steamship boat to help me down a gel 15 minutes before the race start.
Not much time for a warm up if not for walking around the site, some stretching, some gum flapping with other ladies from my wave and about a 200 meter swim to the start line once we've jumped off the boat.
While waiting to board, I struck conversation with a woman who was feeling a little nervous. She is doing the same A race as me in September. She is a massage and accupuncture therapist in Oshawa and she offered to hook me up with a couple of chiropractors/massage therapists in my area who perform myofascial release and A.R.T. I will call her on Monday.