Muskoka Long Course - TriathlonOther

What a brutal start to the swim. Largest wave start i have been a part of. I tried seeding toward the back but i got caught up in the mass of people and just had an awful time the first 500m or so. Constantly bumping up against people and thrashed around. Impossible for me to get a decent stroke and any sort of breathing pattern in control. A couple times i flipped onto my back to get a quick rest and get my breathing under control. I was very worried that my swim was coming apart bigtime. I had a couple 2k open water swims earlier in the week that felt great, bilateral breathing the entire time and no stops. Finally hit the turn buoy aroud 500m or so and was able to find some space on the outside and tried to get back to a long stroke & even and bilateral breathing. Was somehow able to do this the rest of the swim. I wasn't really off course but well outside of the main group. This was fine as at least i was feeling good and swimming to the best of my abilites. I crusied in and was pleasantly suprised to see 39:39 on my watch as i exited the water. My official swim time includes a long uphill walk/jog to transition. After the terrible 1st 500m i was amazed to see a sub 40 when my goal was a 42. This gave me a lot of confidence in the rest of my race

Get out of the pack very early even if it means way off the side.

Took it easy walking up the hill from the swim, after i was able to unzip my suit. Got to my bike and got the suit off pretty easy. Cramped my calf but a quick stretch fixed that and it wasnt a problem. Grabbed a gel and was off.

Nothing

My plan was to ride at 155HR avg and 1:45 time. Hard to get my HR down early and all the hills made it difficult to determine what my avg was since it was often well above and well below the avg. I knew it was more than 155 but i felt good and went more by RPE at a slightly higher effort than planned. I knew the last 10k were mostly downhill so i thought this would provide a recovery oppurtunity should i need it. There were a lot of strong cyclists on the course, some people were really flying. I am happy with my ride, this is supposedly a tough course and i put down a good effort.

Maybe slow down a bit? Not that i think i went too hard, but it would be interesting to see how much better i could run with a slightly easier bike effort.

Started out ok, through town and a big uphill then hit with side stitch between km 2-3 that was pretty bad and really slowed me down. Had to stop completely and was able to get rid of it and start back up but a bit slower to ensure it didnt return. Think i had too much liquid in me. Stopped drinking at the next few aid stations, just dumped lots of water on my head. Was able to feel good after cooldowns but it was really hot out there and the heat sapped my strength and my legs were feeling it too, probably from the bike. Every km marker i took a split and was distressed to see them pretty much all coming in well above 5' Tried quickening the pace but would only last a very short time until i was reduced to a shuffle. Did manage to run entire course except for walking thru aid stations to get as much water as possible. Around halfway point i realized all the water i was dumping on me was running into my shoes and it seemed they went from dry to soaked with my feet sloshing around like in a rainstorm instanly. No hint, just instantly soaked. I think there was an aid station missing around km 12. Finally nearing the finish i was able to take a decent pace up a gradual hill, reach the crest and glide down to the finish.

Lots and lots of stretching, a 10min or so dip in the river. I really made an effort to stretch my legs so i would have a quick recover. I suffered for a week after a 10k in April and didnt want the same problem. Also the slow pace, shorter strides of this run maybe didnt kill my legs so bad though they did feel pretty beat.


heat, bike pace?


Great race, lots of fun