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Comments: This was my first OWS race. I had a good position at the front slightly off to one side and got away well on the run into the water. I got straight into the lead and started to pull away a little. I wasn't going all out, but wanted to go fairly hard to ensure I didn't get caught up in the main pack. I ended up leading a group of 3 that dropped to me and one other fairly quickly. I found the kayaker in front of me fairly frustrating as he felt too close - I couldn't see the marker bouy at all, so had to assume it was behind him. I have no idea how close they're meant to be, but it just meant I ended up lifting my head up way more than I wanted to make sure I wasn't straying off course...wasn't too good for rhythm. Although I couldn't see him or feel him, I'm guessing the guy behind me was drafting me - wasn't too worried about it as I just wanted to swim my pace, but was a bit unsettling to see him alongside me after around 2/3rds of the course. He seemed to have trouble with his directions once he got in front as he seemed to be going side to side a bit, but he didn't pull away much. Really happy with leading for so long and being 2nd out of the water for my first OWS :-) What would you do differently?: Maybe push a little harder in the 2nd half ? If I end up leading again, can I trust the kayaker to be going where I need to be ???? If so, trust him and don't look up so much !! Also, if I'd realised that as soon as I crossed the mat at T1 the clock stopped, I wouldn't have bothered unzipping the wetsuit and getting my arms out on the run to it !  Transition 1
Comments: This was where this race was a bit strange. Because the bike race route was a 1.5km ride away on city pathways (that are speed restricted), the clock stopped as soon as you entered T1. This meant that T1 and T2 were not timed at all. Technically you could have gone off, had a 30 minute break and come back fresh as a daisy for the bike/run. I therefore didn't rush the transition, but didn't take too much time either - I figured I may as well practice close to race pace for more experience. The run from T1 exit to the mount line was long, so being one of the first out, I was pleased to hear the PA announcer say that we could relax and get on our bikes as it was not being timed. I was quite pleased as running with my shoes in the clips was awful and they kept pretty much stopping my bike - no idea what I was doing wrong, but had the time counted it wouldn't have been pretty ! When we got near the official mount line, the girl there was in a flap saying we shouldn't be on our bike, so me and theguy I was beside told her she needed to relax or go tell the PA announcer to stop telling everyone different ! The ride to the start of the bike course was quite relaxing - ended up chatting to the person who actually ended up one spot ahead of me in the final standings and in my age group. What would you do differently?: Not sure what to say about this really - the whole thing was a mess from both my perspective and the race organisation. I understand they were restricted by the location, but they need all parties to know what is/isn't permitted. For me, I need to practice more running with shoes in the clips and see what was going wrong !  Bike
Comments: Once I got to the course, it was a good ride. Rather frustratingly, the only person who passed me was the same as the previous race. He's a quick cyclist though, so shouldn't be too bothered I guess...something to strive for ! Other than having a wall of people blocking the road at the start of the loop when I was heading into loop 2, it went pretty well. The drizzle and amount of cloud meant I had to take the sunglasses off - lost them somewhere in loop 2 ! Had been having a bit of hip/knee pain in the lead up to the race and was beginning to really feel it at the end of the ride. Kept fingers crossed it wasn't going to make the run too uncomfortable. What would you do differently?: Just keep practicing to see if I can stop that guy from passing me...again !!! Transition 2
Comments: Like T1, this was all a bit strange since as soon as you finished on the official bike route, the clock stopped and you had a leisurely 20kph 1.5km cycle back to T2. Another opportunity to go off, get a massage and come back refreshed for part 3 (seriously wondered if anyone did take a long break !?) Generally went smoothly - again, didn't rush but didn't hang around either as I wanted to treat it as a standard race situation. What would you do differently?: Just more practice of jumping off moving bikes and running with shoes in clips  Run
Comments: The run route wasn't particularly well marked out in places. I think the organisers could have done a better job of getting the marshalls to be in the right places to guide you too. Legs felt great heading out of T2, perhaps all the practicing of the bike to run transition is paying off. Kept the stride short and cadence up. My hip/knee was quite uncomfortable during the run (seems it might be a recurrance of the IT Band issues I had from overtraining before Christmas - not 100% sure), but I don't think it slowed me down too much - just hurt a bit. Was great to have my support team around - wife and kids as well as my parents over from the UK. It was a double loop so I got to see them a few times - lovely hearing my mum and my daughter shouting "go on daddy, you can do it" ! Run generally felt ok other than the hip/knee - still not sure if I could have pushed a little more in places, but I was happy with what I had done when I crossed the finish. What would you do differently?: Nothing that comes to mind Post race
Warm down: Grabbed a bagel and banana, did some gentle walking and stretching and gave the family some big hugs. Kept an eye on the results :-) Whilst waiting for the awards, got a massage - felt great ! Really happy with the result of 5th overall and 2nd in age group. It was a stronger field than the previous race, so not too disappointed about heading one place in the wrong direction. For a first OW swim it was great - doubt they will all go that well ! What limited your ability to perform faster: Not sure how much it impacted my performance, but the hip/knee pain was quite significant during the run. Could have shaved off a few seconds if I'd realised the T1 was untimed. Looking back at the video, a few of the swimmers around me didn't even bother moving their goggles and just legged it to T1 without a thought about suit removal ! Event comments: The transition to bike course issue is a bit weird, but once you have done the race once and know how it works it wouldn't be a problem. I think certain parts of the organisation around that and some marshalling on the run could have been better, but generally an ok experience. I didn't want to be too harsh and say it was a disorganised race, as it was in the most part good, but definitely wasn't up to the standard of the previous Somersault race I had done. Really happy with the result of 5th overall and 2nd in age group. It was a stronger field than the previous race, so not too disappointed about heading one place in the wrong direction. For a first OW swim it was great - doubt they will all go that well ! Last updated: 2013-05-10 12:00 AM
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Canada
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13C / 55F
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 5/140
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/7
A week before the race I went and practiced the OWS at the race site with one of my family in a kayak as support. This would be my first OWS race, so I wanted to get more used to the feeling of seeing murky brown and not a lot else and practice sighting in something other than a pool. I've swam recreationally in lakes and the sea before when I was much younger, so wasn't overly concerned about it, but have always had that sinking feeling (no pun intended...) in the stomach when I can't see the bottom of whatever I'm swimming in !
On the practice day, the water was like glass, so not great for practising the mayhem of race time, but still good to do. The water was damn cold, 14/15'c, but the wetsuit felt great and I was comfortable in the water quite quickly. After 15 mins of swimming I actually took the wetsuit off and just tried with only the tri-suit for another 15mins. I guess it was better as I already warmed up, but it felt quite bearable. I of course then gave myself the dilemma of whether to wear a wetsuit on race day or not. As it was a sprint distance only, I figured I'd wait to see what the outside temperature was and base it on whether I would be able to get/stay warm on the bike (especially as it had a weird 1.5km bike to the bike course !?)
On the day, got up at 5:15, headed straight downstairs for oats & golden syrup and plenty of water! Had family visiting, so wife had assistance getting everyone ready to leave. New Saris Bones bike rack was a breeze and we were all racked and packed with time to spare.
20 min drive to course. Was there quite early so got a good parking spot and racked up near the bike exit. Set up transition and covered everything up as it was fine rain/drizzle forecast for the whole morning.
Collected my chip and gave my mum the pleasure of numbering me up ! Think my mum was getting more nervous about the race than I was, very sweet. In myself I was pretty relaxed - just a little apprehensive about my first OWS race...was fearing a kick in the head/dislodged goggles/ drinking half the river etc ! The air temperature for race time was forecast to be around 13'c, so I decided wetsuit was going on.
Once I had the wetsuit on I went in the river to fill it up and get some swim warm up in. I was pleased I'd been in the week before - the water even felt warmer this time around. I floated around and did gentle swims as close to the start as I could. I went out a couple of times to say hi to my parents and family - think I scared my son a little with goggles, cap and wetsuit on - not sure he believed it was me ! I looked for a good place to line up for the start - decided on slightly off to one side, but not too far on the outside edge.
Felt relaxed waiting for the start and gave a last wave to my children and family.