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 Swim
Comments: Distance was reduced to 300m due to the current, so swam without the wetsuit and just went for it. Got a lead from the start along with one other and we stayed together all the way through. He began cutting across into me when we were going across the current on the way to the beach, so I backed off rather than trying to accelerate in front of him. (It was incredible how much you had to aim upstream to make sure you still hit the beach...I could see why some of the oly racers could have got it wrong if they weren't sighting well/regularly). Got out of the water just behind the other guy but knew I had an advantage running into T1 as he had a wetsuit to remove. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. Such a short sprint that it was just a case of going for it !  Transition 1
Comments: I had spent some time practising with some floss/elastics holding my shoes in place for a flying mount out of T1. Had it all set up for that in this race and it went as well as I could have hoped :-) Other than a moment where I couldn't see my bike (too many white bikes in one spot, should have been looking for my towel !), everything went smoothly and I got a great mount with the shoes held nicely in place. What would you do differently?: I have quite a distinctive towel that I use in transitions....remember to look for that rather than my bike when running past !! May have saved myself a few seconds !  Bike
Comments: It was funny coming out of T1 leading the race. Got a great flying mount with shoes on the bike, then a motorcycle escort just in front of me for the first 10km...felt a bit like I was in the tour de france ! Only got passed by my usual bike nemesis just before the half way point and was passed by 2 others (see below !) by about 3/4's. I managed to take one of those spots back before the end so was 3rd heading into T2. The road surface was a bit of a nightmare for the majority of the course to be honest. I did my best to maintain a good racing line, but it was not easy or possible in places. If you weren't trying to avoid bike-breaker potholes, you were easing off to make safe passes around riders from other races as they were trying to do the same thing. Some of the corners had a fair amount of loose gravel on them too, so that was a little unnerving wondering if I was going to push the traction too far. The hills were different to what I am used to training and racing on, but it went well. One of the most frustrating things was watching the two racers who passed me later on the bike who were taking turns drafting eachother !!? In a local, non drafting race I found that a bit surprising and poor. I didn't say anything and concentrated on my race, but was a bit annoyed...managed to re-pass one of them before the end though so that was satisfying. What would you do differently?: Keep going on the training. I know I'll be up against my bike nemesis again this year, so it would be good to keep up with him. I did manage to keep him within sight this time, so that was an improvement. Just not sure if the effort in trying to stay with him impacted my run on this day. Transition 2
Comments: Got my shoes off on the bike ....just ! Need to increase the tension on the cleats as I almost had a foot out of the shoe and knocked it off the pedal ! Managed to re-click it in though before it fell off ! Other than that great pedalling to the line with feet on shoes, great dismount and run to rack. Got running shoes on quick, grabbed a dextrose tab and some water and headed out. What would you do differently?: Increase the cleat tension...losing a shoe at that point would have been pretty bad !  Run
Comments: A brutally hot run, with little to no shade to help stay cool. Garden sprinklers set out by residents along route helped - very grateful for that. I may have overdone it on the bike, may have been the heat too, but I had nothing left for the run. At the times where I felt my pace dropping, even though I wanted to pick up the cadence and pace, my legs just didn't respond. Worst run of season so far. What would you do differently?: Make sure I'm not carrying the extra weight as I'm certain that wouldn't have helped. Not sure if a cap would have helped by keeping the sun out of my eyes a little. Maybe also try to race my own race on the bike and try not to do too much to keep up if it feels like I'm pushing to hard to do it ? Post race
Warm down: Finished, said hi to my awesome supporters (think they were cooked too :-s), took the running shoes off and went straight back in the river ! Stayed there for quite a while to cool down before packing up and going to DQ for an ice cream !! What limited your ability to perform faster: Weight ! Uncomfortable hip. Heat and humidity affected me on the run too, but I know everyone was in the same boat. Event comments: Was disappointed with the run and therefore the 6th overall. Nice to still get an AG 1st though. Training was back to appropriate levels, but still significantly over where I'd want to be for race weight. Need to get nutrition back on track for the next race and hopefully keep working on rehabilitating the hip. Race was generally pleasant. Location was great, river was clean and course was quite nice if you took the bike surface out of the consideration. If the road surfaces were improved it would be a great place for a small race. Last updated: 2013-06-17 12:00 AM
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Canada
Somersault Events
32C / 90F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 6/120
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/9
Considering I was still having painful hip issues, the bike course was hilly, and I was also carrying enough extra weight to rival christmas with visitors and me slacking off on the food a lot I wasn't sure what to expect from this race. Was also an insanely hot day so knew that could be a factor as the run had pretty much no shade.
The swim was almost cancelled due to an unusually strong current in the river. They eventually reduced all the swim distances, ours went to 300m. I did ride the bike course the weekend before - glad I did as there were some really big potholes in the road and a lot of bumpy uneven surfaces that would be bad for the health of your bike ! Also checked out the run route and went for a quick swim in the river...the current was pretty strong for me and I'm usually one of the better swimmers. So, it was not surprising when they made the swim changes they did....good to know that a current like that was not considered normal to race in !!!
On the day, got up at 5:00, went for the usual oats & golden syrup and plenty of water! Had family visiting again, so wife had assistance getting everyone ready to leave.
30 min drive to Carleton Place. Was a nice easy drive and got a good parking spot close to the transition zone. Got racked near the bike exit, set up transition and went to find some shade to put sunscreen on etc. It was already really hot !
Collected my chip and got numbered up before heading back into the shade with some water ! Was a bit apprehensive how hard the swim was going to be - watching the Oly race go before ours it was interesting seeing some of the racers struggle against the current and then get pulled way off course heading back to the beach !
Did a very gentle 10 minute swim warm up and then lots of stretching, especially on the hip. Other than that it was so hot and humid, I was doing all I could to not be getting into a big sweaty mess just by standing still ! Due to the water temperature and short distance of the swim, I went without the wetsuit - didn't see any advantage in it for this race.