Arbour Lake Oly RR

Race Morning:

Didn't get much sleep this night. Somthing to do with a race and coffee the day before. Well not the race itself just the thought of doing one the following day that kept me up. I think I may have gotten less sleep than before IM last year. Oh well it didn't bother me much, sleep is overrated, as long as it doesn't become a habit(loosing it more then one night in succession). I had some breakfast and got all the gear together. Lisa came over so she could come cheer and take some pictures. Thanks Lisa! The weather was pretty good, figured it might be a bit chilly at first on the bike, but perfect for a good run. The water had warmed up to a balmy 14 degrees. So we got on site and got the final prep done. I set up the transition, got the chip, quick visit with Jenna's poop fairy, and got the wetsuit on.

Swim:

Took a quick dip in the water just to get used to it and lined up on the left side with the faster guys. Big mistake, I was all confident I would have a fast swim, but it wasn't to be. I had a fine start, no major bumping into people. The pace seemed ok, fast but I thought it would be alright. By the finish of lap one though things started to fall apart. Swimming straight wasn't a problem and the water was calm, but I just couldn't relax after my fast start. I tryed hard to relax and to concentrate on long smooth strokes, even telling myself to forget the speed just be smoooth didn't help. It's like a slippery slope once you start, by the end of lap 2 I was done and had no power left in my arms. With one lap to go, I felt like a beached whale, helpless and being passed numerous times. Each time I tryed to stay on their feet but I couldn't. lol I was so out of breath I started drinking water, lots of it, I even breathed some into my lungs. Have you ever done this? It's not pleasant and almost impossible to keep swimming. Oh well the boat ramp was now insight and I think I felt exactly like Julie, all the extra time spent swimming..... what a waste!!!

T1:

Finally I was able to get my feet on solid ground again. Running up the ramp I quickly got my wetsuit undone. It was a bit of a run to the transition but I didn't mind. The transition wasn't too bad, I didn't put on any extra clothes(had arm warmers on under the suit). I did however nearly fall over when putting on the cycling shoes. Funny how the dizziness only hit me while putting on the shoes. With everything on finally I grabbed the bike and ran out of transition to the road, another longer run.

Bike:

Getting under way on the bike wasn't too bad, a little slower then I wanted, but with the laboured swim my hr was still in the "heart exploding" zone. I made two wrong turns on the bike, it didn't loose me too much time, just momentum really maybe a min and a half total. It also took me quite a while to warm up and get the cycling legs going. This was no surprise to me, I remembered this well from my last Oly like 9 years ago. I came by Leslie at some point walking, I felt bad I didn't say anything. I had no spare so I couldn't have helped her, I think I was still hurting quite a bit, too much to say anything though?? Later on around lap 2-3 I also passed Curtis, he was on the left side for a bit blocking me. grrrrrrrr lol Then I hit lap 3 and started to feel good, finally!! Lap 4 was my best by far and here is where I proceeded to drop all of the guys I was riding with. You know what I mean, the people you continually pass, then they pass you, then you pass them. ENOUGH!!! Good bye!! So the last 15km were my best and then I hit transition. I wished I could keep going, I'm just not meant to race these short 40k TTs. lol Oh well I got to end really strong and feel good coming into transition.

T2:

Reading what I wrote I think I said I wayyyyy too many times. I am sorry I can't help it I I I I, aughhhh! It's probably a good thing you can't feel your feet coming in, it seriously feels like running on stumps, but with the possible gravel on the pavement, like I said, prolly for my own good. There is the possibility of stubbing a toe, but oh well I made it to the rack and threw the bike up, put socks on, shoes then ran out. Thank goodness I got the run course right.

Run:

Like the bike it took awhile to feel good. I started out ok, definatly not fast. The first part of the run is a steady climb. Honestly half the run loop is going up, the other half down times 4. I found myself counting hills vs laps since my virtual lap end was at the top of the hill. It helped keep it in perspective. By lap 3 the running legs were back and they were starting to pull in some of those runners that inched away earlier. Especially up the hill(hills are generally a strength, then I get passed on the downhills). I kept my eye open for Curtis, didn't have a clue if he was behind me or in front. When I did finally see him he looked like he was absolutely flying!!! It was on the short out and back at the top of the hill. Seriously he yelled out my name, I think it was my 3rd lap, his 1st or 2nd and he looked so strong. My first thought was "shit, he's going to come by me like I'm standing still". So I waited and waited, well ran while I waited, I tryed to pick it up but I was so sure he was coming I even was thinking of some encouraging words to say to him. I made it back down to transition and I thought hmmmm he was only maybe 100 meters behind me, my pace must have picked up??? So up the hill for the last time, I kept telling myself 3 hills to go, now 2, and finally one last hill, just make it up to the top and you can cruise into the finish. I pushed hard and passed a pile of people on the last ascent. It felt really good to finish the race strong and finish another leg of the race where my last lap was my fastest. Again onto the out and back and saw Curtis at about the same spot, hmmmm I guess we're running the same pace? This time he couldn't say anything either, he must be hurting too. I pushed the final down hill as fast as I could.

Finish and some thoughts:

It's nice to cross the finish line knowing you left it all out there. Thanks to Curtis for pushing me so hard on the run, we had very similar run times. As I've said before it's so cool to race with friends, I always look forward to seeing them during the race, doesn't matter if they're behind or in front. Thanks to Chad, Leslie(sorry your race ended prematurely), Curtis's family, Swim club friend(I forget her name) and of course Lisa for all the cheers, they help so much and I really appreciate them. I had a bad swim, but was able to turn it around, recover on the bike, finish strong, then also finish up the run strongly. I wasn't able to take much fluid in during the race, I was so close to puking the whole time. I think it was the lake water that I drank that didn't sit well in my tummy, however it may have helped keep me hydrated? LOL Oh well it was a solid training race, ideally I woulda liked to go faster, but it was a tough course, I was happy with the effort and my endurance is really coming around. Especially the fact that I had next to no soreness the next day means my body is recovering really quick. Here's some pics Lisa took from the day. Some of them are blurry cause I was going so fast. :P