Ride It Like You Stole It - The Guelph Lake I Sprint Triathlon Race Report

The weather reports for today weren't great. They weren't horrible, but it wasn't going to be sunny and clear. There were thundershowers in the morning, with showers continuing into the afternoon. With a race start at 1pm, we should only have to deal with the showers. We actually got even luckier than that, with only a bit of mist by the time the gun went off. I was in the second wave, men 30-44, so among a lot of people but not racing all of them. Guelph Lake uses a beach start, so there's always a bit more madness at the beginning.

Swim:
I took a position up front, with the intention of finding good feet early and cruising through the swim. With the gun, we sprinted into the lake, taking some high steps, then it was off in the swim. I started a bit faster than I would want, putting more pressure on than I would care to. Lots of bumping and banging on the way to clearer water. I was finally able to get some feet, and followed along for most of the course. On the stretch back to shore, I pulled out and started to move up, chasing other white swimcaps. When I stood up at the shore, the time was 13:XX, but there's a long stretch from the water to transition. You have to run up the beach, up a hill, behind transition, and through the run exit. This would explain why my time was closer to fifteen minutes.

T1:
Went much better than last race. I popped right out of wetsuit, slapped on my shoes, race number and helmet, and was off for a bike ride.

Bike:
My ride didn't start as well as I would hope. I didn't have my pedals quite lined up, so when I did my flying mount, it took some fumbling to get going. Then in the first kilometre, an SUV pulled out of the parking lot (likely a Try-A-Tri participant), which I got stuck behind for a few seconds. I pulled around the left side after losing a couple of places, and with a newfound anger, I set off. We found out last year at Milton, I ride pretty fast when I'm angry.

There really isn't a lot to report on the ride. It's a mostly flat, slightly rolling course, only 19km long. Because of the rain, my computer was acting funny. The speeds it was reporting changed every few seconds from 40 km/h to 22 km/h and everything in between. I probably ended up going a bit harder than I should have, as my heart rate was pinned at 165-175 bpm, but my legs and lungs never felt bad.

Since I never know where I stand coming out of the water, I also never know how many spots I've moved up, or what position I'm in at the end of the ride. I knew I did a lot of passing, and no one passed me, so I figured I got myself a decent spot.

T2:
It seems I got a bit more than a decent spot. When I got back to transition, there were no other bikes on the M35-39 rack. None. I was the first to T2. (The folks at Slowtwitch would be proud.) Normally I'm in the role of the chaser, which is something I revel in. Today I was the chased.

Run:
So now I had to go. It's an out and back course, and I saw the first returnee as I was just past the 1km mark. I passed a couple of runners, then was in a bit of a No Man's Land. I tried to keep the pace up as best I could, but my legs weren't as good as I wanted. When I hit the turnaround, I timed how much of a gap I had to the next runners. Thirty seconds. Given that a lot of guys will be running 3:50 or so per km, and I was fighting for 4:00-:05, that might not be enough. But I had a guy in front of me, and I just tried to key off him. As long as the gap was the same or shrinking, or had to feel OK. With just over a kilometre to go, I was passed. A quick glance, and I knew he was much younger than me. Check the calf, and yep, we can let him go. I did a shoulder check a couple of times, and didn't see anyone moving too close. (Turns out I had a blindspot.) The finish was a the bottom of a mild grade, so I tried to keep the pace up until I hit the line. I was hurting pretty bad, trying to dig out what I could. I know there's more speed there, but it wasn't available this afternoon.

After finishing and getting some food, and waiting a while for results to be posted, I found the good news: Seventh overall, first in the age group. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Official Results:
Swim: 14:48 (1:58/100m), 6/44 AG
T1: 1:12
Bike: 31:15 (36.5 km/h), 1/44 AG (4/542 overall!!)
T2: 0:59
Run: 20:27 (4:06/km), 4/44 AG
Total: 1:08:32, 7/542 overall, 1/44 AG

OTS Points: 0, Series Points: 40
OSS Points: 100, Series Points: 140

Looking at the results now, I barely held on. It was only three seconds to the next place. He crushed me on the swim and run, but luckily that's not the only part of the race. Somehow I put together a top-notch bike ride, enough to give me the cushion needed to win. This amazed me, since running should be a strength, and I'm not doing that much bike work so far this year. I'll have to keep working on my run, and maybe next time I'll be able to open the gap instead of running for my life.

Now I can relax for the night, wearing my "Race Winner" cap and fondling my plaque. (Was that out loud?) Then wake up bright and early tomorrow morning and head out for a ten mile run to get some running legs before the season ends.