Huronia Sprint

YAY to being back at triathlons!!! This was the start of what is to be a very short season for me (less than 2 months) but I am excited nevertheless to be back racing! I only started running a couple of weeks ago and it hasn’t been easy- there is still a fair bit of pain throughout the shin, but in all likelihood is just the tendons so I will continue to run through it (fingers crossed that this isn't a bad decision).

I am going to preface this race report by saying that my helmet was taken from transition after the race by someone, and I am pleading for its safe return. It is a Specialized road helmet, and is red/black, and a silver/white colour. Same helmet that I am wearing in the background pic of my blog. It bothers me greatly that someone would take what isn’t theirs and I am sincerely hoping that this was just a mistake. (I am a destitute student and can’t actually afford a new helmet right now, so I am pretty screwed if it isn’t returned). Please contact Multisport if you have information as to its whereabouts.

Back to the race. I kind of liked the later start as it meant that I could sleep in (til 6:30) and still get to the race in plenty of time. I headed up from my parents’ house in Newmarket and arrived ~9:15. After the usual race warm-up (bit of biking and swimming) I was good to go. I was in the middle of the start line this time so had to deal with lots of people around me at the start of the swim, something I don’t think I will ever be entirely comfortable with. It really is a matter of mental strength to keep calm when someone dunks my head or grabs onto my legs. Evidently though, I did survive, and after about 200m was swimming clear of the pack. I continued to catch people until there were only two visible people ahead of me (there was one superstar swimmer ahead of them, I found out later). So all in all it felt like a good swim- the times are slow but they always are at this course as the water is rougher than usual.

Transition was pretty standard- I tried not putting socks on before the bike this time, and on before the run (I have tried running without socks but it results in a bloody mess in less than 3 minutes). I don’t think it really makes any difference in the end when I put them on.

The bike course in Huronia is definitely one of the tougher ones. There are a few hills to contend with and there was a decent wind as well on Sunday. My legs felt pretty sore on the ride and I held back just a touch because I wasn’t sure how the running was going to go. I had an okay time for the bike split, but nothing spectacular. My favourite part was definitely the downhill on the way back :D And a bonus was that only one person passed me on the bike! (I guess when the distance is half what I am used to the men have less time to catch up)

T2- nothing eventful, put shoes and socks on.

So onto the run. Running does not feel great right now as I am just getting back into it, so I had little expectations going in. The plan was to “just keep going.” I set out at a pace that I thought I would be able to sustain for the 5km. On the way out I slowly reeled in the third place male and caught him at the turn-around. He picked up the pace when I got to him and basically I ran one step behind him on the way back. This was really good for me as I was getting very tired so I just focused on staying with him. I did try to pass him a couple times but he responded with a short increase in pace each time. I passed him on the uphill in the last kilometer but this was short-lived. Coming down the hill a spectator was waving at me with the “what are you doing?” type of wave. As I got closer she was yelling “Stop! Stop! You’re going the wrong way!” I got confused and did stop as she started to tell me I had to go back. This is when the guy I had just passed flew by me, at which point I ignored this spectator (who clearly did not know what was going on) and gave chase. He was too far ahead for me to catch and I don’t think this brief interruption by the spectator changed the result, but I have certainly learned my lesson- Don’t listen to spectators. (Unless they are cheering you on of course). Overall the run was okay. Certainly much slower than I was running last year but maybe I shouldn’t be expecting too much at this point. Hopefully the running legs come back sooner rather than later.

I want to thank Multisport Canada for supporting the athletes of the Ambassador Team as it makes it much easier for us young folks to get into the sport of triathlon, as well as their continued professional organization and execution of events. This is a great location for a race and provides a challenging course every year. Thanks also to C3 and their sponsors, Kinetico, Benson Steel, Royal Containers, Cervelo, and Nineteen wetsuits- I couldn’t do this without your support.

See you in Gravenhurst!