Rose City Triathlon

My first triathlon of the season was MSC Rose City Triathlon, held in Welland, Ontario, on Sat, June 13. (http://www.multisportcanada.com/welland/)

While I’ve had separate running and biking events so far this spring, this race was the first time I’d be getting back into open water and putting all three events (swim/bike/run) together again since last year. The water temp was only 15C so most people opted for wetsuits. It always feels so good to put back on the wetsuit after the long winter and this was no exception. 

The Rose City triathlon was a new course for me, and swimming the canal was a new experience, as compared to the lakes and ponds of previous races. During my prep in the days before the race, I was advised that there was a current that ran north to south in the canal and that I should plan my swim so that it works in my favor, by hugging the shoreline on the swim start, then when I reach the turn around point to try to stay more near the centre buoys so as to ride the current on my way back.  I’m not sure how much it helped, but I paced 2:07/100m and managed to shave 5 sec off my previous seasons personal best for a new swim PB (15min:59.9sec). That’s a nice way to start the swim season!  

There was a rather long run up the canal bank into T1, so much so that the organizers basically added another transition zone called ‘the run up’.  This section of run up spread out for almost half a kilometer before leading into T1 where I quickly peeled off the wetsuit and into my cycling gear, including a new pair of cycling cleats this year.   Fortunately, I had a clean transition onto the bike and have finally gained more confidence clipping into and out of them in the crowded spots of the race.  The bike course was fairly flat and open, with no major hills.  Just straight in and out basically, pedaling all you got for the 30km.  

There were a few spots where traffic got in the way, and trucks did have to go around many of the cyclists.  It always worries me slightly when we have to deal with trucks on the open race course, I wish they could close more of the roads just for a few hours that morning.  Despite that, I paced 27.7km/h on the bike, and did the 30km in 1:05:07  (which is a slight improvement from my last 30km race time of 1:06:33). Cycling is the area that I’ve always been weakest at, and will work on more this season.  I want to get my 30km bike time down to 1hr even.  That's the only way I can actually be a podium contender in this race series.    

T2 (1:16) always goes quicker for me than T1 (2:21), and soon I found myself out on the final section of the race course - the 7.5km run, which goes along the fitness trail that parallels the canal.  

The run has to be my favourite part of the triathlon.  It feels like it always comes together in this part for me and I’m able to dig a little deeper in this section - its where I really race.  On the run out I had my eyes set on the girl in my age group who was just ahead of me on the bike. (Our ages are marked on our calves so I know who I am specifically racing against).  I knew I couldn’t match her on the bike, but I paced myself so that I would pass her on the run.  As I reached the turn around point I had her in my sights still and I waited until the last 1km to pass her and sprint down the finish line with her behind me.  I love sneaking up on other racers and passing them in this last stretch. That move secured my 9th place finish, she finished 10th.     

I paced at 5:07/km, and completed the run portion in 38:34.  It was a good run, with a strong finish, but I know I’ll be pacing faster as the season progresses and I get used to the demands of the course on my cardiovascular performance. I will go harder.     

Overall, I managed a top ten finish in my first triathlon of the season. I did the course (750m swim, 30km bike, 7.5km run) in 2:04:54, and placed ninth in my age group.  I think this was a nice primer to start the season, and will have me in better shape for Belwood on July 11, when I race this distance again. 

However, my next race will be the Toronto Triathlon Festival on June 21, where I’ve decided to try the olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) earlier this year for some unusual reason (e.g. the Pan-Am games scheduling conflicts).   Here’s hoping the water warms up real soon. 

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P.S.

In a late addition to this blog, I'm lucky a one of my amazing support crew managed to sneak in a few video clips of me during the race, which was a complete surprise to me.  Here is the short video they put together, just click on the link below:  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ChLubKUuJYZ1q4qio123OoC5f6ccNvtOiw/view