Mid-summer triathlons are always challenging due to the warmer weather, but this one was held right as Ontario was about to begin a week long heat wave. Making matters even more interesting, was the geographic location of Bala (in the southern region of the Muskokas) with its rolling hills and roads exposed to the sun. Fortunately we had a early start, 8:30am, and anticipated finish time of 10:30am, so we’d be racing before the heat of the day really set in. However, at the start time it was 25C already. It was going to be a hot one.
This was my first time racing this course (MSC Bala Falls http://www.multisportcanada.com/balafalls/) so I was trying to get as much background info on the course as I could before heading up. I found a nice course outline with training tips on YouTube with Ignition Fitness from a couple years ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G33LYs0uy4. I’m no stranger to squats and lunges, thus felt fairly confident in the ability of my legs to get me up and over those famous Muskoka hills.
The transition zone (TZ) was set up on the grass next to the shore of Moon River in Jaspen Park, and after setting up my gear, I headed down to the water to do my usual 5min warm up swim. The water was so warm (~23C), wetsuits weren’t really needed but most triathletes prefer to race in them for the slight speed advantage, so I wore mine as usual. I’m glad I did, as I had my personal best 750m swim time of the season 15:37 (pacing 2:04/100m). That’s almost half a minute faster than the Welland swim in the canal current!
On a high from the swim, I ran into transition and got ready to ride with Ruby. Before racking my bike that morning I had the good sense to give my bike a pre-race check up. I pumped extra air into the tires, checked the brakes and made sure the tires were spinning smoothly on their axis’. There would be no repeat of the Belwood fiasco. And my Ruby rode true. I was then less concerned with mechanics, and more concerned about the hills at this point, but as I began the numerous climbs and descents I actually found myself enjoying the course much more than the fast and flat terrains of Welland and Wasaga that I had chosen in previous years. I have fairly strong legs & glutes, and practiced climbing Sunnybrook Hill many many times for just this occasion. Not to mention the geography was simply beautiful you couldn’t help but enjoy yourself on the ride. I ended up with a 30km time of 1:06:40 (pacing 27km/h), not my fastest ride, and still one of the slower riders in my AG, but I was happy in the moment, and felt positive going into T2, which I did in under a minute (0:58).
The run course was tough. I have to admit. I’m a pretty strong runner but the steep hills and exposed sun along the 7.5km stretch of Muskoka Rd 169 we ran along was as much a mental test as it was physically grueling. I had enough sense to bring a hat and wear it, and as I passed each aid station I poured one cup of water over my head and drank the H.E.E.D. to keep me going. Mercifully, there were 2 small side roads we had to run out and back on, and they were shaded by trees, but those were only ~2km of the run, while the majority of the run course (5.5km) was full on sun, and I’m sure the air temp was at least 28C by then. I knew I was pacing slower than usual (5:17/km), but that’s the nature of the environmental conditions taking their toll I suppose. By this point in the run, I had passed the racer in my AG (with Bib 104) who passed me on the bike course and I knew I just had to keep on running. I was stronger than her I told myself.
I typically get pretty pumped up on the run, its my favourite part of the race by far, so although I was suffering I didn’t let it mentally grind me down. I began passing several other runners at that point, one of whom in a red tri suit was walking the last km. I remembered what it felt like to be walking that last km, and the regret that it always brought, and since the guy wasn’t in my AG race category I decided to help him out. I turned to him and said “Come on, no walking! Don’t you know these race times stay on the internet forever?!” And that lit the spark in him. “OK!” He began running again, and the personal trainer in me took over. “What’s your name?” It wasn’t on his bib, he must have registered that morning. “Brad” he blurted out. “OK Brad, come on, you’re going to finish this strong!”. Run run run. “Come on Brad, let’s kill this hill”. While it might have seemed I was helping him out more so during this last hill climb, I find this pep talk helps me out tremendously as well. It pumps me up, and it felt like as we got closer to the finish line the crowds started feeding from the energy as well, bursting into cheers as we ran by. “We’re almost there!” With that I let my finishing kick take over and finally crossed that line, 4 seconds ahead of my short lived running buddy. After regrouping we high fived and he gave me a sincere thanks for the push.
***Have no regrets, always run it like you mean it!!***
I posted a run time of 39:41. Not my fastest 7.5km run time, but considering the heat, humidity and hills it wasn’t so bad. Overall my finishing time for the 750m swim, 30km bike, 7.5km hilly run course was 2:05:02 (just 8 seconds slower than my Welland race time last month). Finishing 7th in my AG, back in the top ten again. Not so bad for my first Muskoka race experience.
Perhaps the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka race next July isn’t such a crazy idea after all....
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