Toronto Triathlon Festival 2016

Toronto Triathlon Festival (TTF)

Sunday, July 10th, 2016

http://www.torontotriathlonfestival.com 

The TTF has become an annual tradition in downtown Toronto, and I’ve taken part in it for the past 3 years.  In 2014, I did the sprint race, then in 2015 I challenged myself to the olympic standard distance, which I did again this weekend.  

Considering that most of my triathlons involve a two hour drive (each way), its hard to say no to a race that takes place practically in my back yard, on a course that I am now very familiar with. 

There was going to be some stiff competition at TTF this year as it was selected to host Triathlon Ontario’s Provincial Championships.  I guess now I’ll know where I stack up with the more serious triathletes, as even the more recreational age grouper (yours truly) will be running with them at this event. Who knows what might happen?!

Race morning dawned ideal, clear and fresh, which was particularly nice since the week before Toronto suffered through an extreme heat alert and a series of thunderstorms the day before. The last few races had been uncomfortably hot, so I was looking forward to an earlier start and finish, with cooler temps, less humidity and less suffering out on the run course.  

Lake Ontario (and the Great Lakes in general) tends to be a little cooler than the other smaller lakes and canals in the region. The water temp was 17.5C (63.5F), cool yes, but with a wetsuit it was just fine, and considering I do most of my training in the Lake, down at Cherry Beach, I was used to it.  So the cooler water temp was not a shock to me when I jumped in at 7am for my pre-race warm up swim. It felt good. I felt good. I knew during that brief warm up swim that I was going to have a good swim that morning. 

My wave (in the silver swim caps) was the last to go, and after the initial chaos of the in-water group wave start, we spaced out enough to find a comfortable rhythm, eventually finding that inner/outer pace where breathing technique, effort and swim stroke all come together.  A few minutes in I started approaching the pink caps of the struggling swimmers in the previous wave.  Not so great for them, but a good sign for my progress at least.  (There were plenty of paddle-boarders and kayakers around keeping a watchful eye out, so no one was ever is any real danger, never fear.  It was mostly a DNF for those swimmers sadly). 

The sun was still quite low on the horizon and I was glad for my reflective goggles (a new addition made to my race kit at the end of last season, after experiencing the squint of some other bright and early morning swims).  Although after the first left turn I found it was easier to just switch to breathing on my right side, instead of my natural left side, avoiding the bright dawn sunlight.  Alternating breathing on different sides changes the natural stride but its something triathletes need to be able to do adapt to open water conditions and still thrive in the moment.  The open water swim is very much different than the calm controlled pool environment, and only experience will prepare you for it.

Despite this small challenge, I was enjoying the swim. I had prepped and trained for this. I felt strong and powerful, and I mentally envisioned my arms were paddles pulling me forward with long, strong strokes gliding through the water.   

At this point, I even began to pass the weaker swimmers in the blue cap wave (those just before the pink caps) who had resorted to breast stroking for the last 500m of the swim.  I continued to power on with my front crawl, making the last left turn around the bright orange buoy and made a bee-line for the swim finish.  My gut feeling was right, I paced 2:06/100m, whereas last year I paced 2:13/100m.  I did the 1500m swim almost 2min faster!  

Transitioning went well, no issues here. I was very familiar with the layout from previous experience,  and used this to my advantage (for both T1 & T2). I knew exactly where my in and out sites were and didn’t waste any time looking for them.  I also knew to expect the steep climb before the bike mount line, so I braced my legs and cleats for that hill, both going up and coming back down after the bike (but more on that later).

The bike course I also knew well from both past TTF races and the Ride for Heart event I do annually. I was hoping to go a little faster today, but I ended up keeping the exact same pace as last year - 28.7 km/h to be precise.  At least there were no mechanical issues and the ride was smooth and car free! Hooray for closing the Gardiner and DVP for triathlon! Its rare to have a completely closed to traffic bike course even for races.  Big thanks to the City of Toronto and the TTF organizers for that monumental feat!

The bike has never been the strongest part of my race, but this year I’ve tried to be more aggressive on the ride segment.  So I was pissed when in the last 5km of the bike course a racer in my age group overtook me on the bike (I could tell by checking her age marking on her calf). I stayed with her the best I could, but couldn’t pass her back before entering the final narrow bridge section.  I had a plan though, I could see she was nervous running down the steep hill with her bike after dismounting and entering T2, so I threw caution to the wind and blew past her going down the hill. I was taking a risk of slipping here, but it was a race after all, so now was the time to push limits.  I had my cleats off and runners on before she even had her bike racked and helmet off.  A successful recovery on my part, and she didn’t pass me again that day.  Being a good triathlete also involves good transitional strategy, not just cardio endurance.  That was a great example of knowing your transition zone well and incorporating it into your race strategy.

I was now entering the part of the triathlon I was strongest in - the run. Unlike the bike, this was where I do all the passing.  The run course was a total of 10K, both starting and finishing at Ontario Place, running out along the Martin Goodman Trail for the first 5K, turning around at the Humber River bridge, and returning along the inner lane of Lakeshore Blvd for the last 5K.  

I had a smooth transition out of T2 but its still always a struggle to settle into proper running form after the bike course.  I reached for one of the caffeinated Hammer gel packs I had tucked into my back shirt pocket and fuelled myself for the 10K that still laid ahead.  

After about 4km, and much to my dismay, my recurring problem of foot and leg numbness started creeping in.  But unlike Welland, only my left foot and lower leg went numb this time.  I tried to wiggle my toes and shake out my leg while running but it stuck with me for about 3-4km.  It was frustrating and I'm sure it had an impact on my run time, I knew I wasn’t pacing as fast as I could have. (I think its time to go to see my chiropractor again for an adjustment.  Hopefully its just a pinched nerve or something along those lines that can be easily dealt with.)  

At about the 7.5km mark my legs were back to normal and I felt much more relaxed in the run. I started chatting with another racer from a higher age group (Su-Ming) and we helped each other along the course for a few kilometers along Lakeshore Blvd until she stopped at a water station and I decided to keep powering up the hill, now that my legs were back to normal I wanted to make up for lost time. (I later found out that she came in third place in her age group F45-49, way to go Su-Ming from Markham! I'll see you at Barrelman in Sept). 

I was getting tired now too, but with the feeling back in my legs and the finish line in sight I dug in deep for the last stretch and powered through with my finishing kick.  I was so close.  As I entered the final 500m of the run I noticed another racer in my age group just a few meters ahead of me.  I made a decision to push with all my strength to pass her in the final stretch of the run.  I switched into overdrive for the last few hundred meters and blew past her just before turning off Lakeshore Blvd and into the finishers chute.  I love sneaking up on other runners in the home stretch and blowing past them in the final moments of the race.  Its such a rush! 

With that strategic move, I climbed from 13th to 12th place in my age group, crossing the finish line 5 seconds ahead of my closest competitor.  Despite the small issue on the run course, I finished the TTF Olympic course in 2:50:36. Nearly 2 minutes faster than last year, and improved my age group ranking up from 17th to 12th.  Not a bad showing for the provincial championships.

	2015		2016
Event	Time	Pace	Time	Pace	Difference
1.5km Swim	33:01	2:13/100m	31:16	2:06/100m	-1:45
T1	3:15		2:42		-0:33
40km Bike	1:23:36	28.7km/h	1:23:32	28.7km/h	-0:04
T2	1:50		1:40		-0:10
10km Run	50:54	5:06/km	51:28	5:09/km	+0:34
Overall Time	2:52:34		2:50:36		-1:58
Place	17th		12th		5 places!