The course is called the Beast of the North - Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. And I did it on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Daybreak was a refreshingly cool 12C as the athletes organized themselves in transition zone before heading over to the swim start. However the daytime high was forecast for 27C, with clear skies, which meant that despite the sweaters we were all wearing at dawn, we would all end up melting down on the hot asphalt run with the sun blaring down on us in just a few hours time. Oh yes, there would be sunburns today.
The swim was great, cool air and warm water to start. The beast aspect of this course starts mid-way in the swim, when we leave Fairy Lake and turn upstream, against the current, up the Muskoka River. I did the 2k swim in 42:39 with only one good kick to the chops (no harm done) near the end where all the swimmers bottlenecked to exit the river. I was sure happy to see the wetsuit strippers ready to help peel my suit off before heading into T1, they really are angels, no perhaps more like fairies for this course.
The bike portion has changed this year from previous years. When I became familiar with the original bike route (the 94km full loop of the Lake of Bays) I was using it to train for the hills of Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2017. I did that loop 3x last year. It was an incredible course with lots of hills, but there were also lots of really rough patches and pothole roads which I’m thankful I didn’t have to navigate on my racing bike. I’m always a little worried about hitting bumps and potholes when tucked into aero-position, so when I saw the revised bike course (an 90km out and back along Brunel Rd and the 117) I was slightly relieved for my safety, but secretly a little disappointed I wouldn’t have the official epic ride on my record books. There was no Britannia Rd, Dwight Beach or highway 35 on this day. This year, people have nicknamed the course “Beast lite”. Wether you think its a good or bad thing, I’ll let you decide for yourself.
Either way, the course lay out was out of my control and I just had to race the road that lay before me as decided by the race officials. I had a great ride, I really committed to staying in aero, especially when the headwinds picked up on the way back which I know made a difference. I paced 27.8km/h in a time of 3:14:15. I rode the race route two weeks prior in a time of 3h35m so I’m happy that I brought a little more intensity on race day. I know that if I want to be more competitive in the future I’ll have to build more power on the bike and its something I’m going to make a point to work in the months ahead. But for todays performance I was happy with what I achieved. And I felt positive going into the run.
The run is my favourite and strongest part of triathlon. However, I know my performance suffers in the heat. I run my best in cooler weather and have never gotten the hang of heat training. I remember going for my Sunday morning long runs over the last couple weeks in the +32C heat wave and using it more as mental rather than physical training.
Every good athlete has a plan for race day weather, and so did I. Going into the hottest part of the race, I was going to keep my core body temp down as best I could. At almost every aid station I grabbed a cup of ice, dumped it into my sports bra, poured the cold water over my head, replaced my hat, took a couple swigs of gatorade and just kept moving. It worked for me. I never cramped, puked or had to stop/walk at any point. I kept an average pace of 5:40/km keeping the run under 2h (1:59:47). Its not my best run time, but considering the heat and hills I’m OK with it.
There were a lot of great people I met on the run that helped push me forward. Chatting with Darragh, a charming Irish guy, who kept catching up with me until he told me to go on down the hill faster so I could try for my sub 6h goal. The woman in my same AG in the yellow shirt who kept passing me on the bike but I finally passed her back on the run. The lovely local couple who were watering their lawn and kindly sprayed me down with their hose as I ran past their house, and of course all the volunteers for their support and high fives.
I came so close to my sub 6h half iron, alas I crossed the finish line at 6:03:16. (I started in the fifth swim wave @ 7:20am as decided by age group, for those noticing the time discrepancy).
A respectful performance none the less, considering the rugged hilly terrain of the course.
I placed 17/59 in my age group, which is pretty awesome considering all the strong women who raced the course. Mad respect for you all!
Ironman 70.3 Muskoka was my second half-iron. Previously I did Barrelman, the Niagara Falls half-iron put on by MultiSport Canada, and I finished that course in 6:00:05.5. To be honest, even though I had a faster finishing time at Barrelman, I am more proud of my performance at IM 70.3 Muskoka as the course is much more challenging. Comparing both courses would be like comparing apples and oranges though. One is flat and fast, the other is upstream and hilly. Both are beautiful in their own way and I plan to do both of them again in the future. I expect I’ll probably get my sub 6h at Barrelman before I’ll get it at Muskoka though, especially if the race organizers return to the original bike route (94km). Either way, I’ll just keep training for it if I really want it. And I do want it. We all have a hunger.
I’ll be back for you again - you beast!
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On a more whimsical and personal note on endurance racing...
Many of my friends and family ask me why I do these races. These events are torturous to some, as many of my less athletically inclined and even many of my ultimate frisbee teammates have commented when they look at my Facebook and Instagram feeds, but to me they are wonderful. They bring me such joy. I suppose it takes a special kind of intense person to find joy in such an endurance event, but thats the kind of person I am.
I know I’m feeling joy when I start singing songs while I’m cycling and running. (For some reason I never sing while swimming. I suppose it would be more like gurgling than singing, and I then there’s that drowning risk. I guess that answers my own question.)
During this race I found myself defaulting to some music in particular and I thought I might share my thoughts with others who did the course more out of curiosity to see if they sing or have the same songs pop into their head while racing this course.
On the downhill portions of Brunel road, where the cyclists pick up lots of so called free-speed on the steep descents, I always find my mind drifts to that great classic rock song “Free Ride” by the Edgar Winters Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GjYlTwWQHI If you’ve ever circled the Lake of Bays you know about the highs and lows and wanting to take the free ride parts of the course.
Then there was a man standing on a dock alongside highway 117, near Grandview, ringing a cowbell to a rhythm that reminded me quite distinctly of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”. All aboard!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0i9yCZ5D8E That song stayed with me all the way to back to Baysville.
The sign that I knew I was the most happy when when I was simply coasting along the highways and Florence and the Machine just organically popped into my head. Songs like ‘Grace’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgnWirJ1LUI and ‘100 years‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GX0Zf4FMI make me feel happy and joyful, like I’m floating along my way, with the piano and voice filling the space around me. I know I’m mentally in a good place when this happens. I was having a good race. I knew I wasn’t going to win it, but I was loving it the whole way. Perhaps this is the runners high/endurance high we all talk about.
I recall on the run, when I saw a guy cramp up on the stretch on Main street next to the Shell station I even found a musical inspiration for that situation. He was gripping his leg and violently shaking it, as if trying to shake it into submission. I started signing to him the lyrics from FATM “Shake it Out” - “Shake it out, Shake it out, oh whoa! And its hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake it out! Shake it out!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbN0nX61rIs It seemed somewhat appropriate to me. Maybe I was a little delirious from dehydration at this point, but I was feeling joyful running down that road. I have no idea if it helped his leg cramp, but it may have lifted his spirits a little. Or perhaps he just thought I was a weirdo. Either way it felt like the right thing to do in the moment.
Just like singing “I love hills” (sorry there is no link, I only perform it live on hills during my long rides) along Ironman 140.6 Mont Tremblant last year, and the “SuperFreak” song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M that was playing along the highway in Quebec that day on August 20, 2017, singing and music and mantras in general really help me endure for some reason. I don’t know why, but when I push myself out of my comfort zone and need to push even harder when things get tough, my mind defaults to music, whatever will help get me through at the moment. It seems to resonate with other people too, as they’ll comment on it when they see me later on in the race or at the post-race celebrations. “Hey you were that girl singing to me on the hills, that was great.”
That’s the thing about these Ironman 70.3 and 140.6 races. From my experience, I find they test me both mentally and physically, taking me to places of discomfort, soul searching and eventually joy. Remember - Anything is possible with a song in your heart.
Hope to see you all out there again on the course. I'll keep doing them as long as they bring me joy. And if you see that strange girl singing on the bike or run, that’s probably me, look for Kelly on the Bib :)
Cheers to a great day everyone!
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