Muskoka Long Course Triathlon – June 15, 2008

Race: Muskoka Long Course Triathlon
Date: Sunday June 15, 2008
Location: Huntsville, Ontario
Description: 2000m swim/55km bike/15km run

This is my second time doing this race.  My first was in 2002 and it was the longest triathlon I had ever done to that point.  I was looking forward to doing the race again see how much I have improved over the years.  It is also the last training race leading up to IM Switzerland.  This was to be a big training weekend as Coach Tara wanted me to ride for 5hrs and then run for 30 minutes on Saturday but just don’t push it, just be steady she said.   Since we were riding in Muskoka with her for 5hrs it is hard not to push as it is constant climbing and decending but I did my best keep it moderate.  There were 4 of us doing the race on Tara’s program so our taper consisted of finishing the run Saturday afternoon, racing into Huntsville to watch our friends race the sprint and then head back to the cottage, eat and then fall asleep at 10.

Sunday morning arrived way to quickly, we packed our stuff up and headed to transition.   Set up and then headed down to the water for a quick warm up.

Swim:  My wave was pretty big as there were 93 in my AG alone.  Gun went off and I found myself some space right away but my googles started to fog up and the sun was right in line with the swim buoy so it was hard to pick them out.  Had to stop a few times just to make sure I was headed in the right direction.  Once we made the turn back towards transition it was much easier going.  My wife Phaedra was in the wave ahead of me and as I was heading back she ended up right beside me.  It was really strange that we would end up together in the middle of the lake.  Felt like I swam relatively strong but I came out of the water in just over 39 minutes and was just over 40 by the time I hit transition. 

Bike: After a washroom break I was out onto the bike.  Having done this race before I thought I knew what to expect.  I was told they changed the race course a couple of years ago and knew it followed the Muskoka 70.3 bike course for a bit.  We rode that on Saturday so I was pretty sure I knew what we coming.  Boy was I wrong.  The old bike course was tough but this one is on a whole different level.  The piece that I didn’t ride on Saturday had 3 really tough climbs.  I am talking granny gear out of the saddle stuff, people falling over sideways (saw 2 of those) tough.  The hills combined with Saturday’s mileage was taking it’s toll on my legs, I was OK on the climbs but just had nothing to left to push it on the flats.  Went as hard as I could and made it back to transition in just over 1:40 for a 33kph avg.  The conditions of the roads were awful and in some places bordering on unsafe.  The were huge pressure cracks that launched you into the air.  You could not really see what was there until you hit it because of the shadows from the trees.  There were a few times when I was in my aerobars coming down a descent at 50kph hit something and have both wheels leave the ground.  A couple of times I had to almost stop just to make sure I hadn’t blown anything.  On different parts of the course it was like a yard sale, pumps, tubes, tires, packs, netting and bottles littering the road.  I don’t think that I have ever been at a race where I saw so many people with flats.

Run:  After a quick transition I was out onto the run.  Suprisingly my legs felt pretty good and I settled into a good groove right way.  I think the fact that I could not push hard on the bike left my legs a bit fresher for the run.  I was passing a lot of people but unfortunately not too many in my AG.  I ended up running 1:07:30 or 4:30kms and was happy with pace. 

This race is ultra competitive and seems like everyone is super quick.  I finished in 3:31:21 and was able to set a PB for myself on this course by 27 minutes.  This put me in 24/93 in the 40-44AG. 

The race is well run and it was great to see Team Running Free well represented on both Saturday and Sunday.

I will be back to do this race again but not until they fix the roads, I only hope that they get them fixed up before the Muskoka 70.3 in September.

Next stop Zurich, Switzerland, I can’t wait.