Bracebridge Half Iron Duathlon & Triathlon

Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario

Sport: Triathlon Swim 2k, Bike 90k, Run 21.1k Half Ironman

Website: www.multisportcanada.com

This was the first year for this race & my friends & I were anxiously awaiting the race, with it being in such a beautiful surrounding. On Friday, August 8, I broke off a quarter of one of my molars. I had to make an emergency appt. with my dentist to get it fixed. I really didn’t want to be racing with a mouth full of pain. Luckily I was able to get in & they put in a filling. Saturday, on the drive up to the race, my filling came out. Luckily, I hadn’t had any pain & I hoped that I would be painfree for the race the next day. We had decided to stay overnight, because we needed to be at the race site by 7:00 at the latest.

We got up early to be at the race site before 7:00. There was a mandatory meeting at 7:30, so wanted to be set up before the meeting started. They had mentioned in the prerace email that they had changed the swim course to 2 loops from one loop, with a run up what looked to be a grassy boat ramp, then 100 meters across the grass & then back down into the water. The swim was in the Muskoka River, so they felt it would be easier to keep control of the swimmers with 2 loops. They then discussed how tough the bike course was going to be. Lots of hills with twists & turns. They told us to take it easy on the way out to the turnaround, because the course was harder on the way back. They explained that if we rode the bike course too hard, we would crash on the run! Not exactly what I wanted to hear! 192 people had entered the race of which only 46 were women.

Swim: 2k Had a quick warmup after the meeting & got to the start line just in time for the gun to go off. With the river being so narrow, it was very tough swimming right off the start. I had lots of people trying to swim on top of me. I didn’t hit clear water almost until the first turnaround. This is the first time I have worn my contacts in the swim, so it was nice to be able to sight & actually see the buoys the whole way. Made it out of the water, did the run, & got back in in 22+ minutes. A little slower then I had hoped, but I hadn’t really added in the run. The second loop was uneventful, & I exited the water & ran the 100 meters to transition in 45:40. #52 out of the water. A little slower then I wanted but I knew I had a long day ahead of me.

Bike: 90k I headed out of transition with a lady in my age group who was doing the duathlon. She told me that she had ridden the course a few times & that it took her over 4 hours to ride it. I was definitely hoping that it was not going to take me that long. I had originally planned on 3 hours, & then when we got the course description, I had changed my goal to 3:15. I got out onto Santa’s Village Rd & started warming up my legs for the long ride ahead. I approached 5k & saw the first hill. Everyone ahead of me was standing to go up the hill & then the road turned & I couldn’t see how much farther the climb was. Nice & steep for the first hill. It was a very challenging bike course with hill after hill & lots of twists & turns. One of my buddies passed me on the hill to the water station at 30k. He told me that I was riding well, & that made me feel really good. When I was climbing yet another hill at 35k, a guy was coming down the hill on his way back. I managed to ask if there was anything flat out there & he replied no. I kept wondering where the easy part was, since it was supposed to be harder on the way back. It was beautiful countryside, with lots of rock, beautiful cottages & homes, & a nice lake. I hit the turnaround at 1:37. Not too bad, I thought. I saw another friend & then Angus Kim, & Peter Geering. I figure they were a couple of kilometers behind me. Hill after hill, twists & turns, & more hills. I kept wondering where the easy part was? I stood on a lot of hills, just to make it to the top. Peter Geering finally passed me at 70k. I kept riding to survive & I knew when I got back to Santa’s Village Rd, that I would get about 5k to spin my legs out before hitting transition. On the run into transition with my bike, I saw Roger & he told me that one of my friends had crashed on the bike & was out of the race. Not good, but I was glad that I was finally back. Time: 3:16:46. #105 on the bike. My calves were cramping as I tried to put my running shoes on. I grabbed my fuel belt & out I went on the run. Onto the run at 4:07 into the race. I had wanted to be on the run by 4 hours, so I was a little behind. Peter was still in transition when I got there & I managed to get out ahead of him.

Run: 21.1k I had estimated that I would need 2:15 to finish the run. I decided to not look at my watch at all during the run, because there was no use in upsetting myself if it wasn’t going well. Out of transition & up a grassy hill to start the run. They told me as I was leaving that there was only one hill on the course. I asked if this was it & they said yes. Haha! Not true. There was one small hill at 3k, that we hit out & back twice. It probably wouldn’t seem like much on fresh legs, but my legs were definitely not fresh. I felt good until about 12k, then realized that I had run out of drinks after I had passed a water station. As I turned my fuel belt looking for a full bottle, the guy behind me asked if I was looking for one with alcohol. Anything wet, would be nice. I knew that I wouldn’t hit another water station for 3k. Peter caught me at about 14k. It was nice to run with someone for a bit. My stomach had started to ache & I decided that I would use the bathroom at the water station at 15k. I asked if 2 of my water bottles could be filled & I left my fuel belt at the water station while I used the bathroom. When I came out, they had filled them all, & wished me well for the last 6k. Big mistake using the bathroom. My quads had almost seized! They were very very tight. It was very painful to run, & they were starting to pull on my knees. Lots of walking & foot dragging for the last 6k. How could I have felt so good, & now feel like this? I finally made it back into the park & gave it one last push around the park & headed to the finish line. Saw Roger cheering me on. Crossed the line at 6:18:14. Run time: 2:11:31. #110 on the run.

This was one freaking tough course! Was disappointed with my finishing time at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on it, know that I did all that I could. Aside from my quads cramping, I had actually raced well. Everyone found the course hard. My friend who had just done the Peterborough half ironman last month had finished in 5:10, & finished Bracebridge in 5:30. So, that made me feel alot better. I am glad that I did it. I am not one to back down from a challenge & it surely was a challenge. I finished 97th overall, & 1/6 in my age group. I was also the 11th female to finish. Next up, the Cobourg sprint.

Nice to see so many Running Free athletes at the race. And thanks to Roger for coming out & cheering us on.