Race: HSBC Binbrooke Duathlon
Website: http://www.hsbctriathlon.com
This year marked the 3rd time I’ve raced HSBC’s Binbrooke Duathlon up in Hamilton Mountain, and I swear that the experience keeps getting better for me every year. First off you have a beautiful setting for a race; it’s a very family oriented location with a water park, playground and of course the beautiful Lake Niapenco. I finally learned from the previous years racing at this location, and brought my Salomon XT Wings to race with as opposed to my typical runners. Both runs on this particular course is through a variety of terrains, from loose walking path gravel, lumpy grass sections to more traditional asphalt pathway and trail systems. There was maybe 15% of the course that was actually paved, so I knew that my trail shoes would be a perfect fit.
I had just been hit with a nasty flu bug the week prior to the race, but overall come race day I felt pretty good. The first run went fairly well, it was slotted as being a 4 ½ kilometer run but it certainly felt a bit longer. Towards the end of the first run my legs were burning a bit and I knew that the last run would be an interesting one – I chalked this off as being perhaps a bit nervous as it was the first Multisport race of the season. I ended up finishing the run in 8th position with a time of 20:18 (average of 4:31 per km).
I was in and out of 1st transition in 1:17 which is slow… certainly something I need to work on! The bike was a bit different for me as I felt pretty good through the entire 27 kilometer leg. The route consisted of a fair amount of flat sections with a few rollers to keep things interesting. The roads were really well marked and had Police guiding traffic at every intersection, there were a few chopped up sections of asphalt that were spray painted and very visible. I have to give John Salt and Jason Verma credit for keeping safety at the forefront of their race day agenda. This race was my first race atop of my new 2008 Quintana Roo Seduza… it’s maiden voyage if you will, what a sick bike it is… I absolutely love it!!! I was pleased to find out at the end of the race that I had tied for third fastest bike split with a time of 44:54. It was actually weird rolling into the transition area with only a couple of bikes docked, usually there’s several!!! I averaged 36.1 kilometers per hour with the fastest in my age category averaging 36.7. I felt as thought I was going faster, but I was still happy in the end with the result.
I was in and out of 2nd transition in 1:08… again, not the greatest but whatever. The final run was a rough go; it was exactly the same route as the first leg but it was on tired legs!! Once again I lacked brick training leading up to this race, and it certainly showed. The leader of the race was no where in sight at all as he ran the course at a blistering pace, man he was quick. I ran into the 2nd place fellow shortly after leaving transition as he had already hit the 1st turnaround moments before me; he seemed to be rolling at a pretty nice pace through the trail system. In and around the 3 kilometer mark I was really spent and the short but steep ascents were doing their toll on me, this is approximately where I was passed by 3 other competitors – one who complimented me on my cycling as he ran by. I managed to fake a smile and then continue crying inside as my legs were screaming at me!!! I finally made it at a slower pace to the finishing chute where the photographer of the event Mike Cheliak was standing with his beloved camera… Once I seen him I knew it was over – this is when a true smile appeared!!! I finished the final run in 24:03 averaging a not so blistering 5:21 minute per kilometer.
In the end I finished 6th place of just under 70 competitors, 2nd in my age category. I was happy with the result being the first race of year. Kudos goes out to the many Running Free representatives in both the Duathlon and Triathlon, all of whom appeared to be having a good time. If you’re looking for a fantastic race close to the GTA, I suggest you try the Binbrooke Triathlon or Duathlon. The difference between an ordinary race and an extraordinary one is that little extra, and as always John Salt and the HSBC Triathlon series have figured this out.
