Bracebridge Half Iron… er… Rain-man!

Race:    Bracebridge Half Iron Distance Duathlon

Date:    August 9, 2009

Description:  7.5 kilometer run, 90 kilometer bike, 21.1 kilometer run.

Location:  Annie Williams Park, Bracebridge Ontario.

Website:  http://www.hsbctriathlon.com/ms/

What do you get when you cross a torrential thunderstorm, a powerful sun, thick humid air and a heap load steep Muskoka hills?  Answer:  A great day.

Although the weather outside was frightful, athletes got together this past Sunday to give the Bracebridge Half Iron distance Duathlon and Triathlon a go.  Personally I lean towards the Duathlon’s, primarily because my swimming techniques and fineness resembles that of a yachts’ danforth anchor.  Regardless, over 225 people turned out to compete in what would be a challenging day at the races.

Leg 1: 7.5 kilometer run

I started out at a relatively slower pace for this leg, as I knew what was to come on the bike portion of the race.  The first running leg was an out and back portion of the half marathon course and consisted of a small section of grass just outside the transition area, with the remainder being asphalt roads and concrete sidewalk.  It was a mostly flat run, with two slight grades.  Once the horn sounded, there were a few people that took off pretty quickly right from the get go – but the majority of the competitors (myself included) stayed calm and held back in an attempt to reserve some energy for the bike ride.  The weather was participating for the most part during this run, the sky was a bit overcast but other than that it was rain free and on the cooler side.  I finished the first run in 35:50 with an average of 4:47 per kilometer.

Leg 2:  90 kilometer bike ride

Once on the bike I found my legs fairly quickly and gave it a go.  I was able to pass most of the contenders in the Duathlon within the first few kilometers, but there was the leader I was still looking for!  As with most long distance races my strategy isn’t the greatest but it’s still effective: Smoke the bike and limp the run.  Such was the case in this race. 

The bike section of this particular race is hands down challenging on any given day, throw thundershowers and winds in there and you have one of the most difficult and taxing courses out there.  The hills were plenty, and the twists and turns on the course were demanding.  For the first part of the bike leg the rain was only light, and I was still able to get my bike up to some good speeds without worrying.  At one point I was laughing as I flew down a long climb on highway 118 passing a lot of the cars going down the same hill. My smile however, turned quickly to a grimace going up that same hill on the way back.  At about the 30 kilometer marker there was a much appreciated bottle exchange in which most athletes took full advantage of, it was in and around this point of the race that the sky’s decided to open up.  I don’t have a whole lot of experience racing or riding my bike in the rain, so to say it was sketchy is an understatement.  I decided to avoid all puddles at all costs especially going downhill, and I focused on maintaining a bigger gear on the uphill sections.  At one point I could barely see while going down a lengthy climb and my front wheel started wobbling beyond control – I hit the breaks and had nothing, but was able to save it somehow by standing up and putting some weight onto the front wheel.  I truly thought I was a goner.

In the end I did really well for the most part.  I struggled for a 10 kilometers section on Highway 118 between the 70 and 80 kilometer markers as it was very dangerous with the amount of water that was on the roads, but I still managed to pull it off.  I finished the bike leg in second place and was only seconds from being the fastest bike split in the Du.

Leg 3:  21.1 kilometer run

Once off the bike, I was in 2nd place with about 5 minutes behind the first place athlete Mike Stranos.  Unfortunately he had made all of this time on the 7.5 kilometer first leg run where I chose to take it easy, it turns out it wouldn’t really matter in the end though.  The half marathon course had changed drastically since last year and the Multisport team decided to clobber us this year with some wicked Muskoka climbs during the run as opposed to the relatively flat course last year.  I really suffer with the runs after biking for any length of time, and I generally fade pretty quickly… throw a few mountainous climbs in there and I’m screwed.  At about the 4 kilometer marker I met the first major suffering climb of this particular run, and it was pure torture… once over this hill – SURPRISE… another hill just like it.  To make matters worse it was at this point the rain had gone away and the sun had come out with the humidity kicking in full blast.  Nice.  I was silently hoping it would rain again to be honest.  Once I crested these two killer hills I was able to see the first (of 3) turn around points of the half marathon, and it was back down these hills which was a fairly easy task.  At around the 8 kilometer marker I seen the race leader Mike Stranos walking back down the road towards the transition area, it appeared as though he called it quits – with the conditions being the way they were; I could hardly blame him.  Now I had the great satisfaction as well as the stress of being race leader.  Kilometers 8 through 12 had another heap of hills for us to tackle, some steep ones which I had to walk up and others I was able to make up quite easily.  At the 15 kilometer marker I was passed by the 2nd and 3rd place athletes as they made their way through this course at a clearly faster pace than I was able to maintain.  Shortly after I was passed again, and then sat in 4th place for the remainder of the run (which ended up being flat for the remaining 6 kilometers).

Once I crossed the finish line I was happy to relax and wolf some down pizza.  As mentioned earlier I finished 4th overall, 1st in my age group with the satisfaction of being race leader for a few kilometers.  I would have liked to win this race, but better luck next time I guess – and as they say;  things that hurt, instruct. 

There was a great amount of Running Free athletes out there for this particular race – and from what I understand all of us did well!  It was nice to meet Landon French for the firrst time, and hang out again with Roger Hospedales as well as Angus Kim who was an OAT race official for this particular race.

For anyone who is up for an amazing challenge, I strongly recommend this particular race.  I felt the Peterborough ½ Iron course was a walk in the park compared to this Bracebridge course, especially since they’ve made the changes to the half marathon.  John Salt and his crew clearly know how to build a course, host a series, and shine some light on a sincerely gloomy day.