Bracebridge Half Iron Triathlon

Date: Sunday, August 9/09

Location:  Annie Williams Park, Bracebridge, On

Distance: Swim 2k, Bike 90k, Run 21.1k

 I had done this race last year, & wanted to do it again this year, to see if I could better my time.  However, after hearing the forecast for the day, I decided that I needed to be safe & just finish.  They were calling for heavy rain, followed by 30+C temps that would feel like 40+C.  For once the weather forecasters were right on the money.

Swim 2k

This swim is done in the river which has a current.  You swim up the river into the current, turn around & swim back past the start to another turnaround.  You head back toward the start & get out of the water & run about 100m, & get back in the water & do it again.  They said the current wasn’t too strong this year, & they felt that it should not affect us at all.  So, I was hoping for a much better swim then last year’s of 45:40.

Swim time: 41:55 (2:06/100) 55/190 overall

Transition: 2:11  I always seem to have a slow transition.  I can never get my feet out of my wetsuit.

Bike: 90k

Having done this race last year, I knew what to expect.  I got through the first hills feeling pretty good.  About 10k, I felt the first drops of rain.  By 20k, I could no longer see in front of me.  The skies had darkened, & I was a little worried about cars being able to see us out there.  It is a challenging bike course at the best of times with lots of rollers & long steady grades.  There is some really rough road that they spray paint with orange to let us know where the really rough spots are.  I couldn’t see that at all this year with the torrents of rain falling.   At 40k, I saw lightening, & hoped that we would all be safe out there.  I got to the turnaround & decided that it would be a rougher ride back with all of the water pooling on the road.  I rode my brakes for most of the downhills.  At around 50k, my water bottle decided that it did not want to stay in it’s holder.  It kept tipping into my foot.  I struggled with it for about 5k, through all of the bumpy terrain, but could not get it to stay.  I feared that it would drop out, & someone behind me would hit it, & I could no longer hold onto it, so decided to toss it off the road.  I know that I am not supposed to leave anything out there, but I feared for my safety & everyone’s behind me, so made the decision to get rid of it.  I was able to pick up some water at the bottle drop at 60k.  There were so many cars on the way back, that I must have ridden through every puddle on the side of the  road.  One puddle was so deep, that it actually covered my shoes & pedals.  At about 80k, the rain let up, & I could feel the humidity rising.  I was glad to make it back to transition safely.   I felt good coming off the bike & I found out that my bike time was 3 minutes faster then last year, so was quite happy with that. 

Bike time: 3:13:43  27.9kph 112/190 overall 

Transition: 1:23     

Run 21.1k

I had thought to put my running shoes in a plastic bag, so they were dry to put on.  However, I did not think to change my socks.  I had thought that I had run with wet feet before, & we were running out on grass for the first part, so my socks would be wet right away anyway, so just left my wet socks on.  This was a huge mistake!  I had decided that I was going to run from aid station to aid station.  This went well for the first 4k.  I made the turn toward the 1st turnaround & realized that my feet were starting to hurt.  By 5k, we encountered our first hill, & I felt like I had broken glass in my shoes.  I thought if I walked up the hill it wouldn’t be as painful, so I walked & a lady in my age group passed me.  This was a very challenging run course this year, & they threw lots of hills at us & 3 turnarounds.  Add in the heat & humidity & this made it even more demanding.  The more I ran, the more my feet burned, so I walked & ran as much as I could.  At 13k, the 2nd lady in my age group passed me.  I kept up with the running & walking & kept debating about taking my socks off.  But I know that I blister without socks, so decided to keep going.  It was a very painful run & by the end I was running 100 steps & walking 50 steps.  I was just glad to get to the finish line to get my shoes off.  I ended up with a blister on the side of my big toes & on the balls of my feet & on my arches on both feet.  But I learned a huge lesson, that I need to start a run with both dry socks & dry shoes.  This I will take with me to Florida for Ironman!

Run time: 2:25:17  6:54/k  119/190 overall

Overall:  6:24:26  3/8 age group  104/190 overall

Overall, I was fairly happy with my race considering the conditions.  It was great to see so many Team RF athletes at the race.  Hope to see even more of them next year.