The K-Town triathlon in Kingston has been around for over 25 years now and from an organizational standpoint, it is a top notch event. With lots of volunteers, amazing post race food and a scenic transition zone right in front of city hall, it is becoming one of my favorites.
My initial intent this year was to do the long course but after much contemplation over my training and fitness, I decided to do the short course and focus on improving upon my previous time from 2008 and having fun doing it. We stayed in Kingston the night before so I didn’t have to get up at an ungodly hour. All things considered, I slept well and thanks to the baby, had done so most of the week. I’ve come to learn that accumulated sleep deprivation really does affect one’s performance. Go figure!
Anyway, the weather was perfect and I was relaxed getting set up in transition. Just as the long course swim was wrapping up, we got in for the deep water start. Horn goes and the women’s wave is off. I sprinted from the beginning to get position and tried to settle into a good rhythm. Unfortunately, it never really came and the swim felt like a struggle the entire time. No real mishaps or altercations, I just never got my groove on.
An interesting aspect of this race is the deep water exit. You swim to the edge of a floating dock on shore, stick out your hands and two big guys lift you straight out onto your feet. Good fun but slightly disorienting going from horizontal to vertical that quickly.
750 m Swim + T1: 16:38 (2:14/100 m) 4/14 AG 68/283 OA
Made my way through transition, only snag was struggling with my socks. There was a slight head wind heading out on the out and back course. Tried to keep it steady and felt fairly strong. Passed quite a few of the slow duathlon athletes which helped my confidence. Played leap frog with a couple of younger women. They would catch me on the up hills and I would pass them going down. All I can say about this ride is that I was having fun on the numerous rollers, was strong and had a problem free ride. However, on the last big up hill, I passed a guy fixing a flat. I yelled “Everything okay?” and he said it was, except he had no air. I have a pump and I did ask, so I couldn’t in good conscience not stop! So off I get, we struggle a bit to get the pump off my frame, I give it to him and say I’m #607, find me in transition. Buh bye! Luckily, everyone was racked in numerical order and my pump was magically back on my bike at the end of the race. I probably wasted about a minute and a half but it was totally worth the warm and fuzzy feeling and the good karma.
30 km bike: 1:05:22 (27.5 km/hr) 8/14 AG 170/283 OA
My goal on the run was to run. Seriously, I was committed to only walking the water stations in order to ensure I was hydrating properly. It was a warm day so one cup and one sponge at each station. I really didn’t want a repeat of my last race with lots of dehydration induced walking. This plan went really well and I felt strong pretty much until the last km. I believed my previous time on this course was 2:03. Towards the end of the run I realized I would be coming in close to this time. Determined to match or better it I tried picking up the pace and hammering it home. As I was doing this, with about 200 m to go, a woman in my age group passes me. I am already at full bore and to my dismay can’t find another gear to catch her.
7.2 km run + T2: 41:29 (5:46/km) 10/14 AG 200/283 OA
After crossing the finish line, I met up with my husband and eldest daughter. Grabbed my gear and headed to the food tent. What a spread! Lasagna, salad, rice, couscous, bagels, yogurt, pastries, fruit. I gathered enough food for the three of us to have a little picnic. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful race day. And to top it all off, my time from 2008 was 2:05:06, so I managed a PR by over a minute and a half including the stop on the bike. Score!
Overall: 2:03:29 8/14 AG 155/283
