I have done the Olympic distance at this venue for the past two years and both were pretty abysmal. With an early July date and a relatively late start time, I was no match for the heat and humidity of Eastern Ontario. So considering I had registered for the Olympic distance at the Toronto Triathlon Festival in late July, I decided to skip this event. A week or two before, when I realized we would be in the area at our cottage, it occurred to me that the sprint distance might be good training to get the cobwebs out before the Toronto race. So my husband rolled his eyes at my indecision and told me not to wake him on my way out the door in the morning.
Race day conditions were beautiful. Of course it was hot and humid but marginally better this year. Not only that, but I had no expectations or goals for this race and that always seems to improve my out look for the day.
SWIM 500 m
The results would tell you I had an okay swim. My sighting was better than last year and there were no major foibles but I’m not satisfied. Given what I achieve in the pool I know I’m capable of more. I’m convinced part of it is my inadequate wet suit but more so, mentally I think I hesitate in open water. I RACE in the pool but put me in open water and I just…swim. Fear isn’t the issue. It seems to be a mind set where I hold back, perhaps wanting to save something for the bike and run. Nevertheless, I had a respectable 500 m swim (including T1) in 12:34 which was good enough for 3/13 AG and 20/142 OA.
BIKE 20 km
I have long thought the run was my weakness but after a few years at this game, I’ve realized it is actually the bike, which obviously then affects my run performance. With that in mind, I had put more time in on the bike (but still not enough) which may not have made me significantly faster on this hilly course but left me in better position for the run. There is room for improvement over my 43:13 (4/13 AG and 76/142 OA) time but it is a good start.
RUN 5 km
This run is mostly along the Cataraqui trail beside Lake Sydenham. It is flat but boy does it get hot. I certainly was glad to only be doing one loop of this course. One drawback is there is only one water station that you pass twice at about the 1.5 and 3.5 km marks, but that is more of an issue for those doing the Olympic distance. At the first water station pass by, I walked briefly to drink a little and douse myself. The rest of the time I ran finishing in 29:37 (9/13 AG and 83/142 OA) including T2.
Overall, my time was 1:25:22 (5/13 AG and 58/142 OA) which is a PR for me and I’ll take it. I went hard, didn’t pass out from the heat and it set me up nicely for the Toronto Triathlon Festival a few weeks later. Mission accomplished.
