Thanks to some big time arthritis issues in my right foot, I’d only started running again in late March after 6 months of not running, this season will be one of pure enjoyment and not focusing on placement or ambitious time goals.
I will bike as hard as I can, but will simply survive the run, enjoy the day, and cheer everyone on. Maybe I should just enter cycling races but I love doing duathlons and triathlons too much. Plus, the people are much nicer in this sport. I will just hope the foot gets better over time where I can push off the ground with some decent force.
Anyway, MultiSport Canada’s season opening race of the Recharge With Milk Triathlon Series was a very enjoyable day.
The day started off chilly but the clear and sunny skies warmed everything just enough to create excellent racing conditions.
At Woodstock you get a mix of grass, gravel and pavement on the run. I particularly like running over the dam and getting the view of the lake. The bike starts with a climb out of Pittock Conservation Area and has a few gentle rollers where the wind is unavoidable. Typically, you’ll get beat up by the wind and uphills heading out, and you’ll be flying back into T2. For the swimmers, the water is calm and a wetsuit is recommended at this early point of the season. Not necessarily because of the water, but the colder outside temperatures — such conditions forced a wetsuit mandatory race this year. But just hours later, most of the the Give it a Tri competitors swam without wetsuits.
Woodstock Duathlon
My foot felt ok for the first run but still painful and my 27:28 opening 5km surely indicates I was not out there to break any records.
On the bike, I was not passed by anyone. I did the 20 km in 37:10 (this time includes the long run to and fro the transition to the dismount line), which put me in the top 10 bike splits.
My foot felt fairly good during the final 2.5 km run and I ran a very happy 13:02 split with my SLS3 Pink Butterfly Compression Socks.
Runs that slow will not put me in contention for any awards but as I indicated earlier my goals this season have changed and I am just happy to be out there after thinking I would have to call it quits in this sport (or just do swim/bike races) back in January. My runs were so easy today that when I got back home, I went for a 90 min hard bike ride.
It was great to see the strong Team Running Free representation in Woodstock. The Kennedy’s were out in full force and congrats to Phaedra to used the top women’s run overall to take 3rd in her age group.
You can get in on the Series’ next race at Binbrook.
Oh man, I hope your foot gets better! See you at Binbrook!