7 in 1 Race Report

When you don’t have much to write about, it becomes very easy to fall behind with your race reports and that is certainly the case with me this season as with the last.

The month of July was not kind to me. I caught a virus and it knocked me out for the entire month. It pretty much ruined any chance of putting in a good performance at Ironman Mont-Tremblant. On top of that, my foot issues continue, but at least I am able to run if my foot happens to feel good on that day. Much better than not being able to run at all.

Anyway, I’ve posted the results from those races below and added comments that I hope will be helpful.

Huronia Du (5km run, 20 km bike, 2.5 km run) – July 7, 2013

– I was brutally ill. I did nothing all week in hopes I’d be better by the weekend. In hindsight, I should not have raced but you never know until you try, and I won’t quite once I’ve started. The first run on the combination pavement and crushed gravel trail felt decent, but once on the bike I never felt so weak. It didn’t help that the first 6-7 km of the Huronia bike course is nasty. Once you get past that section you can start ramping up the speed to bring up that average speed but I had zero energy. I was also hacking up a ton of phlegm and coughing the whole way. I scared quite a few people during some of those hill climbs. I just cruised through the final run and finished like a character from The Walking Dead. The phlegm production kicked into overdrive and I just gathered my stuff, did my interviews and stopped at drug store to get a bunch of cold medicine and cough syrup from the ride home.

Gravenhurst Du – July 14 (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5 km run)

I was still sick. I’d lost 5 pounds since the last race and none of that was due to training. I just did not feel like eating. The virus was totally laying a beating on me. I was stoked to try and ride well and even thought I was not totally in my groove, I managed the 6^th best ride on the day.  The other positive was that I felt like a superstar with 1.5 km to go on the run and banged out a sub 5 minute pace and passed a few folks.

Belwood Du – July 20 —- (5km, 30km, 5 km)

Yup, still sick but things were looking up. For the most part, I was just a mass-producing phlegm machine, and exercise just kicked that into overdrive. I officiated at this race over 10 years prior so I didn’t remember much of the course, and it was not as hilly as I remembered. You will be flying through the first part of the bike course, but the back section back to the conservation area features from long and gradual grades. Beware! It is nothing brutal but combined with a headwind, it will provide a nice challenge. I really loved the run course too. I am a big fan of hard packed gravel trails. I thoroughly enjoyed being out there on what was a beautiful day even though I was not 100%. It was also cool to watch big group from Markham finish the Give-It-A-Tri as their graduation race from a clinic they completed.

Bracebridge Int Du – August 11

This was my last race before Ironman Mont-Tremblant. I finally shook the virus, but had lost most of my fitness since I had not done much in July. I did manage to slip in a bunch of rides in the two weeks prior to this race but, not much running due to my foot. I had hoped for better but it didn’t happen. In fact, I was using today’s combined run of 15 km as my long run prior to IMMT. I had a horrible ride last year here, and wanted to redeem myself. I still did not have a stunning ride but compared to the rest of the field I posted the 4^th best bike. For the runs, I put myself into the headspace of the IMMT marathon and didn’t push it.

Toronto Island GIT – August 24, 2013

I love racing at Toronto Island, so even though I’d just completed IMMT six days earlier, I was not going to miss a race so close to home and in such a cool setting. I was there to have fun, so I didn’t bust out all the aero gear (I feel guilty don’t so in a Give-It-A-Tri). I swam well (for my standards), biked well (8^th best bike with no aero stuff and with a road bike), and I threw down a decent run, making sure to save something for the next day.

Toronto Island Sprint Duathlon – August 25, 2013 (5.4 km run, 20 km bike. 2.95 km run)

Since I knew my run is nowhere near contender status, I was only focused on having one of the top bike splits in the race. I totally chilled out and just jogged the first run, then got on my QR CD0.1 rode the third best bike split averaging just over 37 km/hr. My average power was 229w and NP was 232w. I enjoyed the multi-lap run; I just wished I had the ability to run faster.

Lakeside Sprint Duathlon – September 14, 2013

– No stats needed. The body didn’t feel like racing today, but any day I can get to enjoy the outdoors, be on my bike, and hang out with my summer family, I am happy. The highlight of the day for me was conducting an interview with Lionel Sanders in front of the crowd assembled for the awards. Lionel is a very cool and humble guy. But look for him to do some great things in this sport. His Ironman 70.3 Muskoka performance is a signal of things to come.

Hope you all had a great 2013. All the best for 2014.