Race: Cornwall Olympic Distance Triathlon
Date: August 25th 2013
So this was my first kick at the Olympic Tri distance can and I was really looking forward to it for a number of reasons. For one, my entire family was racing this weekend my wife Meagan was also racing the Olympic distance and our boys Noah and Finnley were competing in the kids race on the Saturday. In addition, the race was being held in Cornwall…a town that I spend a ton of time in as a kid as my family would camp in Glengarry Park in the small town of Lancaster just a short 10 minute drive from Cornwall. And to top it all off….my parents were coming to the race to watch us for the first time. This could not be more perfect right?
Well it started off great. The boys had a blast at the kids race…in fact, our oldest son Noah actually won a new bike in a draw that was held at the end of the day! Things were going great! Race day for Meg and I came quickly and I was feeling great. I was excited to get in the water (yep, only guy without a wetsuit!) and as the race began I got into my rhythm and started my 1500m. And you know what….it felt great. I am by no means a strong or fast swimmer but I felt comfortable the entire time in the St. Lawrence and I came out excited to hit the bike. The bike course in Cornwall is pretty unique as it is a 4 x 10km loop that runs through the downtown near the water. And an added bonus…the course is a closed course meaning there are no cars! How awesome is that. Now the bike went really well and I was feeling amazing. Little did I know that disaster was about to strike in the form of a Stinger Gel. Now as some of you know…I am a GU guy but in the hustle and bustle of packing up and heading to Cornwall with our entire family in tow I did not put a priority on my nutritional needs for the race. Meg had picked up a bunch of stuff and I threw some of it into my race kit. I have a pretty iron stomach so I wasn’t overly concerned. IDIOT! Such a rookie mistake from an endurance event veteran. As I transitioned off of the bike I downed a gel and headed out for the run….except I wasn’t running…I was bent over in pain and crawling out of transition at a snails pace. I was able to get myself about 2km into the run before I had to pull off to the side and sit down. Pretty sad state watching all of my age-group participants run by let me tell you. It got so bad (stomach that is) that I un-pinned my race bib and started walking back to transition. That’s when Meg found me and gave me the speech I needed “you will regret not finishing..I know you. Do what you have to do to finish”. Well let me tell you it worked. I walked another 500m, found a bush at the side of the run course, stuck my finger down my throat and threw up. I then started walking to the next aid station (not too far away), washed my mouth out and finished that run. It wasn’t fast and it wasn’t pretty but thanks to my wife and her motivation I was able to finish the race. I will spare you with the details regarding my overall time and age-group ranking as they are pretty sad but I now have some unfinished business in Cornwall that I will take care of in August of next year!
