Woodstock Tri

I have to admit it's slightly frustrating that the norm for my Ontario races is rain, strong winds and well below seasonal temperatures. In my past three seasons of racing I have not seen the sun for any race I have done in Ontario. Woodstock today was no exception, with a race start temperature of 14 degrees, rain and 30+km/h winds. A little different from St. Croix where it was 38 plus humidity...

Despite the weather I was very excited to get my season underway and make my elite racing debut. I had no goals for the race other than to put in a good effort and shake the cobwebs (and not embarrass myself having "pro" written on my calf). To be honest though, the race ended up being pretty uneventful. That's by no means a reflection of Multisport Canada's awesome new venue; it was a beautiful course and very well run as always. But things spread out very quickly so I did the entire race alone and my position didn't change after 20k into the bike.

I've been working my ass off in the pool for the last six months, and unfortunately I wasn't able to express my hard work today in the swim. I had a controlled start and hung with the leaders for the opening 400m until I got a good kick in the face that knocked one side of my goggles off. I didn't let it bother me, but after losing touch with the leaders I simply did not swim well. I wasn't feeling good and I couldn't get out of the water fast enough. I exited in 6th-ish, far from what I expect of myself.

I started slow on the bike but I could see a small group of the leaders up the road so I got to work making up the time I lost in the water. It was a very windy ride with cross- and headwinds all the way up to the turnaround. I stayed relaxed until we made the turn, then buried myself all the way back to get in a decent position going onto the run. I came off the bike 3rd with one of the faster rides on a very slow day.

The run was also a struggle, I was running ok but just felt rusty. Such is to be expected for my first hard effort of the year. I had no clue how to pace myself for an 8k off the bike, but a challenging run course and pushing the pace on the bike dictated things for me. I've been running very well off the bike in training but I couldn't find my stride today. I think that will come as I get further into my season.

Nothing really changed on the run, I finished 3rd overall and although I know I can be much faster I'll take that at this point in the season. I put in a good effort despite feeling like I was having a bad race, and I didn't completely embarrass myself in my first race in the elite division having only been beaten by a couple very strong athletes.

So at least I know I'm going in the right direction. Back to work.