Every time my training/racing/attitude needs a kick in the ass Muskoka seems to the the place to go for me. I've been lucky enough this summer to have beautiful accomodations in Bala Falls aka "The Cranberry Capital of Ontario" that gave me a mental recharge after Welland along with some great training in the lakes and hills. And last weekend I was up again for one of my favourite races.
Last year the Bala Falls Triathlon was the race that really got my season rolling after an inconsistent first half of summer. I had another slow start this year...I haven't had any bad races this year, I've just been inconsistent. Either I race well or I don't even make it to the start line. So I was looking forward to Bala to set my attitude straight in racing and shed my own expectations that have been killing my performances.
Anyway...this is a race report and not another self-reflective rant.
The recent heat wave in Ontario has had two consequences: 1. lots of complaining about the heat, and 2. water temperatures have warmed up enough that almost all races aren't wetsuit legal (a rare occurance in Canada). The water on race morning was measured at 28 degrees, so being one of the stronger swimmers in this race (it's still strange for me to think that) I was just fine with it being no wetsuits.
Race strategy was to hit the swim and bike very hard and just play the run by ear, holding back if I felt I was digging a hole for the upcoming week. Within the first 25 meters of the swim I found myself swimming very comfortably in the lead. Generally this doesn't happen to me. And secretly being first out of the water in a triathlon has been a huge mental goal for me ever since I started taking swimming seriously (2-3 years ago I was a 28-min 1500 swimmer). But I just stuck to my race plan of swimming hard, and to my astonishment I was still leading at the first turn. Hmmm, better go fast and stay ahead!
Bala isn't a crazy competitive race, but there are 500+ athletes from across Ontario so chances are a few of them are fast. When I made the turn back to shore it crossed my mind that I might actually be first out of the water. So I kept the pace high and was thrilled when I hit the beach to a great crowd, first out with 30 seconds back to the next swimmer. Triathlon goal #1 complete. Goals 2 (win a Multisport Canada race) and 3 (win a World Championship race) still pending.
I hit the bike hard and was confident I was riding well. I used a road bike for this race last year and really appreciated the difference a fast tri bike and aggressive position makes...and maybe some extra fitness too (apparently 4 minutes worth over last year's 30k time). I had no one around me but was motivated that I was putting time into the MSC bike course vehicle on all the downhills. By the turnaround I was about 2 minutes up on 2nd but I was still riding scared. At about 22k I got to see Amanda ride by as she cheered me on (she kicked ass in a relay with her pops).
I had a big smile on my face when I got back to transition, realizing what it feels like to forget expectations and race to my true level of fitness. There was a lot of crowd support and I can see why this race is a classic with such a community feel to it. The run is crazy hard with endless hills on typical Muskoka roads so I tried to keep the run at a tempo effort and only give a little dig if I felt I needed more time. Despite keeping my effort in check the hills toasted my legs and I felt like I had knives in my quads over the last mile. No one was in sight but I was still running scared and didn't relax until I got over the last hill with 400m left. I was happy to finally win a race in Ontario, especially at such a cool race in the Multisport Canada series (goal #2 complete). Someone told me that it might have been a course record despite the swim likely being about 100m long.
So next up is a bit of a recovery week before elite provincials. I'm feeling good with my fitness, and even though I'll get my ass kicked in the swim draft legal racing is a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to improving on last year's result. I'll try to find and post pictures soon.
Last year the Bala Falls Triathlon was the race that really got my season rolling after an inconsistent first half of summer. I had another slow start this year...I haven't had any bad races this year, I've just been inconsistent. Either I race well or I don't even make it to the start line. So I was looking forward to Bala to set my attitude straight in racing and shed my own expectations that have been killing my performances.
Anyway...this is a race report and not another self-reflective rant.
The recent heat wave in Ontario has had two consequences: 1. lots of complaining about the heat, and 2. water temperatures have warmed up enough that almost all races aren't wetsuit legal (a rare occurance in Canada). The water on race morning was measured at 28 degrees, so being one of the stronger swimmers in this race (it's still strange for me to think that) I was just fine with it being no wetsuits.
Race strategy was to hit the swim and bike very hard and just play the run by ear, holding back if I felt I was digging a hole for the upcoming week. Within the first 25 meters of the swim I found myself swimming very comfortably in the lead. Generally this doesn't happen to me. And secretly being first out of the water in a triathlon has been a huge mental goal for me ever since I started taking swimming seriously (2-3 years ago I was a 28-min 1500 swimmer). But I just stuck to my race plan of swimming hard, and to my astonishment I was still leading at the first turn. Hmmm, better go fast and stay ahead!
Bala isn't a crazy competitive race, but there are 500+ athletes from across Ontario so chances are a few of them are fast. When I made the turn back to shore it crossed my mind that I might actually be first out of the water. So I kept the pace high and was thrilled when I hit the beach to a great crowd, first out with 30 seconds back to the next swimmer. Triathlon goal #1 complete. Goals 2 (win a Multisport Canada race) and 3 (win a World Championship race) still pending.
I hit the bike hard and was confident I was riding well. I used a road bike for this race last year and really appreciated the difference a fast tri bike and aggressive position makes...and maybe some extra fitness too (apparently 4 minutes worth over last year's 30k time). I had no one around me but was motivated that I was putting time into the MSC bike course vehicle on all the downhills. By the turnaround I was about 2 minutes up on 2nd but I was still riding scared. At about 22k I got to see Amanda ride by as she cheered me on (she kicked ass in a relay with her pops).
I had a big smile on my face when I got back to transition, realizing what it feels like to forget expectations and race to my true level of fitness. There was a lot of crowd support and I can see why this race is a classic with such a community feel to it. The run is crazy hard with endless hills on typical Muskoka roads so I tried to keep the run at a tempo effort and only give a little dig if I felt I needed more time. Despite keeping my effort in check the hills toasted my legs and I felt like I had knives in my quads over the last mile. No one was in sight but I was still running scared and didn't relax until I got over the last hill with 400m left. I was happy to finally win a race in Ontario, especially at such a cool race in the Multisport Canada series (goal #2 complete). Someone told me that it might have been a course record despite the swim likely being about 100m long.
So next up is a bit of a recovery week before elite provincials. I'm feeling good with my fitness, and even though I'll get my ass kicked in the swim draft legal racing is a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to improving on last year's result. I'll try to find and post pictures soon.
Check out 2009 for course record.
ReplyDeleteWell done Ryan!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if it was a CR (and am not concerned either way), Jason told me it might have been but wasn`t sure. 2009 was likely faster than me but course was short.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments :)