The big day

Triathlon. 
All week, I have been glued to the weather to see what the conditions would be like on Saturday. The forecast started off as cold and rainy and by the Friday it had turned to dry and around 22 degrees. So perfect conditions for the triathlon. I went to pick up my kit on Friday evening and to the information session. There were so many people there. I was just cranking up my nerves  even further. The yellow buoy for the 1500m seemed to be really far away. I have no problem swimming 1500m in a pool, but to lay out 750m out and back looked really daunting.

The yellow buoy, way back there is half the Olympic distance swim. Note the calmness of the water.

On my way out, I ran into a swimming mate of mine whose name I didn’t know. He was running a Sprint, his first and so was his friend. We were all taking the Metro back home together and we distracted each other nicely. I got home much later than I wanted closer to 8:30 and only then had supper – pasta, naturally. I don’t normally eat so many carbs and over the past few days I have been eating almost nothing but.

I couldn’t sleep, either because of nerves or the dark chocolate I ate, until well past 2:30 am.

I woke up in the morning and it was grey, but not too bad. I headed off alone with the car strapped to the roof rack just before 10am and made my way to the track. George and the boys were coming later by Metro. I was incredibly nervous. I don’t know why. I could do this distance, no problem. My goal was to finish strong in under 3 hours. Very doable. I guess that because I had been training alone, I just didn’t have external validation of my training. No one was there to push me to go faster. I just pushed myself to get it finished. Slow and steady. Now at the site – there were so many people – The set up was much different than in 1998, and a bigger too. Now there was a bridge leading out of the water. Huh? Oh boy. I went to get marked, #682 – my lucky number! (Not particularly, but I’ll take anything at this point that helps!)

and then went to set up my transition at the racks. I picked a spot and set up. Towel and shoes, bathing cap and goggle, tons of Lara Bars and then I wandered around. 

My little world.

I watched wave after wave of the other events. The water was very choppy and the wind was absolutely ferocious. Oh no! I hadn’t planned for that. I planned for cold and rain, not dry and windy! Back to check on my spot and then I grabbed a Larabar to snack on before the race and watched the Sprints coming out of the water. It was fun to watch them all coming out of the water, go up and over the wooden foot bridge and then into the Transition area. Some were very serious, others looked exhausted, some exhilarated and there were even a few who stopped to chat and have their pictures taken. 
Now it was almost my turn – Olympic women were all going in one wave. A final trip back to the transition area to get my goggles and cap and I headed to the last minute technical session, 15 minutes before race time. The wind was very gusty at this point and there were even whitecaps. Yikes! We all stood in the water for 10 minutes – not too cold, a good sign. Then I heard some yelling behind me and turned to see my husband, kids, sister in law and friend jammed up against the barriers trying to get my attention. 

That's me in the pink bathing cap. Those heads bobbing in the water are scuba divers. Note the whitecaps. 

I was so happy to see them! Such a boost. The horn went off and I started swimming towards the inside of the pack. As soon as I hit the water, I knew there was going to be trouble – my goggles weren’t sealed properly and filling my right eye with water and the current was incredibly strong. It seemed as though every stroke was not moving me forward but holding my position. Holy. For some reason, it wasn’t a chaotic a start as normal. Maybe the current and waves had taken the fight out of people. I was just in it to get to the end. I tried breathing on every stroke but because of the waves, I got a mouth full of water nearly every time. So I took advantage of having to clear out my goggles while kicking on my back to get some air into my lungs. I finally got my goggles to seal and put my head down and swam. There is a very large screen to the left side of the basin and it seemed like I couldn’t get beyond it. Everytime I looked left, it was still there. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress at all. There weren’t too many swimmers around, only a few left and right and the occasional bubbles from in front of me. Up and down with the waves and fighting the current at every stroke. This was really hard. I looked up and saw the yellow buoy just ahead of me and made my way toward it. I got caught in its rope as I turned the corner and immediately the swim got easier. I past two more buoys and then another turn down the long stretch back. Then I was going with the current and the wind and the swim was effortless, except for the up and down. I was swimming right beside another woman and it seemed that whenever one of us would veer away, the other would come follow suit. We were evenly matched, stroke for stroke and every time I breathed on my right, I saw her breathe left. On my left, I watched the grandstands come into view and then the building. I knew the finish would be at the end of the buildings. On my right I saw more boats and the pier and then I saw the end of the building. Suddenly, my hand hit the bottom and I was finished. I stood up with only two steps to get out of the water. What a grueling swim! I have never has such a difficult swim. Interstingly, I never wanted to quit, like I did in Ste Agathe, I was determined to get through it with everyone else. I ran out, took of my bathing cap and goggles, up and down the stairs. 


I focused on the yellowness of the stairs and the fact that the steps had sand painted to them I don’t know why, but seemed very important at the time. I glanced at my watch 29 minutes. Wow – not bad for such a difficult swim. At the bottom, I saw my husband right there!

I ran to the transition, put on my shoes and race bib and ran Bambi like to the start of the bike. Into the wind. Oh the wind! I pedaled furiously to get my legs going and once on the circuit was happy with my pace going into the wind initially. At the westernmost point of the track, there is a slight downhill, a sharp left turn and then the wind is at your back. Wow what a difference – I was cranking out 38-40 kph with the wind! Very happy with this, until, of course, everyone else was passing me like I was on a tricycle. I made it to the hairpin without any Olympic Women passing me – so far I hadn’t lost anytime. Around the hairpin and then slammed into the wind again. I was struggling to keep my pace at 24 kph, which, considering this is my usual fast pace, I was pretty happy to keep up. 

The track was very full with mostly the Ironmen and half Ironmen, then slowly it started filling up with Olympic distance women and then the men, who started 30 minutes after us. My distance was 9 loops of the circuit and I started counting, but then after 3 laps relied on my odometer. I ate a Larabar and chatted with a few cyclists, too. After a few turns, I saw my cheering section at the hairpin – waving and calling and cheering! It was such a boost – I was so happy to see them! 

Around and around some more. The westbound loop was grueling – the wind was really fierce and everyone was struggling. My right shoe wasn’t aligned properly so the Velcro kept getting caught on the crank on loosening, so I kept adjusting. After a while, my crew wasn’t there anymore – I figured the kids were getting restless, although I kept looking for them. At the far end with a few laps to go, I heard someone call out my name – I looked on the grass and there was my favorite trainer and his dog sitting there! How he spotted me, I will never know, but it was so great to see him there. The volunteers keeping people off the track and helping people cross when needed were hilarious – they must have been so bored. Some were fixated on their phones, others were swinging on the chains and cheering and a couple even had little routines – they were great! With a half lap to go, I tried to tell my trainer that I was getting off the track and then did a final lap. I exited the track and biked to the transition point. 

Only at the line did I realize that I forgot to take off my shoes like I practiced. Now I was forced to run downhill in my cycling shoes. Yikes. Not graceful at all! I was just focusing on not slipping and falling. As I was running in, I saw my husband again – he was always at the right place – I have no idea how he managed to time it. I spotted my red and white towel at my rack and put on my shoes, took a glug of Gatorade and ran off. Glancing at my watch, it took 1:30 – which is about 10 minutes faster than I normally do a 40k.

My legs felt surprisingly coordinated- springy, even. I ran behind the building and then down the seaway path. It was very strange running. There was no one ahead of me and no one behind me. Only the sound of the wind and the crunch crunch of my shoes on the gravel. It was very soothing. Occasionally, someone would pass me, but I wasn’t losing much ground. It was nice to have the relative quiet after the noisy wind on the bike, it made it seem that much more harrowing. I passed one or two women, took a drink from the water station and picked up my speed a bit. At the end of the first 2.5 km, I kept hearing the person behind me opening something Velcro. Curious, I asked her what she was doing – it turns out her water belt was riding up and she kept having to pull it down. How annoying that must have been. I would have just thrown it away. But I was happy to have passed someone! At the far end of the basin, I could see the crowds in the grandstand and just how far away the finish line was – one and a half time around. It looks so much farther when the distance is laid out like that. I tried to keep my mind on picking up my speed, all the while trying to gauge how much energy I had left. As I came onto the basin, an Olympic woman was coming around onto the last leg of the run. Holy cow – I had 7.5 left and she was almost done. Yikes. Obviously, I picked up my speed. The crowd thickened along the grandstand and as I got to the end, I saw my gang again as they cheered and clapped for me. Such a huge boost! Then at the turn back on to the track, my husband was telling me that I was going really fast – well on pace! 

So I picked up my speed. I went to the back stretch and tried to keep my pace up at best I could. At no time did I feel like I had to dig deep and convince myself that I could finish. I knew that I could. I don’t know why, but at triathlons they mark your age on your legs, so it’s visible from behind. Is this so that you can see your direct competitors or what? I have never been able to figure this out. I put a few women in my sights to try to run down and managed to pass a few of them. There was one, #990, who was a few hundred meters ahead of me, but lagging. I decided that she was my goal, so I kept her in my sights. I was gaining on her for a while and then her teammate, who had just passed me, ran up beside her and got her pace up and I just couldn’t keep up. She ended up being only 2 minutes faster than me in the end (I checked!).

I rounded the last corner and ran as fast as I could all the way to the finish. It was so crowded along the side and it seemed that everyone was sprinting to the end, maybe it was also the wind at our backs. It was so great to run with everyone – there is such great energy – everyone is cheering and clapping and with huge smiles – competitors and spectators both. I crossed the line in 2:58 and change – and I just ran my fastest 10k. I felt so great! After all the nerves I had before, this was such a great feeling. After all these months of those long rides and run and the hours alone, this was spectacular.

Just finished! 2:58

My crew came down, the kids were exhausted and the younger one was absolutely done without his nap. I was thrilled to see them and hear about it from their perspective. They were such troopers for staying there for 3 hours in that crazy wind. I went back to the transition packed up my stuff - I ran into a few of the girls that I chatted with before the race and we compared notes - horrible swim, tough bike, great run. They were also thrilled with their races. There is such a camaraderie between the athletes - no competition or viciousness. It is so nice, very encouraging. It's one part of the competition that I really like. 

We walked all the way back to the car. That’s when I realized that I was tired! My knees were tired and my ankles felt different than usual. We got home just as a torrential rainstorm thoroughly soaked us as we unloaded the car. I quickly got cleaned up and got ready to welcome the 20 people my husband invited to share in my steak and fries supper!

Thanks guys!

Two days to go...

My race is Saturday at noon and I am ridiculously nervous. I’m checking the weather all the time, hoping that it will both warm up so that I’m not the only one – again – not wearing a wetsuit and that the thunderstorms pass. Running in squishy shoes isn’t great. I have laid out all my stuff, trying to make sure that I don’t forget anything crucial, like bike shoes or helmet or bike. I need to remember all my energy bars, and waters, too. And also a tarp of some sort to keep my things dry. I am not happy with my cycling shoes in that they are new and I haven’t raced with them yet – more for the transition than the actual cycling part. They are really hard to run in and while I have done a few tries of running barefoot with my bike with my shoes already clipped in to speed up the transition, I’m still undecided as to whether I should actually try it out at the race or just hobble along on the slippery biking shoes. I have one last bike session tomorrow and maybe that’s when I will finally decide. Or maybe not.

With it being cool, it will be easy to not want to hydrate adequately and that could be bad. Although, the last time I ran this, I don’t remember having any energy bars with me. I do however remember that the swim was so cold, that I couldn’t feel my pinkies after, I put on long sleeves for the bike and that it took more than half the bike leg to warm up again. So this weekend’s weather is bothersome.

I am also trying to eat wisely, without changing too much. My big concern is that the race starts at noon – and I generally work out before 8am, so the food as energy timing is going to be a bit off, plus the usual jitters aren’t going to calm my stomach at all. I think if I just have the usual pre workout breakfast, but maybe a bit later and then munch on complex carbs and water throughout the morning I should be ok. It’s also only about a 3hour event, so I’m probably overthinking for nothing. I hope.

I have decided to go to the track by myself and my husband and kids (my own personal cheering section) will follow later. I want to be there a bit early and they will be doing lots of waiting around as it is. There is also an information session tomorrow night, so I will better be able to get my bearings and find out where to park and what time to come at.

So many things to worry about…