Niagara Sprint Tri Race Report

On August 7th, 2011 I participated in the Niagara Sprint Triathlon

750m Swim
25km Bike
7km Run

Pre-Race: The night before the race I headed out to dinner with friends and found out my favourite sushi restaurant had shut down :( So we headed to a different restaurant and I had some pasta...When I got home I had planned to pack up and go to bed very early...I got home and had very unexpected call from work needing some on-call assistance. I wasn't required to go by any means but I thought it would be good if I did to assist...so I headed into work for a few hours...got home and quickly packed...

While I was at work my amazing Hubby washed and cleaned by bike and tuned it all up...I have the BEST race Sherpa ever!


Morning Of: The hubby and I left the house by 5am to head to Niagara and I had a coffee and bagel...we loaded up the car and got to the Transition area with plenty of time to set up, and get body marked...

We checked out the swim area...I decided not to do a warm up as I thought that would get me a little more anxious...I knew that since it was a wave start I would have lots of time to get in the water and get adjusted!



I opted to wear a Tri-Suit for the race...was super happy I did..despite it being not the most flattering...lets be honest...tri clothes in general aren't the most forgiving...



Loved that I had a Pink Cap!




The Swim:

I was totally anxious about the swim...I am a strong swimmer but not a FAST swimmer...I got anxious with the swim and ended up swimming the majority of it with breast stroke...not the best and I know as I swim more I'll get more comfortable...I was happy with my time considering it was with breast stroke pretty much the whole way...

SWIM TIME: 17:52 pace/2:23/100m 17/25 in Age Category



T1:2:05

Transition went well...It is still a learning process...I got my socks, bike shoes, bib, helmet all on and just gave'r....I had great placement with my bike and found it easily...

Bike:

I knew that I was going to have a HUGE hill called the "Best of the East" right away...I really practiced my hill climbs in Muskoka the week before and was feeling confident...I got to the first part of the hill...it was a BEAST they weren't lying...I changed gears but kept going and despite it being challenging I was moving really well and passing a number of people....everyone was going slow or walking the hill...as I was passing a man he lost all momentum and fell over on the bike directly on me...I was SOOO LUCKY I was able to clip my one leg out and save myself from a fall...

I was pretty upset as the pitch of the hill was too steep for me to get back on...I started to RUN up the hill as there was a bit of a plateau...I got back on and slowly started to recover...and then all of a sudden the SAME thing happened again...two woman collided as they could not get momentum up the hill and it caused another collision with several riders...I had un-clipped but had to walk the rest of the hill...This dropped my average pace to 16km per hour...

I was really disappointed that this happened...the entire hill was carnage...I learned that for the next time I need to really watch my surroundings a big more and STAY away from slower riders...

This next part is where I called it operation get my speed back...I passed quite a few people and was able to finish the bike extremely strong...

25km: 56:54: 26.4km/hour 16/25 in my age category



T2: 1:25 I grabbed my visor, switched shoes and grabbed a gel and some fruit snacks...then I headed into the run...

Run: I hadn't had anything beside G2 on the bike...so I took a gel as soon as I hit the road...my garmin did not hook in right away so I pace was a little wonky...At this point it was REALLY hot and humid...the aid stations were every km due to the course being an out and back loopy thing...I dumped water on me to help get my heart rate down and alternated between water and gatorade...my legs felt tired for the first little bit but I soon figured it out and got going...it was nice being able to see runners coming back in...it was mostly residential but parts went by the water and in a cool little trail...I don't really remember too much...the whole experience just flew by...


39:54 (5:42 km)

TOTAL: 1:58:09




Overall Thoughts: I LOVED it....I had such a blast...and I cannot wait to do it again!!! I know that with more training I could get better and feel more comfortable...During the week of the race I had done 2 long runs (26km and 19km), speed work(6km) and a hill workout(12.45)...I look forward to the day when I can focus more on one race as opposed to fitting one in during marathon training...


A special thanks to the Hubby for being the best support ever! As well as a close friend of ours Fraser for coming out! We also ran into a close friend who was doing the Tri so it was nice to have her there and her husband kept my Sherpa company. I was so fortunate to have great cheerleaders on the course!!!


In Summary: I think I might have a triathlon problem :)