It was so nice being back in Kingston this weekend, and to
be again competing in the Multisport Canada K-Town Long Course tri. The
distances are a bit unusual for this race: 2k swim, 56k bike and 15k run –
fitting nicely between Olympic and Half-Iron distances. The swim is in the
harbour right downtown Kingston, the bike course goes over the causeway and up
Highway 2 to Gananoque, and the run course goes the opposite way from downtown
along the water and through Lake Ontario Park. Having lived and trained in
Kingston for 2 years it was wonderfully familiar and more than a bit nostalgic.
My goal for this race, having had very little longer
distance training under my belt until very recently, was to finish hopefully
not too far off my time in this same race last year. I accidentally biked 86k a
week ago (you can look at a map all you want but it’s always way more difficult
remembering how to go back the opposite way – I took a right where I should
have taken a left!) so I knew I could at least do the bike distance, but was
pretty worried about the swim and run, and especially about fuelling.
Swim
The swim felt LONG. Like two weeks ago in Gravenhurst, I was
able to get on Billy’s feet right away and stay there. This time though it was
really hard to keep up. I felt like a little kid on a long car ride whining,
“are we there yet?” (except in my head) the entire way. The conditions were
okay though, not too choppy, and sighting wasn’t a problem. I got a bit of a
second wind right at the end and got out of the water feeling good.
Bike
It was hard not to start out the bike a bit too fast, but I
think I did a decent job. This was probably mainly because we had a headwind on
the way out. I used to bike this road all the time and can say that this is a
rare occurrence – but one that is always really nice during a race. Once I hit
the turnaround, I felt like I was flying on the way back. Knowing how much
longer I have based on familiarity of the race course rather than just the
signs is a huge help and made it go by pretty fast too. I finished off still
feeling pretty good, but I was dreading the run while still about 10k left on
the bike – it was midday by this time and starting to warm up.
Run
The run I’d been dreading started off badly right off the
start – I grabbed a drink in T2 and drank so fast I started choking, and was
still coughing for the first 100m or so of the course and struggling to catch
my breath. Once I did though I settled into a comfortable, but painfully slow,
pace. Focusing on staying relaxed and looking around at the route I’d run
probably every other day back when I was running with the Queen’s team helped
the time go by. Nearer to the end there were a couple times I was tempted to
walk which I mostly avoided – although I did start coming to a full stop at the
aid stations to make sure I got enough fluid in which I think helped. I didn’t
end up having the two gels I was carrying – I was just bordering on nausea most
of the way - but I think that’s a goal for the next long course race.
I finished the race 12 minutes slower than my time last
year, good enough for 10th place overall female and was first (only)
in my category. Overall I was happy with it – and had a lot of fun. I’ve
forgotten how fun longer racing is – you can really settle into a rhythm and at
the end of the day it really feels like a big accomplishment regardless of your
time or placing. It was also especially great crossing that finish line after
not being able to finish my last race!
As always Multisport Canada provided a fantastic, fun
environment and the Recharge with Milk tent did not disappoint! It was also
great seeing my teammates and other competitors/friends, both old and new. You
don’t meet triathletes that aren’t friendly and encouraging, it just doesn’t
happen. Everyone is so great. One of my favourite aspects of these races is
that everyone has their names on their bibs, so I was getting complete
strangers (both spectators and other racers) cheering me on by name throughout
the course.
I’d like to thank the following:
- Lou and the guys at MainCycle in Hamilton – thanks for
fixing the flat and giving me prevention tips for further races! Worked out
great!
- John and the rest of the Multisport Canada/Recharge withMilk team – thanks as always for putting on a great race!
- Coach Mark and the rest of teamLPC – thanks for getting me
to the start line prepared to race!
- my teammates, family and friends
And thanks for reading! Next up, MSC Toronto Island sprint
tri in 3 weeks’ time.
