Canadian National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships
July 3, 2005
Halifax, NS
Cliff Notes at the bottom of the report.
My whole season up to this point has been geared towards this race. All of my physical and mental preparation has been pointed towards two goals for Nationals
1) Have a completely solid race, with smooth transitions, and giving everything that I could give
2) A top 10 overall finish
Saturday night:
I packed , lubed up my bike and double checked to make sure that everything was working properly. The age groupers were scheduled to start racing at 7am, so I knew it was going to be an early morning.
Sunday morning:
The alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 4:55am, and I stumbled out of bed, made myself a cup of tea, had a quick shower and some breakfast. We loaded up the bike and gear and were at transition by 6. I got my body marked, set up my transition area and then wandered around and chatted to some of my teammates and other triathletes that I know from the race circuit. I could just feel the nervous energy radiating from me, and tried to stay calm and focused. One of the girls from the Dalhousie Cross Country Team, Janice Ashworth came over and said hi. Janice is a top level 5k runner, possibly 2nd or 3rd in the country for University level running right now. Once I saw her, I knew there was no chance that I could come first, and that I wouldn’t be racing for 1st place.
As I was standing in transition when there was a tap on my shoulder… it was my swim coach! He’d come to watch and cheer me on! THANKS COACH MACDONALD! It really was wonderful to have so much support at this race. I also met up with Taya (the girl who came 2nd at provincials), and we had a nice chat. She’s a really fireball. What an inspiration! At only 15, she’s already a top level runner. And one of the brightest, most sparkling personalities I’ve ever met. Simply amazing.
Swim (750 meters) 14:20
Our swim wave was set to go at 7:30, so after a brief warmup, they called us out of the water, did a headcount, and then we were back in and the gun went off! There was a lot of jostling at the beginning, and very early on, someone hit me up the side of the head and knocked the right side of my goggle. As it filled with water, I closed my eye and just kept swimming. Every time I breathed to the right I had to close my right eye, for fear of losing my contact (which would have been trouble!). The buoys were really hard to see, especially with only one eye open, but I just kept in as straight a line as possible. The exit from the swim was up a slippery ramp, but there were some wonderful volunteers who helped us to get safely onto shore. The run to T1 was probably about 500 meters, so I got the top half of my wetsuit off as quickly as I could.
Bike (20k) 43:37
T1 was incredibly smooth. Thank goodness for BodyGlide! I swear by that stuff. My wetsuit came off without issue. Sunglasses and helmet on, and off onto the bike course.
It couldn’t have been a better controlled or more beautiful course. Thanks Ingonish two weeks ago, I am no longer scared of hills, and though this course was a little hilly, it wasn’t a problem. I spun easily up the gradual climbs and stood and powered up the steep ones. Managed to pass a bunch of people and catch up to the lead pack about 8k in. Once I had them in sight, I knew I would keep them there. I kept gaining on the hills, and falling back a little on the descents, but I never got too far behind. Speaking of which, there were some awesome descents on this course, and I clocked myself coming down one hill at 64km/hr in my aerobars. Woooo! So much fun! My bike was fairly uneventful and really solid. I saw Janice on the turnaround, but still had a good 2 or 3 minutes on her at that point. Coming back into transition, I racked my bike, removed my helmet, grabbed my race belt and hat, and was off onto the run course.
Run (5k) 23:53
Ok, so I know where I need some serious improvement. If I want to race at a high level, I need to get my 5k time under 20 minutes. Which means a lot more speedwork. I love this picture because it looks like I’m flying! All those bricks really are starting to pay off, and my legs didn’t feel too bad after the bike. The run was a fairly hilly course, but really pretty. About a kilometre and a half in, I caught up with a girl named Rachel and we paced each other for the rest of the run. She was really sweet. I hadn’t seen Janice yet, but I knew that she must be closing the gap very quickly. With about 100 meters to go, I looked back and saw her smoking down the hill at top speed. She zoomed by Rachel and I at a phenomenal pace. Simply incredible. Rachel and I hit the finish together at 1:21:48.
Rachel, Taya and I smiling after the race.
At this point I had no idea where I was in the standings. I just knew that I had run a very solid race. After some food and a lot of Powerade, Coach Macdonald, my roommates and I went over to check the results. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that I came second in my Age Group! Wooooo! 2nd place at Nationals! Janice’s amazing run earned her 1st place in our AG. She eclipsed me by...yup….6 seconds! 6 seconds! To be honest though, to even be at the level that I could compete with her, is a huge confidence boost for me. We were 5 minutes ahead of the next person in our AG.
The elite race started at 9:30, and they were incredible. So very inspiring. All in all it was a wonderful day, and I couldn’t have asked more of myself in the race. I am so, so happy. I know what I need to work on in order to get faster, and I am willing to put in the hard work to get there.
Nationals Hardware: Silver Medal!
Thank you to Scott and Issy, my two roommates who have been there for me at EVERY race, and at the end of my tough training sessions with a smile and encouragement. Without the support of good friends, the road would be so much tougher.
Last night we had a big wine and cheese celebration in true long weekend style.
My friends are incredible. I am so very lucky to have them in my life, and I can’t thank them enough for being there for me!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
And that concludes my photo-diary RR. Thanks for reading!!
Cliff Notes:
Total Time: 1:21:48
Swim (750 meters) 14:20
Bike (20k) 43:37
Run (5k) 23:53
2nd Place Female 20-24 AG
9th Place Overall Female
