Last
year, Gravenhurst was my very first Olympic distance triathlon. And like many
of the races I do with Multisport Canada, I end up having a great time and
coming back the following year. Because I was and always will be a rookie, I
for some reason thought it would be a good idea last year to get my race wheels
set-up with my new latex tubes the night before in the hotel room. I was not
very experienced at changing tires/tubes so I stayed up late fumbling with my
new race wheels and ended up puncturing one of my latex tubes. Luckily, I
appear to be learning from my mistakes, as this year I made sure my bike was
set-up and ready to go with plenty of time the day before. Emma and I stayed at
a friend's cottage in the area the night before and woke up well rested for the
race.
The swim is fun
at this one because they drive you out to the middle of the lake in one of the
iconic boats from the Muskoka Wharf, push you out of the moving boat and make
you swim to shore. This course can be tough if sighting is not one of your
strong suits, which is typically the case with me, but I was fine this time and
was able to have a pretty good swim.
The plan for
the bike was to crush it to test how well I could run after really
going for it on the bike. My legs didn't really have it today though so I wasn't able
to push it as much as I would have liked, but nevertheless the hilly winding
roads made it a fun bike course.
I felt fresh and
ready to go heading into the run. Despite doing this race last year with no
issues, I for some reason randomly took a left when I was supposed to go
straight during the first km and found myself off course. Maybe it was because
so many of my LPC teammates had issues on the bike and I wanted to fit in,
maybe the sun was in my eyes, or maybe I'm a rookie for life and didn't look at
the course maps ahead of time. But whatever the reason, it happened, and
despite feeling fast and relaxed and finally having a good run this season, I
finished in 37:05 (funny enough in about the same time I did it in last year
without going off course). My first km (where I went off course) was about
5:30, and my remaining kms were about 3:30, so I would say the run was good for
a 35:05, which I am (or would have been) very happy with. It's a little
frustrating finally being able to run in less than 35 degree weather, and
despite feeling good still messing up getting a fast time. But it's motivation
to go and crush it at Kingston in a couple weeks, where I had my best race of
the season last year.
This race was as
always a ton of fun. I will certainly be back next year. And I even got to
enjoy the cottage life afterwards.
What's camping without a boat selfie.
