Monday 18 July 2016

Gravenhurst Olympic Triathlon 2016 Post-race Report

        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.