Leif Baradoy

On May 24, I swam 500m, biked 16km, and ran 3km. Six days later, I participated in the KGH Sprint Triathlon at Sylvan Lake (swim 750m, bike 26km, run 5km).

I got up a 4:30am to drive up to Sylvan. Just like Try this Tri, the race had a pool swim, so I didn’t start until nearly 11:00am. Laura and Brandi had long finished their duathlon before I even began my race. Thankfully, I was ready to wait, so I didn’t get too antsy.

There were far more experienced athletes at the KGH Sprint compared to last week’s Try this Tri. I’m not just judging by gear, but the look in people’s eyes and body types. Also, I talked to a number of Ironman competitors with multiple races under their belt. I met guys who coach triathletes. The atmosphere was excellent with lots of great people in a good mood (patiently awaiting start times). In fact, a man named Dave and I ended up hearing someone’s bike blow a tube when at rest in transition. I found a pump and Dave found a new tube and we replaced the blown tire without the bike owner (who was swimming!) knowing about it. The bike owner was able to hit the road without the disappointment of a blow tire.

Regardless, I noted that far more people at this race who were stalking around with first place finishes in their mind.

I felt ready to race on my owns terms—ready to push myself. I thought I would be able to finish strong, however I had no clue how I would place. Even during the race, I had no clue how well I was doing, since start times were staggered. I didn’t see or pass anyone who made it into the top ten.

I raced my own race. The outcome? I achieved first place overall.

I was eighth fastest on the swim (750m in 12:12) and third fastest on the bike (43:36 for 26km). I has the fastest run time of 21:11 for 5km (4:14/km pace). Total time: 1:16:57. See the results here.

This is the first time I have earned first place in any race since starting triathlon in 2008. I feel wonderful about this outcome and will work hard to make sure this is not my last first place race. I race again next week in Edmonton and I intend to race my own race and strive for a top place finish.

Again, I’ve signed up for the Subaru Sooke International Triathlon on Sept. 13th so I’ve recently hired an excellent coach to help improve my performance. I suspect he’ll be able to mold my rather inconsistent and unintelligent training schedule into something far more effective.

Things I learned from KGH:

1. Sprint. I sprinted the last 200m of this race, giving it all that I had, simply because I wanted to pass a couple people before the finish line and one of them tried to outrun me. In every race, but especially in races where your not sure of your standing when crossing the finishing line, I should make it a policy to give my best and last effort before the finish line.
2. Change happens. Keep running. The race organizers changed the run course at the last minute into a winding, back-tracking run through the residential sections of Sylvan Lake. Unfortunately, I wanted to run an out and back, not an out and random. The fact that the race course wasn’t linear threw me off, but that is my problem, not the organizer’s issue. When things change, I need to trust that the course is the proper distance and then make my best effort to run the hell out of that distance. Simply put, I think too much and I want to control too much. Let go of things I can’t control and keep moving.
3. KGH Sprint Triathlon is a great race. I hate racing in pools, but the bike on this course was a complex, slightly hilly, and gorgeous 25km loop. The race had some awesome swag to give away (I got a bike pump!). More than anything, the race had an inviting atmosphere that made it feel like I spent my Saturday in the company of great people, rather than simply racing. PLus, they had bananas and water on the bike and multiple aid stations on the run (with Hammer Gels, Gatoraid, water etc.). You should do this race next year!
4. When it comes to psi, go for optimal, not extreme. I don’t know how much pressure it takes to make a tube pop sound like a gun shot but I’m sure it is a lot. A worthwhile May 2009 article by Mark Deterline in Triathlete discusses optimal tire width and psi. Research indicates that optimal psi ranges from 107-122 on the front and 110-125 on the back (depending on your weight. I weigh around 190, so my optimal psi is about 118/122.
   

   tube pop / sounds like a gun shot / an object at rest / will stay at rest / without me

5. Count properly. Although practising transitions and getting used to a race environment is important, racing in heats in a pool is something I’ll avoid whenever possible. I totally lost count of my laps on the swim and had to rely on the volunteer to count for me. While I trust that the volunteer counted correctly, I wasn’t able to gauge my own progress as well, so I had no clue if I could have pushed a little hard the last 150m.
6. Get your shirt on already.Last week at Try this Tri, I noticed that Scott Curry put his race shirt over his body, unzipped it, and then tucked it down into his swim trunks. At the time, I wasn’t sure why. I thought I could slip my shirt on after the swim while I ran to transition. I was reminded, as I struggled to get my tight shirt onto my wet body, that spandex sticks to wet skin, making it difficult to pull a shirt down. At KGH, I did what Scott did, and It was way easier to pull the arms of the shirt over my shoulders when the shirt was already over my torso.
7. Keep practising jumping on the bike. I totally failed my bike mount. I tried to jump on and missed the seat and managed to bruise myself in a couple different places. Not only did I look like a foolish noob to onlookers, I also lost about 10 seconds from the start line and moved my back brake so it was rubbing against my tire! In the first km of the ride, I was trying to pedal and readjust the brake. I would say that my bike would have been at least 45-60 seconds faster if I had mounted the bike correctly.
8. Close the quick release, you fool! I totally failed to close the quick release on my front brake. On the ride, I tried to close it, but then the brake was rubbing, so I left it open. Thankfully, I didn’t need to stop quickly at any point in time. This is the second time I’ve forgotten to close the quick release on my brake after taking my bike from the car.
9. I want a roofrack for my bike. Well, this isn’t a learning, but a roofrack would certainly save some space in our car, especially since Laura came up with my and we had to stack out bikes on top of one another in the back of the car. Not ideal.

Anyway, I’ve got a long way to improve. First place at KGH is an achievement I’m proud of, but there are bigger races and better contenders that I’ll be facing very soon. Preparation for those events is key.

Last weekend, I enjoyed racing in Try This Tri—500m swim, 16km bike, 3km run—with Joel H. This was my first race of the season and the initial testing ground to see if training would pay off in noticeable results. I am please to report that I managed to achieve second place overall and first in my age group. You can view full results here.

Something went poorly with my swim and I need to investigate that further (review training, technique, approach to race environment). However, I managed to have the second fastest run and third fastest bike. My run pace was an impressive 3:15/km. If you had asked me two weeks ago whether I was capable of that speed, I would have told you that I couldn’t imagine myself being that fast. Last week, I learned that my body is capable of more than my mind imagines. This realization suggests that my psychology and expectations play more a significant role in my training than I originally anticipated. The pace also helps me reposition what I think is possible for me in a race environment; I have potential for speed.

I am indebted to Canadian Pro Triathlete Scott Curry for his presence at this race (that is him in the photo). He helped me achieve this speed and pointed me to a new horizon of achievement, simply because he was fast and I decided that I would try to keep him in my sights. As you’ll see from the results, he secured first place with almost three minutes difference between us. Thankfully, he started his pool swim later than I did, so he didn’t pass me until the third lap of the four-lap bike course. This allowed me to push for the final lap and keep him in view.

I had a very fast transition and left on the run only a few metres behind Scott. He took off at a very fast pace, but I remained committed to keeping him in my sights so I matched his pace as best I could. Although he finished his run 45 seconds head of me (he ran 3:01/km), the pace he set tricked me into a new normal and gave me the fastest run I’ve had in recent years. Thank you Scott!

I tried a few new things in this race, including running without socks, as well as clipping my shoes into the bike and then jumping on the bike at the mount line. I’m pleased to say this technique aided my quick transitions.

Things I learned from this race:

1. Get my feet in the bike shoes ASAP. When I jumped on the bike with the shoes clipped into the pedals, the elastic bands broke right away, but I didn’t have my feet in the shoes yet! Trying to fiddle with them while riding wasn’t ideal (they were spinning abit, hitting the ground), so I lost a little time and focus having to fit me feet into moving targets.
2. Don’t tell myself that I’m in a lower league than other athletes. As son as I saw Scott Curry, I told myself he was beyond my league and chasing him was the best I could hope for. This attitude embraces compromise before the race even begins! How terrible. I need to have my mind lead the way into success at my races. I got lucky and my body ended up showing my mind what it could do, however it is my mind that will direct my body to achieve more consistent results. I need to approach races as a contender, not as someone making excuses for himself before the race has even begun.
3. Read the maps/Drink water on straightaways. I know this one, but I want sucking back some H2O right before a sharp turn. I was going fast and tried to hit the brakes one-handed while putting the water bottle in the holder. I dropped the bottle between the crank and frames and then couldn’t pedal (lucky, it didn’t hit the ground!). Slowed me down for about 30 seconds and interrupted my focus in a big way.
4. Patience. Tri this Tri took place in a small pool, so they stuck 4 people per lane (slowest swimmers first) and then rotated people in when someone finished their swim. Because I anticipated having a faster swim time, I began my race at 10:45am—nearly four hours after arriving at the race site! This waiting contributed to an overly exuberant (read inefficient) initial 100m of swim, awkward fuelling, and a general sense of mental discordance. Rather than saying I wanted every part of the race to be on my terms, I started the race simply wanting to get going. Haste is no virtue and I think my poor swim time was due in part to rushing things.

I learned a few things, but I also think I succeeded on improving my transistion, bike efficiency, and running speed. This was a great way to kickoff the year.

Up next: Review and results from the KGH Sprint Triathlon at Sylvan Lake.