Leif Baradoy

My first ITU race was completed. Despite a small technical problem, I felt that the race reflects honestly my current fitness and abilities. I have some areas that clearly need significant improvement, but I also have confidence that I am in the right place in my triathlon experience.

First, I want to thank the race organizers for not only providing me a place to sleep (along with a bunch of other athletes), but also for feeding (and overfeeding) us. Travelling to races has many costs and complimentary lodging and meals was a major help. Shout out to Jon Bird, my roommate from Calgary, who had a strong race. I really enjoyed geeking out with him about triathlon (training, mental approach to racing, “balance,” and commitment to our choice to compete at this level).

Okay, the race. First, the startline for elite men was very large—nearly 80 men—violence on the swim was anticipated simply because there were so many bodies swimming in the fairly narrow, very weedy canal. Also, the men raced late in the day: 3:45pm, so that added an additional challenge to the pre-race routine, fuelling, and mental preparation.

It was a cool and windy when we lined up. I definitely should have warmed up in my wetsuit and kept it on until the last minute. I was shivering cold, which is a lousy way to start the race.

I had some trouble hearing the starter, but not so much that didn’t dive in when the race began.

I had an okay swim for where I am at—a PB in fact—but by no means is where I am at competitive. I am weak on the swim and I need to put more focus on that element of the sport. My 23:33 swim is not acceptable for ITU style racing. The lead pack comes out of the water nearly 5 minutes ahead of me, so I am pretty much out of race contention (getting with a draft pack) as soon as the race starts. I will be working closely with Noa to do what it takes to get my swim together.

So, I came out of the water second to last. My thought: I am going to do whatever I can to make up time on the bike in 40km (6 laps). Yep. Insane thought. Not sensical. Especially when I tried to shift into my big ring and my chain dropped.

I tried to spin and shift to get it to catch on the teeth, but no go. I had to stop, get off my bike, and tug at the chain to get it into place. The last guy out of the water passed me. I cursed and swore that I would not be lapped by the lead pack (in ITU rules, if you get lapped on the bike, you get pulled from the race). I also swore to catch the guy who passed me.

Put simply: I worked hard on the bike, passed a few people, and caught up to a group of 3 guys, which permitted me to draft a bit (theoretically, maintain same speed with less work). I would say that only one other guy in the group was a strong cyclists, one was okay, and one was struggling to stay in the draft (he pulled once and slowed us down when he did). So, the last two guys out of the water did a fair amount of pulling. Looking back, I wonder of I should have done more.

Importantly, I felt really comfortable navigating on the bike, taking corners fast, and riding close to other riders. This was my first race where I felt like I was in a draft pack that was working well enough to stick with.

I felt a little lack-luster beginning the run, but the fact that I survived the bike course (no lapping, no crashes) should be counted as an achievement. I definitely toughed it out on the bike and pushed myself.

Despite my work on the bike, I felt that I could PB the run. This didn’t happen, even though I felt strong on the run—chasing a few guys down. I am particularly happy with how motivated I was to push myself and reel in 3 guys on the final km of the race, including one mere meters from the finishline. Still, no PB for me on the run. Maybe too much work on the bike. Maybe too much or too little fuel/hydration. Maybe too much complacency and “pussification” to push myself to Hirt more and run faster. I think had a mix of all three.

It felt great to finish. It was an accomplishment, despite being way back in the field. I am so glad that I showed up and took advantage of the learning opportunity of this race experience.

I make no excuses for my performance. This is where I am at right now. I don’t plan to stay in this spot—it is just a weighstation on the way to the next destination.

I want to close by thanking all the people who cheered me on while I was suffering through the race. There were so many people from the Victoria tri community who provided real encouragement to me, even though I was far behind.

Lastly, my congratulations goes out to all the Canadian junior and senior elites (men and women!) who totally owned the podium at this race: Andrew Yorke, Jeffrey Phillips, Paula Findlay, Chantel Widley, Kyla Coates. (not to mention the Juniors, who I’ll add later!)

You can find full results for the elite men’s division of the 2010 Coteau-du-Lac ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup right here. The long and the short of it is that I came 47th overall, with 55 men finishing the race and 10 men DNFing or DQed.

So, I’ve a long way to go. Up next: 1/2 marathon in Vancouver as part of a relay team at the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon.