Leif Baradoy

Last year, I ran a disappointing 17:10 at Bazan Bay (read the story of sorrow here), so I was looking for some redemption at this 2011 race while also reminding myself that this was merely a pre-season training race.

Bazan has been on the schedule for awhile and I thought that I registered for it months ago (like I do for most of my races), but on Friday I double-checked the confirmation list and discovered that my memory is poor. I hadn’t registered and the event was sold out. Thankfully, when I contacted (read: begged) the race organizers they graciously allowed me to register. I really appreciate that they let me do so.

Bazan Bay is a flat, fast 5km that follows the waterfront at Sidney. It brings out some great runners, including many of Victoria’s fastest triathletes. The weather was perfect: cool, not too windy, slightly overcast but not depressing.

After eating breakfast at 7:00am (fruit smoothie with this and this in it then a coffee) and walking the dogs at Mt. Doug, Emma picked me up to head to the race.

(drive, park, sign-in, chat, warm-up, stash warm-up-clothes-in-backpack, head-to-the-start-line)

Everything went smoothly. I opted to wear a running singlet from Pen Run and mid-thigh tights rather than running shorts as I find they help keep in a bit more body temperature. Some would argue that I just like wearing spandex.

Then, the it was the classic 5-4-3-2-1-go!
Many people went out fast and it was elbow to elbow the first 600m, but kept my pace steady—running a 3:09 pace the first km. It was really cool to watch some of the other experienced racers in action. For example, I noticed (Mr. Quick Haircut) Andrew Russell running at about my pace the first while and then saw him confidently maneuver past bodies and build his pace towards the front guys over the first 2km.

Between km2 and km3, a major gap began to form and a number of the runners around me seemed comfortable with it. Not me. I accelerated a bit, running alongside another guys until he popped after about 500m. I caught a few stragglers, but most of them were folk who’d gone out too fast and were paying the price.

At the 3km mark, I caught the next group of about 6 guys. We headed back to the finish line. Here—between km3 and km4—the wind off the water became noticable, especially when you’re 6’3! I tucked in behind a few runners for a few hundred meters, aware that the leaders were fighting the wind on my behalf.

Nevertheless, I felt that I could push the pace abit more, so I pulled to the front of the group and immediately noticed the added effort required to run against the wind. To compare, my average pace for this race overall was 3:15min/km. During the headwind, my average pace was 3:20.

I knew that the other guys in the group would draft off me, but I also figured we could drop a few people too. So, I surged away with only two young guys (age16-19) sticking right with me. At the finish, would I have what it took to outsprint these guys if they drafted me? It didn’t matter. I didn’t want to run a safe or conservative race. I’d rather take a risk, trust my training and decision making, and let the outcomes be what they will be.

When we turned onto Ocean Ave. one of the guys surged forward. I picked up the pace but he created abit of a gap that took me 50m to close (later, I found out he thought the finishing line was at the end of Ocean Ave). By the time we hit 8th Ave., we were all giving whatever we had left.

I enjoyed this sprint because I discovered about two or three more gears! I need to work on how quickly I can respond to surges (I think this is more mental attention that physical) but during the sprint I felt like I increased my threshold for pain and speed in that final 200m. I don’t know how to explain it, but I found something that surprised me in that final sprint. I’m sure I looked like some crazed giant hauling ass in that last leg of the race. If I find photos, I’ll post them.

Anyway, I managed to hold off the other two guys in the sprint and finish strong. I felt good about my race and humbled by all the athletic talent found on Vancouver Island. This is such a special place for athletics and I’m very fortunate to live here.

Congratulations to triathletes Paula Findlay for setting the new course record for women (16:33) and to Jon Bird who placed 4th overall and was the fastest triathlete at the race. Full results for the 2011 Bazan Bay 5km race can be found here.

My Results

• 16:17 5km
• 20th overall
• 5th in the 30-34 agegroup

After the race, I got some massage from Synergy. Suffice it to say that I need make rolling, stretching, and massage part of my regular routine (which reminds me that I need to get to fundraising asap).

And one more thing . . .
I am extremely grateful to EVOC for their support in protecting my new, 2011, Argon 18 E-114 TT bike as it journeyed from SpeedTheory in Calgary to my humble home in Victoria. I noticed a few ITU athletes using EVOC bags last year, so I started investigating them (EVOC, not the athletes). EVOC’s bike travel bags are very light while offering excellent protection for bikes of all types (road, TT, mountain, downhill) and I am grateful to them for helping me out.

More on the E-114 soon.