Chinook Olympic Triathlon: Review and improve

On June 20 I powered my way through the annual Chinook triathlon in Lake Midnapore. I raced the Olympic distance.

I went into this race fairly tired. I didn’t taper at all. I suspect that my coach is pushing me to see where my limits are. Also, if I tried to taper, I wouldn’t get much training in, since I’ve raced every weekend since May 24th. All that said, I feel that this was my best race yet.

While I am very pleased to share that I managed to get second place overall (and first in my age group), I count this race as a victory because I was mentally present and prepared. I dealt with a variety of problems before and during the race, but I stayed positive and kept moving forward.

If you want race results, you can see them here. I wrote out a number of triathlon goals for the summer when I began receiving coaching; one of the goals was to improve my run time to under 40min (I have a second goal to get it under 36min). I achieved the first goal at this race! My times were:

• Swim: 24:07
• Bike: 1:04:48
• Run: 39:09
• Total: 2:08:02

Here’s some of the minor issues I dealt with before and in the race. The night before the race at 10:00pm, my bike seatpost and seat was destroyed while in my roofrack (due to inconsistent height restrictions at the Co-Op downtown). I had to rush home and find a solution. Thankfully, Laura let me use her seat and seatpost, which worked out, so I was okay for the race. This incident tested my ability to let go of things that I can’t control. I could have worried about the incident all night (and the finances associated with replacement parts), but I fell asleep without much of a problem. This is a big change from previous races, where I’ve not been able to sleep the night beforehand because I’ve been nervous and excited.

I’ve also been experiencing issues with my wetsuit lately. I’m a little leaner than I was last year and now the suit is too big for me (it lets water in, which means that I have additional drag). Until I find more creative ways to replace the suit, I’m stuck with it—hoping that the benefits outweigh the costs. Thankfully, Brian from Tri-It was around race day morning and he spent some time making my wetsuit have the best possible fit. Although some water still came into the suit during the swim (especially the 2nd lap), I didn’t let that worry me and I did my best to focus on my technique and spotting.

An aside: I’ve been shopping at Tri-it since I started racing and I have been consistently impressed by their service, prices, and products. More importantly, everyone at the store has a love for the sport and works to further develop triathlon in Calgary and Alberta. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable (they enjoy geeking out and talking gear, technique, and fit). This year, I purchased a pair of Zoot shoes, but the shoes I got had a manufacturer defect. Tri-It made the exchange process really easy so I didn’t have to race without a pair of race shoes. Checkout Tri-It if you’re in Calgary.

I came out of the water knowing that a good number of people where ahead of me. I exited the lake slightly behind the athlete who eventually secured first place, however a speedy transition (despite some minor difficulties with the wetsuit) gave me at least a 40 second headstart on him out of T1. Earlier in the morning I was getting intimidated by people’s gear, so I knew some of the folk who popped out of the water ahead of me would be flying on the bike. One of my strategies for the bike was to make sure that I worked hard racing through the residential streets. I suspect that a lot of people wouldn’t open things up until they got out on the highway, so I wanted to make up some time in the 3km stretch of residential road that lead to the 22x and then keep pushing the whole way through.

I felt pretty good on the bike and was able to pass a number of people, although the guy who I beat out of transition overtook me somewhere around the 10km mark. I strongly felt the technical limitations of my bike this race, specifically the size of my front chainring. I passed a number of people going into the wind and uphill, however they floated past me on the downhills when the wind was to our backs. My top speed is low because I have a small chainring on the front. Unfortunately, replacing the ring would be costly, as it would also involve a new derailer and shifters. So, I’m looking to get my hands on an affordable tri-bike in my size (wish me luck!).

I enjoyed some back and forth chasing with another athlete towards the end of the bike. He was another person who took full advantage of the gear range of his bike and caught up with me on the home stretch. As he was catching up, I was muching on a Hammer Gel and actually went into the ditch for about 25m before recovering. I must have looked like such a noob. Anyway, I managed to regain my position just as we entered the residential portion of the race. While I can’t be certain, I think people coast through this section—I certainly managed to gain some significant ground in a short period of time.

My T2 was strong. I was able to hit the ground running with the bike, rack it, and then get running in my brand new Zoot Ultra Race shoes. The run was definitely hard, but I simply focused on my technique and cadence to push me through. I did not have to foresight to bike the run course beforehand, so I spend a lot of time wondering how much further I had to go. Nevertheless, I managed to catch a number of people on the run, including an athlete who beat me a few weeks back at Lake Summerside!

The last 2km of the run really hurt and I wanted to walk, but I maintained my pace and pushed through until the end. I even managed to sprint the last few hundred meters, which helped me to achieve an under-40min run.

Overall, this was a great race for me and I feel that I’m seeing improvements because of my training and coaching.

I want to thank Christopher, Tasha, and baby Jayleen (you’re never too young to see sweaty men in spandex) for coming out to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line. I am lucky to have such supportive friends. “Second place is the first loser,” Chris joked after I completed the race. I’m glad to see people are pushing me to improve. I should also note that Laura ran 10km with the dog to see me start the race (I took the car in the morning) and she cheered me through every transition. If that isn’t amazing, top level support from a spouse, I don’t know what is. Thank you Laura.

Lastly, I should not that Co-Op Midtown Market generously agreed to replace my seat and seat-tube. I was really impressed by their customer service and the professional way that they treated me. Truth be told, they did not have any legal obligation to replace my bike parts, however I am glad that they responded to the validity of my case with a fair solution (as we know, what is legal and what is fair can often differ).