I spent the first week of August up at a cottage in Haliburton with my parents and siblings. I would be an amazing triathlete if I spent more time up there!! We were in a great little bay, which was perfect for swimming, and the area was full of hills, which made for some great biking and running. I swam nearly every day, and was looking forward to a good swim split.
This would be the first race of 2006 where I would be able to compare myself to last year. I did my first sprint-distance tri at Belwood last year, and was hoping to knock at least five minutes off of last year’s time of 1:55:41 (see results here).
SWIM: 1 km – 18:39 (1:52/100m)
16/22 M25-29, 94/348 Overall
With all the swimming I had done up at the cottage, I felt smooth and comfortable in the water. I had worked on breathing every third stroke instead of every second one, and was more balanced and efficient in the water. It was great to be well under the 2:00/100m pace, and I came out of the swim feeling good!
BIKE: 33 km – 57:18 (34.6 km/h)
11/22 M25-29, 85/348 Overall
I had a pretty good bike ride last year, and I was actually hoping to be a little faster on the bike than I was. It was a little windy, and the course seemed a lot tougher than I remembered. I still rolled in with a 34.6km/h average, which was a new best for me!!
RUN: 7 km – 29:41 (4:15/km)
5/22 M25-29, 57/348 Overall
After my sub-28 minute run at Niagara, I was looking for another fast run here. However, the extra 9km on the bike combined with a hot, sunny day must have taken their toll, because I didn’t feel real strong for most of the run. I did manage to track down the 11th place finisher in my age group in the last 250m, and blew him away with a strong sprint to the line to finish in 10th place.
Total: 1:47:22, 10/22 M25-29, 66/348 Overall (Full Results )
Well, comparing things to last year, I’ve certainly improved in all areas of the triathlons. I was over 8 minutes faster this year!! Most of it came on the swim, but I also knocked a minute off in T1 (it’s amazing what taking the wetsuit off fast and putting your shoes on while you’re pedalling can do), and another two minutes off on the bike. My run was a little faster as well. All in all, a pretty good race – it was great to see how far I’ve come in a year! If I can take another 8 minutes off by next year, I may be able to climb into the top 30 or so!!
no comment untill now