Gravenhurst Give-It-A-Tri GT12.9 Triathlon
Sunday, July 19, 2009Race report from Glenn...
Date: Mon Jul 20, 2009
Subject: Gravenhurst Give-It-A-Tri report (Pt. 1: Getting Ready), (Pt. 2: Race Day) & (Pt. 3: The Rest)
Fellow Toronto Penguins...
I've been training for 12 weeks and the day of reckoning arrived yesterday. For the longest time, I've wanted to try a triathlon, but for various reasons, it never happened. I've trained for and run marathons, but this was a different animal.
For one thing, I'm a late-onset swimmer. I only learned to do a proper front crawl about 10 years ago and the prospect of doing 100 metres straight (let alone 400) was intimidating. Another obstacle was the fact that, although I knew how to ride a bike, I only used my bike 1 or 2 times a year. I was not a cyclist, by any means.
About the only thing I had going for me was my running. I've been a runner since 1995 with many races of all distances under my belt. So at least I knew that I would finish a triathlon well :-)
As most of you have read, my training consisted of 6 workouts a week, 2 of each tri discipline (swim, bike, run). Although the workouts themselves were relatively short (most were only 30-40 minutes long), I got used to being active on a daily basis. Add in a couple of "brick" (bike & run) workouts and I was confident about my general fitness. But I had some more preparation to do...
If you know me, you know that I value preparation and organization. If I can get some experience with something before a major event, I'll do it. So last week I did some open water swimming and transition practice.
Open water group swimming in the Greater Toronto Area is hard to find. It took me a while and many e-mail exchanges before I found the C3 club (aka Canadian Cross-Training Club). They hold open water workouts in Caledon Village, which is about 20 minutes north of Brampton on Highway 10. I live in northeast Scarborough, which meant an hour trip each way. But I was willing to do it. Over three days last week, I swam in the James Dick quarry twice. Once with a wetsuit and once without. After doing the 300-metre out-and-back twice, I knew that my swimming was strong enough. And I also realized that a wetsuit was a royal pain in the ass.
With the swimming taken care of, I focused on my transitions. I had never practiced transitioning from swim to bike and from bike to run. I went on the HSBC and Subaru Tri Series Web sites for gear checklists. And I even watched several videos on YouTube demonstrating transitions. So at about 5 p.m. last Friday evening, I got into my swim gear (!) and practiced in my front driveway. I'm sure I got several quizzical looks as I ran from the sidewalk to the garage and changed into my bike and run gear. I repeated the swim/bike and bike/run
transitions at least 5 times, adjusting the locations of each piece of clothing or the race bib or the towels. As weird as it sounds, I really enjoyed it. I guess I'm a guy who like to create efficient processes :-) But it definitely helped me on race day.
On Saturday morning, I loaded up the car, picked up Carolin and got to Gravenhurst by 4 p.m. The Give-It-A-Tri was 8 a.m. the next morning. Weather forecast was sunny and 23C.
Coming next: Race Day!
Godspeed!
Grand Poobah
Fellow Toronto Penguins...
Carolin and I arrived in Gravenhurst on Saturday. We were staying at a bed and breakfast that was only 4 blocks away from the Muskoka Wharf. As soon as we settled in, we walked to the Wharf so I could get a close look at the race site. The organizers had already set up the transition area with the bike racks. We also took a close look at the Wharf itself and pictured where the swim would start and finish. After dinner at Boston Pizza, we returned to the B&B and retired early. Of course, we set two alarms (her cell phone, my watch).
The next morning looked dark and dreary. At 6 a.m., I walked out the front door and saw water on the front steps. The thermometer read 15C. It was not sunny or warm. And rain threatened. The B&B owners were nice enough to fix some breakfast for us, but only Carolin ate. (I can't eat much before a race.)
We got into the car and made the short trip to the Wharf, and we arrived at about 7 a.m. First thing I did was remove the bike from the trunk, attach the front tire and pump the tires. I took the bike and my equipment pail, while Carolin took my swim gear and her foldable chair. There were already many people setting up in the transition area.
I picked up my bib and returned to the transition area where I racked my bike and started to set up my gear beside it. With the transition practice fresh in my mind, setting up was easy. After the setup, I returned to the tents to pick up my swim cap and get my limbs marked. I recently celebrated my birthday, so I was a little confused when she asked me my age. I was a little embarrassed :-)
I thought I gave myself enough time, but I only left 15 minutes or so to put on my wetsuit. It was unclear whether I would use one or not for the race. On one hand, a wetsuit gives you warmth and buoyancy. On the other hand, it can be very tight and restrictive, which affects your breathing and arm motion. It is also hell to put on and take off.
I started by putting on Bodyglide, which is a wetsuit-safe lubricant, on my arms and legs. Then I started putting on the wetsuit the way that the store showed me. Unfortunately, it was taking too much time, so I took it off and started putting it on the "normal" way. The good news is that I got it on my legs in record time. The bad news is that I committed the biggest error in wetsuit wear: I HAD THE ZIPPER ON THE FRONT! Duh! With time ticking down, I rushed to take off my wetsuit, putting my right thumb between my body and wetsuit, pulling and...
OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup, a strained thumb. I thought it was broken. I dropped a bunch of f-words while poor Carolin stood next to me watching me freak out. It was at this point that I made a decision: I was swimming without a wetsuit. Yes, it was a cold day and, yes, I wasn't going to have a buoyancy advantage, but I would have to do it. I had swum 300 metres in a lake without my wetsuit, so I knew that 400 metres was possible. What encouraged me, too, was that there were many other people swimming without a wetsuit.
Glenn without the wetsuit, 5 minutes before the start
I put on my swim cap and goggles and started walking to the Wharf.
The men's wave was first, so I sat at the edge of the Wharf until the signal to get into the water. I dove into the lake feet first and it was cold. But not THAT cold. I would get through this! The course was marked with huge orange buoys. The rule was to "keep the buoys to your left". At 8:03 a.m., as I was hanging on the Wharf with one hand, the horn sounded. I let the fastest swimmers go out first and started following them.
Racers gather at the edge of the Muskoka Wharf for the swim leg
It's easy to get caught up in the madness of a hundred guys splashing and kicking furiously around you, but I kept remembering my mantra: If you feel stressed, relax and focus on balance. Soon I had a rhythm going with my freestyle. Although the water was murky, I watched other people kick under the water and realized that many were doing the breaststroke. Another was even doing a partial backstroke.
One of the things that you learn to do in open water is "sight" properly. It's no use being able to swim well if you can't swim in the right direction, so every 6 strokes or so I lifted my head out of the water and re-aligned myself with the orange buoys. At the first turn, there was a small "traffic jam" with people doing the breaststroke and others trying to swim around them. It wasn't dangerous, but you always had to be aware. About the worst thing that could happen is someone kicking off your goggles. So you were always aware of who was
ahead of you.
When I found a "groove" in my stroke, I made a conscious effort to minimize my kick and save my legs for the bike and run legs. With 50 metres to go, I saw the final orange buoy and the stairs that led up to the Wharf. I kept sighting to re-align myself and got to the stairs with a couple of wetsuit-wearing swimmers. I did the swim!
I expected to fast-walk down the Wharf to the transition area but I watched other people running, so I did a light barefoot jog through the crowd as they cheered us on. They were really close to us and I felt a little self-conscious with nothing on but my swimsuit :-)
Glenn running to the transition area after the 400-metre swim
I looked for my bike, then I realized that some kind of marker would have been helpful. For example, a colourful bandanna hanging from the nearby fence. Eventually, I found my bike and I started my transition from memory. ("Take off the swim cap and goggles, throw them into the pail, put on the towel, etc.") Finally, I put on the helmet, unhooked my bike and pushed it by the saddle (something I learned on YouTube) to the "mount" line. I jumped on my bike and started pedalling in one fluid motion. The bike course (10K) started with an uphill!
Glenn (centre in blue bike jersey) approaches the bike mount line
Whew... I think I'll take a break and write the final part (#3) separately. Cheers for staying with me this long!
Grand Poobah
Fellow Toronto Penguins...
I realize this is a long report, but I haven't been this excited and motivated about a race in a long time. Back to the story!
The bike leg was 10K through residential Gravenhurst neighbourhoods. It was also hilly. So I started the bike leg on a very low gear. At least I'd finish with a downhill :-) Immediately, I discovered that it's tough to switch gears with a sprained right thumb! So I used my index and middle fingers instead.
In the first few kilometres of the ride, I was passed by a good number of cyclists who were riding road bikes. You know you're being passed when they say, "Passing on your left!" My strategy was to keep a high cadence, even if it meant being on a lower gear. Even on the hills, I resisted the urge to climb off of my seat. I started the ride still wet from the swim, but the wind dried me off quickly.
As I passed volunteers and police, I made sure to thank them. And I even started cheering on my fellow cyclists, offering encouragement. The bike course was an out-and-back, so I knew we were close to the end when the downhill began. On the final downhill straight, volunteers started warning us about the dismount line. I braked early and with about 10 metres left, I swung my right leg to the left side of my bike and dismounted the bike in another fluid motion. "Nice dismount," said the volunteer :-)
Glenn headed back to the transition area after finishing the 10K bike leg
I pushed my bike to the rack one more time, hooked it, took off my helmet and got ready for the run. Compared to T1 (the swim/bike transition), T2 was much simpler. Basically, I switched shoes.
I left the transition area through the run exit, holding my water bottle and wearing my run hat. I realized that I had an extra pair of shorts on (the black pair that are usually my bike shorts), but it wouldn't affect me on the run.
At this point, I was a little tired, but not fatigued. I kept moving my legs at a high cadence and settled behind a younger man, who was taller and larger than me. I caught up to him and started a little chat. It was his first triathlon, too, to which he added, "This isn't my sport." "What's your sport?" I asked. "Football!" he replied.
During the run, I caught maybe 2 or 3 people and didn't have very many people pass me. My pace was good and it reminded me of the final kilometres of a hard 10K race. The run was my comfort zone. I'm glad I carried my own water bottle and didn't have to rely on the water stop. The final 100 metres were on the grassy part of the Muskoka Sports Fields. As I made my way to the finish line, I pointed my index finger and said, "This is my first!" I noticed the time on the digital clock and I knew that I was close to my target time.
I crossed the finish line and I was a triathlete! :-)
Glenn heads toward the finish line after the 2.5K run
FINAL THOUGHTS
I finished my first triathlon (400m swim/10K bike/2.5K run) in 1:00.27, which placed me 133rd out of almost 200 athletes.
The details:
SWIM - 13:14
T1 - 2:49
BIKE - 27:09
T2 - 1:53
RUN - 15:25
My time goal was 1 hour, so I was very close. My goal at Grimsby (Aug 9) will be to break 1 hour.
I think my transition times were respectable, although I can definitely lower those times.
My bike and run times were in the 130's, but what surprised me was my swim time. I came out of the water with the 114th best time! I suspected that I was a good swimmer, but considering I didn't use a wetsuit, I think that eventually I can swim well enough to finish in the top 50 per cent.
Here's a small rant: I believe that physical training is the most important part of success for any triathlete, but I'm starting to think that the right _technology_ (i.e., wetsuits, bikes) can give you a definite advantage or disadvantage. For example, my mountain bike is probably twice as heavy as a regular road bike. Also, wearing a wetsuit gives you a definite advantage in the water. Its natural buoyancy gives you a better body position in the water, closer to the surface, which means that good swimmers have less of an advantage versus average swimmers.
Well, I can't afford better equipment right now :-) So I'm going to continue my training with a focus on doing more multi-sport workouts. Especially swim/bike workouts. My next triathlon is the try-a-tri in Grimsby on August 9th, then the sprint triathlon in Cobourg on August 30th.
This report wouldn't be complete without me thanking my girlfriend Carolin for all her help. She came up to Gravenhurst with me for the weekend and was a vital part of my success. It was comforting to know that I could count on her support and encouragement. She's an important part of my life and I'm happy that she was there celebrating with me. (NOTE: She was also the one who took all the photos that appear in this race report!)
I hope that other Penguins have the help of their families and significant others when they do their races!
Thanks for reading this far!
Grand Poobah
Post-race at the food tent
Home About Us Calendar T.O. FAQ Photos Links Page last updated: Jul 26/09
