Monday, August 27, 2007

Orillia Race Report



I love this race. Allways have done well here.

It is a Sprint Distance race and allways atracts a large crowd. There were some excellent racers there trying to get a spot at the worlds. Since I already had mine, no stress.

They wouldn't let anyone bump up to the elite wave s
o I was resigned to the second wave. This is allways a bit stressfull because I know that I will be passing a ton of people.

Got there a little later than I hoped. We had to pack for a week of camping, so little things took longer. Got there with enough time to get a little warm-up in.

The swim here is great because the water is so clear. There is lots of interesting stuff on the bottom to keep me interested.


Swim: I was second out of the water in my wave (the first place guy drafted off of me the whole time, and passed me crossing the mat!) I didn't have to much trouble passing the lapers, but I think they did cost me 15 or 20 seconds. I had noone to draft off of either so that cost me a bit of time as well.

10:52

T1: No drama (thats for you ART!)

Bike: I was quickly on and passed the other guy in my A
G. I pushed pretty hard on the bike until the last 7 or km then I took it a bit easier. I should have probably kept the gas on, but I don't think it would have made a big difference in the end. It just made the run a bit more interesting. The bike course in Orillia is fun and fast. Great rolling hills. I thought I would be faster than I was on the bike but that is OK.

Bike: 57:??

T2: First off of the bike in my AG. Nice to have the family there chearing you on, however it is stressful to see other people coming in just as you are leaving.

Run: I knew I had chasers close to me. So I pushed right out of the transition. Not too hard, but enough to hopefully hold the position. I was feeling great. One guy blew by me just before the turnaround. Another superfast runner. So I was in second and cruising a bit. After the turnaround I noticed a couple of guys in my AG about 500m behind me and looking strong. That woke me up. I started to push determined not to lose second. I was able to hold the distance between these guys for the rest of the race. I finished very strong and that was good for the confidence.

Run: 27:00. One more second and I would have had a 26:00 7km!

Great race. Gained some more points back in the overall. This still might be an option for me afterall.

Post Post RAce Report:

Well, this is a live and learn experience. AFter the race we were staying at the inlaws. I was feeling great. not tired at all. My wife said she was going to go for a run and I said I would join her. We had a nice easy 8km. No big deal.

On Monday, I decided to do my long run before we went camping. Turns out this was the straw. I had a good run and did 21km. Felt good.

Next day I noticed some swelling in my knees. Went for a short bike. The swelling got worse. So I decided to take it easy while camping. Only some small hikes.

Well I went to the Clinic today, and now I have to take 4 days off and these anti-inflamatories.

These old knees can't take that sort of abuse apparently. I guess my run will remain my weakest event this year. I hope to be back up and training by Thursday.

So that is that. A bit more than a race report, but oh well.


1 comment:

arthur said...

Must say, Syd, you look very pro in your pictures :P You know how to pose for the goddamned camera, my friend!