Muskoka Long Course Race Report

It was a perfect day in Muskoka for a race. Warm and overcast to start. The temps never became an issue at all during the day which is in stark contrast to last year!

The best part of Muskoka is that you get to race against some of the best triathletes in the world. It makes for a really exciting atmosphere. Everything is kinda electric.

Right from the start I had scheduled Muskoka as a B race. In reality it was more of a b-. I wanted to get some points, and have a strong race in prep for peterborough. I didn’t want to get into a position where I was expecting a great result and came up against the competition who where peaking here trying to get a spot at an IM.

My goal was to have a good strong race with a focus on running well.

I don’t think I have ever been so relaxed at a race! It was great. No butterflies/nothing. I racked up, and did a quick warm-up run. I didn’t take the bike off the rack in fear of losing my spot! Put on the new Aquaman westuit (carefully!) and headed down to the swim exit. I took a nice leasurely swim down the channel to the swim start. I recomend this to anyone doing the race next year as it is a great way to get away from the crowds, and not have to walk the distance to the start.

I started in the second wave after the elite men. Immediately I caught a draft off of one of the front guys in my group. I held him until the back stretch of the swim when we started passing the first wave. I then managed to position myself behind a (big)guy from my wave who was finding a good route through the lapers. Had the goggles knocked off once, but not too bad.

Once we hit the channel it opened up. The white caps seemed to all stay left with the purple going right. I had a strong draft the whole way up river (which is very important). I never felt like I was working hard on the swim. It was a very cruisy one for me. I knew I was pacing OK, but it wasn’t requiring that much effort. Maybe the new suit ?

Out of the water in 29:53. Good time. I think I can easily go sub 29 at peterborough.

Good transition. Nice and smooth. Once again the wetsuit came off like a breeze!

Onto the bike. The MO for the bike was a nice conservative effort. I was well aware of the amount of hills on the course this year, and I didn’t want to overdo it. I rode well within myself which was a great feeling because I was still moving. I really focused on my shifting and maximizing momentum. Got to the aid station feeling great. Chuged the rest of the gatorade and water and reloaded. Only to lose the gatorade they gave me within a km. I was slightly concerned, but know that I normally ride this distance with only three bottles so I should be fine. Ended up not being an issue. GLad it wasn’t too hot though.

The hills were pretty bad on the back section of the bike. Some of the new slurry sections were very sketchy because you couldn’t see the bumps. Nice that they put the effort in though for this race. Very interesting ride. Thought it was challenging but fun.

Off the bike in 133: AVG. 35.6kmph

I was aiming36 so that was ok.

Another good transition.

Started the run feeling pretty good. I wanted to focus on setting a good comfortable pace until the heart rate came down, and then start pushing a bit. My side started cramping a bit after about 3km. However, whenever I let my mind wander from the pain, it went away. No big deal. It kept coming back a bit throughout the run.

I was running well, and the body started to really feel good about the 8 or 9km mark. I started to push a bit harder. There was a guy behind my from my AG that I passed earlier coming up on me, and I set the goal of keeping him at bay. He ended up passing me at the 12 km mark. I knew he was working harder than I was so I just stayed right behind him. When we hit the 13km mark I was feeling really good even on the hills. So I decided to see what I had left and really kicked. I put almost 500m between myself and that guy in the final 2km. I was flying! I couldn’t believe how well I was running at the end. I guess this is the first race that is approaching the distance that I am training for. So that is a great boost of confidence for me.

Run : 1:03 4:13?

Overall 3:07. About 40 min. faster than last year!

I ended up 7th in my AG. Which was Ok. More importantly I have really boosted my comfidence for Peterborough. I now have a prooven strategy for the distance, and we will se what I can do! Really stoked to go long.