Saturday, June 16th, 2018
My best friend, Emily, and I decided to sign up for the Guelph Lake One Olympic triathlon as a season opener and what would be our very first open water swim of 2018. I had raced Guelph Lake twice before, the first time in June 2014 on the same day that I would meet my future husband, Rod, for our first date.
On Friday night, Rod celebrated passing his board exams in Toronto while Emily and I drove out to our friends’ beautiful home in Guelph. Caity and Nick welcomed us with a huge charcuterie board and we caught up on the past few months. Our 10:30 pm bedtime was slightly later than planned, but I quickly fell asleep next to my best friend, with the help of my “slumber pack”: ear plugs, not one but 2 oral retainers and a face mask (new addition to the party).
I awoke at 5:10 am before our multiple alarms, feeling those all-too-familiar butterflies of nervous excitement. I demolished my pre-race breakfast of 3 pieces of French toast with almond butter and sliced banana, soda water and 2 cups of coffee, while watching a playful bunny prance around Caity’s backyard. It was a cool overcast morning; we wore long pants and long sleeves over our tri suits. As Emily drove us to the race site, I called Rod to ensure he was enroute – he half-joked that he saw a sign for African Lion Safari and considered exiting the highway. I later found out that he got home at 2 am, and was up at 5:30 am to get on the road – what a trooper!
Emily and I arrived at Guelph Lake Conservation Area at 6:50 am, which gave us plenty of time to perform a quick gear check on the bike and organize our spot in the transition zone before the 8 am official start time. I must say, the Subaru Triathlon Series run very well-organized and fun-filled events. Staff are super helpful, volunteers are friendly and numerous, and the non-stop top 40s music really pumps you up at 7 in the morning! I chatted with a few women in transition, including one superstar who was racing the sprint triathlon the following day and competing in a couple of Xterra races this summer. The Xterra series apparently first began in 1996 and is a form of cross/off-road triathlon that consists of an open water swim, mountain bike ride and trail run – something I definitely want to try in the future. Emily and I ran into a girl who I had played soccer with in high school and who was also a year below us in physio school. She was about to race her first triathlon and probably begin a lifelong addiction to this awesome sport and welcoming community.
I walked down the grassy slope to the crowded beach at Guelph Lake, waded into the water and did a few easy strokes to warm up. The lake was calm, somewhat clear and very pleasant at 21°C, especially in a full wetsuit. Before I knew it, the announcer was asking everyone to exit the water so that the first wave of triathletes could get ready to start momentarily. I had attempted to preheat my wetsuit in the water but was too nervous to pee. I had somehow lost Emily between transition and the beach, but we reunited at the start line to one of my favourite songs, Bad Blood by Taylor Swift. Our age group was scheduled for the third wave and we self-seeded ourselves next to one another in the second row of triathletes. I nervously rinsed my constantly-fogging goggles at the 90-second warning and made a mental note to invest in a new pair before my next race.
The horn sounded and all men 40 to 44 and women 30 to 39 sprinted into the shallow water and dove into the lake as soon as the water level dropped off. I used to get really anxious at the swim start and hyperventilate, but I find that if I focus on my breathing and continue exhaling underwater, I am able to start the swim at a decent speed without burning myself out. During the first 100 to 200m, I periodically collided with Emily – maybe we shouldn’t have positioned ourselves side by side after all. I contemplated why I continue to sign myself up for these grueling races, until I finally eased into a more relaxed mindset after the first 500m.
The triangular clockwise swim course was easy to navigate, thanks to the ideal conditions and frequent bright-coloured buoy markings. I trailed behind other swimmers who were at a similar speed and did my own sighting every so often to ensure I wasn’t drifting off to my right. As I approached the end of the swim course, I continued to pull and kick as long as possible, until my fingers grazed the sandy bottom. I was out of breath as I ran up the grassy hill, removing my goggles, swim cap and silicone ear plugs – yes, I know I am obsessive with my nighttime and swim ear plugs but I swear by them – and pulling the top half of my wetsuit down. I had no idea what my swim time was as I neglected to wear my Garmin watch, but the F30-34 bike rack looked pretty full, so I figured I must have swam relatively well. My T1 was not the most photogenic, as I ran out and mounted my bike while carrying a gel and a half-pack of shot blocks in my mouth, much like a dog carrying his prized stick.
Exiting Guelph Lake Conservation Area, I rode over several large speed bumps that threatened to knock off my one bottle of Gatorade. After a sharp left and subsequent quick right turn, I was on Watson Road and was able to start accelerating. The bike felt slow at first, as my legs were gassed from the uphill sprint into transition and I was not accustomed to getting on the bike right after swimming. Unbeknownst to me at the time, that section of the bike course had a slight uphill grade and we had a headwind for the first 5 km. Similar to the swim, I focused on relaxing my breathing and eventually settled into a comfortable rhythm, assertively climbing up and down the gently rolling hills between Guelph and Fergus. I was passed by a few men on the descents, but I also overtook a couple athletes going uphill. At the 20k turnaround (it was an out-and-back course, ideal for assessing competition behind me), I enjoyed the extra speed from a nice tailwind – according to Strava, I rode at 36.6 km/h from 20k to 30k. On the bike course, I ate a shot block at 1k, demolished a Quaker chocolate chip granola bar at 22k, ate another shot block at 35k and sipped on a total of 600 mL Gatorade throughout the ride.
As I returned my bike onto our age group rack, I realized that I was in 2nd place and channeled that as my motivation to run, despite wanting to quit after the bike ride. As long as no one catches me, I’m second, I thought to myself. My T2 was more graceful than T1 – my laces were pre-tied but I still had a bit of trouble jamming my right foot into my shoe; I grabbed my puffer (in case of an exercise-induced asthma attack), a couple of shot blocks and an emergency Tums (in case I felt I was on the verge of cramping). As per usual, my legs felt like bricks for the first 5 minutes and I regretted not including more brick workouts early on in the season. Around the 2k mark, there were two guys sitting on camp chairs drinking beer and cheering athletes on and again, I questioned why I continue to register for these agonizing races when I could be spending my Saturday morning in a much more leisurely fashion.
Although I always despise the run portion of these races, it was more enjoyable to run on mixed road and trail through Guelph Lake Conservation Area than the congested, concrete jungle of downtown Toronto. The run course included two short out-and-backs between kilometers 3.7 and 6.0, which was strategic for me in terms of assessing my competition – little did I know, but my main threat was Emily! As I passed Rod around 4k, I acknowledged our shared struggle of the current situation and offered him a few words of encouragement. In an effort to motivate myself to finish the run ASAP, I splashed water into my face at every aid station. After the final turnaround point, I realized I probably had a safe distance to maintain my second place position. It took everything I had in me to maintain a sub 5:00/km pace through the remainder of the run and I eventually sprinted down the finish chute with little left in my tank.
After I crossed the finish line, I stood next to the finish chute, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Emily and Rod. I cheered them on as they each sprinted towards the massive Subaru archway and a few minutes later, we checked the results billboard. I had earned my second place position and came 9th female overall. Emily had achieved her first podium finish in a triathlon – third place! Dressed in matching pink Muskoka Ironman 70.3 t-shirts, we proudly stood on the grassy “podium” and accepted our respective silver and bronze medals.
Post-race, Rod spent the remainder of the afternoon napping on the couch while Emily and I lounged in Caity’s backyard. We celebrated with beer, burgers and fries at Baker Street Station (https://bakerstreetstation.ca/ ), a local pub in downtown Guelph, and went to bed with full bellies, happy hearts and tired legs.
Check out my files (and follow me!) on Strava:
- 1500m swim (manual upload as I didn’t wear my Garmin 310XT)
- 40k bike (estimated avg power 189 W)
- 10k run
