Muskoka Sprint - June 16, 2007

Setting the stage: My fifth time competing in the Muskoka Sprint. I have completed three out of four of these races with a time of 2:17-2:19. My Personal Best (PB) is 2:07. I have swam all of four times since my last Tri in August and biked six times so far this year. The one area I'm feeling good about is my run as I have now been running regularly for seven weeks. I've also been eating fairly well over the past six weeks.

My friend Michelle and I drive up to Huntsville Friday night. After checking in at the Hidden Valley Inn we head to our pre-race pasta dinner at East Side Mario's. What can I say? It's tradition. We then drive down to the race site for an evening walk of the run course that includes scoping out the swim course.

I am particularly nervous about the swim. I haven't swum in a wetsuit for a couple of years. I have verified that I can wiggle into mine so that's a start. On Saturday morning I take my wetsuit down to the lake to test it out. I'm not liking it. It feels like it is cutting off my breath. Even though I know I'll lose buoyancy I make the call to race without it. I'd rather be comfortable.

Once at the race site I begin my warm-up. I run a quarter of the race course. I'm feeling pretty good but the weather feels warmer than I expected. I then go for a 4K bike ride. I find I have to adjust my cadence computer but all else is working fine. It's time to warm up the swim. I make my way into the river. Brrr...it's colder than the lake, especially without the wetsuit.

I then make my way to the start. I'm happy to be in the second of fourth waves. Hopefully this means I can beat some people out of the water! I position myself behind everyone else in my wave and when the siren goes off I begin swimming. I am calmer than I would have thought. I'm hoping I can keep my breathing under control and keep up the swimming until the end of the course. I concentrate on blowing lots of bubbles as it forces me to fully exhale and keep my breathing under control. I feel good. I stick to my plan and head straight for the point, knowing this will keep me on the left side of the river. I feel comfortable as I slip past the shoreline. I can see and hear Michelle cheering me on. I even see her slip on a rock and almost come into the river herself. I keep up the pace thinking of nothing other than blowing bubbles and staying to the left. Before I know it I am coming into shore with a group of other participants. The swim felt really fast. I get out of the water quickly and pass six people on the way up to transition. I check my watch and am shocked/elated to see that I may just have achieved a personal best time. Swim: 25:42 PB

I fly into transition. I see there is at least one other bike on my rack so I have beat someone in my age group on the swim. I do have one delay as I have to change my sunglasses lens as it has gotten bright outside. I also take a couple puffs on my inhaler. T1: 2:03

I fly out on the bike. I am feeling really strong. There are lots of competitors around me and I am more determined than ever to keep up the swim's momentum. The bike course has some really tough hills where my quads are burning but I stay on the bike trying not to lose too much speed. It takes me a while to get my breathing under control but I concentrate on how I do it with my trainer and feel confident knowing I have my inhaler with me in case of emergency. I do witness one horrific crash as a police officer does not get a mini-van out of an intersection quickly enough and to avoid it, a cyclist coming from the other way flies across the road and careens into the gravel shoulder and a road sign on our side of the ditch. Judging by how much he was swearing I am sure he was okay. Though he may need a new front fork and helmet! I continue to push on, trying not to lose too much time on the uphills and getting as much speed as I can on the downhills. When I get to the halfway point I see my speed is 28:30. As I am going for :56 minutes on the bike and I know the second half is much easier, this is a great time. It gives me incentive to really push on the way back and as I come into the bike finish I know I have another personal best. Bike: 53:12 PB

The second transition takes more time than it should because someone has totally disrupted my stuff and I cannot find one of my running socks. I take the time to locate it knowing it is not worth it to go without and blister up before the end of the run. T2: 1:51

As I run out of transition I note that my total elapsed time is just over 1:20. I know I can do 5K in 40 minutes so I am thrilled to know that if I can just not blow up I am going to demolish my previous PB. I decide that I will do 10 + 1's to keep my legs fresh and work out the cramps that are starting on my left side. I run the riverfront loop past the first water station and begin my first walk break while massaging out the cramp. When I begin running up each hill, I push myself refusing to walk. I feel so strong and grateful for all the running I have been doing. Michelle chears me on as I pass, telling me to smile if I love hills. I can't help myself but I'm smiling. I'm actually enjoying the race! People are cheering me on. I'm even encouraging people that are having more trouble than me. At the 3K and 4K markers I check my time and see that a two hour time is still possible. My second loop flies by and I am climbing the last hill to the finish. I push forward as hard as I can and stop the clock at 2:00:21, a new PB! I am soooo happy, excited, surprised. It is an awesome feeling.

After the race two separate women congratulate me on my run. One thought I did it as part of a relay because I looked so fresh. The other told me that I was her inspiration on the run and that she just tried to keep me in sight to keep going. A nice feeling. What a fantastic day! Now I may just have to consider doing Guelph next week....