Coteau du Lac

This weekend I raced my first ITU event of the season. I'm starting to get used to a mid day start and I really enjoy being able to get a good sleep, get a short jog in before breakfast and having a bit of time before the gun to get organized.

I was called onto the pontoon in 8th position and decided to choose the right end, guaranteeing clear water on one side. I had a clean start and immediately looked to my left and made my way over to some of the faster swimmers. I thought my first lap was smooth but fell back a bit on the second lap exiting in 4th place. T1 was clean but before I could even think about who was just up ahead and around me I dropped my chain. I tried my best to coax it back on but got frustrated quickly and hopped off, and put it back on by hand. Lead pack was long gone by this point. I knew it wouldn't be long before the second pack would swallow me up so I got my shoes on, and tried to refocus. The ride went smoothly for the most part. I worked hard and did a better job then I have in the past in positioning myself well into the turn arounds and corners. The biggest mistake I made was allowing the strongest rider in our group to get ahead of me into one of the corners and she and another rider got a gap. I gave everything to go with them but was not successful. Both ended up getting a gap on our group through the second half of the ride.

Coming off the bike I was feeling a bit light headed but tried to stay steady. The first half of the run felt good but the wheels started to come off in the second half. I was able to place 8th overall. Technically my best ITU finish but feels a bit strange when there's only 16 to start. I'm finally feeling like my training is starting to come together so I'm looking to improve on my run off the bike over the rest of the season. Next up is the continental cup in San Francisco in less then 2 weeks!  

Photo Update

This coming weekend I will be road tripping with a few fellow RTC-G'ers to beautiful Coteau du Lac for my first ITU event of the season. That means fewer sessions this week and allowing some rest to soak in. It also means more hanging around...hmm...maybe I can get ahead in my summer course?! ha. In the mean time here are some recent photos.

KW Classic

Post Race story exchange.

Tempo on the Nats course.

Milton Triathlon

Celebrating Angela's graduation with Coach CT

K-W Classic

This morning I raced in my second ever cycling race. Unlike the first race I competed in, it was a shorter route, just over 6km per loop. Since it was so close by and it seemed like a good way to practice some technical riding during a race setting, Jason, Zander and along with my wonderful mother woke up early and drove to Kitchener.

The women's start was a combined start for Elite 3, Jr, and Master's categories. Unlike the men's race, we had a time limit instead of a set number of loops. They told us that after we had completed 2 loops, the total number of loops would be calculated. Which meant we were told after the 3rd lap, that we had 4 to go...almost half the race was already over!

The main goal heading into the race was to try to stay on my bike and in one piece. Second, was to get a good workout and work on being better positioned in a group when going around 180's, corners and down hills: all aspects that make me nervous. And nervous, equals scared, equals sloooow.

As each loop went by, the hill really broke up the group and during lap 5, two girls (who I went to highschool with, go KCVI!) rolled off the front. Major lesson, always know what's going on!! Since I really had nothing to lose on this race, attempting to stay with them would have been fun but once they were gone and the group attempted to get organized, it was waay too late. The last two laps were spent with a now smaller group of around 6. We made a few feeble attempts as a group to get organized, but it really came down to a sprint. On the last little rise, I went to the front, pushed and led into the small chicane before the last straightaway. Still need to work on that last sprint! Ended up 4th in my category.

I'm really glad that we were able to get to this race. Both my mom and Aunt Mary were able to come and watch. It's always nice to have some fans. Going around one of the corners, all I could hear was "Goooooo Dodieeeeee!! hup! hup! hup! hup!" CT, I think Mom learned that one from you!

2 more weeks until the first bigger race of the season, just enough time for one last block and then some rest.

Milton Race Report

Today I raced my first tri of 2011 at the Milton Triathlon, part of the Subaru Triathlon Series. Results can be found here. We took the time last week to take a quick look at the course, having never done this race before. And what a course! The bike included the infamous 6th Line Hill, and definitely one of the hilliest runs I have ever done. To be honest, I was most nervous for the swim...especially the start. We've only been in the lake once this summer and it always takes a few times for me to get back to being used to the feeling of chaos!

New Suits!

Warmup and prep in the morning went smoothly. I couldn't believe how quickly warmups were done and we were waiting in the water for the start. The start was fine, and I could tell that I was moving well after the first buoy and was able to get out of the water in 6th overall. Onto the bike, I felt ok, and spent most of it keeping an eye on my power meter and seeing how many I could keep behind me. I was passed by Leanna on the bike, and came into transition just ahead of Domi. Domi and I left T2 together and at the top of the first hill, CT told us we had 45secs to Leanna. At first my legs were feeling terrible. But around 1k in I was able to get some rhythm, only to have the 2nd big hill switch me back to my shuffle. I caught Leanna just before hitting the 3rd big hill. I hadn't seen this part of the run before and I had no idea it was coming. Once I realized that yes, I would have to get to the top, I tried to make my shuffle a little more efficient. Finally around the top of the loop, we were able to come down, down, down. I'm pleased to be able to come out on top at my first race of the season. There's just something about following the leader bike!

3 more weeks until my first ITU race of the season in Coteau-du-Lac!