Ever wonder what it’s like to jump off a steamship? I got to do it not once, but twice this past weekend. Like last year, Alasdair and I registered for the Multisport Canada Gravenhurst Olympic triathlon on the Saturday and sprint triathlon on the Sunday.
Saturday Olympic triathlon
We were up super early to drive from our friends’ cottage in the Gravenhurst area to be at the race site at 6 AM when race kit pick-up started (thank you Brian and Emma!). It was only 12C when we got up! This would be the first triathlon of the year for Alasdair. Athletes were slotted into swim waves (start times) based on their predicted race finish times, with half the athletes going to the swim start in Lake Muskoka on the first running of the steamship (including Alasdair), and half waiting for the boat to come back for their turn (including me).
We picked up our race bibs, swim caps, t-shirts and timing chips, got body marking done (bib number on arms, age on leg), and set our spots up in transition.
Given the temperature, I was wearing pants and a sweatshirt, debating whether I would walk down to the boat launch to watch Alasdair leave (and have to take my warm clothes off), or whether I would stay in transition to be warmer. I opted to go see the boat off, then chatted with others waiting like me.
While it wasn’t very warm out, we were told that the water was 21C, which would be a great temperature to swim with a wetsuit on.
1500m swim
There were multiple swim waves on each boat, so when it was time for the yellow wave to start, I was the first one to jump (athletes jump one at a time). I remembered to hold onto the strap of my goggles (on my head) while jumping – Alasdair lost his one year but a lifeguard dove and saved them! This is not an uncommon occurrence! I swam to the start line (between 2 yellow buoys) and treaded water for a few minutes until the horn sounded.
The swim start was pretty good – it wasn’t too congested. But twice near the beginning water was accumulating in my right goggle lens and I had to stop to fix it. Overall my sighting wasn’t terrible, but I zigzagged more than I would have liked! I was disappointed to see 44 min on my watch when I climbed up the ladder and onto the dock. I thought I had been swimming faster. There were lots of people cheering for everyone as we got out of the water. And then it was a long run into transition, first along the dock, then across the road and through the grass around the transition area fencing. I had already gotten my wetsuit down to my waist while running, so I stepped out of the legs, put on my helmet, sunglasses, socks, shoes, and race belt, and headed for the bike mount line. I was almost out of transition when I realized I had forgotten to put on anti-chafing cream, so I turned around and ran back (worth it for a 40k ride!).
40k bike
There was lots of pre-race chatter about how cold we might feel at the beginning of the bike, given we would be wet, it was cold, and it was windy! But I didn’t mind the temperature at all. I could have done without the 20k of headwind though! This course is an out and back on one road with rolling hills, so at least we had 20k of tailwind for the second half! After a congested mount line, I was on my way. I caught my friend Oscar near the beginning of the ride, and saw Alasdair when I was at around the 7k mark (with him at 33k) – he started 50 minutes before me and I wasn’t sure I would see him at all. My ride went pretty well until the last 10k, when I got some kind of a side stitch that I couldn’t shake. I also really really had to pee! I reached the dismount line, ran my bike into transition, racked it, took my helmet off, changed my shoes, grabbed my hat and off I went.
10k run
My stomach was still uncomfortable at the start of the run, and I hoped it wouldn’t last for long. Right near the beginning I stepped into the bushes to pee, which was quite a relief! I stepped back onto the trail as Oscar ran by. This is a hilly run, but the temperature was great for running, so suffering was kept to a minimum! I saw Alasdair when I was at the 1k mark and he was at 9k. My stomach calmed down somewhat, so I was able to run a bit faster. At some point a female athlete running towards me cheered for me and told me that she had read my Gravenhurst blog posts from previous years! The limiting factor on this run was my calf, which was tightening up, not something that usually bothers me. As I approached the finish line Alasdair was cheering, Oscar was dangling his medal, and Anne (Oscar’s friend and a super volunteer!) said they were waiting for me!
Race stats:
- Time: 3:28:30 (7/10 women 50-54, 74/134 women, 276/373 athletes)
- 1500m swim: 46:34 (3:06 min/100m)
- T1: 2:56
- 40k bike: 1:28:02 (27.26 km/h)
- T2: 1:48
- 10k run: 1:09:10 (6:55.2 min/km)
After watching the awards, we headed back to the cottage for a relaxed afternoon (and a jump in the lake for me!) and an early bed, so we could get up and do it all over again!
Sunday sprint triathlon
Back at the race site Sunday morning the weather hadn’t really changed much, though this time rain was in the forecast. Once again Alasdair would be on the first boat, and me on the second. I walked with him to the boat and once it left the dock I found a spot out of the wind so I didn’t freeze. I was still cold though, so I actually went into the bathroom building for a while just to get warm!
750m swim
On the boat I started chatting with another athlete who also raced the day before, along with Anne, who was volunteering on the boat for the first time (picking up lost items). This time I got to be the first athlete to jump off the boat, since I was in the first wave (pink caps). You can line up whenever you want, but I like to jump off early in my wave so I have time to collect myself in the water before the race starts. I immediately noticed that the water felt colder than the day before, and with a stronger wind there were unpleasant waves coming at me. Thankfully they would be sending us in to shore. While waiting to start one athlete asked if we just start swimming, and others asked how they would know to start. I told them there would be a 10 second countdown and you couldn’t miss the horn! It seemed that no one wanted to start at the front, but I moved to the right to get out of the crowd.
I had a great start, but it wasn’t too long before I got smacked by someone. I was fine after that. Compared to the day before I felt that I was swimming straighter and I had no goggle issues. In the last 250m I ingested water/gasped 3 times but just kept swimming. Again there were lots of people cheering on the dock, and this time I was pleased to see 19:57 on my watch when I climbed the ladder, a faster pace than the day before. I headed for transition and got myself ready to ride. I was surprised that there were still many bikes on the rack.
20k bike
Even though my legs were tired from the Olympic race, I decided to push the pace for the 20k. The mount line was less busy, but I had to ride around someone weaving while getting clipped in. I’m always on the lookout for turtles while riding, but sadly the only one I saw this time was a squashed flat Midland painted turtle. Once again there was a headwind on the way out, and a tailwind on the way back. Early on I spotted Alasdair finishing his ride. In the first 7k I counted 14 people that I passed (clearly they are faster swimmers!). Sometimes the people I pass on the bike later catch me on the run. In the last 5k I played leapfrog with another athlete, which pushed us both to go faster and provided some distraction. I reached the dismount line, ran into transition, and heard Alasdair cheering for me (he was already done). I had a quick transition and was on my way.
5k run
I realized that I was already running at a faster pace than the day before, and my tight calf felt better than I expected it to. It started feeling less comfortable in the last 2k, but I managed to keep my pace up. I always enjoy the last 1k of this run course, because the uphills are done, there’s a big downhill, and it finishes pretty flat. As I approached the finish line I heard Alasdair cheering for me. And then I was done!
In the end I was faster on the swim, bike and run compared to the day before.
Race stats:
- Time: 1:39:31 (6/10 women 50-54, 45/112 women, 152/269 athletes)
- 750m swim: 22:20 (2:58 min/100m)
- T1: 1:53
- 20k bike: 41:47 (28.72 km/h)
- T2: 1:21
- 5k run: 32:10 (6:25.8 min/km)
After grabbing some food and a drink, I joined Alasdair at the finish line, where we volunteered in the rain (but mostly under a shelter) handing out medals until the last finisher came through. Then it was time to get warm and dry before heading home!
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