While I’m used to obsessively checking weather forecasts in the days leading up to triathlons, I’m not usually monitoring things weeks in advance, hoping for days of very cold weather and skateable ice! Unfortunately this winter’s mild weather meant that the Rideau Canal in Ottawa was not going to be open for skating for the 40th year of the Winterlude Triathlon, now run by Somersault Events. Instead, we found out a few days before the February 3 race that the skate, run, ski would be replaced by a run, ski, run, ski. It was really disappointing, because the skate component of the race was a huge draw for me, and adding more of my weakest event was not exactly what I planned for.
In fact given the lack of cold and snow, I only had one opportunity to cross-country ski near home this entire winter before race day. One day when barely 5 cm of snow fell I headed out to a local park to ski in the super sticky snow around the soccer fields. Notice something about soccer fields? They are usually pretty flat. Remember this.
In any case, we were lucky that the race was able to go ahead, and I hoped it would still be fun!
Alasdair and I arrived at the race site, the Terry Fox Athletic Facility at Mooney’s Bay, just after 6:30 AM, and while I’d never been there before, I knew exactly what to expect, because I’d watched the pre-race video that explained the venue and each stage of the race. It was super helpful in understanding how the flow would work – in particular how and where we would transition from running to skiing to running.
After stopping at the registration tent, I set my skis, poles and boots in transition (which was organized by bib number), along with a bottle of water and a bag. I found Nathalie, the only other person I knew who was doing the race as an individual. Later I got to meet my colleague Josée for the first time – she was supposed to be her relay team’s skater and runner, but of course didn’t get to skate.
There were heated indoor bathrooms and a hallway and change rooms for people to stay out of the cold before the race. There was a sign inside with (slightly terrifying) current ski conditions posted.
I really wanted to see the beginning of the ski course, so Nathalie, Alasdair and I went to check it out. And oh boy, that’s when I learned we would be starting on an icy downhill, immediately followed by a 90 degree right turn and a short uphill. No, the initial hill was not steep, but as you will recall, I hadn’t skied on a hill yet this year. I think Nathalie mentioned that she might end up in the river, which ran perpendicular to the downhill. And with 3 loops of the ski course, we had that hill to look forward to multiple times. We checked out the first short, steep uphill and noted where the classic ski tracks started. The park was also groomed for skate skiing.
Sufficiently terrified, I wondered what I was getting myself into! Alasdair, Nathalie and I stayed warm in the building, where Josée and I found each other. A few minutes before the 8 AM race start we went outside to listen to announcements, and then the race began!
Run #1: 500 m
Nathalie and I quickly decided to do the entire race together – from my point of view, it would be more fun and I would have someone for moral support on the ski legs (and in particular on the hills)! Neither of us were aiming to win anything! Let’s be real, we’ve both got lots of room for improvement when it comes to cross-country skiing!
The race began with a Le Mans start to spread the athletes out. We ran approximately 150 m uphill, turned at the 250 m mark, and ran back into transition, where we put our ski boots on, and carried our skis and poles to the ski mount/dismount area. We deliberately didn’t push this first run because we didn’t want to end up in a clump of skiers right off the bat. One of my biggest worries about this race was having to continually step out of the ski tracks to let faster skiers pass.
Ski #1: 3 km
It took Nathalie longer to clip into her skis, so I started off slightly before her. I snowplowed my way down the icy hill and managed to stay upright. I climbed the first hill, and once at the top I proceeded to fall while skiing on pure ice on my way over to the ski tracks. I waited for Nathalie (who witnessed my fall!) and we were off to the races! There were 2 tracks side by side so we were able to chat while skiing beside one another.
We had a slight disagreement early on because we weren’t sure whether to go right or left around a clump of trees – the people I saw ahead of us went left, but Nathalie was sure we were cutting the course short that way. In the end we went left. Then not long after we saw a group of stopped skiers in front of us – I assumed there must be a hill with some strategy required, and I was right. It was short and very icy. I saw skiers fall, so Nathalie and I opted to walk down the hill. I don’t regret our choice! This was the first of many times I noticed Alasdair cheering for us (and taking pictures!) on the course! From here the course went along Mooney’s Bay, with a beautiful view of the Rideau River. It was mostly flat for the rest of the course, with one slow gentle climb followed by a gentle downhill – somehow I left the tracks and fell (according to Nathalie I must have panicked!). From there we had a flat route to the final hill back to the transition zone. We took our skis off and walked back into transition.
Run #2: 5 km
We leaned our skis and poles against the fence, took our ski boots off, put our running shoes on, and headed out toward the start of the run. The transition area was quite icy, so we stepped gingerly in places. The run was a 2.5k out and back course, with some of it along the Rideau River. It was a mix of sidewalk and multi-use paved paths, and pretty flat. I got to high five Josée on her way back from the turnaround point.
It was by far the easiest part of the race! On my way back into transition I made a quick pit stop at the washroom.
Ski #2: 6 km
After returning to transition we switched from running shoes to ski boots, grabbed our skis and poles and headed out to ski 2 more loops of the course. We both made it down the first hill without falling, and in fact our pace on this loop was faster than on the first one. I knew the course, had successfully navigated it once (yes, with 2 falls), and knew I could do it again. I also wondered if it was getting icier – and therefore faster – with people skiing on it and packing it down. Near the end of the loop a few skiers were catching us from behind, so Nathalie and I skied in the same track to allow them to pass us. They were finishing their final loop. On our last loop we had to stop briefly when a woman called to us – turns out she wanted us to keep an eye out for a glove she dropped while racing (we didn’t find it). Nathalie caught up to me on the fall count in this final loop, so we ended 2-2.
As we climbed the last hill, I told Nathalie that I would wait for her so we could cross the finish line together… and then she beat me by 1 second! Ha!
It was much more fun to have raced it with a friend than to have done it on my own.
I would definitely do this race again – ideally as a true winter triathlon! Thank you Somersault for a great race!
Results
- Time: 2:03:22
- Placing: 6/7 women 50-54 (with Nathalie beating me by 1 second!), 55/61 women, 115/122 overall
- Run 1 (500 m): 3:10 (6:20 min/km)
- Ski 1 (3 km): 34:53 (11:37 min/km)
- Run 2 (5 km): 32:21 (6:28 min/km)
- Ski 2 (6 km): 52:57 (8:49 min/km)
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