There must be a mistake. That’s what I thought when I received an email from Multisport Canada Triathlon Series this fall telling me that I had won 3rd place in the season long series points for triathlons of Olympic distance and longer among women aged 40-44. I wrote them back, saying that I was a middle-of-the-pack athlete, so how could I have won?
Well, it turns out there was no mistake, and I really did finish in 3rd place! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to the awards presentation in early December (basketball got in the way). Today, my plaque arrived in the mail.
You have to race in 3 or more races of a certain distance (in my case, Olympic distance – 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run – or longer), and for each race you complete, you earn points based on your age group placing. The more you race, the better your chances of winning – your best 3 scores are added up, and certain races give you bonus points (in my case, the K-Town race).
The races that ended up counting for me were the Gravenhurst Olympic (jump off a steamship and swim to the start line!), Kingston Long Course (2k swim, 56k bike, 15k run) and Wasaga Beach Olympic (remember the race where I puked during the swim?).
I never once finished in the top 3 this season, and the funny thing is that the longer the race, the less competitive I am, but I’ll take my award and remember all the hard work that went into race preparation, my many PBs achieved this year, and how much fun I had.
Can’t wait for the 2016 season!