Junior Series Race #2: Magog

Race #2 of the Junior Series was held in Magog, Quebec. It was nice to return to this beautiful town after two years, although they have significantly changed the course. I like it much better now; it is well marked and spectator friendly with loops on the bike and run. This is exciting, because it was also the test event for the Canada Games 2013. With one of the biggest start lists I've seen in a race of this level in Canada, there were over a hundred junior athletes sitting in the pre-race meeting. It was actually a weird feeling not knowing literally half of the people in that room. Many Quebec and Ontario athletes we don't usually see as well as some from the Maritimes showed up.

It was nice to just ride down the path to the race course in the morning. Check-in and warm-up procedures went smoothly and I was feeling ready to race. The only problem we saw lining up with 32 girls at the start was that we actually couldn't see. The fog was so thick that we had to just swim towards where we thought the buoys would be. Oh well. The run into the water was a bit strange. There were a lot of rocks to step on, then the water stayed shallow for quite a while. Everyone ran in and dolphin dived for much longer than usual. I had a really great start because I think I waited a bit longer to start swimming. We had practiced a lot. I found myself right by Gabi, with most of the field still behind us. This is the strategy that usually works for me; getting to the front and having lots of feet to choose from to draft off of. Unfortunately, in the chaos of this race as everyone had to swim over me, I got caught up in it and by the time I choked on enough water to have to really stick my head up, I noticed we were going way off course. The boats were directing us towards the left to get around the first right-turn buoy. Once around that one the next few buoys were close enough together to see one at a time through the fog. I got out of the water and climbed up the stairs towards transition closely behind a group of girls.

 Another solid transition and I was off. It seemed like I had gotten out ahead of most in that group but it wasn't worth waiting up for a pack. I focused on the girl ahead of me and chased her down. She wasn't strong enough to work with though. I put my shoes on and tried to get to the pack ahead. That didn't really work because I was on my own and they already had a lead. Adeline and another girl caught up to me but she is so strong on the bike I couldn't stay on her wheel very long and I heard later she rode herself way up there. As I finished the first lap I realized someone else was just ahead alone as well, and it was Hannah. I rode hard to catch up to her and we worked well together for a while. Finally a group of about six caught us and we got into that pack. Unfortunately this pack wasn't very fast once they reached us and not many seemed willing to do any work. I did most the work at the front, with the help of a couple others but it was frustrating. I made sure to be at the front for every turn to avoid any risk of crashes. A section of the course was quite technical and I didn't want to be caught behind less experienced riders. I also tried to break away a few times, trying to get one or two of the girls to come with me fast out of the corners. It was weird, I'm not usually the one attacking. Somehow I got so caught up in the technical aspects of the race and trying to push the pace and take it strong out of the turn-around right before the start of the lap that I lost the ability to count to three.

This was where the race got embarrassing. I don't know why I had it in my head we had another lap, but I was ready to go for it. However I wasn't ready to get my feet out of my shoes and dismount. I realized right away what a stupid mistake I made but it was too late. I had to quickly unclip and run my bike in still wearing my cycling shoes. I also had to waste a few seconds taking them off in transition, which was frustrating because I knew I would also have to serve a 10 second penalty for my dismount line violation. Some  girls I rode with were getting away on me. I was really thrown off mentally and didn't feel like it was time to run yet. I tried to re-focus and do what I could. I chased down two including Nicole. Although they both were able to hang onto me I was feeling good and felt like I could have out-ran them. But they were still with me as I turned into the tent to serve my penalty. It took a few extra seconds because the guy was a bit confused and by the time I could leave, their lead on me looked huge and it was very hard to close the gap a second time. A third girl had also passed by the tent as I was standing there. I lost a lot of my momentum and it was frustrating to see them so far ahead. I wasn't able to do it and finished in 22nd place. I was told later it probably would have been better to serve it at the end of the second lap instead of the first. Gabi had made that mistake once before. I really hope I don't have a penalty to deal with again. I can't believe I got a penalty that stupid in the first place. At least I will never make that mistake again!

Overall I felt good about my effort in the bike and run. My swim was kind of to be expected by this point, but I think this season will be about doing the best I can with what I have. I would love to have a race where I could proudly write a race report saying everything went great. But I have to be realistic about where my swim is at. Although I'm staying positive about it all, that breakthrough I've been waiting for may have to wait until next season. It happens to  every athlete at some point. I just have to be patient and keep working hard until I get where I'd like to be. I had a great time meeting lots of new friends at this race and I'm excited for the next one in Ottawa in two weeks!

Results:

Women: http://www.sportstats.ca/displayResults.xhtml?racecode=102659

Men: http://www.sportstats.ca/displayResults.xhtml?racecode=102660

PATCO

I guess there's always good races and bad races. Sometimes even entire good race seasons and bad ones. Every athletes struggles with injuries at some point, so I guess it was my turn to not have a very good race. It's too bad; I had been looking forward to this race all year. It had been a huge goal of mine to not only qualify for my second PATCO, but to improve on last year. I had a disappointing race, but I guess the whole experience was still good.

I was feeling more confident after the first Junior Series race in Pike Lake two weeks ago, and I was being really careful about my shoulders and the swimming I was doing leading up to the race. I showed up at the venue feeling ready for a good race. My warm up and checking in went smoother than last year and I wasn't going to let anything shake me. Lining up and getting your name and country announced as you head to the start line is always cool. I was feeling really excited to race. I had been randomly seeded dead last but I had practiced starting from everywhere so I could be ready for whatever position I ended up with.  There was one spot left in the middle which I found, and then we were off. It was actually a really sudden start, no one was really expecting it. I felt I still had a pretty decent start though. It was rough but that's to be expected. By the first buoy I had a bit more space, which wasn't really a relief because I wanted to get onto the bike in a pack. I kept seeing less people around me and by the last buoy I snuck a peak behind me and saw calm water. I really started to worry that I was the last place swimmer. I pushed myself even more to try to catch onto some other people and my shoulders hurt but I really just didn't have to speed to get anywhere. With the run into transition I refocused on  getting through as fast as possible and onto the bike. I could see a couple girls in front of me. I was hoping I was wrong on how slow my swim was but it was an awful moment getting into an almost empty transition. Apparently there were only three people still behind me.

I did a lot of work on the bike. By the first time we went up Emily Murphy hill I had made my own pack of 4 from behind. I was with fellow Canadian Nicole, as well as two South American girls. We worked alright together considering the language barrier. Before the first lap was over, I noticed Nicole was no longer with us. The second time we went up the hill the others attacked. Usually I am pretty strong on hills but somehow I couldn't stay with them. Actually the stronger of the two dropped the other girl as well. I'm pretty sure the three of us each rode the last eight or so kilometers solo. It sucked. It was so hard to stay motivated and continue pushing the pace on my own.  I just wanted the bike to be over, and was hoping I could at least pick off a few more girls in the run. Finally I got into transition, passing another random girl that had been alone on the bike. Actually, looking at the results later I tied for the fastest transition time. Small victories. I felt pretty good on the run. I chased down one of the girls that had dropped me and kept focused on catching the next runner. Considering how alone I was and how much work I'd already had to do, I guess the run was pretty good for me. Nothing went really wrong at least. My time was slow, but comparatively everyone's was; it was a long and hilly course. I finished in 44th place.

I really wish I had been able to swim faster and get out with a pack. I did better at last year's PATCO. But again, I guess it happens. I really have not done enough swimming and it showed. It was pretty discouraging, but at least the whole experience of going to this race was great. Everything was so exciting, and the people I hung out with before and after were awesome. Thanks to everyone cheering for me out on the course, even though you knew I was doing badly. The encouragement was still appreciated. I am really grateful at least that I wasn't involved in any crashes this time. Hoping for quick recoveries to those that were. Also, congrats to everyone that raced!

Photo Credit: Mackenzie Kary

Also, complete results can be found here:

http://www.triathlon.org/results/results/2012_edmonton_patco_junior_pan_american_championships/7590/

Because I Can

This has been one of my favourite sayings for several years now. I'm not sure if I came across it or if I actually came up with it, but it's become mine. Because I can. Today I went for a run as part of my race prep for PATCO. I'm here in Edmonton for the race, the Junior Pan American Championships. I was by myself and running on a sidewalk when this old man with a cane caught my eye. He was standing in a doorway and I gave him a polite smile as I passed. I was surprised when he said, "I wish I could do that" with a bit of a laugh. I guess it just reminded me of how lucky I am. I love triathlon and I really do everything because I can. Some people would do anything for the opportunities I have. While many people still think athletes like me are crazy, some really are not able to do this kind of stuff, whether it's because physically their bodies won't let them or financially they can't afford goals like mine. Even if I'm the not the best out there and I struggle with injuries, I do have the ability to swim, bike, and run. I have a gift that allows me to compete at this level. I love racing for many reasons and it isn't just the desire to be the best that keeps me training every day. It is really amazing to go to races like this one. It's the second year I've qualified to represent Canada at PATCO and I'm loving every minute of it. The race is on Sunday, but we've been in Edmonton since Wednesday preparing for it. I've had the chance to hang out with some pretty cool people from all over the place. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone at the pre-race meeting and dinner tonight. It's pretty cool to make friends from all over Canada and the United States that I get to see again from one year to the next. There are also going to be a lot of Mexicans and South Americans in this race, which is cool. Even with language barriers I find it interesting to see triathletes from other countries. Anyways, I'm grateful as always for the support from family and friends, you can expect a race report early next week!

Junior Series #1- Pike Lake

First real race report of the year! This weekend I started off the National Junior Series in Pike Lake, Saskatchewan. Returning after two years, I started in a much better seeded position that last time. I was ranked fifth at the start, which was a nice confidence booster, although I knew that would be a very difficult position to maintain. Honestly, I was very worried about the swim. I was trying to not even let myself think about coming out of the water too far back to even bike with anyone or be a competitor on the run. I haven't swam 750m hard in almost a year! I was really hoping for a wetsuit swim at least, to even myself out with the better swimmers. But the water heated up a lot in the past week and it was no wetsuits race for us Juniors.

However, I was able to focus before the race and get myself into a positive attitude.  I think my warm up went great. I lined up and waited to be announced with just the right amount of nervous energy and excitement. I think I chose a great spot on the start line, and once the gun went off  I just went for it. I couldn't really tell what was happening in the chaos but apparently it looked like I had a great start. By the time we got around the second buoy though, I was left with no feet to swim on. It was kind of discouraging and I couldn't help wondering if I was last or almost at the back. But later I snuck a peak behind me and was surprised to see I was leading a line of swimmers. The people ahead of me were too far ahead to catch, but as some of the group started to swim beside me I was able to tell I was among girls I raced close to last year. This was very motivational and I went hard for the last stretch with hopes of having a solid pack with me on the bike.

My transition happened in slow motion and I remember thinking quite a few things as I "stood there" putting on my helmet and grabbing my bike. But I was told that to the spectator it looked as quick and fluid as usual. Lately I often find myself having good transitions and even passing people, while my brain turns to auto-pilot and everything feels slow and controlled. I don't actually remember putting my goggles and cap into the box, but I did. I do remember thinking: 'I feel like I'm going to throw up,' 'my shoulders feel really heavy and painful,' and 'wow that was actually a decent swim, I need to stay with this pack!' Once riding I somehow got my shoes on before the hill while it seemed that the other girls were slowing to do the same. I actually didn't really notice the hill. Weird, it seems so steep two years ago! But at the top I found myself forming a small group with Jessie and Elsabet, who didn't manage to get their shoes on for several kilometers. I've often raced with them and we seemed to work well together. Two more girls caught up to us and our pack of five also worked well, catching Megan who was on her own. The group of six girls was probably the biggest out there today in the Junior women's race. At the turn around we got a peek at where our competition was. There were two smaller groups of about three ahead of us and I think we were starting to gain on the second group. I felt comfortable with the pace, able to take my pulls and felt smooth. However, with about 5km to go the two stronger girls attacked. The timing sucked for me and Elsabet. I had been at the front for too long because the one girl pulled to the side but kept a fast pace, not letting me pull off. They went for it when I was tired. Elsabet had just gotten to the back and it's hard to respond when you are expecting to settle into someone's wheel after your turn. It was a bit of a mess, as Jessie and Megan managed to get back onto the girls attacking, but the two of us couldn't. We worked together for the remainder of the bike, and actually kept the gap about the same once the other four settled into a pace again.

I was mentally ready for the dismount and transition, but was thrown off a bit when there was a bike in my spot on the rack. The official seemed to have been trying to move something but jumped out of the way when I headed for it. I quickly got mine on too, making sure it was allowed by the official. It would suck to get a penalty for something so dumb. I'm still not sure what happened; I heard the officials were moving the bins around while we were gone, and that may have confused people and shifted where people racked their bikes or something. Anyways, I started the run and Gary told me all five girls were within a minute. I caught one of them pretty soon, I'm guessing she was a much stronger cyclist than runner. I did not catch anyone else though, and was caught by two girls. Adeline was in the pack behind me and was able to pass me, as well as one other girl that had been farther back alone on the bike and was a fast runner but was still a lap behind. I was glad that I didn't really lose any placings. Although I didn't feel like anything was particularly bad about my run, there was also nothing particularly good either. I felt kind of heavy and didn't have a lot of spring in my stride. I did not feel like I could power up the hills like I normally do. I also wasn't close enough to anyone to have that extra bit of motivation. I was kind of disappointed when I saw my run split was about 22 minutes, worse than I thought. But from where I came off the bike compared to others I don't think I could have pulled off a higher placing unless I had a really amazing run. I finished in 10th place with a time of 1:09:21.

Great job to everyone that raced, hope you all managed to have some fun out there. Congrats to Amelie, Gabrielle, and Hillary for the podium finishes in my race. Also to my Manitoba friends who started their first season as Juniors. Ashlyn did amazing, placing 7th, and Hannah and Maddy had a great start to Junior racing with 13th and 15th. On the guys side it was a great day for Manitoba. They had an ideal situation coming off the bike with the three guys together in the lead. Congrats on the win Tyler, and also Riley M for coming 3rd and Riley U for coming 5th. Also in the guys race were Patrick and Corey in 16th and 19th. Good job to all the guys, hope it was also a great experience. I also always love seeing my friends from other provinces. Canada has some great athletes that I've had the pleasure of getting to know quite well over the past couple years! There are always lots of friendly faces to catch up with.

Overall, I think this race was a decently solid start to the season for myself. I feel better that not all hope is lost for my swim. I am still able to nail the start and those transitions. For the bike I did what I could with the situation and the run wasn't great, but it happens. I'm happy to have completed the first series race and I'm confident I will improve from here. I really look forward to PATCO in two weeks in Edmonton. I am so lucky to have  the chance to mix it up with the best Junior Elites from many countries and I'm excited to do some damage on one of my best courses. But for now I have tried really hard to scrub those sharpie numbers off my body and hope to get some rest before Grad! My focus has only been on the race but now I can finally enjoy myself and celebrate with my friends!

Results can be found here:

http://www.triathlonsaskatchewan.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=plofuAgHPeI%3d&tabid=156

Last Provincials!

Well before I talk about my 3000m, I gotta brag a little bit about the 4x400m relay. I know, it's crazy that I'm even in that event but it turned out to be great. My team consisted of Allison, Emma, and Mariette. Our goal was to get a new Westgate record. It's been 25 years since the relay team of two of our current teachers was put up on the board, but they will now be taken down. We are so excited. The time to beat was 4:40 and in our zone meet we went 4:56. Even though we knew we could go faster than that, 16 seconds still seemed like a pretty big ambition. I'm pretty sure most people didn't think we could do it. We weren't even sure. But we were pumped up and ready to give it our best. We were so happy to hear that our finish time was 4:36, a full 20 second improvement! This was such a cool record to break. We also got 4th place, which was better than anyone had hoped! Ok and one more little bragging fact... including relays I now have 10 Westgate records from the past three years! Although I know they will slowly be taken down (hopefully it takes a while, a lot I got were from the 80's!), I am so excited to be leaving my mark on the school in this way!

Alright, now for the 3000m. I was the most excited about this event, but also kind of nervous. I know there is pressure from myself and others to do well in it. My goal was to get a medal. Last year I got bronze. Going in based in zone times I was ranked 3rd. Of course I analyzed everything before the race again and knew exactly where I wanted to be. Rebekah, the girl that was 3rd in the 1500m, I knew would be out in front. Then two other girls were close to what I thought I would run. The plan was to stick with them and then see what I could do. I was kind of worried leading up to the race though. I haven't felt my best, limping around for the past week and a half and having such an awkward stride in all my workouts. As I mentioned before, it's a weird pain in my lower back, hip, butt, and hamstring. I've been doing all I can with ice, stretching, and my foam roller. It's may also have been aggravated by all the racing I've been doing I think.

Anyways, I was able to get through warm-up and was still pumped up on the start line. As usual, I kept loose while chatting to everyone. I love making random friends at events. You always end up running into people again more than expected. The two girls I planned on sticking with didn't have the confidence I was counting on, so I abandonned that plan and wanted to go out in second from the start. Once the gun went off the adrenaline kicked in and I was mostly able to focus without pain. Rebekah and I got boxed in by a few random girls starting out fast, which can be frustrating. I hate starting out crazy fast when people have no clue how to pace. But I thought screw it, and passed on the corner so that within 200m I was in front. Rebekah got setttled in front of me and everyone else dropped off pretty fast. I wasn't able to stick with her very long and it was soon clear that as long as nothing went wrong I was holding my second position. It was hard to keep motivating myself to push the pace when I was all alone, without letting myself look back. I was happy to cross the line in second place, with a decent lead on the next two girls, Janine and Mariette. Those two ran great though. Congrats on 3rd and 4th, it was a close one! Rebekah had a huge lead on everyone by the end, a full minute ahead of me. It's crazy that even at provincials we can be lapping people. We stuck around the finish to congratulate everyone, then went looking for results. I was disappointed with my time, 11:49, but I guess it was a medal I was after so I shouldn't complain.

We stuck around to watch some more events before the awards ceremony. I guess we were really lucky with the weather because the wind and rain really picked up. Everyone was soaked and frozen. It was pretty cool to finally be on the other side of the podium. I'm not complaining or anything, but I have a decent collection of bronze medals at home. Last year's 3000m, xc provincials, team xc provincials, and the Games. It's nice to mix it up with some silver. I love this picture of us marching into battle against the weather with our umbrellas, to collect our medals and podium photos!

Congrats to everyone from Westgate, what a solid way to end the season! Also for us grade 12's to end high school! Also good job to my triathlon friends, track friends, and random friends I've met along the way. Everyone should be really proud of this provincials!

Again, the full meet results can be found here, but I've also made it really easy by posting my events right here:

http://mhsaa.e-crew.ca/time-results/results/

Thanks for the love and support!

1500m Provincials

Ok so I thought I would wait to do one post after provincials were done, but I'm giving in and posting about my first event already. I like to reflect on races anyways by writing about it, so I might as well share it. Since I always over-analyze things, I went through the entries online and figured out who my competition would be. I know, such a geek when it comes to this stuff! Based on knowing people by now and the qualifying times, I was going into provincials seeded fifth. My goal was to hold onto that placing. It can be hard to tell because sometimes people don't need to go as fast to qualify and it can be a surprise at provincials. But anyways, my goal was top 5. I knew the top three would be way ahead and there would be no point killing myself at the start to stay with them. But the fourth place girl would be within reach, so the plan was to stick with her for as long as possible and see what I could do from there.

When I showed up at the track in Selkirk, it was probably hotter outside than any meet I've done and there wasn't much shade. I'm so grateful Westgate decided to buy a tent this year! There also wasn't a lot of space to warm up, and with the heat my warm-up routine had to be changed a bit. But I told myself I love racing in heat, and everyone would be suffering through it just as much if not more than me. Besides, I love heat, it's like Arizona. Or so I kept telling myself. And getting all the excuses out yesterday actually helped! Mariette and I prepared together, and ran into a few other friends along the way. We were both placed in the third and fastest heat. There were 31 girls total in the race.

I really wanted to just get it over with and was happy when the gun went off. I started out exactly where I wanted to be. Within half a lap there was no one close behind me, and the front girls started to take off on us. I struggled to hold onto the fourth place girl, but about halfway through the race she started to fade. I took the opportunity and caught up again, passed, and made up ground on her. I just needed to finish the race holding my position, which I did. Everyone was so dead at the end because it was so hot! But I'm really happy with my 4th place finish. I think I ran the best race possible for me. Fourth always sounds disappointing because you think the person is so close to getting a medal but I know that really wasn't realistic. It was crazy how spread out every person was, the race really isn't that long. I was also very happy to get another Westgate record to go up on the gym wall (that makes 9 now!). Because of it being so hot I wasn't sure if I could do it, not a great day for PB's, but I did it. By only two seconds. My finishing time was 5:22. I think that's exactly what I ran last year at provincials actually. Anyways, that's all for now.

Oh I almsot forgot, here's the results for all the events:
http://mhsaa.e-crew.ca/time-results/results/

Last Duathlon, onto the next week!

I guess it's been a while since the 5th duathlon but I still felt like posting about it.  I had a better attitude going into it this week, I was ready to go for it one last time. I stuck with Ashlyn through the first run and had a solid bike. I don't think any of the splits that day were the fastest, I think it was kind of windy. Then I had another good run, my split was exactly the same as my first. I finished top in my category as well as women overall. I wasn't able to attend the bbq but my dad was able to collect my award for finishing first in my category for the series based on points, which was kind of cool. He got his category too. Being so busy lately, I don't actually remember much else from the race, so compared to my usual posts I guess that's a pretty brief race report. The whole series is kind of mushed together in my brain by now. Even though I don't always feel like racing on Tuesday nights, I do think it was important. I had practice with deciding my attitude, I am feeling good about my fast transitions, and I remember how it feels to push through the pain of running fast off the bike.

I also had a great time because of all the people that show up to race. Ashlyn, you are an awesome training partner, I'm glad we can push each other on a daily basis and still be best friends. Chrystalle, I'm so proud of your first race. Your enthusiasm for trying a new sport is amazing and I hope you continue to have so much fun with it, I think you have lots of potential as a triathlete. Your run splits are already there and I can't believe you did so well riding a new bike for the very first time in a race! Julian, you have come a long way since you started the program with us at the Y, I'm glad you've found a place on the Youth Team and I can see you love hammering it out there with the other guys. I know Dave will be a great coach for both you two! I also loved hanging around before and after the races with my friends from the MNTC, Youth Team, and other people I met along the way. And Dad, it was lots of fun heading out to every race together and sharing stories afterwards. The first Junior Elite race is coming up so fast now, I'll be in Saskatchewan in less the three weeks!

Here's the 5th duathlon results:
http://www.triathlon.mb.ca/admin/images/Seasons/RaceResults/rr_2012_BirdsHillDu5.pdf

Also the final standings:
http://birdshillduathlon.com/pdf/BHD_2012_points.pdf

Next up for this week though is track provincials. This afternoon will be my first event, the 1500m. Then tomorrow I'm in the 4x400m relay with Allison, Mariette, and Emma. We'll need to go after that school record and take down the teachers from the 80's. Then Saturday morning is my main event, the 3000m.

For my 1500m today I'm not sure what to expect. In zones I didn't have a lot of confidence but everyone else that believed in me made up for that I guess. I could still give a whole list of excuses why I'm uncertain about it. Actually, you know what? I will. Then I'll have gotten it all out of my system. I could say that 1500m isn't my event, it's too short and fast. There are so many other girls that are better at it than me. I'll be feeling the need to save some energy for my 3000m because that's the one that counts and this is just for fun. I am not tapered for this, the past few days at practice I've been exhausted. I've been having weird pain and tightness in my lower back and hamstring, and have been limping around for a week. Um, ok I guess that's it. Time to shoot down all those excuses now because they are rediculous and lame. Who can really say in high school that 1500m is their event? Come on now. I know how to put it all out there and then do it again in a few days, no problem. I'm in good shape for my running right now. Who cares about tapering, it's just a 1500. I've stretched and iced and massaged, I should be fine. I'll get in the zone and go for it anyways. Ok. I feel better now. If you actually read through all those useless thoughts, you are awesome.

Expect some more blogging in a few days!