Let it first be said that Cranbrook is a long ways from Vancouver. It’s one thing to drive to Penticton or Kelowna in the middle of BC and quite another to go all the way across the province to Cranbrook.
On the plus side though, it was nice to be reminded that the sun does shine outside of Vancouver. Perhaps it’s just been the weather we’ve had here this June but it felt like being back in Hawaii when we got to Penticton and could sit outside in shorts and t-shirts to eat.
The race itself left me with mixed feelings which has been a reoccuring theme the past couple of races. I’ve come to realize it has to do with the quote from yesterday but more about that later.
The swim start was largest I have ever been in (over 450) and naturally was a bit of gong show to start. With a history of having problems in swim races I was thrilled to be able to push hard for the first 200 m or so until the first buoy where everyone strung out and things got a little calmer. Was feeling great throughout middle of the swim and even started passing a few people (a first) until about the 1 km mark when my technique slowly started to fall apart.
Came out of the water at 24:46, a personal best for a 1.5 km swim but not quite up to the standard I had hoped for. My transition was average and got out on the bike course.
The bike was a fairly flat out and back. The out portion was slightly uphill and into the wind (or at least it seemed) and obviously the other way around coming back. On the way out got passed by a couple of men who were flying on the bike but managed to stick behind one of them (doing some quasi drafting just outside of the drafting zone) all the way to the turn around at which point I picked it up a little and left him behind. Overall it was a good bike ride but I think I could have pushed it a little more out the way out.
Coming back into transition was another gong show as the sprint race had started behind us and were just getting into transition at the same time as we were which made things a little dicey. Had to slow down for the last 400 m with so much traffic and then had to jump over someone (while carrying my bike) who had decided to sit down in the middle of transition.
Negotiated my way through it though and hit the run course. I was still feeling the effects of racing the week before and after about the first kilometer started struggling to keep my pace up. It seemed like every muscle in my legs had its moment of pain over the course of the run but by the time I hit the turn around I started feeling a little better. I think it was the fact that at that point I had managed to pass 3 or 4 people and felt more confident.
So in the end I finished 31st overall in a time of 2:13:26. And so began the mixed feelings.
Yes, there was serious competition at the race. Fourteen men broke the two hour mark and you know you’re in a high level race when the top 10 or so guys that go past you (going the other way) all have their names on their tri suits. But I still hate the sound of 31st. And 8th in my age-group doesn’t make it any better.
And here lies the quote:
“Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one’s level of aspiration and expectation.”
- Jack Nicklaus
There was a time I was happy to just finish a triathlon. And then there was a time that I was happy to be in the top half of finishers. And then there was a time when I was happy to just qualify for Worlds. It seems as though someone keeps sneaking around when I’m not looking and raising the bar on me. The worst part is I’m pretty sure it’s me doing it.
To finish, the other side of those mixed feelings. The 2:13 is 9 minutes faster than my previous best at an olympic distance triathlon. A nice little reminder that while the bar is getting higher, I am jumping a whole lot higher too.
