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triathlon

Race Reports

IRONMAN Muskoka 70.3, 2022 Race Report

To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be writing another big race report so soon. But due to silly planning on my part, here we are! Just two weeks after Tremblant 70.3, I raced in Muskoka 70.3. This one was to redeem my first attempt DNF back in 2019 when I didn’t know how to swim or change gears and ride a hilly course outdoors. That’s also when I used to wear elbow and knee pads. Oh, how things have changed! In reality, I wasn’t quite sure what my body was capable of only 2 weeks later. So, I was really surprised to see a similar swim, but better bike and even better run! 

Coaches goals for the race: 

Swim: Swim straight, similar strategy as Tremblant but it’s a wave start so maybe start a bit back of the main pack and a bit off to the side so you aren’t trampled!

Bike: – Focus on going hard into the uphills and make sure you go one gear harder as you crest the top of the uphills

– About 170-180W, HR ~165bpm

  • Stick to the white line or close to the yellow line, avoid the middle of the lane on the 117

Run – pace the uphills, like on the bike use the downhills to get momentum and then steady up the hills ALWAYS feeling like you have a bit more speed for cresting at the top.

– HR < 175bpm for the first 7km, slow and controlled up the first set of hills.

 

The RACE: [Official Time: 05:42:54]

SportStats: https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=114753&bib=465

SWIM (1.9km) – 43:51 mins @ 2:16/100m

The swim went pretty much how I was expecting it go in terms of pace and obstacles. Where Tremblant had a self-seeded swim start, Muskoka had an Age Group start. I find AG starts a lot more chaotic, as I got kicked in the fast at least 5 times.  Sighting was good except for the second buoy as there was direct sunlight and a mass swarm of athletes, so I had to go by feet initially, but not too long before I got my bearings back. Once around the turn buoys, I felt comfortable swimming back through the channel to the swim exit. 

My swim is interesting, because no matter the distance, ex 750m, 1900m, 5K, my pace is always 2:15/100m-sh. It’s way better than before, so as long as its under 45mins for a half IM, then I’m okay for now. Also, wetsuit strippers were back! Yay! 

T1

Half-rolled socks with baby powder 100% works! 

BIKE (90KM) – 2:58:37hr @ 30.47 km/h

What a gorgeous bike course! Still pretty hilly, but a lot more shade from trees made it very enjoyable and scenic. Took about 5KM for me get my legs firing. Stayed really calm but with steady effort the entire ride. And even got into aero a little bit! The only kind of sketchy part was the very narrow coned aisle in the return to Bayville section. I loved seeing my friends Mark, Shaunna, Noel, and Garth all lay it out on the course! 

T2

Pretty fast for me. Already had my socks on, put on hydration belt, race bib, Omius headband, shades, slurped an Endurance Tap, let’s gooooo!

RUN (21.1KM) 1:51:37hr at 5:19 min/km

Felt good coming off the bike. But BAM massive hill immediately. Wow that’s mean! Haha. I think it was tolerable for me, but saw the majority of people walking this. After this hill though, I actually felt pretty solid for the rest of the run. I couldn’t believe I was running faster here than at Tremblant too. I’d say the Muskoka run course is definitely without a doubt tougher. Hence “The Beast”. Some of the friends that past me on the bike, I soon got my turn to pass them on the run hehe. But the highlight for me was that I got the opportunity to see Miranda Tomenson get into the final 2K of her run and she was smashing it hard! I yelled out FIGHT!! And she won by 20 minutes and beat some elite men too. This fired me up as well to keep pushing hard up all the hills to the finish! 

In Conclusion

First off, I’m so damn happy, that I finally got to rectify my DNF in 2019 this time around. Secondly, Tremblant 70.3 was always the “A 70.3 Race” of this season and Muskoka was a “B Race” to get more open water racing experience, nail down my nutrition / fuelling, and get more confidence on the bike. Somehow, someway, I got a 12 min PB only 2- weeks after Tremblant 70.3! I don’t really have an explanation how that happened. But it’s most likely do the solid training, and precise amount of recovery and taper planned by coach Miranda! 

Now that I have 1 sprint, and 2x 70.3s done. The main target and goal of the year is only 6-weeks away. IRONMAN Mont Tremblant, a longer swim, 2 loops of Duplessis, and a marathon. The full enchilada. Now, I think I can do it. I can do it if I follow the training plan exactly as I can just like before. I just need to remain calm, excited, keep healthy, and stay focused. It will happen! 

2022/07/12
1862
Race Reports

Race Report: Milton Sprint Triathlon 2022

I have recently completed my first triathlon opener of the year, the Milton Sprint Tri. While, I have a participated in some triathlons before, in many ways, this felt like, and I am treating it as the first triathlon I actually properly trained for. Yes, I have trained for running, cycling, and swimming individually, and poorly. And thought this would be sufficient to do a triathlon, but never with structure and could never put together a good triathlon race. Until this one! 

After my DNF at IRONMAN Florida’s 5K swim in 2021, I knew I had to get a triathlon coach. After researching a handful of all highly regarded and qualified coaches, my instinct kept drawing me to coach Miranda Tomenson of Tomenson Performance & Wellness (TPW). We started working together on my goals for the upcoming race season in February 2022. The main focus was on my swimming confidence, skill, technique, and open water skills, and bike handling skills, getting into aero position, and learning to do brick workouts. 

Coach’s goals for this season opener was:

Swim – I don’t care about speed, I care about sighting and swimming as straight a line as possible. SIGHT OFTEN! Only goal for the swim is to have your watch read as close to race distance as possible. 

Bike – Stay strong, don’t focus on power today, try not to be on your brakes much except down the BIG HILL

Run – Just race this, run strong, run fast.

When I initially read the goals of the race, I was admitted kind of confused and underwhelmed as she didn’t say to hit any kind of swim pace, bike power, or run pace. However, it quickly hit me, and I after the last few months of working with coach, I totally understood what she was doing and the intension of this day. And am so glad she made it so. It took a lot of anxiety and pressure I usually feel for race day. Instead I got to focus on overcoming some very basic, yet incredibly important skills for triathlons. It’s very interesting in that, even though there was no pace or time targets, I managed to PB every leg of the race! Funny how things work out eh? 

PRE-RACE

I did a 10min bike ride on the course to make sure everything was working ex. Shifting. I did a 10 min warmup easy run. And a 5 min pre-swim. Took an Endurance Tap about 20 mins before the start at 9:48AM. 

The RACE [Official time 01:53:22] Huge PB from previous Milton

SportsStats: https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=114805&bib=226

The SWIM (750m) [Official time 17:06, 2:16/100m]

My goal for the swim was to focus on sighting, going in a straight line, not zig zag, not getting a panic attack, and not resorting to backstroke. I feel like I definitely accomplished this! When I did Milton the first time in 2019, the water was cold, today it was 65F (18C), and while still cool, it felt perfect. I guess previously, I was going so slow, that I couldn’t generate any body heat. 

I used TheMagic5 Blue Mirror goggles and there was no fogging and had a huge field of view which made sighting really simple. I kept my cool the entire swim even when getting kicked in the face and legs getting grabbed on passing. Master Swim club seemed to help with this sensation. All good. I felt like I could definitely swam even longer and put more effort in for speed, but was really happy how it was going and didn’t want to risk potential panic attacks. The little victory today helped boost my confidence for the next race for sure! 

In the past, I would have been passed and be one of the very last athletes out of the water. However, even though I still get passed, I felt like I held my own on the swim. 

T1 [3:37]

Once out of the water, I couldn’t believe it was already done. But a made a little mistake in taking my time and slowly walking to my bike. I could have saved another minute here. I was quickly able to get out of my wetsuit without needing to hold onto anything or sitting on the floor (Miranda made me do transition drills prior which helped a ton!). Helmet, cycling socks, gloves, time to roll!

If there was only ONE taint of the entire race for me, it would be that somehow, someone accidentally knocked by bike over when they were getting there’s because one of my aero bars was angled incorrectly and my chain was off the ring. And this was after I test rode it before. So strange. Anyways, this didn’t frustrate me at all, and kept stoic. I quickly repositioned the aero bars (didn’t end up using them anyways), and got my chain back on. Then it was smooth sailing. 

The BIKE (30KM) [Official time 59:27, 30.28 kph]

The goal of the bike was to not crash, not walk up any hills, and not wear knee pads and elbow pads. I accomplished all of these! Believe it or not, I got my Trek Speed Concept bike at the end of 2019, and never got to ever race on it until today!! FINALLY. 

I felt strong the entire ride and didn’t really look at power or data. As someone who’s only been cycling for 2.5 years EVER which includes 1 year of mainly Zwifting inside and 3 months off from a broken collar bone in a bike crash, today was a HUGE improvement. There was a good stretch of road with gravel and saw some people flat out, which was really sad to see, I hope they fix this in the future. In previous races, I’d always get passed by, but today I got to do a lot of passing especially on the big 6th line climb and on the main course too. It was so fun. Descending still scares me, so when I hit 72kph on the steep descent back down, I just had to remember to breath, look ahead, and balance. It was absolutely exhilarating but did have to tap the breaks a tad, and my eyes watered up by the end, I guess tears of joy I didn’t die haha. 

My XLab Torpedo was the only nutrition I consumed during the race. It was 80g sugar with 525mg sodium. 

T2 [1:43]

I quickly got all my cycling stuff on, kept socks on, but on running bib, and gear. Let’s go! 

The Run (7KM) [Official time 31:29, 4.29min/km]

My goal for the run was to “run strong, and run fast”. All I did was start my watch, and I never really looked at my pace or power, maybe once half way. I ran fast, and went by feel and what I could maintain relatively comfortably for a sprint (slightly longer than 5K usual sprint distance). Pretty hilly and various road, trail, gravel terrain. I only slowed a little at every aid station to take 2 cups of water, one to sip and one to pour over my head and back. In the last 1K I pushed the pace and in the last 500m I passed a group of athletes for a sprint finish. The brick workouts seemed to have really helped out as my legs didn’t even really feel too tired after the bike. I ran almost as fast as a stand alone 5K I did a few months ago too.

In CONCLUSION

I am glad and proud to have found coach Miranda, and am thankful she took me on as one of her athletes. I know I am a lot of work to deal with, but I am very moldable and will do exactly what she says. Also, it was really great to meet the other inspiring TPW team members, new friends, and legends like Lisa Bentley! 

Today I was able to piece together swim, bike, run, nutrition, and hit goals. 

It felt fantastic to FINALLY put together a solid proper triathlon race!

Future Goals: 

  • Now that I know I can sight better, and be calm, I want to figure out how to keep that, but add speed and effort in open water swimming, hopefully at least 2:00/100m in OWS
  • Even though I felt really strong on the bike, I still need to improve my bike handling skills and yes, figure out how to be confident and balanced in aero position. There is a lot of time to be gained here, but still don’t want to risk anything dangerous

Photos by FinisherPix and Amy Lam.

2022/06/06
1065
Race Reports, Triathlon

Race Report: IRONMAN 70.3 Muskoka 2019

INTRO

On Sunday July 7, 2019 I “finished” by first crack at the half-ironman distance in Muskoka, but there’s a DNF twist based on a technicality. I’ll get to that by the end of this report. Not to be concerned, this isn’t a sulking review. I’m in good spirits, I indeed receive my Finishers Medal, t-shirt, and cap within the total time limit. And most importantly, look forward to the process of improving myself! 

It was the first time in a triathlon where the idea of quitting did not cross my mind even for a split second. 

I registered for this race almost a year ago. And my triathlon history is super short having only done 2 sprint distance events before. Needless, to say I was cool and calm up until the day before. I was absolutely terrified in the 24-hours just before the big day. 

PRE-RACE

 

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I’m here! Feeling very overwhelmed and not going to lie, pretty terrified. But loving the vibe and experience in Muskoka! I signed up for @im703muskoka almost a year ago and have been training ever since. This will be my first attempt at the half-Ironman distance. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. There’s so many variabilities in a triathlon. I only intend to not drown in the swim, crash/mechanical on the bike, and not get sunstroke on the run. It’s going to be HOT tomorrow. My goal is to have fun and finish strong. Final #carbloading with a delicious cheeseless Primavera pizza with mushroom, artichoke, red peppers, and black olives at @tlp_by_the_lights ???? #AnythingisPossible #Ironman #Ironman703 #IronmanMuskoka #poweredbyplants

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I arrived in Huntsville Saturday morning and stayed at the Tulip Inn, which is close to the start/finish line at the Canada Summit Centre. My pre-race carb-loading involved a delicious veggie primavera pizza from That Little Place by the Lights in downtown Huntsville, and then a veggie fettuccine bowl from East Side Marios. I did this race and the lead up to it on a whole food plant based lifestyle. 

GOALS

  • Don’t quit
  • Don’t drown on the swim
  • Don’t crash on the bike
  • Don’t have a mechanical bike issue
  • Don’t faint on the run
  • Have fun 

SWIM (1.9KM) 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2513017844

This swim in Fairy Lake was gorgeous. I took a good 30 mins to put on and pull up my ROKA wetsuit. By putting this much attention into this, I had no chest or shoulder restrictions. The water was wonderful and warm with nice sandy bottom.

It was my best Open Water Swim (OWS) to date. No panic attack. No loss of breath. Kept calm whenever I got crawled over or kicked in the face. Continuous swim with no stopping. No reverting to backstroke. And completed under the 1 hour cap. Additionally, the volunteer wetsuit strippers yanking them off our bodies was a unique yet time efficient experience.  

Now that I know I can be completely comfortable in OWS, I need to work on building and bringing in more power and speed to my stroke.

BIKE (90KM)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2513076283

They call IM70.3 Muskoka the “Beauty and the Beast” for a good reason. It’s an insanely challenging course. With big climbs, and steep descents. Yet, it was such an enjoyable ride at the same time. 90K is my longest outdoor ride to date, with the previous being 50KM at the Tour de Gueph. I was honestly was surprised that I did not crash or fall over once and not one drop of blood was shed. My mounting and dismounting is improving too. 

Based on my history ex. Milton, I was certain that there was a 90% chance I’d end up in a bloody mess at some point and pull out. Shockingly and fortunately, that did not happen. 

I noticed that after around 25KM, my hands and arms got numb, and had to take breaks to feel the sensation again. So this needs to be figured out ASAP. I feasted on all of my Lara bars, cliF bars, gummy bears, did not like the waffle stingers though.

RUN (21.1KM)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2513232950

Just like the previous 2 Sprint Distance triathlons I’ve done, all I keep telling myself is to “just get to the run”. And that was no difference in Muskoka. I’ve been been so happy to see a “Bike Off” aka dismount sign before. my plan was to stay at a consistent power the entire-time. The run is when I passed a boat load of people. It was a particularly hilly course, no surprise, but I actually don’t mind running up hills since my Spartan races. I loved the finish chute with the finisher banner to hold over my head at the end.

 

THE TWIST “DNF”

This acronym stands for “Did Not Finish”. To me, it’s a rather vague term especially in the sport of triathlon, because it is used as a status on a handful of outcomes. It can occur if someone quits mid-race on their own terms ex. fatigue, a race-ending injury, an unfixable mechanical issue, not making the final cut-off time, or intermediate cut-off times. 

I’m coming into the world of triathlon from running. And I’m used to events such as a marathon having a singular cut-off time of 8 hours for example.

In the standard 70.3 or Half-Triathlon distance, the final cut-off time is 8hours and 30 mins. With a swim of 1:10, Bike 5:30, and Run until the total time. However, it’s still not that simple. at Muskoka 70.3 there is also “intermediate Time of Day cut-offs” on the bike ex. 9:55AM at 23KM, 11AM at 45km, 12:06pm at 67KM, and 1:15pm at 90KM. 

When I finished the entire course, I actually made overall cut-off time in 8hr 16mins. I did the swim in 58mins, bike is 4:49, and run in 2:15. And I also made all of the intermediate bike cut-offs. 

A few hours later, when I checked SportStats, I was initially shocked and saddened to see “DNF” even though I made all those times. 

Why? It’s because I didn’t realize that there is actually another cut-off. I failed to understand that the combined swim and bike must be completed “5 hours and 30 minutes after the final wave start.” I thought that this meant the bike alone had to be within this, but they actually mean BOTH the swim and the bike need to be completed in this time. My time for both the swim and bike was 5:55. This one aspect led to my DNF on Sportstats. 

So call it as you wish. I may have not officially finished according to that bike/swim technicality, but I did absolutely indeed complete a Half-Ironman distance race within the total time. I bared as much pain and hills as all the other finishers that day.

 

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#AnythingIsPossible. More thoughts on @im703muskoka to come! #IronmanMuskoka

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LESSONS

Since I know that the bike and especially climbing such a hilly course like Muskoka is my weakest ability, I should not have used the restroom at the 3 aid stations. My initial thought was that I was going to cruise through the run and thus I needed to get comfy and use the sorta-potties before so I could run continuous without stopping. Once at the run, then that combined swim/bike cut-off would have been over. However, now knowing about this, I should have not stopped at all on the bike to hit that 5:30 time, then I would have had the entire rest of the run to use it.

Many will say that I took on way too much for a beginner triathlete too soon at this course difficulty. That’s probably true. I’ve only done TTF Sprint 2018 and Milton Sprint 2019. In hindsight I should have done at least one Olympics distance race before a Half. 

I absolutely know my bike needs a lot more work and practice. I did this entire 70.3 on non-aero road bike, without clip-in shoes/pedals, with very little hill training. So, all of these will be addressed soon. 

THINGS-TO-DO

  • Learn to use clip-in pedals
  • Get a true bike fitting with Saddle pressure mapping
  • Invest in an actual Triathlon bike
  • I need a real triathlon watch 
  • More outdoor riding to get bike-handling skills 
  • Learn to take hands of bars and eat/drink while riding
  • More Open Water Swimming and add speed
  • Get stroke analysis and improvement 
  • Get triathlon coach
  • Do more brick runs 

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, I had an absolutely amazing experience at Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. The town of Huntsville, ON is gorgeous, and the athletes could not have asked for better weather conditions. As someone who has never been physically active for the first 29 years of my life and being overweight at 185lbs down to 140lbs via nutrition, to learning how to run 2 years ago, and then picking up cycling and swimming just a year ago, to completing an Ironman 70.3 on the challenging course at Muskoka, I am pretty darn proud of that.

As you can imagine, I was initially filled with mixed emotions. I’m not mad or frustrated with anyone. I have accepted and embraced the result for what it is. For all the possible DNF outcome scenarios I mentioned above, mine was in a weird situation. 

On one hand, it’s Ironman’s race, and it’s their rules, I misinterpreted it, that’s my bad. But on the other hand, I did not quit, I did not get pulled, I did not have a mechanical issue, and I actually finished the entire Muskoka 70.3 course within each activities times, and the total cut-off time. I completed the same course as the first place finisher. And I received my Finisher Medal at the end. I gained a whole world of experience, met inspiring athletes, day a beautiful day, and grow so much from this race. 

It’s also fitting that Stranger Things season 3 was just released on Netflix. Perfect timing for post-race recovery binging. A line that hit the spot from the last episode was from Hopper “Make mistakes, learn from ’em. When life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you’re out of that cave.” Much like when I attempted my first marathon, I hit the wall hard and finished in 5:17. But on my second go, I hit my sub-4 hour goal in 3:55. I will to do the same with triathlon.

Thank you to all the super awesome volunteers, athletes, spectators, race organizers, and the town of Huntsville and Muskoka for welcoming us into your home. I look forward to racing in Muskoka in the future!

I’ll definitely continue participating in triathlons, do more 70.3s (probably look for flatter courses), and maybe, just maybe attempt the full Ironman distance one day. 

Until then, the journey continues. 

2019/07/10
3575
Race Reports, Triathlon

Race Report: Milton Sprint Triathlon 2019

Howdy! Well today was an interesting experience at the Subaru sprint triathlon in Milton, ON. Long story (it will come later) short, I finished alive in one piece. This was my second Sprint. However, Milton was slightly longer than usual as it is a 750m swim, 30km, and 7k run.

The Swim

I improved a bit in the chilly open water swim. Only had to resort to backstroke a little. Maybe I’ll practice with the wetsuit in the pool and definitely get more open water swimming experience at local lakes.

The Bike

Crashed 3 times on the bike and got mechanical service twice…big cuts and bruises on all 4 limbs. Was asked many times if I was able to finish…still hit the run, and I was certain I was the last person, but still ended up passing a handful of runners. A bunch of lessons learned. Need more practice bike handling and doing actual hills. My poor bike absolutely needs to get repairs. Anyways, I live to see another day, however that was the most painful shower I’ve ever had. Milton bike course is actually ranked one of the hardest climbs in Canada. And of course I decided to pick this race. Well, the Rattlesnake Point has a 8% average incline with a 16% steeper one. I crashed twice, fortunately no one else was hurt. Once trying to power my way up the hill, that didn’t work and I crashed to the right side of the road. What goes up, must come down. I totally was not ready for that mad descent back down and panicked and bailed out. Both times required mechanical assistance which took 20 mins off my time. But at that point, I just wanted to finished. I was asked several times if I was sure I wanted to continue the race. I didn’t hesitate once and said “let me keep going”. Essentially what I learned from this is that indoor training on the smart trainer is fine, and is great for time effective workouts. But nothing beats getting the real on-road experience of handling, balancing, and braking, specially for someone who just picked up cycling. My good friend Iain said “You aren’t a real cyclist until you’ve had your first crash”…I guess I’m in the club! Bike needs to be taken into the shop for repairs as well. But she’ll be fine. What’s kind of messed up and funny is that even after yesterdays bloody mess, I actually have no demotivating feelings on cycling. Really surprised I didn’t come in last! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right? My mind is looking forward to healing up, getting my bike fixed up,

The Run

The run to the finish was fine. I was just so happy to get to this segment. Aerobically felt fine, but I was still pretty shook up from the bike leg. All my limbs especially my shoulders were stinging from the ripped skin, so I wasn’t able to use my arms for optimal momentum to hit my full desired race pace. 

Aftermath

 

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*DO NOT SWIPE LEFT IF YOU ARE GROSSED OUT FROM BLOOD* Happy #MedalMonday and happy #WorldBicycleDay ????? Completed my second Sprint distance triathlon in beautiful #MiltonON yesterday. The swim was cold, but my open water swimming and anxieties are improving. The run to the finish was fine. The cycling segment of the race though…now that was something I’ll never forget. The @subarutriathlonseries Milton bike course is actually ranked one of the hardest climbs in Canada. And of course I decided to pick this race. Well, the Rattlesnake Point has a 8% average incline with a 16% steeper one. I crashed twice, fortunately no one else was hurt. Once trying to power my way up the hill, that didn’t work and I crashed to the right side of the road. What goes up, must come down. I totally was not ready for that mad descent back down and panicked and bailed out. Both times required mechanical assistance which took 20 mins off my time. But at that point, I just wanted to finished. I was asked several times if I was sure I wanted to continue the race. I didn’t hesitate once and said “let me keep going”. Essentially what I learned from this is that indoor training on the smart trainer is fine, and is great for time effective workouts. But nothing beats getting the real on-road experience of handling, balancing, and braking, specially for someone who just picked up cycling. My good friend @djiain said “You aren’t a real cyclist until you’ve had your first crash”…I guess I’m in the club! Bike needs to be taken into the shop for repairs as well. But she’ll be fine. What’s kind of messed up and funny is that even after yesterdays bloody mess, I actually have no demotivating feelings on cycling. Really surprised I didn’t come in last! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right? My mind is looking forward to healing up, getting my bike fixed up, and practicing more before @im703muskoka. As they say Allez! Allez! Allez! #triathlontraining #ironmantraining #miltonontario #bikecrash #wipeout

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Lessons Learned

  • More practice in wetsuit
  • More practice in Open Water
  • Work on bike handling/braking
  • Work on bike climbing
  • Work on bike descending

Conclusion

THANK YOU to all the awesome volunteers, road side bike mechanics, medics, and organizations. It was a beautiful event nonetheless.

I see races as a metaphor for life. No matter what happens, always keep a positive mindset, and finish strong.

2019/06/03
2243
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