Alberta Challenge 2010 Race Report

Yesterday I accomplished one of my goals for the year by completing the Olympic distance triathlon at the Alberta Challenge. That was definitely one of the hardest things I've done, and without question it was the hardest I've ever pushed my body. I was horribly unprepared for it, and completed it based on willpower alone. I could barely walk for the rest of the day, although today my legs have recovered enough that I can walk (gingerly).

The last few weeks have been very busy, with Folk Fest and lots of guests, so I haven't had time to train as much as I should. I've done much better this summer than last at keeping up my training through the summer, but have still found it much more difficult to find the time when I'm working compared to when I'm at school. My confidence was not very high going into this race as a result.

Jana came down to Lake Miquelon Provincial Park with me for this race. It was definitely great to have her there, both for encouragement and to drive home after the race.

We left the house around 6, stopped for gas, and arrived at the park around 7:15. I got set up, ran into a friend doing his first open water swim in the sprint triathlon, and got ready to race.

Fog started to roll in around 8:15, making it difficult to see the buoys. I wasn't too concerned, though, because the water temperature was 18 degrees, which was actually warmer than the air temperature (contributing factor to the fog?), so I knew the swim wasn't going to be too bad. My biggest concern for the swim was boredom, because it's hard to tell if you're moving or not when the water is so murky that you can't see your hand, and it feels like you're swimming forever. I had practiced a counting system in the pool that enabled me to keep track of where I was by counting my strokes, and I used it during the race. It worked wonders, because not only did I always know where I was in the race, I had something to occupy my mind. I had actually never swam 1.5 km before, so I was very pleased with myself when I hopped out. I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the open-water swimming, which does wonders for my confidence going into a race.

Swim time: 37:51

Rank: 42/64 overall, 7/7 in age group.

Transition went well (no times available because I lost my watch a few weeks ago). I definitely could have gone faster, but I wasn't here to put up a good time or beat anybody, just to get it done. So I made sure I got a drink of Gatorade and put my shoes and socks on properly, and headed out.

The bike was where I realized just how much longer an Olympic distance triathlon is than a sprint. The swim hadn't seemed too bad, but I was starting from fresh. Now I was starting on the bike more tired than usual, and then the bike was twice as long. The first 10 km didn't seem too bad, but I soon reached the point where my hands were starting to go numb, and my legs just wouldn't respond when I wanted them to push harder. I also didn't want to push too hard, or I knew that I wouldn't have anything left for the run, which is not something I've had to worry about in sprint races. The course was on good pavement, and rolling. No big hills, but no time to relax, either. There was also a bit of a breeze, just enough to make the last 5 km into it a little more difficult.

Bike time: 1:38:49

Rank: 36/64 overall, 6/7 in age group.

The run was an effort in sheer willpower. I was feeling pretty dead from the bike ride, and still had a 10km run left. I think that if I had seen the course ahead of time, I would have just quit right there. But I naively thought that a winding trail through the park would be nice, and started off. The trail turned out to be a cross-country ski trail, and had a ton of hills. I would estimate that there were 15-20 uphills of various sizes per lap (I had to run 2 laps). My legs were pretty seized up the whole time, and there were points when I was jogging so slowly that I was barely moving faster than walking. But I kept going, kept pushing, even up the hills. What kept me going was the thought that when I made it to the end, I would have finished an Olympic triathlon. That was surprisingly strong motivation. It seemed to take forever, but I made it. There were lots of spectators out along the route, especially for the last kilometer, and I fed off their energy a lot.

Run time: 1:07:06

Rank: 44/64 overall, 6/7 in age group.

Final time: 3:23:45

Rank: 38/64 overall, 6/7 in age group.

I learned a lot yesterday, both about myself (such as my ability to motivate myself and persevere) and about how I can be better prepared for next year. My last triathlon of this season will be a short sprint, so I have plenty of time to get ready for my next Olympic distance triathlon, which will definitely be happening next summer. For one thing, I need to be better prepared for the nutrition requirements of a longer triathlon. For much of the run, I was starving. I could just feel that my body was craving nutrients. I devoured everything in sight as soon as I was done, and I have no doubt that taking in some of those calories during the race would have helped me to have more energy and go faster. Also, I have a new determination to get into better shape. I'm definitely in way better shape this summer than last, but I still have a long way to go. The larger scale of the Olympic triathlon is good motivation, too, because there's more room to grow. The winner finished in 2:26:53 (which is actually a pretty slow time for a triathlon: my theory is that either all the fast racers were in Kelowna for the national championships, or the course was very difficult, and I think it was a bit of both), which is almost an hour faster than me. The fastest swim was 10 minutes faster than me, the fastest bike was 24 minutes faster, and the fastest run also 24 minutes faster. I think I'll be back here next year, and I expect to post a much better time.