Calgary 70.3 Race Report

So, race reports.  Wow Wow Wow!

Last weekend, I got to travel to Calgary, to participate in the 70.3.   This race has been on my bucket list for a while, as when I was living over the summers in Edmonton, it was close and convenient.  It just never quite lined up with my schedule, and I didn’t get the chance.  This year, it lined up perfectly.  I was nervous, I was excited, I felt fit and ready.

Pre-race

 Having had planned to get to Calgary in the car with Sean, Esther, and Dante, work schedule changed and I flew into Calgary on Friday night.  After a few “unplanned” barriers in our accommodation, Saturday ended up being a bit more hectic than planned.  3 athletes staying in 3 different places, with one car to get around was a logistical nightmare.  I forgot my transition bag for check in, I felt like I needed to make sure everyone around me had the best pre-race day possible, I made assumptions that I shouldn’t have, and It. Was. Hectic.  I certainly did not feel “calm” and “focused.”  But, thus was life. Race expo felt more like a local race than a large Ironman Event, and I liked that.  The best part of the day was the excitement that we all felt, and the beautiful, pre-race (Albeit expensive) dinner at Avec Bistro with Sean, and my mum.

Race morning came quickly, and I had a great sleep.  The morning was cool, clear, and perfect.

Swim:

Well.  Let’s just say that the race start came faster than planned.  I think I presumed I was off the line at 7:15, but really it was 7.  And, why the heck did I have a white cap, and all the other women had a pink cap?  Am I sure that I am in the same swim group as all the other women?  I positioned myself to the front, and a little to the left.  I did dolphin dives to start, and away we went. 

The start was fast.  I found myself wishing I had a better warm up, and I instantly had two people on my feet.  It makes me anxious when that happens, and I don’t quite know how to mentally “not care.” It was especially annoying since the girl on my feet was pretty much pawing them, not just a tap every once and a while.  I know this is kosher in triathlon, but it is also nice if when you draft, you draft where you don’t have to hit the feet every 5 strokes.  So, I stopped for 5 seconds.  I let them pass, and it was better.

Other than the sun creating it hard to see the course, I felt steady.  Not particularly FAST, but, steady.  Turns out that I had the fastest swim ever.  I ran out of the swim with a sub-30 minute swim. This made me happy! 29:40 swim, 9^th AG, 36^th Female.

Quick strip of the wetsuit, quick transition, and onto the bike.

Bike:

I anticipated the bike to be challenging out to Bragg creek (where I would have to be conservative), and fast on the way back into Calgary.  This was about right.  The roads in the city were not particularly clean, and not closed to traffic.  This was OK for the most part, but the shoulder was night & people are the most bunched at the first part of the race. As the hills came and went, the field spread out, and I found myself feeling great.  I was passing quite a few people, and having very few women pass… I only noticed one 30-34 year old pass me.  I knew I was in good shape.

The scenary was amazing, and a deer almost jumped out onto the road in front of me.  Gotta love the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

I was ready to start heading downhill & was excited about my time.  Today would be my first sub-5 hour 70.3.  We went north, then East, and the descent & slight tail wind were in my favour.  I felt AWESOME, loved seeing Dante looking so strong on his ride, caught the other girl in my AG in the past 10km, and loved passing folks.  I was smiling the whole time.  After stretching out my legs a big, massaging my quad, getting out of the saddle, the run was waiting.  2:31 time, 2^nd AG, 17^th Female.

Ran off the bike with the girl from my AG, and was out of transistion faster than her.

Run

I started off too fast. Instantly, I knew I had to slow down, and at this point I was feeling good. I had a nice little chat with Lindsay, the girl in my AG on the bike, and wished her a good run.  I knew that she would out run me, but, that’s ok.  It is up to me to be consistant.

 I think, mentally, I paniced a bit (even though I wasn’t aware of it).  When you have the desire to go fast, and to PR, you put yourself on the line… BUT, sometimes you forget the necessary things. And, I also (retrospectively) think that mentally, I doubted myself.  I was scared that what happened in Boise would happen here as well. I was worried that I would not achieve my goals. If psychologically, you do not 100% believe in yourself, when it gets hard, you are going to struggle. 

The run for this race is and out and back, right around the reservoir, in and out of a valley, with 50% shade, 50% open & a few VERY good  hard climbs.  It wasn’t easy, but it certainly was also not a killer.

First 5 km: great! Good chance at getting a sub 5hr race!!! 

2^nd 5km: steady. 5hrs will be a push, but, PR is a certainty.

3^rd 5km: Tough, with walking starting to set in.  HOT.  Uncertain, psychologically. 

KM 15-16… oh boy, its going mentally downhill. I hurt, this is hard, im not sure what is going to happen here.

 Last 4-6km: big struggle.  I just couldn’t get it going.  Mentally, I knew that I would be in a fine spot to qualify for Mt Tremblant, but my feet were dragging, and I was hot.  I was not happy, but I also was not sad.  I knew I had put my best on the line during the race up to this far.

The last two KM were a struggle, on the concrete & on a slight uphill. I went over the line, with a PR, and having lost my first podium spot in a 70.3.  I slipped from 2^nd to 7^th, in what seemed like was the last 6 km of the race. That was frustrating.

Finshed my run with a 2:20, 7^th AG, 37^th woman.

Overall:

5:09:14 (PR by 2mins, 15 seconds), 7^th AG, 37^th woman.

It was a good race.  It is 80% AWESOME and 20% meh.  Looking back at my 70.3 results over the past few years, I have really struggled on my runs. And, I want that to change. I know in the next few weeks, up to Mount Tremblant, that I have a focus and a drive.  We have a plan (it includes focused pace running, frequency, and hills). It just needs to be executed.

Now, I want to open it up to you:

What are your thoughts on this race?  What could’ve I changed?

-         Rarely do we hear people say “I had a crappy bike and an AWESOME RUN!”  We often hear the opposite.  Why is this so common in triathlon?

-         How do we mentally train for the toughness on the run?

-         We know that when you are conservative on the bike, there is a better chance for a successful run.  However, how do you find a balance in that?  If you go 10 minutes slower on the bike, are you going to go 15 minutes faster on the run?  Unlikely. Is there a secret to succeeding in this balance?