TT

So I did my first TT last week... The Muskoka Cycling Club is putting on a series of TT this summer and I was excited to do a time trial but also wasn't really sure "how" to do it. My race in Binbrook left me feeling a little disappointed in my biking because I didn't really pace it right, but I guess that is the beauty of learning to do something new.

The day of the time trial turned out to be a rough one for me mentally as I had a pretty emotional conversation and despite trying to be strong sometimes things said still hurt and upset me...I was thinking of not going to the event as my motivation level was low but SV got me going and told me I would feel better and all I had to do was go hard for 23.6 km...at that moment there was nothing I wanted to do less, lol. MD and KM were great and gave me big hugs and I figured what the hell...there was going to be a beer at the end.

They sent people off 1 minute apart...there was no real order, we just went in the order we arrived..I went 8th and started one minute behind SV...which I realized wasn't that great because it made me 2 minutes behind the next person that I was trying to catch, as I knew I wouldn't be catching SV. lol

It ended up being a very interesting event. There was 2 laps on the Parkway and I really liked the route. They did a great job with organizing it and made sure the course was clearly marked. I pushed hard and it was fun to see SV blazing by all the other riders. It was very different from anything I am used to and I did enjoy it. I was able to work out some of my frustration on that ride and at the end I knew I had put in a good effort and the day was saved, lol..

I ended up placing 4th overall and was the first place woman which was cool, but I was still 4 minutes behind SV (he won by over 30 seconds), but my average speed was higher than I thought I would be able to ride at and I am pretty happy with it.

I look forward to doing a few more of these events this summer and seeing if I can improve on my first attempt.

Hi There....

It's great to see you...I am sorry it has been so long...wow can't believe how busy life can get.

I am back into the grind of school...we have midterms next week, wow is it going fast but so far I really like this semester a lot of great things are being taught and the teachers are extremely good.

The girlies are doing great..changing all the time, the youngest got her hair cut and looks so grown up as she heads into her 7th birthday...my baby is going to be 7, wow,hard to believe...My oldest is getting super excited as she counts down the days until the 23rd, she gets done school early and is going to camp for 3 weeks...I on the other hand am feeling a little anxious about it, I know that she is going to have an amazing time but 3 weeks away and not being able to talk to her for the first week...ok deep breaths..the camp is supposed to be great and I am excited for her..I am just sad for me, lol!

Other than that things are good, often feel like there isn't enough hours in the day to get done what I would like to get done but I guess that is normal. I think back to this time last year and it is nice to see that life has gone on and we are surviving, the hardest times are behind us and I know that I am a stronger person than I was before...

A few years back I had a conversation with some people about getting older and I clearly remember saying that I was looking forward to age 34 and 35, I wasn't sure why but I thought those would be great years...interestingly enough, 10 days before I am to turn 34, it all makes sense...I am finally happy and getting stronger every day. I like who I am, I love my family and I have a person in my life who makes me smile.

Okay..on to tri stuff....this past weekend I did my first triathlon shorter than an Ironman in almost 5 years...shortest race I have done in 7 years...learned a few things for sure...

SV and I went down and raced in Binbrook with Ange, a new race for all 3 of us...somehow our plan of getting to the race on time/early just didn't work out the way we thought it would...I know I give SV a hard time about sauntering but we were on the rivet and somehow things just kind of happened. It was a beautiful rainy day and we knew that our bikes were going to get filthy...it took a little longer to get into the park and to get our stuff at registration, we were running around trying to get things done as the race announcer was saying 5 minutes to the start of the triathlon...I have never done things so fast, setting up my transition area and getting my wetsuit on...they started the duathlon and SV wasn't even in his wetsuit yet...to say the least our heart rates were high..I looked around the transition area and we were one of the few remaining and we were in the first wave...SV's daughter was capturing all the chaos with her camera and being very supportive of us and telling us we would be fine and helping us into our wetsuits..she's such a sweetheart! ....as we were running to the beach SV was still only half into his wetsuit and we had just over a minute until the start of our wave...we reached the water and put our goggles on and had 30 seconds until we started...My heart was racing, I have never before started a race in such a flurry of activity..I had no clue what the swim route looked like and I was wearing my brand new wetsuit..no warm up swim, no goggle check...just ran to the start line, exchanged a quick smooch and wished each other luck and then it was go time!!

The start of the race was very different than the race I did last summer which had no contact (with only 24 people swimming and doing 10km, no one was interested in swimming on top of each other..) but my first short course tri brought it all back to me, people pulling on my legs, pushing into my back, kicking me, hitting me in the head...wow, I forgot how rough people could be..luckily it only lasted for 150m or so and then I was in my own space. I felt ok but could tell I hadn't swam in 2 weeks but still pushed myself. There was one pro woman in the race, she is a young girl but very strong in the water, I could see her for most of the swim and she pulled ahead at the last buoy...when I reached the beach I was glad to be done, but it was a long run up a very muddy beach, about 225m run to transition and all mud...this was the first time I had worn the new blueseventy wetsuit I won at Ultraman and I loved the reverse zipper it has, it made taking off my wetsuit very easy!

The bike leg was pretty good, not a really tough ride with a few turns, that I will admit I slowed down a little to much for, but with the rain and sand I was being a little over cautious I think. I am still learning how to do this short course stuff and I think I held back a little bit on the bike, wasn't really sure how or when to push hard and never at any time did I feel like I was working really hard, but I felt strong...not sure if that makes sense. SV caught me at 7km into the ride, he looked really strong and patted me on the butt as he flew by (he ended up passing everyone but the lead male, coming in 2nd off the bike..he was moving!!) I was really looking forward to the run and during the ride I started to think of going hard on the run, figured I would try to "catch" SV out there, even though it was only a 6.5km run...

However, I didn't realize the run was going to be so muddy...the description of the course said grass paths and packed trails...but none of us realized that it was entirely off road and with all the rain that it was going to be so slippery and muddy. Getting footing was terrible as we were running on grassy hills and the paths were all mud and narrow...it made for one messy run. It consisted of 2 out and backs and by the 3km point I was pretty frustrated, I never run on grass or on mud and I was having a difficult time getting solid footing and I could feel myself just kind of shut it down....no point trying to go hard and sprain an ankle, I just wanted to get it done and not be injured. Ran past a friend I hadn't seen in many months and he cheered me on as we past each other, it lifted my spirits to know I would get to catch up with him after we were done. When SV and I would pass each other on the out and backs I could tell he was enjoying the run just as much as I was, and he said the same about me...there were a few really dangerous spots on the course with steep downhills that were mud covered and several people went down, luckily I stayed up on my feet and finished as the first age group woman overall. I was disappointed in my run because I knew I hadn't given it my all but at the same time for the way the course was it was all I could put into it...interestingly, SV said he did the same thing...he knew he could run harder but was frustrated and didn't want to get injured so he "shut it down" too!

Overall it was good to get this race under my belt, it is so different from racing the long distance things that you have so many factors to try to consider and plan for while this type of racing it is purely just "GO"...not sure which I prefer yet...guess I will know after a few more!