the race

It turned out to be a great weekend for the Gravenhurst Triathlons..AC and CS had come up to stay with us for the weekend and we headed out on the lake for a choppy boat ride and dinner(H&T joined us as H was doing her first try a tri..) Dinner was great at the Taboo boat house and I loved randomly running into old friends, DB and RF, who were up for the race as well...
Race day, I was in charge of getting us to the race site on time, after Binbrook I decided I would be in charge of this..although the transition area was less than 500m from the condo, I knew we would be alright. Things went smoothly for all 3 of us (CS, SV and I) and we made our way down to the Sequin for 8am..I was excited for this as I think the Sequin is beautiful and we have talked about going out for a cruise on it...so it was great to be finally heading out on it. The wait to jump off the boat and into the lake was probably the worst part of the day..it was already very warm by 8:40am and standing in wetsuits was not a comfortable thing. Once we were given the signal to jump in I was happy, the water was the perfect temperature and just a little bit of chop. The Whistle of the boat signalled the start of the race waves and once we got swimming it didn't take long to settle into my rhythm..I saw SV for the first few strokes and then I was pretty much on my own..I could tell there were at least 2 people in front of me and I just focused on the buoys and staying long and smooth on my swim. It is a great lake and I really enjoyed the swim course...it is an L shape with the swim exit at the dock at Boston Pizza (they installed some floating stairs for the athletes) I hit the stairs with one other person, 3rd out of the water..it is a long run up the dock, across the street and around the back of the park to the timing mat, but it was also nice as my bike was close to the swim entrance/run exit area..I had an ok transition, still have to work on being a little quicker in there and my mount to my bike was laughable, but it got me smiling and having some fun!
The start of the bike takes you up Brown St. which is a nice kick in the butt, the first few kms were great, I am used to the roughness of Jones Rd and was prepared for having to be careful. At the first turn around I found out that I was riding in 3rd place..not bad..but then I saw SV and it was sooner than I thought I was going to see him, I greeted him with an "Oh Crap", lol...I then saw CS and RF..it was very deceiving as they seemed to be right behind me...I gave myself a pep talk..figuring I wasn't making the 18km mark before SV caught me..I told myself to just do my own race and let him catch me..nothing I could do about how fast he was riding and I waited for the pat on the bum.
I ended up having a great ride, I felt strong in all the hard areas and pushed on the fun spots..I hit the 18km point and had to smile as SV hadn't passed yet...goal reached. He caught me not long after the 2nd turn around and it was nice to see him, no pat on the bum as we were climbing and he was trying to avoid a pot hole and then he was gone....The last section is tough and I was passed by one more person, he was a duathlete and he rode by me like I was standing still....at the last turn around I realized I was less than 2 minutes behind SV...this was going to be an interesting run!

The start of the run was tough... it was really hot and humid and my quads were screaming at me and on the verge of cramping...the first km I tried to reason with them that the run wouldn't be that bad and all they had to do was 9 more km...but they know that road and the hills aren't nice...but the fuzzy peaches I ate seemed to help a little. The run was a brutal one...the heat, sun and humidity on the road on top of the hills made it challenging, there wasn't much about that run that I found enjoyable...at the halfway point I could tell I was gaining on SV and I thought it might be possible to catch him...by the 7.5km mark I had goosebumps...it was the heat getting to me...I was closing in on SV by the last big climb but I knew that if I didn't catch him by the top that I wouldn't be able to take him on the down hill (as he is way better at running down hill than I am)...he knew this too and after checking over his shoulder for me a few times he raised his arm in victory at the top of the last hill, lol...I love that we can have such fun out there even when we are both hurting!

I crossed the finish line in 3rd place, 20 seconds behind SV...18 minutes ahead of the next woman...I was pleased with my first Olympic race in over 8 years and felt strong the whole way...my quads were tired...there was nothing else I could have given on that run and it was a fun day, people out there suffering and still cheering each other on! not everyone had a great day and some had some bad mechanical problems but still it is a great event and I love the route and can see how it was voted the #1 race in Ontario...

We ended the night with a great gathering of friends to celebrate SV birthday and we got up early to cheer on friends that were racing the next morning in the sprint and try-a-tri...body felt good but man was I tired!!

Muskoka

I remember my first ride up here in Muskoka last summer. SV took me out and we were going to do an easy 62km ride...the first 15km I broke up with him in my mind at least 3 times (possibly 4 but I can't be sure) these little hills that SV said we were "nothing" just about killed me...nothing like the hills I was used to riding in Southwestern Ontario...now just over a year later the Beach Rd is one of my favourites in the area to ride and I am looking forward to racing on it for the first time this weekend. The Gravenhurst Triathlon is here and I am excited to get out there and have some fun. The course really is a great one and even though I haven't done this race before, I have swam, biked and ran the course so many times in the last year, some good some really really bad, I can't wait to have 300 other athletes out there finding out why I love it so much. We have friends coming up to do the race and to celebrate SV's birthday (Happy Birthday babe!!)...I am looking forward to spending time with great people, pushing hard and then celebrating. This will be my first Olympic distance triathlon since 2001...my goal is PB baby, lol...hopefully that won't be a problem as it was my first triathlon ever...I think I know a few more things now...

SV is going down this race...there I said it..okay maybe not..but my goal is to get to the 18km mark on the ride before he passes me...and then make myself look strong on the run course so he thinks I'm catching him...ssshhh don't tell.... It should be a great weekend!

Lastly I want to just congratulate 2 of the best people in the whole wide world on an accomplishment I am very impressed with. My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary...such great parents, spouses and friends! They have a marriage that amazes me and gives me faith that marriage can work (even if it isn't something I intend to ever do again). Congratulations on being so great for one another, for showing me that your partner has to be your lover and your friend and that relationships aren't always easy but liking each other and being a great team can get you through all the hard times! I love you both and thank you for being so great together!

July

Wimbledon...Tour de France....heat and humidity....I am in love with this month so far.

SV introduced me to tennis last year, a sport I had never been interested in watching before but now I am hooked, the skill, speed and power that these players put into each of their shots is impressive...I loved watching Wimbledon this year..some interesting things happened...and I look forward to the US Open!

Then the tour stared this week...so far so good, many crashes and excitement...it never disappoints and to be honest it is my favourite thing about summer...always makes me want to get out there and ride..it also floors me to know that they are able to ride at 50-55km/hour...amazing!

I had my 3rd attempt at the TT this week...I am really loving/hating this event...it is a great group of people who are coming out each week, between 10-14 people..and the volunteers are pretty amazing to come out and do all this for us. Last week I wore toe warmers and arm warmers and the wind was intense. I rode about 30 seconds slower than the first week but I was happy with my effort. This week I thought we were crazy to even be attempting it. It was 42 degrees out with the humidity and my motivation level was non-existent. I tried to tell SV that it wasn't healthy for us and that we shouldn't be doing anything intense....his response was.."this is the temperature it was for your Ultraman last year and it will be 30 minutes of hard work"......so to say the least I put my bike gear on and off we went.

I had a pretty good ride actually. I did a PB by 30 seconds and felt pretty strong and was actually able to even split the 2 laps. There is one lady that has come out the last few times and she is fast, I ended up being only 8 seconds behind her and it was great to be pushed by her and to know that I was pushing her as well! It was hot and painful..I was soaked by the time we were done but it was also a lot of fun. I am actually starting to enjoy these tt's...so different than what I have done before but fun to push hard and I never thought I would be able to ride at the speed I am riding at...hopefully I will learn how to do that in a race setting but for now I am having fun with the time trials.

I also found my way back to the water this week, the last time I swam was the triathlon last month but I have been in the water 3 times so far this week...can't say I am feeling great in the water but at least I am getting in again...we also got out in the lake for a swim and I am really happy with the new wetsuit...fit is great and the feel is even better!