Baddeck Duathlon, 2016

I was afraid for a moment that the duathlon season in Nova Scotia would be reduced to 2 races this year. Until along came a new duathlon is the hills of Baddeck. So I had to sign up, even with a 3.5 hour drive to get there.

We drove up the night before and stayed with a friend who was conveniently only a couple of kilometers from the race start. This meant sleeping in for once before a race.

For a first year event in the middle of summer there was 39 starters (I think more may have signed up). The race was held on very good quality and incredibly car free secondary roads with the run being on a dirt road.  The distances were 5km, 22km, 2.5km.

After sign in and set up I did a little run warm up, took on a gel and headed to the start line. The Race Director and Head Official gave us some instructions and soon we were off.

  I started up front and went off at what felt like a comfy pace. Soon I was all alone, which surprised me as there were a few fast runners in the crowd. In fact I thought I must have gone way too fast or somehow took a wrong turn. But no, I was just comfortably leading. Then I went around a corner and started to run up a hill. And up. And up. The first kilometer was up, and it was steep. Still, I held my ground and  pace and kept going. At the top was rollers but mostly more up. Finally at the 2.5km mark I hit the turn around and held a small lead. Now to go back down! Unfortunately with the pot holes and loose gravel the going down didn't quite make up for the going up. As I approached the transition to the bike I had a decent lead of about 15 second and finished with a time of 18:32. I am really happy with that as it is better than my last duathlon start this year and a much harder run.

I was on the bike quickly and started out in the lead. I didn't imagine that would last long as there were some bike demons in the group. Still, it took about 7 kilometers to lose the lead, then by 9 kilometers I fell to third.

I figured I would push the bike hard on the race. The course was very smooth pavement, but quite hilly with 238 meters of climbing. There was also a few one way bridges to contend with, but volunteers were there to help out. I passed the first 2 bridges without issue but at the third I had to slow as a car was approaching from the other side. The volunteers did get it stopped so I didn't have to wait long, but it did let Kevin catch me a little faster than I hoped. I had held him off for 16 kilometers but soon fell to fourth place.

I kept Kevin in sight for quite awhile only losing him in the final couple of kilometers. I hit the second transition with a bike time of 40:26 for an average speed of 32.6 km/hr.  More importantly Kevin was only starting the second run as I was putting my bike away.

It quickly got my helmet off and my running shoes on (the fabulous New Balance 1400's) and off i went in pursuit. Soon I found Kevin running up the hill and was reeling him in. By 800m I caught him and passed him and made it to the turn around in third place.  No rest though as I didn't know what sort of speed Kevin might be able to get out of the downhill. Push push push.  But as I closed in on the finish I was clear and crossed the line in 1:09. Third overall, second age group and totally happy.

This was a great race, followed by BBQ and pasta salad, a great bit of ART from Seaside Chiropractic to help speed the recovery and a great bit of draw prizing. And the area allowed for some great sight seeing afterward. I will be back!

Aylesford Lake Standard Distance Triathlon - July 24, 2016

(Update: Now with pictures!)

So a week late on this race report, but better late than never I guess? I had hoped to be able to snag some photos from the event but sadly I haven't seen any just yet (maybe an update to the post will come later on). So here we go.

It was a  super early morning, getting up at 4:45am to drive the 1.5 hours to race start. The weather was great though so the drive was as easy as it could be.  I did pass through some foggy patches and wondered if that might affect the race start but when i arrived I saw this sight.

It doesn't get calmer than that. The lake is wonderful and the race all takes place within a sheltered cove area but there was little to no wind to worry about anyway. The water temp was 21C so it was a wetsuit legal race, though it was going to be warm.

I got set up as quickly as possible and into my wetsuit to head to the lake. Transition was a mere 10m(?) give our take, from the exit of the swim. I floated around a bit and was able to listen to the race briefing from the water. Soon we were lined up and sent off.

I stayed to the outer edge, wanting to avoid getting beat up at swim start. I managed to get swimming right away and was keeping up with the main pack no problem. Unfortunately on the outside I kept getting pushed off course and found it hard to swim straight to the first buoy, but my pace felt great regardless. After 1 lap I wasn't too far behind the leaders and started lap 2 with a small group of my own. As I hot the final buoy I did start to get over taken by a few fast swimmers. That seemed confusing, but ultimately I found out it was the fast Sprint distance racers that started shortly after I started my second lap. I exited the water at 27:56 for my fastest 1500m swim yet in a race. 3rd in my AG and 8th overall. I actually swam 1660m due to being thrown off course occasionally, so I am even more happy with my pace. I just need to be able to fight for my line a little better.

Transition was fast, wetsuit off, helmet on and off I went. 46 seconds but only 2nd overall.

The bike starts with an uphill climb out of the park, it also goes over some speed bumps. These weren't a big issue at the start. Onto the road and I had already passed 2 people. Then off I went. The road is almost all new pavement. The first half is chipseal, then proper pavement once you get a few kilometers in. It was going to be a loop course, though this year we were not expected to go all the way back to the start. this would help avoid some road congestion into and out of the park as well as limiting how often we had to go over the speed bumps.

The chip seal was pretty slow going, but over all it is a fast course. The hills are generally low grades, though they can drag on. A couple were seemingly slower than one would expect, this could also be the new pavement which is sticky in the heat. Oh did I mention the heat? By the time the bike leg start the sun was full out and beating down quite handily.

I don't know exactly what place I was in by the second loop on the bike as a few fast Sprint swimmers were in the mix. I did pass a few riders but mostly concentrated on my race at this point. I road by feel for the most part, trying to stay at about 80-85% max effort.

The bike leg finished with a ride downhill and over speed bumps. I too this area cautious and made sure to take a few last sips of Gatorade. As I hit the bottom of the hill I was quickly out of my shoes and then off the bike right at the dismount line.

Like swim out, the distance to transition was not far. I got in, racked my bike and and was into my shoes. This time I managed the fastest transition time at 26 seconds. My bike time was 1:09:58 for 40 km (though this was touch short).

I was soon upon a competitor. He has gotten a penalty so had fallen back a bit. As I passed him he tried to hold on to my pace, and did so for about 2 kilometers before  I could here him drift off. By 3.5 km in I had worked my way to 2nd overall and could not see 1st at all. So my goal was to maintain my current pace, and again run by feel. It was hot, the road was hillier than expected and I was very happy to take a cup of water at the 5km point.

First place was probably 1 km ahead of me once we passed, so I knew even attempting to catch him was futile. I just needed to hold position. I finally glanced back as I approached the downhill to the park and was quite clear. I picked up the pace a bit in the last section as i finally glanced at my watch and saw that I could make a sub 40 min 10 km no problem.

I crossed the finish line at 2:18:46 with a 10  km run time of 39:42. 9 minutes faster than my first race this year. 2nd overall, 1st in AG and spent. It was a great race with some good battles.

At least 1 more Standard distance triathlon awaits me in Shubie later on in September. So for now, back to the lake to get faster. Take care.