Spring is here -- sort of!

My HPS buddy Simon said on his own blog that if someone goes silent for awhile, it usually means one of two things. Either things are going badly, or things are ticking along great and they're just super busy training. In my case, I have to claim a little of the former. I'm not sure if I was trying to ramp up too quickly, or if it was just a case of stress or bad luck, but I spent a good portion of last month feeling... well, generally crappy. Fatigue, sore neck, sudden inability to hit my heart rate targets on the trainer, general cruddiness. Tack on a little impostor syndrome, doubting that I actually belong on the OTC high-performance squad. Thankfully, I also had a family vacation to Florida last month. I bagged my initial plans to swim like a freak and put down killer run volume while on holiday. Instead, I ran an easy 5k every 2 or 3 days. Went for a leisurely rollerblade a couple of times. Did quite a bit of walking. No biking or swimming at all. For the first week, the fatigue was joined by swollen glands, night time cough, sore throat, and sinus pressure, in sequence. Nothing horrible, just general un-wellness. Then by day 8 or 9, I felt better. Just in time to go home! Still, I was thankful for the perfectly-timed dose of warm weather, sunshine, and rest.

Gettin' er done on semi-frozen sidewalks

The spring weather at home has been slow to materialize, with only a few warm days teasing us before Mother Nature laughed "just kidding!" and dumped another solid helping of snow. I'd also say "warm" is a little relative... the roads were dry and clean enough to take my bike out for the first outdoor ride of the season. But my apparel included chemical hand and foot warmers, and Saran Wrap over my feet to keep the wind out where the toe covers didn't reach.

April 6th -- Canada geese wondering whose idiot decision it was to lead the flock back north

My pace cyclist with her game face on

I think we may have finally turned the corner, though -- here is a shot from yesterday's lunchtime ride. A leisurely exploration of the surrounding area, without my Garmin, was the perfect way to welcome spring for real. On the race front, my first of the season is coming up on Mother's Day -- the Sporting Life 10k. My goals are to chase my PB, enjoy my first race with my husband, and get tuned up for the upcoming tri season.

April 14th -- This is more like it

One more fun thing of late, is that nuun has the 2016 'team nuun' athletes up on their site. Including me -- whoa! Check it out...

Crazy, right? My oldest daughter thinks I'm cool!

Welcome, 2016!

It's hard to believe the first month of 2016 has passed. My extra several pounds of built-in winter insulation have been successfully installed (see how I'm making lemonade here?). For me, January was focused on absorbing some life changes, a move, some schedule shuffling, and starting up High Performance Squad training with the OTC. Somehow I managed to sneak in a few outings on my snowshoes and skate skis as well. I'm aiming to start upping the training load again, gradually, while focusing on enjoying the outdoors and keeping it fun so I'm still hungry for it come July. 

Well hello there, 2016!

Warning -- dorky tri data blabber follows

A couple of weeks ago was our first LT (lactate threshold) test of the season -- otherwise known as "pedal till you barf up a lung". The insult to injury here is that in our TTP class, the hour on the bike is followed by an hour (minus time taken to wring out your shirt, mop the lakes of sweat off the floor, and get downstairs) of strength training. Followed in turn that evening by a series of plank exercises. I wondered out loud if it counts as impaired driving if your legs feel like overcooked calamari.

Getting that data was worth it, though. In the past, I've relied mostly on perceived exertion to determine how hard I've gone on workouts. As a bit of an experiment, having received a Tickr X heart rate monitor for Christmas (thanks, husband!), I'm using heart rate zones to train, ultimately comparing the data with how I feel. So far, using the zones defined by the LT test has been great -- as it turns out, a Z3 climb on the bike shouldn't spike my heart rate to 173! Who knew. I'm focusing on keeping most of my weekly effort in Z2 to rebuild my aerobic fitness after the off-season, and monitoring how much time I spend in Z3-Z5 tempo/speed work (for example, TTP spin class). I'm also trying out Training Peaks, which calculates fitness, accumulated fatigue, and race-readiness based on heart rate data across workouts. Yes, I am truly tapping my inner nerd this season.

Remembering how to skate ski after a 10+ year hiatus

On the sponsorship front, I'm very thankful to Dr. Patrick Kirkham at Britannia Chiropractic for his continued support this season. I'm also excited to have been chosen to join Team nuun 2016! I try hard to avoid using the word "just" -- such as "I'm just an age-group athlete" or "I mostly just do short-course" -- because that word sucks the joy out of any statement you add it to. But I'm humbled that these folks are willing to support me as an athlete. Seriously, if you're reading this and have known me longer than 5 years or so, you're probably wondering what quadrant of the Twilight Zone you've fallen into. Yep, I'm running without being chased. Believe it.

Taking some time to have fun with friends has also been great lately. A bunch of us gathered on a whim to deliver a crushing (well, if you count demolishing plates of bar food) at the Nepean Sailing Club trivia night. Kids included! 

Catching up with friends

I highly recommend injecting a healthy dose of get-togethers and laughter into your training regime. It really does make the winter a little warmer.

Race report -- Trimemphre Olympic Age-Group National Championship

July 25, 2015
1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run
Magog, QC

Breakfast: most of an egg, a piece of lunchmeat ham, 1/2 french toast, 1/2 croissant, 1/2 whole wheat toast, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese, honeydew melon, OJ, tea

Tree covered in knitting, outside the Magog arts center

I've had notes kicking around for this post since July... it's now December. Time to get this done before 2015 is over. I don't really know why it's taken me so long -- this was my A race for the season, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped, and I had to sort through some mixed feelings about it. I raced as hard as I possibly could. I left absolutely nothing in the tank, and suffered pretty deeply during the race and afterward. I was completely satisfied that I gave it all I had. I didn't even look up my results until I was almost done my long drive home -- which is totally unlike me. ;) Qualifying for Worlds was a super-long shot for me this year. But out of all the comments I received after the race, "that's too bad" rang loudest for me. "What do you mean, 'that's too bad'?? I raced my guts out! This was only my second Olympic distance tri, I'm completely satisfied with my effort!" I thought to myself. Did some things go pear-shaped? Sure... but live and learn. In any case, onward. I'm really pleased overall with how my 2015 season ended up. I managed 1st in my age group and 3rd overall female in our local/regional Somersault Series standings. I'm ready to dig in to 2016 and continue to improve. But first, this overdue race report... it's a long one. Better grab coffee. And provisions.

Lots of athletes and spectators at this event -- carpet from swim run-out visible in the background

While my result at Magog wasn't a qualifying performance, it was an improvement over my other Oly result from Toronto last year (by where I finished in the field). I went into it with the perspective that I wanted to race my best race, and there wasn't anything I could do about how everyone else did. This was clearly a strong and experienced field -- everywhere I turned, there were kits with Team Canada or various sponsors emblazoned across them. Time to walk tall and get down to business.

Took a photo of this sea serpent for the kids

I arrived the day before, with plenty of time to do a quick swim, bike, and run before picking up my race package. I neglected to bring my MyFloat, so I left it to blind faith that my shoes and keys would still be on shore when I returned. The water was cool and clear, but the rocky bottom meant we had to tread carefully. My B&B was was an easy bike/walk from the race venue, and was peaceful and quiet.

Late Friday afternoon, clouds rolling through

Kelsey had invited me to dinner with her and some friends. Their AirBnB was a bit out of town, which gave me the opportunity to drive some of the bike course. This is by far the most technical course I have experienced. As I was driving along, I pondered the 90-degree turn at the bottom of a steep hill, and cursed the city planner who chose to put several stands of trees in the middle of a perfectly good, straight road. Having mentally tallied up several "omg..." and "wtf???" spots on course, I was ready for a glass of wine when I showed up for dinner. Bottle in hand, I cheerfully strolled up the driveway... of the wrong house. The gentleman who lived there assured me I was welcome to come back with the wine if I was unable to find the right place. Thankfully I got sorted in the end.

Wonderful view  (with deer flies the size of Volkswagens just outside the frame)

Manning (womaning?) the BBQ

Had dinner Friday with this lovely group

On race morning, I had a quiet breakfast and slowly made my way to the transition area. My start time wasn't until 1:40 pm... which felt odd, as I'm used to racing in the early morning. I tried to rest and find shade as much as possible while I waited, but race nerves meant I didn't eat anything for lunch. This would end up being a bad mistake. 

The decision to allow or disallow wetsuits came down to the wire -- in the end wetsuits were not allowed. I've only ever raced at Sydenham (200m in a super sprint) without a wetsuit, so that was new for me. My mantra for the swim was "Strong, Smooth, Straight". I wanted to emulate the feeling from Brockville last year. My plan was to start around the 2nd row on the beach, keep up with the strong swimmers as long as possible, and find some feet. I had practiced dolphin diving the day before, and when the gun went off I actually made some distance on those who started swimming right away. Bonus! I executed exactly to plan, felt great, and shaved 4:08 off last year's Toronto swim -- without the wetsuit. I'm not sure if T1 is figured into the swim or the bike, so I'm assuming the swim time as it's posted. 

Before -- looking chipper with Kelsey in the transition area

On the bike, I tried to emulate the effort from Sydenham while carrying it over a longer distance. Fuel consisted of swedish berries and almonds. Despite my impression from driving it the evening before -- and the fact that I witnessed someone being pulled from the ditch on a spineboard -- I actually found the course super fun to ride. I had heard from someone to add 10-15 minutes to your expected Oly bike split to account for all the turnarounds and crazy curves. That ended up right, with my bike split 10 minutes longer than TO (again, not sure where T2 falls into this). Felt strong though, and moved up 6 places from my position after the swim.

For the run, I tried to recapture the feeling from Toronto last year. "Leave the bike legs in T2, take new legs out onto the run." This is where the wheels started to fall off, unfortunately. That post-bike heavy legs feeling that normally goes away, just didn't this time. So I'd say most of the 10k was a full-on sufferfest. I had to walk up a bit of an obnoxiously steep dirt hill with my hands on my thighs to keep upright. Someone pulled up in a golf cart to ask if I was ok. I nodded and kept trudging... I think if I'd stopped my legs would have just buckled. I chugged gatorade at every aid station where it was available, but it didn't help. I tried to keep pushing, and actually passed some people which I found kind of crazy considering how miserable and weak I felt. In the end I moved up 2 more places in my AG. When I crossed the finish line, I made the mistake of stopping suddenly and bending over to take off my chip. Bad idea. Sort of lost control of my HR/breathing, got some bad shakes, and had trouble speaking anything intelligible. The medics sat me down to take my vitals and give me some water. Unfortunately while I was sitting, my hamstrings seized. Good times! Anyway, got fixed up by the on-site physios and started to feel better once I had some food and a couple of chocolate milks in me. 

After -- not so chipper, but finished

I think some of my run problem may have stemmed from nutrition/hydration. I ate at 9:30 a.m. and didn't race till 1:40 pm... I didn't have any appetite whatsoever and couldn't make myself eat anything between breakfast and the race. Just water, and a cappuccino an hour before my start for a little caffeine infusion. On the bike, I drank a full bottle of Skratch and ate a handful of salted almonds and swedish berries, spread out over the 3 laps. Gatorade on the run. Despite drinking on course and having water plus 2 milks afterward, I didn't have to pee till about 8:30 pm... and the next morning I noticed I was a lot lighter than usual. So maybe some dehydration issues. I didn't have any problems like that in TO last year, even though I ate and drank less, but it was a lot cooler at that race and it started very early in the morning.

I'm looking forward to taking another crack at qualifying for Worlds in 2016 -- right here in Ottawa! But even if it doesn't happen, as long as I get closer than I did last time, I'll be a happy camper. 

Podium overlooking Lac Memphremagog

News, and The List

A bit of exciting news! I've been invited to join OTC's High Performance Squad for 2016. I'm honoured to have this opportunity to train with some seriously fast athletes. Judging by the current/former members of the squad that I had dinner with in Magog, they are great folks to be around too. Oh, those nice dinner companions? All (except one who was nursing a bad stress fracture) qualified for Worlds at that race. Time to up my game!

I've finally shaken off the post-season burnout feeling, and I'm enjoying being busy with things other than training... like keeping a new puppy out of trouble, knitting a sweater for my daughter, taking my other daughter to riding lessons, trying to keep the house neat enough that I can find my keys, and of course thinking about what I'd like to do this coming year in triathlon and otherwise. I figure I might as well start with a bigger list, and go from there -- inspired by Kelsey, the Happy Triathlete (and, I might add, one of my new coaches on the HPS next season!).

Say hi to Tinley! She says "Are those running shoes expensive? They look delicious..."

List of things I'd like to do at some point:

• Sing Handel's Messiah at the National Arts Center in Ottawa
• So excited to be crossing this off the list this year!!! Everyone come see it, December 15 and 16th. I promise I won't wear lycra. Though I am open to bribes/dares to yell "on your left!" during the Alleluia.
• Do the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon
• With the crappy Canadian dollar and the entry fee going up to $750 US, I've adjusted this "want to do" to be simply... swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco. I mean, if I want to race a steep bike or run course, I'll just go to Tremblant or Muskoka and save some coin. 
• Complete an Ironman
• Because who needs sleep, a life, or body parts that aren't broken... right?
• Qualify for and race at Age Group World Championships
• Want to take another crack at this one.
• Do a multi-day bike tour
• Ideally something with really good food and wine at the end. 
• Live on a boat
• Don't know where I'll put the bikes, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Anyone have other suggestions? Must-do races or other events? What's looking good in 2016? So many possibilities!

Race report -- The Canadian Sprint Triathlon

September 5, 2015
750m swim, 30k bike, 5k run
Finish time: 1:47:51 (4/66 OA, 2/11 AG 40-44, 50/165 men and women)

Sharing the podium with Julie Piché and Clare Gallant

After a number of teeth-gritting, push-through-it races this summer, I had two goals going into my final race of the season. First, to leave my feet clipped in for the entirety of the bike. After a near-miss in my first race where I just about wiped out on a 180-degree turn, I've been tentative on those tight turns and kept unclipping my inside foot "just in case". Stupid waste of speed, and a head game that I had to put an end to. My second goal was to find the joy of the race again. Feel the wind on the bike, enjoy the rhythm of my run steps, appreciate the camaraderie of the participants, and thank every volunteer I encountered. I'm happy to report that I achieved both goals today.

Beautiful morning for a race

Swim + T1 -- 20:40 (750m... actual swim about 17:03)

The swim start was the most rambunctious I've experienced this year. The right side of my goggles got knocked a little loose and I didn't want to waste time fixing them, so I breathed left for the first 400m or so to keep water from getting in my eye. After going out fairly hard, I felt like I couldn't sustain the pace and tried to settle in. I'd say this swim felt about the same as Cornwall... I could have been straighter, and missed catching a draft from the front pack. I heard Christine call a couple of times around the time I exited at the beach, and it seems I was maybe a few seconds faster than Cornwall. I went out onto the bike course 18th out of 66 women, and 2nd in my age group.

One down, two to go

Bike -- 1:00:30 (30k, 29.75 km/h)

The bike course at the Canadian is a familiar one, following the Rideau Canal from Hog's Back locks past Carleton University and back. Originally the course was to be a 7.5k loop, but construction necessitated a shortened 5k loop. I succeeded in staying clipped in at the narrow north-end turnaround, which turned out to be easily manageable. Amazing what sorts of things needlessly psych us out. I knew from driving it recently that the road wasn't in great shape, and there were many athletes on the course at once. This required sharp attention, especially where you had those doing 40 km/h and those doing 18 km/h in close proximity, with the latter sometimes forgetting to yield the left side.

Around 23k, I started feeling some discomfort in my right hamstring and adductor. I backed off a bit, dropping down a gear to raise my cadence and try to spin it out. I had to do this a couple of times over the final 7k -- I've gotten used to not saving anything in my legs at the sprint distance, but a) this bike course was 50% longer than a regular sprint (halfway between a sprint and an Olympic), and b) I didn't want to risk something seizing and tearing. 'Cause that's not fast. In the end, my bike split moved me up 10 places to 8th overall. 

Little jog around the park, anyone?

T2 -- 1:51

Run -- 24:50 (5k, 4:58 pace)

Personal best on the run! I'm so happy about this, and not just because of the pace. Also because (see goal #2 for this race) I really enjoyed this run. Because the bike course was longer than usual, I carried Skratch and almonds for fuel. I felt really good when I headed out onto the run course. I approached it with the notion that I would run my own race, push to the edge of my comfort, and be genuinely happy for the chance to enjoy the day and the race. Let the cards fall where they may. As it turned out, I managed to gain another 4 positions on this leg, moving me into 4th overall. As I turned the last corner and headed down the track toward the finish, I heard Todd comment on the big smile on my face. This is exactly how I wanted to finish the race, and the season.

Helping out at Lisa's aid station after my event

After the sprint awards presentation, in keeping with the feel-good vibe, I went back out onto the course to dole out necessities to the runners still competing. I yelled "Gel! Salt! Chews!" so many times, I think at one point my words got muddled and I offered someone shoes. As I held out what I had and asked "What do you need?" I got some good answers -- including "a ride" and "beer". Unfortunately I couldn't deliver on either. Seeing athletes trudge again and again up the hill I'd climbed hours before, I wished I could offer more than a sugar jolt and an encouraging word. I remember the all-consuming effort of my 1/2 Iron race, and empathized completely with those who looked like they were near the end of their capacity as the day got later and the crowd got thinner.

River looking lonely in transition at the end of the day

With my third season of triathlon officially done, I would like to thank Louis Garneau and Dr. Patrick Kirkham at Britannia Chiropractic for their support in 2015. I put a lot of myself into racing, and I so appreciate their belief in me as an athlete. If anyone has questions about Garneau products, I own lots of them -- get in touch with me, and I can tell you about what's worked well for me. For questions about chiro treatment, use the above link to get in touch with Dr. Kirkham directly. Of course, I'd be very happy to share my personal experiences with it as well. I would also like to thank my OTC coach, Mark Manners, for all his help this year.

And now, to celebrate the start of the off-season, I'm going to have a cider in my Cornwall Tri mug and bust out some Pop Tarts! Yeah! :)

Race report -- Cornwall Sprint Triathlon

August 23, 2015
750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run
1:25:39 (1/19 AG, 11/65 OA, 54/136 men and women)

"Stripping?" I asked the young man as I approached. "Yes, right over here," he motioned.

I'll get back to that in a second. Now that I have your attention, let's get to the race report. This was my first time at the Cornwall Tri. I put it on my list of "firsts" this year, after hearing glowing reviews from numerous athletes. It did not disappoint.

The OTC gang at Cornwall

Swim (750m) -- 17:09

Thanks to a helpful volunteer who told me my time as I came out of the water, I don't have to guesstimate how much of my swim split was the transition time. I didn't feel as strong on this swim as I did last week in Brockville. The crowd at the start line was very spread out, and I didn't manage to catch a draft off the leaders. I did have a couple of people following my feet, and a small group of us came out of the water at the same time. There were plastic mats fixed underwater at the swim entrance/exit, which provided really good footing. Here's where the stripping inquiry came in. I decided to avail myself of the wetsuit peelers (no, I am not making this up). I quickly pulled my suit down to my hips and laid down on the grass. In one motion, the fellow helping me had the rest of the suit off (gotta love those stretchy Roka quick-release ankles, and liberal application of Body Glide). The whole process didn't take more than a few seconds... well worth it, as it saved me having to stomp my way out of my suit while getting my bike helmet on. I exited T1 in 15th position overall, and 2nd in my age group.

Set up in our numbered rack spaces

Bike (20k) -- 38:50

My goal this season was to hit 30km/h average on my bike legs (with the exception of Magog, where the course rides slower). I've done that a few times this season, and today I hit a personal best average speed of 30.9 km/h. The course was very engaging, starting with a false flat that had you thinking "why do I feel so slow??" until you came back down the other direction. It swung into a research park, introducing a fun set of curves and little rolling spots. A section down the main street ended in another fun "up, down and around" to take us into the second loop. The course was closed along its entirety, so we had plenty of room to negotiate the turns. The little jog toward the transition area included a (very well-marked) speed bump and some zigzagging, keeping us on our toes to the dismount line. I managed to move up a few spots on the bike overall, and into the age group lead.


Run (5k) + T2 -- 27:34

How, oh how can 5k seem so long. It's like some strange space/time warp. I did not feel good on the run today. I can't believe I actually ran faster at the Tremblant 5150, 3 days off an injury, where I just jogged it in and let people pass me, smiling the whole way -- mind you, I also took the bike really easy at that race. (Edit -- just realized Cornwall includes T2, Tremblant doesn't)

About 2k in today, I started feeling a bit of a stitch under my rib, but it was mild enough to ignore. I threw down Gatorade at each aid station (sort of, I actually kind of tossed it in the direction of my face and swallowed what I could). By 3k, I had a stitch on the other side, right under my right ribs. This one was more uncomfortable. Whatever... run through it. Look, a seagull! Hey, someone's selling that car. What do they want for it? $15,000 -- hmm, seems steep. I heard footsteps behind me, and couldn't help turning around. "Oh good, you're not a girl" I remarked to the tri relay fellow who ultimately passed me. At 4k, I pressed a fist into my ribs in case that might somehow help. I managed to pass a woman in that last km, unsure if she was even in my event. Mercifully, the finish line was closer to the road that I anticipated. I gulped down the bottle of cold water I was handed as I crossed. I felt pretty rotten, but I had given it everything I could. Others I talked to seemed to feel the same way, that the run took a lot out of them. I had felt a bit of sensation yesterday in the spot that was injured a couple of months ago, so I made my way over to the physio table so they could take a look. I'm glad I did, as he worked at it a bit, it started to spasm. He very nicely helped me stretch it out.

At the awards, I wasn't sure how I had ended up until I heard my name called. I excitedly received my "podium 2015" beer mug, but still wasn't sure where on the podium I had landed. Only when I checked online did I see that I won my age group.

Yay, new glassware!

Race report -- Thousand Islands Sprint Triathlon

Aug. 16, 2015
750m swim, 20.7km bike, 5km run
Breakfast: oatmeal w/brown sugar, blueberries and apples, tea, water, 1 egg

Finish time: 1:27:19.5 (5/45 OA, 1/8 AG 40-44, 22/106 men and women)

I love this race. Apart from Lac Tremblant, this part of the St. Lawrence is my favourite spot to swim. The town of Brockville is lovely, and well worth coming down the day before to spend some time in. This year was extra special, as my kids and I spent the night before the race on my parents' boat, moored in the harbour on Block Island within a 5 minute walk of the transition area. Apart from some late-night screeches, giggles, and "stop touching me!!"s coming from the aft bunk area, it was a restful evening and the most convenient home base possible (short of pitching a tent in the T zone). I was up early, so took the opportunity to pick up my race packet and get my bike racked before the crowds arrived.

Sunrise over the swim course

Racked early in front of the oldest train tunnel in Canada

Our digs for the night before the race

Swim (750m) + T1 -- 20:12

Once I had some breakfast into me, it was time to get my gear set up, put my wetsuit on, and receive last minute good-luck hugs and kisses (and a helpful observation from my eldest that I have a hole in the underarm of my wetsuit -- argh!). We had perfect water conditions, and the wave starts worked out great. Under-40 men, over-40 men, then women and relays. The swim felt pretty good, though I haven't put in the time this summer to make any real headway with speed improvements. (Edit: On reflection, I feel stronger on the swim than I ever have. But after putting in quite a bit of swim time over the winter and early spring without a lot to show for it, I got a little discouraged and decided to maximize my overall race gains by focusing those training hours toward the bike and run -- where fitness improvements could yield minutes rather than seconds.) I've been trying to mitigate the damage by staying on a straight course and drafting as much as possible. This is one of the longer local sprint swims (some are 500m), so I was at risk of losing ground early if I wasn't efficient about it. Hard to tell my actual swim time since the split includes the run up from the swim ramp and T1, but I exited transition 12th out of 45 women.


Bike (20.7 km) -- 41:08

I was happy to take 4 minutes off last year's bike split. That said, I had 3 spots on course that cost me some time. First, the turnaround was narrow and I put a foot down (ugh), then took what felt like an eternity to get clipped back in. The second was an encounter with a large fox -- who was crossing the street just as I was coming through, thankfully on a section where we weren't on our aerobars. I stopped pedalling and looked right at him... he paused, then thankfully changed his mind about crossing in front of my bike (which would have been a losing proposition for both of us). The last unfortunate slow spot occurred when I hit the brakes and almost turned left down the wrong street where there was a policeman directing traffic and a bunch of cones were set up across the right-hand lane. Despite the hiccups, I only got passed by one woman on course (who was racing the Olympic, not the Sprint). Instead of the usual "looking strong" or "keep it up", she said "Come on girl, you can go faster than that. Let's go!" Pure gold, totally spurred me on. As did the cheers of "Go Kirsten!" and "Go, Mummy!" as I crossed the dismount line and ran into T2. In fact, some random spectators echoed "Yeah, go Mummy!" for good measure. I managed to gain some decent ground on the bike leg, moving into 6th place.

View from our boat, across the harbour to part of the run course

Run (5km) + T2 -- 25:59.7 (hey, that 0.3 seconds under 26 min. is important)

Cramming half a waffle into my mouth and taking a big swig from my Skratch bottle, I set out onto the run course prepared to suffer. It wouldn't be for long, since it was a 5k course... but the forecast was for oppressive heat, and after my abysmal run experience at Magog I was ready to grit my teeth and push through whatever presented itself. Thankfully it went pretty smoothly, despite some confusion where a new part of the course intersected with a construction zone, and some near-misses due to the unusual "stay to the left" clockwise orientation. "There she is!" came the enthusiastic call and supportive smile from the Olympic tri woman who had passed me on the bike, near the run turnaround where she wasn't too far ahead. With less than 1km to go, a 16-year old blew by me like I was standing still (she would end up beating me by less than 9 seconds). I couldn't answer her speed, so just kept pushing as I was able straight up the hill to the finish line at the crest of the railway bridge. Still managed to gain one more position, moving up to 5th overall and taking 1st place in my age group. 

The best part of the race was sharing it with my Mum and Dad, and my girls. A bonus perk was having access to the marina showers since we were moored there... making for a much more comfortable ride home to Ottawa. Via Dairy Queen, of course. 

Who wants ice cream?