2017 ITU Age Group World Championships - Rotterdam (2 of 9)

Have been here half a day, and already worth the trip. Took my bike for a test ride after putting it back together, explored the ship I'm staying on, walked around the area, stumbled on a tiny Thai restaurant that's the best I've ever had, got a first glimpse of the transition zone for the race, and stood on the spot where my Granddad boarded the Holland America Line ship that carried him to Canada.

Jacqueline has her own nook in my room. 

🇨🇦

It's as if someone crossed the Love Boat with the Diefenbunker. I love it.

Small sitting area near one of the gang plank entries

 Apparently this is what you do when you're at an intersection on your bike and want the light to change

The Luxor theatre, approaching the Rijnhaven bridge

I have no idea what this is. But it's super cool.

Floating trees. It's art, people!

Charming front entryway at one of the densely packed houses near the ship.

My floating hotel, the SS Rotterdam

Ever played the game Operation? Don't let the bike touch the walls!

Up on the pool deck. Deserted... it was a bit brisk.

Me and the captain!

Just nerding out again on the 1950s typography

Main staircase to the lobby

Thought the girls would like this… Look, it's a tiny truck!

See… I am a giant! Hahaha

Best tom kha soup ever

These posters promoting different local arts events give a feeling for the diversity of this area

Walhalla theatre

Rijnhaven bridge

Yep, bikes are a thing here. One of our team managers rented one of these bad boys to pre-ride our bike course this afternoon. — at Hotel New York Rotterdam.

This is where Granddad boarded his boat to Canada❤️

Preparations underway in the transition area (blue carpet)

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<<Rotterdam (1 of 9)     --     Rotterdam (3 of 9) >>

2017 ITU Age Group World Championships - Rotterdam (1 of 9)

This year marked my first trip to the ITU Age Group World Championships, at the Grand Final in Rotterdam, Netherlands. I traveled solo, and took lots of photos to share the experience with friends and family back home. As such, this isn't a race report so much as a travel journal -- following a fantastic week of new experiences with friends and teammates. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair!

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In advance of the race, Rotterdam Tri posted a video preview of the bike course. It became evident it was going to be more of a Tony Hawk-style parcour than a run of the mill road bike course.

Stairs... at least we get a ramp overtop?

And... yeah. Other bits included cobblestones, narrow bike paths, a tunnel, a number of bridges, and what appeared to be permanent outdoor furniture on the course (in the end, they unbolted and removed it).

 And we're off!

✈️

Salad! Because nobody posts pics of the leftover birthday cake they had for breakfast. Also, if you haven't tried this place, it's delicious.

It was a little tricky getting my bike bag and suitcase down the narrow hallways and around the tight corners, but my room is enormous by cruise ship standards! I'm staying on the SS Rotterdam, a decommissioned ship from the '50s. So cool! I even have a pair of portholes!

When you get your bike reassembled by yourself, and it runs beautifully and no pieces fall off...

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Want to see more? Here ya go! -- Rotterdam (2 of 9) >>

Practice your guts

I've had a chance to reflect on the 2016 race season for lessons learned -- and this is the big one. "Practice your guts" is a phrase I originally heard in reference to a quote from famed horseman George Morris. He is an exceptional teacher, and does not suffer fools, wimps, or excuse-makers lightly. Here is the full article where I first saw these words.

Practice your guts

Practicing your guts means getting on your bike for a training ride even though it's raining sideways -- because you might encounter those conditions in a race. It means doing hill repeats in the Gatineau Park until you can descend confidently without touching your brakes. It's embracing, rather than avoiding, situations that take you out of your comfort zone. I did a bunch of that this year.

Suck it up, buttercup

Draft-legal racing

Every season I try to do something new. This year, I signed up for my first draft-legal triathlon at the Ottawa Triathlon, which also served as our national championship. I immediately began looking for a drafting clinic where I could practice riding in a pack and work on some bike handling skills. Skimming through the race details, I saw something to the tune of "if you experience body contact on the bike, it's important not to panic and take everybody down. Just go with it." Body contact? On the BIKE?!  I attended a great clinic put on by the Bytown Storm -- by the end, we were riding comfortably side by side while leaning on each other, putting an arm over someone's shoulders, and passing a bike pump from rider to rider. We also spent some time on bike handling drills, and riding in a paceline.

I had a great time racing in this format at Nationals, and my fearful "what if" scenarios turned out to be not so bad! 

Female AG draft group coming into T2 at the Ottawa Triathlon

Flying mounts and dismounts
OK, so I should call what I did this summer the "not so flying" mount -- I threw a leg over, shoved my right foot in the shoe, pushed off and started pedaling. The dismount, well... you've kinda gotta be all-in for that one. I'd say these 2 moments are my least favourite in a race, as they're the only times I've felt I could actually get hurt. Seriously, I'd rather get punched in the face with a Garmin during the swim -- I had this happen, so I'm in a place to compare -- than do a flying mount/dismount.

I still get anxious doing flying dismounts

On one of my practice sessions a few days before the Early Bird Tri, I ran, jumped, got my right foot in, and managed to catch my dangling left shoe on the pavement -- whipped me over onto my right side like a fly swatter. Ow. Hit my head hard enough to piss me off and give me a headache, and put a nice divot in my brand new helmet (yes, wearing new gear for this exercise was stupid). So, my compromise to myself this season was to at least grit my teeth and leave the shoes on the bike... I figured the "shove foot in and go" method would still be faster than running in cycling shoes. Not to mention fishing around trying to get my feet clipped in.

Do I really want to mount with my shoes on the bike? Sigh... ok, fine.

Steep descents
This is the one I feel best about this season. Years ago, a bad mountain bike crash landed me in the hospital with a concussion, and left me with no memory of most of the day. I gave up mountain biking soon after. You could accurately call me a nervous descender when I finally picked up a road bike years later.

Universal sign for "warning -- change of shorts may be required"

If you've ever stood at the top of a hill on a bike looking at this sign, you know there's really only one way to get down -- and that's to just put on your big-girl underpants and get it done. And to feel comfortable with it, you've got to do it more than once.

Wheee! My fastest max speed so far, descending Pink Hill

What did you do this year to get out of your comfort zone? What are you planning for next year? 

Race report -- Thousand Islands Sprint Triathlon

August 14, 2016
750m swim, 20.7k bike, 5k run
1/7 AG, 8/50 OA female, 38/110 men and women

Breakfast: bacon gouda egg sandwich, grande skim chai, citrus nuun

Ready to race!

This is one of my "not to miss" races, I've done it each year since I started triathlon in 2013. Normally I make a weekend of it, as Brockville is a lovely town with charming B&Bs, terrific waterfront along the St. Lawrence, some little shops, and a decent pub. But due to logistics this year, it was a down-and-back day.

I'd been on vacation since a couple days after Nationals -- and got back a couple of days before this race. Managed a little running while I was away, but hadn't been on my bike or done a swim workout since Nationals. Add jet lag, and a very sore neck from who knows what (sleeping in the airport/on the plane? Too much time since my last chiro adjustment? Just getting old??), and it wasn't a recipe for peak performance. But I just wanted to go and enjoy this race as my last race of the season, now that pressure from Nationals was off.

Apparently I left my brain on vacation, as I wandered around trying to pay for parking, then forgot my phone in the car (which I needed to pick up my race kit) so had to do some walking around before getting racked and ready. I also realized I forgot my race belt -- thankfully Clare offered up an extra. Got to the transition zone too late to get my preferred rack, but managed to eke out a bit of space nearby.

Oldest train tunnel in Canada -- I haven't tried it yet as an alternate exit to the transition area

Swim + T1: 21:28

In the interest of simplicity, I chose not to wear my wetsuit -- marking the first time I've gone without in a wetsuit-legal race. Though I didn't see an official measurement, the water temperature was pleasant enough. Got in the water a little earlier than necessary and got a bit chattery in the teeth before the start, but quickly warmed up once we got going. I couldn't really lift my head to sight (owing to the sore neck), so I just followed the crowd. Unfortunately I think I chose poorly, and dipped in too far on the way to the far buoy. Before the race, a bunch of us were marveling at the men's 1500m Olympic swim we'd witnessed the night before -- the winner barely produced a 2-beat kick, his legs flowing behind him like streamers. That's not how I swam (or, let's face it, have ever swum). But it's good to have goals! Running to my bike, I had to pause for a couple of beats when I almost turned the wrong way. Corrected my course, ducked under a tree, and kept going.

A little more chill this race... no shoes on the pedals

Bike: 43:14 (28.36 km/h)

Felt ok on the bike, considering how little time I've spent on it in the last month. Got stuck behind a pair of minivans, and had to sit up and hit the brakes about 40 feet from the turnaround. Frustrating, but not much you can do on an open course. Rounding the turn, we got soundly smacked by a headwind, which persisted most of the way home. In keeping with my "enjoy the race, reduce stress, have fun" mentality, I didn't bother with a flying mount/dismount... so that cost me a little. On to the run.


Run + T2: 26:36

The run course changed somewhat this year, and began with a really nice loop of Block House Island along the water's edge before heading down Water Street and onto the Brock Trail. It took me awhile into the run to muster any energy, but about 3k in and headed for home I started to feel the pull of the finish line. Passed a woman from my age group as she stopped at the aid station. Passed a few more people, which gave me an additional boost. Rubbed a pretty decent set of blisters into my right foot, despite thinking I'd applied plenty of Body Glide -- should have made socks part of my "chill out and enjoy" plan!

No socks on the run = nasty blisters. Good thing it's flip-flop season.

All in all, a good day. I ended up at the top of my age group and 8th overall, having chipped away at the field after an abysmal swim by catching 6 women on the bike and another 6 on the run. I swear, if I ever figure out how to swim fast, things are really going to take off!

In closing out this season, I'd like to extend sincere thanks to nuun and to Dr. Patrick Kirkham at Britannia Chiropractic for their support in 2016.

1st AG! Yay!