HK Post #1: Orillia Triathlon

The Orillia Tri was to be my most successful to date....well that was "the plan" anyway. This was the same race I had used one year earlier as my inaugural triathlon, so having those times as the benchmark was a huge advantage. I had already done the course, so all those internal questions about "Can I do this?" had already been answered in spades. I had evolved into a far more experience competitor since that first race and was eager to show how far I had come by winning my group. Simply finishing was no longer enough and bottom line I was ready.

For the most part the race went well, but my ego got the best of me in the end. Everything was going perfectly. I crushed the swim and set a new personal best time for the 750 meter. On the bike is where I made a crucial error. Instead of gearing down on hills and and doing a high RPM climb I kept the resistance high, rose out of the saddle and powered up the hills. BIG MISTAKE! I was exerting far too much energy and ultimately going slower up the hills then if I had just kept to the plan. And it gets worse....in frying my legs out on the hills I was also killing my wheels for the run. As crazy as it sounds now, at the time I was just so high on adrenalin that I didn't even feel pain and it cost me the win.

I finished 3rd in my group and although I am happy with the result now, at the time I was pissed! When I crossed the finish line and saw my time I was in absolute shock. Until that moment I was convinced I had done enough to win and it was tough to come crashing back to earth. In the end the 4 minutes I wasted trying to macho my way up the hills cost me and I will use this as motivation for next year.

Things I Learned from this Race :

• Practicing transitions works. I was in out in record time (both sub 90 seconds)
• STICK TO THE PLAN...frustrating but true
• Tanyia, the kids are my biggest fans
  
• Win or lose I love this sport!