Why did I choose this triathlon?
First and foremost, I chose this triathlon because I heard you jump off a boat and swim back to shore. This sounded super cool. I originally wanted to do the Alcatraz triathlon but I didn’t win the lottery to qualify. This was the closest in proximity and anyone could register to it. After the Milton sprint triathlon, this was my next triathlon. I have never been “up north” in Ontario Canada and this was a good excuse to drive up there and see what the fuss was all about. Let me tell you this, leaving on a Friday night to get to the cottage country is brutal. Since everyone leaves to their cottages on Friday, there is congestion on the only highway that leads to these areas. This was shocking since I thought the drive would be easy. This is Ontario’s traffic at its finest.
The morning before the race
I arrived in Gravenhurst around midnight from the terrible traffic. My sister got an Airbnb and I was able to stay the night with the rest of my family who went to see me. Unfortunately I did not sleep well. I woke up around 5am and started preparing. I drank about 200mg of caffeine, cleaned my system in the washroom, and went to the event around 6am. Luckily, my sister booked a close enough AirBnb and it ended up being a 5 minute drive to the race. This was my second race with multisport Canada. Compared to the Subaru series triathlons, this felt much more local (they’re both amazing though). No sticker was needed to add to the bike compared to the Subaru Tri circuit. As race time approached, I headed to the boat to prepare for the start of the race.
The Swim
1.5 km Swim Completed: 34 Minutes
You’re greeted by the ship’s crew and you enter this big ship. You go up the ship’s stairs where you wait upstairs with the others. The ship sails off and you get a nice view of the lake before it starts but there is a feeling of anxiousness in the air. We want to start but we are also not looking forward to the swim. We want to do this and we don’t at the same time. Swimming always scares me but I love it. The ship stops and I begin to see people jumping off the boat and waiting for their wave to start the race. I was strongly suggested to hold on to your face and goggles when you jump off because you could potentially lose the goggles when jumping off the ship. They also suggested to do a scissor pose with your legs to not lose the goggles when jumping. It stops the impact. I did both of these suggestions and I did not get my goggles knocked off from the impact. I was also able to adjust my goggles in the water before the race started while in the water as well.
We all cheered and wished each other good luck while we waited in the water. The swim started and we were off. The water was very murky. I was told this lake was very deep but I could not see below from the murkiness. I passed several people and I was also passed a couple of times. I pushed it. I pushed it hard and kept telling myself that this is a race and I am here to push my limits. I finally started seeing the finish line of the swim. I swam harder and faster. I got out of the water and I have never felt such sore lats in my life. This could be because I only did one open water swim prior to this race (500 metres). I felt like batman with my lats being so wide from the soreness. I felt powerful but sore.
The Bike
40 km Bike Completed: 1 hour 49 minutes (33kph)
I was told this ride was hilly and I was expecting the worst. It was not. There were climbs but they could easily be conquered on a triathlon bike. I passed everyone. No one passed me for the first time ever. I was flying but I kept thinking about the run and how much energy I should preserve. I did not drink or take any nutrition. My lats were still feeling sore from the swim as well. I tried to be on the tri bars as much as possible especially during the windy parts. It definitely helped. So far I was feeling amazing and I was in love with this race and this small little town. I finished not feeling tired at all. A gentleman later on asked how fast I was going because he could not catch up to me.
The Run
10 km Run Completed : 54 Minutes
I was told this run was also very hilly and it was but for some reason this felt very easy and not too bad. I was passed on the run but I also passed people. There were some participants who passed me and I eventually caught up and passed them. I felt proud that I actually did that. That rarely happens. You run 5km to one end and it’s all hilly. You turn around and it’s the exact same thing all over again. Be prepared for that. I’m not sure why this felt easy but it was. Maybe next year it won’t be. On the last 1km I decided to push it and ran as fast as I could.
Conclusion
Finished: 2 hours and 45 minutes
My goals for this race was to do this under three hours, crush the swim (in preparation for Muskoka’s 70.3), and race with my Scott Plasma to see how much faster it would be than my Scott Foil. So far this has been my favorite small race so far. Unfortunately they ran out of pizza once the race was over. I was too tired to wait so I went back to the Airbnb, slept and drove back home with my dad. I can’t wait to do this one again next year even if it means battling that horrible traffic.