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Report: Barrie Triathlon - Aug 7th 2005 |
As most of you know, the Barrie
Triathlon was a huge success for me last year. This year my
goal going into this race was to once again claim victory.
Race day began absolutely perfectly; clear skies, sun, minimal
wind and warm but not unbearably hot. This was a good thing.
On top of the great weather I was feeling strong as well, especially
on the bike after a run of strong bike rides with the local
club. Unfortunately due to an error on the race organizers part
I almost missed the race (the pamphlet said start time was 9:15,
but it was actually 9), but made it to the line just in time.
This got my race off to a rough start since I had literally
no warm up in the water at all and was forced to start from
a somewhat unfavourable position on the outside of the line.
Now, considering the bad way this race started, I fixed it all
up pretty quick. In the swim I went out hard and took the lead
immediately, and although it turned out my pace was perhaps
a little too hard I still came into T-1 in 4th overall.
I had a strong transition, passing one person, and headed out
on the 20 km (although actually about 21.5km) bike feeling strong
and in a bit of a rage over the start time confusion. Both 1st
and 2nd were in my sights right away and I took 2nd within the
first kilometre. With my head down and sitting right out on
the tip of my seat I motored along and within the first 5 kilometers
I was in that familiar first place from last year. From here
I just kept on cruising, enjoying the views of Kempenfelt Bay
and the conversation of the lead race motorcycle periodically
(from the side, there was no drafting going on!). By the 17
km mark I could see my lead was becoming pretty substantial
and I actually eased off a bit to rest my legs going into the
5km run.
Another strong T-2 and off I was on the run, still in first
place and feeling pretty
good despite the increasing temperature. It was a little unnerving
when I reached the run turnaround because instead of quick U-turn
there’s a loop. This meant that if the racers behind me
were close enough I wouldn’t get a chance to see them
and thus judge my pace and adjust accordingly. But as it turned
out I had a big enough lead to see 2nd place before they even
hit the loop, which gave me a pretty good feeling at that point.
From there on in I knew I had enough space to cruise and enjoy
the moment and the cheers of all the family and friends that
were there.
So, another race in the books, and another Barrie Triathlon
overall winner title. |
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