Leading into the race I was feeling pretty good, but was trying to spend most of the day inside (I know I'm a great tourist) to keep out of the heat. There was a 50 meter pool not too far away from our hotel that we swam in Thursday. The other days we spent swimming in a tiny canal that was about four feet deep. The riding was pretty hectic because Austen and I decided it was a good idea to ride on the roads that were filled with cars! The running wasn't anything special but I wasn't planning on running a lot leading into the race, so it really didn't matter.
The race briefing was pretty funny; with a lot of things that were unclear leading into the race. Luckily one of the Canadian coaches got a ramp put in at the 180 degree turn, instead of a buoy which helped make the swim a little bit less violent. To quote one of the officials "the bike had a few dangerous spots," because of the multiple tight corners. The run however was pretty standard with 4 laps of 2.5k mostly on the road.
This was my first Olympic distance race and I wasn't very nervous at all. I felt really prepared and ready to go which is always a great feeling. I started off the morning with a quick shower and some breakfast then Austen and I rode to the race site. There were a few delays in the morning but we were aware of them and adjusted our warmup accordingly. I did a typical warmup and felt ready to go. I made sure to keep warm, and keep my heart rate up like I did in Sarasota.
The swim was very rough. I had the 63 starting spot and tried really hard to have a fast start. I ended up having a pretty good start but it was still a tough swim for the majority of the 1500m. I came out of the water clearly in the chase pack. I had a good T1 and starting riding hard right off the start.
My legs were not feeling very good during the ride but I really can't complain. It was a very tough course, and I probably should have been closer to the front so I wasn't burning my legs around the corner. With 8 laps I didn't catch the leaders, but we were only about a minute down going into the run.
My T2 went well, nothing crazy fast but I didn't really lose time either. As soon as I got out of T2 I started running hard. I think there was a point where I forgot it wasn't a 5k because I was running so hard. The first 5k felt very hard, but comfortably painful. The next 2.5k still felt good, more painful but I didn't feel as though I was slowing down. A combination of the rough bike, and lack of experience played into the last 2.5k however I am more than pleased with a 38th place finish. I even ended up being the 4th Canadian, 14th under 23 athlete and the 3rd U-23 Canadian!
This was my second Elite race and I have already learned a lot. I will definitely be making a few smarter decisions especially on the bike! Now it's time to get back to training, after a few days of more than needed rest! Thanks to Nineteen Wetsuits, C3 Canadian Cross Training Club, Human Performance Centre and Triathlon New Brunswick for the support!
