Racing in Dallas: The time I became an Elite Duathlete

Here's my race recap for the Dallas CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon, that actually ended up being a duathlon. I knew I was going to be racing in Dallas ever since the schedule came out in January. With only a few North American races this year it was a given that I should be racing here in Dallas. Unfortunately when I flew in on Wednesday I found out right away that there had been some issues with the lake we were supposed to swim in. Texas had experienced some really bad flooding leading into the race, which caused some raw sewage to go into the lake. This made the race directors and ITU officials change our race to a 5km run, 20km bike and a 2.5km run. Although I was more than ready to race a triathlon, a duathlon seemed to be a new challenge leading into the race. I've never officially raced a duathlon (that being said I'm not sure I've raced an unofficial duathlon either), so I was pretty nervous going into the race.

The last few days leading into the race I was feeling very good about my swim, bike and run. I wasn't sure how a run, bike, run effort would play out but I was sure I was going to give it my best. I didn't really change much leading into the race and I still felt good when I toed the line. After a good, very hot warmup I felt ready to race as hard as I could.

As soon as the run started it felt like I could barely hang on to the whole field. The first mile was fast but everyone seemed to be together so I was trying to not let them pull away. This was really tough but I gave it what I had in my legs, which unfortunately wasn't enough to make lead pack, or even chase pack. It was hot and humid and with the excitement and dehydration, I think I threw my water bottle past the littering zone which ended up costing me 10 seconds after the bike.

When I got onto the bike I tried to work with the few athletes I was riding up to but eventually just rode away from them and solo'ed the majority of the bike. It was very difficult to push the power I can normally push when I get out of the water after that first run. Fortunately, it was pretty uneventful on my part, just a very hot ride. I used my power meter more than I ever have in a draft legal race but I was very thankful to be able to pace with it!

When I hopped off the bike I just tried to run within myself catching up to one or two people during the run. I didn't want to let the heat get to me but the penalty almost took a placing. That being said, I sprinted past them in the last 200m after the penalty box and my body locked up as soon as I crossed the line.

I'm not super pleased with the result but considering there was no swim and I had no one to work with on the bike I'm glad that I still ended up placing 24th. I know that I still have a lot of work to do on the run and this race definitely reaffirmed that. I'll be back in Hamilton on Monday night, and ready to get back to training hard.

Thank you to my homestay here in Texas! Morgan and Read Hoffman have been great to me while I've been in Texas. I've enjoyed my stay here and I hope to come to race in Dallas again. I also got introduced to Snow Cones which are the most amazing cold snack when you're dehydrated! I would also like to thank everyone at Playtri who organized the race. I know it must have been really hard to deal with the water problems and the race still exceeded my expectations!

Thanks to Nineteen Wetsuits, C3, Triathlon New Brunswick, Human Performance Centre, Aberdeen Subaru and everyone else that has supported me in 2015! I look forward to racing again soon and appreciate your support!

Monterrey CAMTRI Triathlon American Championships

Monterrey, Mexico was such a cool experience. I flew in last Wednesday so that nothing was rushed leading into the race. The hotels were pretty cheap so it was not a hard discussion to make. I stayed with one of my friends from Hamilton, Austen Forbes which helped make the cost even cheaper. 

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!

The Hair and Beard Might Be Gone, But I'm Back!

The 2015 Sarasota CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup and Caribbean Championships went very well. With a training camp in Florida in January and another one in Arizona in February I felt confident and ready to race. After a serious haircut, and hours of shaving I felt ready to go. Here's my take on how everything went!

First off I felt really good tapering in Florida. My coaches worked very well at setting me up perfectly for my swim. You can never be sure when you try something different but our ideas seemed to really help me execute on the day. Another thing I did differently was trying to stay loose and keep my heart rate up after my swim warmup. I was jumping, swinging my arms like crazy and just trying to stay warm and ready to go. I wanted to use my bands but there wasn't really a place to do so, luckily I know bands are good but not necessary for a fast swim.

I felt really fast as soon as I dove off the pontoon. I didn't have a great starting spot (being ranked 42nd going into the race), but I tried to just ignore the fact that I didn't have a straight line to the first buoy. It was definitely a rough swim but I was pleased with how I handled it. I actually felt strong in the water for the first time as well which is a great confidence booster for races to come.

I come out of the water in the main pack (a breakaway of four or five guys was formed out of the water but most of the race contenders were in my pack). I had a great first transition and gunned the first 5 minutes as our pack seemed to form. I spent less time up front than normal, but put in a monster pull on the second lap to help us bridge up to the leaders. I still haven't decided if that was a bad idea or not but either way I'm happy I did that. It was another great confidence booster for this early season race.

I came off the bike towards the rear of the pack for my second transition, and that's basically where I stayed for the remainder of the race. I really didn't feel that great during the run but I think my run legs are there, I just have to find them again!

I'm not sure when my next race will be yet, however I do know that I learned a lot at this race. I finished the day in 19th and I was the 4th Canadian. I couldn't be happier considering it was my very first elite race.

Thanks to C3, Nineteen Wetsuits, Aberdeen Subaru, Human Performance Centre, Triathlon New Brunswick and all of my family and friends for their constant support!

I may look cranky, but I was very excited to be racing again!

Reid

The Resurrection: What happened in Quebec

Although sponsors are everything, you can’t really swim, bike or run fast at a race if you can’t get there and that’s exactly why I want to start off by thanking my teammate, Oliver Blecher and his mother Louise for driving me to Quebec from Hamilton.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs the past 11 months, which caused me to miss many training and racing opportunities. After dislocating my shoulder in January, my coach Barrie Shepley and I decided to start my season yesterday, on July 12^th, instead of racing earlier on when I would have been unprepared to race.

I ended off my last blog post with the Caledon Kid’s of Steel update. Since then I have been training very hard. Up until the past few weeks I had still been experiencing some shoulder discomfort in the pool. My swim coach at McMaster, Andrew Cole, and I came up with a plan to only swim 3000m (vs. 5000 up to 6000 per practice normally) per practice for a few weeks.  Two weeks before this race I was finally able to do all of our practices in the pool, and starting to feel good in the open water.

In the past month I also raced a 5km race on the track at the McMaster Track. I ran a 30 second PB, with a time of 16:06.76 and was very pleased with this result. That same night Oliver Blecher moved into my house and we started training [beating the crap out of each other] leading into the race in Quebec. 

I want to thank Caledon Hills Cycling for setting me up on one of their Cervelo S5’s, because my new frame still hadn’t arrived a week out from the race.

The race in Quebec was a lot of fun. I haven’t seen a lot of the guys I was racing since Canada Games and it was great to catch up with them! The swim was a non-wetsuit swim, so unfortunately I didn’t get to wear my Nineteen Wetsuit! I really was unsure of where my fitness was relative to the rest of the country in the water, but fortunately I came out in lead pack, and I really can’t ask for anything more! With a fast T1, I hopped onto my Cervelo bike and rode fast for the first few kilometers. Then the pace slowed to a “pedestrian” pace. I always seem to spend too much time at the front so I decided to pull through but spend some time drafting this race. It ended up working out well because it allowed me to get a little bit of a jump into transition with another guy. I had another fast transition; putting on my Saucony A5’s and ran out of transition up the grueling hill.  I really didn’t feel as good as I was expecting on the run, but I think it was just the lack of racing this year. Putting the three together, I ended up with 11^th place in the nation today. I’m very pleased with the result and cannot wait for Magog to come!!

 
Just before I finish, I want to congratulate my two teammates, Oliver Blecher and Kirsten Vargara for finishing 5th and 2nd respectively. 

Thanks to Radical Edge, Caledon Hills Cycling, Nineteen Wetsuits, Aberdeen Subaru, Triathlon New Brunswick, Human Performance Centre and the C3 High Performance team for supporting me throughout the season and today!!

Subaru, Update and Oh So Much More

As many of you know I took a trip back to New Brunswick last week. I had a blast catching up with friends, family and getting a 5K race in! In a week I was able to get a lot done for my triathlon career as well.

I am pleased to announce that I will once again be partnering with Aberdeen Subaru, and Greg O'Leary this season. They have been great to my family and I in the past and I cannot wait to work with them for the second year. If you're in need of a great car, with fantastic costumer service you shouldn't look further than Aberdeen Subaru on Rothesay Avenue. I can say with confidence that Subaru is a very reliable company with cars that handle superbly and have all wheel drive for the snowy and icy winters we get on the East Coast! Thanks again for working with me this year, and for many years to come!

I've now been back in Hamilton for a few days training, volunteering and racing. C3 hosted the Kid's of Steel in Caledon over the weekend. After volunteering all afternoon Saturday, I raced Sunday morning in the 16-19 age group just to work out the rust. I was happy with the result of placing first in my age group and having the fastest time but I still have a lot of work to do! Here's a picture of me racing over the weekend. I want to thank The Radical Edge in Fredericton, New Brunswick for lending me this Trek Madone. It wasn't quite my Cervelo S5 but it's really not about the bike!

Thanks to everyone that made this race possible and to my awesome teammates for making the weekend fun! I can't wait to get a few more hard weeks of training in here! Now it's time to get off my computer and get out doing what I love. Over and out. 

Tucson, This Time Around

Well I just finished yet another training camp down in Tucson. I love going this time of the year because it's so hot outside, which makes training even more fun than normal! I flew in the day after my last exam to get some solid training in while others finished up their exams.

I ended up having some very good workouts. I recall saying to Johnny the day after I flew in,  "Nothing beats jet lag like a sprint set at U of A." And I actually meant it, although painful at the time, I bounced back from the day of travel and the stress of exams because I didn't have much choice. Johnny was fit and ready to train, so I had to be too! But back to the University of Arizona pool, it was beautiful. I would rank it #1 in the pools I've swam in over the past few years. Here's a picture just to show how breathtaking it really is! And a huge thanks to the masters team there letting Johhny and I jump in for a couple of practices!

After a few more days with Johnny, he drove himself to the airport, me being half asleep in the passenger seat, and we said our goodbyes. Then it was back to crushing another week of training. Everything ran relatively smoothly, only having one minor bike problem.  I feel as fit as I need to be right now and ready for the 2014 season to start. 2013 was a tough year, but it's time to leave the past where it should be and get back into race mode. Over and out. 

Here's one of the amazing morning runs with the mountains in the background!

I'm Not Living Under a Rock

Hi everyone,

Just so you know I'm not living under a rock. I've been MIA for a bit and I do apologize for that! School has been busy, especially on top of training! I'm pleased to say that I'll be heading down to Arizona again in 6 days for a couple of weeks to get another warm weather camp in before the summer starts in Canada. I can't wait to get down there again and see how fit I'm getting. Obviously with the fall in September there are still days that my shoulder isn't 100% but those days are becoming scarce now and I'm hoping they'll disappear forever in no time. I'm currently busy studying for exams but this seemed like the perfect way to take a break.  I'm going to be doing a lot of studying and packing the next few days but it'll all be worth it for Arizona! That's about all there really is to update everyone, but I'll send out another blog post while I'm in Arizona to let people know happening in my little world!

Cheers!
Reid