Iron Mountain Triathlon Race Report

Edit: There was so many people that I knew I was going to forget someone... Good work Tyler on your first Olympic Tri! Looking forward to seeing you in more races =)

First of all I would like to say: This race was fun fun fun! Lots of friends racing made it very cool, it was great to see everyone before the race setting up transition, before the swim on the beach, on the run course (2 out and back, so many chances to see people), and after the race chatting at the food tent… Congratulations for an awesome race to everyone (Anthony, David, Ryan, Rob, Elliot, and company…) Also it was nice to see Colin who was supporting his girlfriend racing on the Sprint later on.

Here is the report, pictures to come later...

Place Overall: 1/85
Place 20-29: 1/16
Total Time: 2:00:29

Note:
Swim: A little short
Bike course: Very very hilly/tough
Run course: Rolling hills

Saturday went alright, busy to say the least. Swam in the morning, then run, then speed theory to pick up the S2, then trainer, then lunch, race gear collection, race package pickup in Langley, race meeting in Maple ridge, back home to finish setting up race wheels and pads, dinner and bed (later than I wanted unfortunately). The night did not go smooth either as I was worried about the bike course. It did not seem like they had it very well marked/marshaled and my first time in Maple ridge was at the race meeting… Not very familiar with the course really…

Sunday morning I was feeling great despite sleeping only 6.5hrs. Felt very awake right from the first ring of the alarm at 4am. Small bowl of cereal, make a bagel with peanut butter and banana for the road and went downstairs to wait for Ryan. The weather was not looking very promising, it could start raining at any time, but it held off during the race and downpoured 10 minutes on the way back to Vancouver.

We got to transition only 1:15 before start which was not ideal. Got body marked and set up and there was only 50 min for warmup. I would have liked to have more time, but you know how it goes… Went for a 15 min jog and felt great, smooth and very motivated. Finished transition setup, got wetsuit on, 6 min swim, ½ min stretch and the race was underway.

Swim: Fought for the first 300m to get some clear water and get away from the pack. Got established in the lead and was feeling strong. Arms were grabbing lots of water but relaxed, a great swim. Exited the swim with about 1 minute lead.

T1: Excellent transition, best T1 ever! Wetsuit came off quickly and easily, got helmet and glasses on and off I went. Getting into the shoes was a piece of cake, practice makes perfect!

Bike: All out at the beginning. Knew that Anthony Toth is a machine on the bike and was going to be on the hunt (which it turns he was as he moved from 7th place to 2nd on the bike). Legs were not feeling great, maybe the lack of bike warmup. Also it was a little cold and calves felt like cramping for the first 20 minutes. First half of the course was downhill which was nice, however the second half was terribly hard. Average speed was at about 42kph for the first half and then total average was 36.6kph after several nasty hills on the last 10km (where my speeds were on the 12-13kph range)

T2: Rough T2. Did not know exactly when the dismount line was coming as I was not familiar with the course and the entrance to the lake was through a different place than the exit. Was only able to take 1 shoe off, and took the other one off while standing on the dismount line. Racked bike, slipped on shoes with some trouble and out into the run.

Run: 2 rolling loops out and back. Started very strong, did not know who was behind and did not want to be caught. Saw where Anthony and company were on the first turnaround 2.5km into run. Anthony was in second place about 2 min down. Kept it strong, but he was looking strong as well. Anthony is a long distance triathlete and he was not going to break down… 7.5km and lead was now about 4 minutes, awesome! Run split on exactly 27min, so it was possible to break 36. Run as hard as I could trying to relax upper body, swing arms to help and stay strong. 36:02, 2:00:29 total. Squamish is in 2 weeks and I will be hungry to go under 36 on the run and under 2hrs on the race =)

Post Race: Chatted with all the guys and ate lots after the race. Probably something like 2 large Costco muffins, 2 mini bagels with a heap of cream cheese, 3-4 small cookies, 2 bananas, lots of pretzels, grapes and watermelon. I felt stuffed but hey, last 3 times I have eaten lots after the race I have not been sore at all the day after. Today not sore either!!! Who knows, I like eating like a beast anyways…

Facundo

Ps: Also congrats to all the guys doing the Half and Sprint in Victoria this weekend (including my brother!) and congrats to Martina for an awesome 4th place in elite women at Coteau-du-Lac ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup!