Canadian Triathlon National Championships at the Toronto Triathlon Festival

Everything was perfect at the Canadian Championships as I finished in third place in my age-group. Every second counted as I passed the third place competitor in the last 500 meters to finish with the bronze medal!

 

Simon Whitfield giving out medals.

Me with the Bronze Medal 25-29 Age group.



Me right after the race wearing the participation medal.

The weather was great for racing. It was nice and sunny, but not too hot. It went up to about 22 degrees Celcius. 

 

The water was freezing even in a wetsuit. I heard 15 degrees, but not sure if that was the official temperature. The start was a little random as I was just talking with some guy and all of a sudden they blew the horn. It took us both half a second to realize what just happened. I'll be ready next year!

Kelly and I after the race.

I had a decent swim. Not great, but roughly what I expected. I let a few faster feet get ahead. I came out of the water with my teammate which was something I had hoped for.

 

Transition was alright. I always feel a little unbalanced coming up those stairs out of the water. Practice makes perfect. I'm going to find somewhere to practice and keep practicing going up those stairs taking of my wetsuit and running. The wetsuit came off much quicker than in past races, although with some room for improvement. The night before the race I cut the ankles and practiced pulling off the suit. I got my time down to about 14 seconds (wetsuit starting at the waist). Start of the bike went okay. Could have been smoother pedaling and getting my feet into my shoes.
 

My cycling was real fast: 31 min 19 s for 20 km, an average of 38.32 km/h. The first 10 km out was tough, against the wind and up a slight gradient. The way back was speedy down a slight slope with the wind at our back. Knowing how easy the way back was, I think I could have given a bit more on the way out.

 

Getting off the Don Valley Parkway was dangerous. There was a hairpin turn that I took too wide and ended up in oncoming traffic. It was nearly a head on collision, but everything turned out alright.

 

My second transition was a little slow. I had trouble pulling on my shoes.

 

I think the run was the place that I have the biggest room for improvement. I ran 20:29 for 5 km, which is far from my PB of 18:46.7.