North Shore Triathlon - Race Report

Note:  There will be a post with pictures as soon as I get a chance to download them and get a few from friends...

We have just enjoyed a very nice long weekend here in Vancouver, 30 degrees C on Saturday and Sunday...  stoked for summer!  Well, not so fast...

Monday, Victoria Day, was wet and dreary.  This extends a streak I started last year....  my last 4 triathlons in Vancouver have been rainy.  Not the type of record that makes you proud to be a Vancouverite.

Anyway, enough chit chat about the weather....  The big event today (at least for me) was that Justin was doing his first triathlon.  Check out some previous posts to learn a bit more about Justin.  As we set up in transition before the race I was answering a few questions for him and casting my mind back to my first triathlon.  They are pretty complex at first!  Justin was as cool as a cucumber and showing no signs of nerves.

The pool swim took place at Ron Andrews Pool in North Vancouver.  The swim involved 20 lengths of a 37 metre pool for a total of 740 metres.  Classic format if ever there was one ;)  The lanes were double wide, and for good reason as there were loads of swimmers in each one.  It was difficult to pass and troublesome to turn without launching into swimmers behind you.  All in all though the swim was pretty uneventful.  I have no idea if the length counter got me out at the right time because he seemed VERY unsure.  Oh well...  No offense to Ron Andrews, but his pool is pretty dark and WAY too hot.  Makes me realize how lucky we are to swim at the West Van Aquatic Centre three times a week.

I put my leg on right beside the pool - Mick (the RD) had a spot all squared away for Justin and I...  Thanks Mick!

T1 went pretty smoothly, I didn't have any issues.  I would really love to be able to leave my shoes clipped in but I haven't found a way to slip my prosthetic foot into the shoe while riding.  I am going to give this some thought because it is one of the few things standing between me and a "pro" transition...  well, that and having to put a prosthetic leg on, but who's counting.

The bike course featured a quick climb out of transition up to the Mount Seymour Parkway followed by 4 lightly rolling loops on an out and back course.  Pretty basic, just had to be careful with the 8 hairpins on wet asphalt.  Laps 2-4 were way better than lap 1...  I needed some time to warm up the legs I guess.  Back down the hill and into transition.

T2 - quick.  I have been very happy with my transitions lately and this was another pretty good one.

The run course was quite a bit different than I expected.  I guess I took the 5km a bit lightly as I didn't even consider coming to look at it before the race.  It was mostly on trails.  The trails were actually a blast to run through, curving left and right, rolling up and down.  There were several hills which never seem to feel too great....  I felt kind of dead-legged for the first km or so then was able to pick it up.  By the end I was feeling great and was really moving...  bodes well for longer races.

I have no concept for my time because I neglected to start my watch before the swim and decided not to worry about it.  It was actually really nice to be racing without thinking about how slow or fast I was going.  The results will all come out in a day or so and I can analyze them all I want, in the meantime all I can say is that I felt pretty good.  

Justin had a great race too.  He seeded himself in a later group for the swim so I didn't see him much except that his T1 was my T2....  He was getting a talking to for unracking his bike before putting his helmet on.  Nevertheless, he was off and I was too...

I tried to see him get off the bike but I missed it somehow, so camera in hand I went to the finish line to get "the shot".  Well, put it this way, his run was WAY better than my photography.  I'll post it with some other shots in a photo post (maybe tomorrow) but you'll just laugh at how bad the photo is....

We didn't get a time for him either (he didn't start his watch, and the race clock started with the first swimmer) so we'll have to see.  Not that it matters.  I was just hoping he'd love it and I think he did.

He crossed the line all smiles and felt great about his race.  I was pumped for him as I remember how great it felt after I did my first race.  We thought about staying to watch the Elite Race but it was raining again and we elected to go to White Spot for a celebratory breakfast instead.

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