Pic Spocket

I did the Bulldog Triathlon 2009 last Sunday in Rondeau Park (Ontario, Canada). The venue was awesome. The bike path had trees on each side, protecting us from the wind and the run course was a path inside a small wooden area which provided shade from the sun.

The Swim course was much smaller than advertised. It was supposed to be 750m but my times and my gps tracks suggest more something like 550m. Due to the windless conditions, I posted my average speed record on the bike. Nobody passed me on the bike. In the run, I did good too but 2 guys passed me, and they were both in my age group. Sounds like I was first before because I finished 3rd in my age group!

It went really good and I finished 9th overall, putting me once again in the top 10% of the finishers.

>> Results

GPS Tracks:
>> Bike map and graphs | Bike Splits | Replay Bike split
>> Run map and graphs | Run Splits| Replay Run split

Some pics are below:

More pictures in the album below:

Bulldog Triathlon 09

This wednesday was the 3rd and last part of the T-REX Triathlon serie. This was 3 races on the same course, 1 month apart. This time the water temperature was high (82 deg F) so wetsuits were not allowed. I had a bad swim again, but it did not reflect too much on my time especially since I did not have the wetsuit. I improved each leg over my previous races and got my personal best! I shaved another 2.5 minutes off the race in July.

Here are the comparison of the 3 races from the serie:

Here are the detailed results for the T-REX tri.

>> T-REX extended results

I finished in the top 9.5%, 45th out of 474 finishers, which is my best ranking so far! I am very happy with this performance. GPS tracks and performance graphs of the bike and run are available below.

>>Bike: Gps tack | Replay performance
>>Run: Gps tack | Replay performance

Few Pictures from my race (thanks to my wonderful wife!)

Few ones from our friend Tracy, including that incredible action shot of Craig right at the finish line and a good group picture.

As usual, many more pictures and 1000 pixels wide versions available in the album.

T-REX Triathlon

Update 8/27

Running Fit has compiled a result page for all people that participated in the 3 races of this serie. According to this list, I finished 22nd overall and 5th in my age group. Not bad! Here is a link to the age group results.

>> T-REX SERIE age group results

Last weekend, I participated in the Windsor Triathlon, which actually happened in the town of Tecumseh, ON due to the previous strike of city employees earlier this summer.

The event had a big turnout with about 500 participants between the different races (Triathlon, Team Relays, Duathlon (run-bike-run). After a rainy Saturday, Race Day was a very nice and sunny morning. It was however very hot and humid, which was almost fatal for one of the Duathlon participants, as outlined in the Windsor Star story below:

>> Windsor Star: Duathlete nearly dies due to heat!

While I found it was hot especially during the run leg, it did not feel as bad as the race I did in Michigan in June (Triceratops) where the thermometer was hovering in the 37 degrees C.

While I had some big problems in transition, I still ended up with a very good time for the race. I finished 18th overall, with 143 entrants in the race. I was in the top 14% of the 125 finishers. There was an ELITE race category separated from the Age Group race, which definitely helped my overall ranking. The length of the race was a bit longer than a traditional SPRINT distance: 50% longer on the bike (31 km) and 20% longer on the run (6.2 km). My time: 1:42:38. Results are found in the link below.

>>Windsor Triathlon - Résultats

The swim was kind of weird because the water was very shallow for a good section of the course. A lot of the racers (me included) used a lot of the “Dolphin Jump” to move faster in the water.  I had a great time for the leg, but it really did not go smoothly. I resorted to a lot of alternative swimming style to get through.

The bike transition is where I had most problems. Somehow, my helmet was not on my bike anymore. I lost 1 min 40 secs looking for it. I found it a few bikes away, on the ground. I guess somebody knocked it off and did not know where it came from. Once I got going, it went well but the wind was very strong, preventing me from a better average speed. Click here to see the bike map and graphs || Click here to replay the bike leg

I ran a lot slower than my expectations of 4:30/km. It must be a combination of the heat that day, and exhaustion from the longest bike leg I did so far during a race. Click here to see the run map and graphs || Click here to replay the run leg

Despite the small technical problems, I am quite happy with my results considering I am just starting in multi-sports. I improved at each race so far. My progression can be followed in the Race Results section of the Fitness Log.  My guess is that I will now be reaching a plateau if not reached already.

My friend Craig also participated and also improved on his precedent results. Way to go Craig! I am really happy he does these things with me.

Next race: T-REX, in Brighton Michigan Wednesday 8/19/2009 for the 3rd and last part of this series.
 

Windsor Triathlon