Saturday, April 18, 2015

Fast and Stiff Competition - UBC Tri/Du RR


Haha okay so this report is long overdue, so I'll make it quick. 

Timeline T-minus...

-42 days - UBC Tri/Du ("B" Race)
1 day - Sun Run 10K ("B" Race)
22 days - Eugene Marathon ("A" Race)
57 days - Cultus Lake Loop Triathlon ("-A" Race)
70 days - ITU Motala LD Triathlon ("A" Race)

The UBC Tri/Du had some significant changes to the Transitions, bike, and run courses for this year due to some ongoing construction inconveniences.

As a result the post swim run to T1 was a little bit longer than the previous years (located all the way at Main Mall). The 16th hill was taken out of the bike. And the Run route was modified to be more of a lollipop course (stick+loop).

All in all, I felt I was a bit faster on the swim despite the slower time from last year. A bit of a blood bath near the end of the swim when two swimmers ahead swam too slow, and swimmers behind too fast. I was about 27 minutes 14 seconds (right on target) hitting the wall (1:49 per 100m pace). I felt the extra effort to push pass in the tight lane space wasn't worth the higher energy expenditures.

A doctor, who was in the blood bath group, was very appreciative and apologetic for making me do a chunk of the swim work as we passed each other in T1 and on the run course. Eventually I found out he's going to Sweden ITU worlds as well, which is neat!

The bike was a fast course and where I made some more gains. A kilometre shorter than last year, and minus 4 times a small hill meant a fast course. 

I was battling some stomach side stitches (my weak excuse is that the air was cold) and had to run with them for the 10K. I think there could be room for improvement here. 

All in all, it was a fun race and seeing a lot of the friends of the triathlon community hanging out at the finish line. Honestly, that's probably the reason why I do this race consistently every year. :)



Fabulous location for the new finishing area!
Nerdy Graph 2015 Update