Last Sunday I raced in Bracebridge with MultiSport Canada. This was an Olympic distance race (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) along the shores and through the hills of the quaint Muskokan town. Prior to this race, I’d only competed in one other Olympic distance race before, which was in Gravenhurst (another MultiSport Canada race) last July. Last year I raced in Bracebridge as well, but in the International Duathlon rather than the tri. That race went horribly. I had a good first run, but once I got on the bike everything fell apart. Going into this year’s race, I was hoping for a better showing.
My swim times have been great this year, so I was confident going into Sunday’s race. However, the furthest I’d gone in a race all season was only 800m, and I knew that it would be much more difficult to keep a decent pace over almost double that distance. The swim start was a time-trial format, so the 12 pro and elite age-groupers swam off together to start the race, and a minute later the rest of us started, one at a time with 5 seconds separating each racer. I was third to get going and I felt strong from the very start. I caught the first age-grouper within the first 50 metres, and over the course of the 1500m swim I think that I caught 5 or 6 of the elite racers who left the dock over am minute before me. Approaching the 750m marker and turnaround, I was feeling very strong. I continued to feel strong for the next half of the swim, but after the turn back towards the race venue, I was faced with a new challenge — the sun. For 750m we had to swim right into the sun, and I could barely see any of the buoys. Luckily for me, there were a few swimmers just a bit ahead of me who seemed to know where they were going, so I followed them until I could make out the markers on my own. I eventually passed those racers and completed the swim. As I came out of the water I looked at my watch — 24:31. I was very pleased with this time (my pre-race goal was to complete the swim in under 25 minutes). Onto the bike, the section of the Bracebridge race which has haunted me since last season.
I was hesitant when choosing to sign up for this race, mainly because of the hills. Last year the 40k ride felt like 100k. The hills were never-ending and as soon as you completed one, congratulating yourself on making it to the top, you saw that there was another waiting for you just 100 metres down the road. This year I felt ready for the hills, but I couldn't help but worry. In the end, I didn’t have to worry too much. The bike went very well, and I caught up to a few racers before the turnaround. It wasn’t until the final 5k or so that I started to fatigue; the hills hadn’t conquered me like last year, but they’d certainly done a number on me. I pushed through the last eighth of the race, not slowing down too much but still enough for 2 or 3 people to pass me. Going onto the run I felt very confident, but my run hasn’t been up to my usual standards so far this year.
My first kilometre of the run was alright — 4 minutes, right on. I told myself that it was okay, if I held that pace I should be able to catch up to a good number of the racers in front of me. From there, however, things only got worse. After that 1km marker I started to get what turned out to be the worst cramps I have ever had in my life. It felt like my abdomen was being torn apart. Twice I had to stop for a moment to gather myself. These cramps subsided after a bit, but never fully left until I’d finished the race. I finished the run in 50 minutes, a time which I hope I never see again for a 10k.
So maybe I haven’t figured out the secret to Bracebridge just yet. Last year I only had one good section from the race, and this year I had two (a great swim and a good bike), so maybe next year will be my year to crack the code and have a great race overall. Even though I didn’t have the race I was hoping for, it was still a fun time as always. MultiSport Canada really knows how to put on an event — from the venue to the volunteers and everything in between, this race was a well-oiled machine. Can’t wait until the next one in Toronto on Sunday the 21st of August.
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