Binbrook Sprint Tri Race Report

3 days ago I decided I was going to race the Binbrook Sprint Triathlon.  My training has been going well and I've been feeling strong so I thought it was best to iron out the nerves, get an open water swim in, and practice transitions before my half-iron distance in Welland in 2 weeks.  Though the weather forecast was terrible I am so glad I decided to go and race.  While I had to run in the pouring rain we were spared for the swim and the bike and I was grateful for that.  My goal for this race was to work out any kinks and to break 2 hours.  I think I accomplished both!

Crossing the finish line in 1:53:42

The day started VERY early as the race started at 8:15 and Google maps told me it would take about an hour and a half to drive there - really only an hour.  But like any race morning I woke before my alarm and was up and at em.  We (my dear husband aka sherpa, biggest fan and photographer) swiftly got out the door at 6 am and were on our way - in the pouring rain.  We pulled into the parking area at 7:30 and were not in a huge rush as it was still raining.   I took my time to get registered and rack my bike and set up my transition.  I ran into another TTC member and my trainer Sabine.  Before long it was time to go down to the beach.  Luckily throughout that time the rain came to a stop.

heading to the beach

SWIM

The water was warmer than the air but very murky.  I have never swam in such murky water - you couldn't see your hand in front of you let alone a person next to you!  There were only 30 or so in my wave which was females 30-39 and 2 red capped males which I figured out later were pacers for some very fast women.

my wave

Unfortunately I didn't start out my swim in the right direction and got off course and probably swam some extra distance.  I got back onto the right track and swam.  Felt like I swam forever.  I stayed calm and felt pretty good even though it was pretty choppy out in the middle of the lake.  Not to mention the powered life boat came flying by on my swim back to shore so I had to deal with it's wake. I think I swallowed a bit too much lake water. All in all it was a successful swim because:

1.  I didn't drown, 
2.  I didn't have to grab a paddle board and 
3.  I never stopped swimming.  

I came out of the water in 17:29 which included a run up the beach with a average of 2:20/100m.  Not my best swim but I was feeling great.

T1

I was worried about my wetsuit as it was the first time I was wearing a full sleeved suit.  But it came off without a problem.  I stuttered a bit getting my socks and shoes on and my helmet and I probably could have shaved 30 seconds off my T1 time but it wasn't too bad.  I came out of T1 in 1:45.

still not graceful getting on the bike

BIKE

This was my first race on my Cervelo P2 Tri bike (she still doesn't have a name!).  The roads were in great shape concidering the weather and I easily settled into the aero postion.  I had Accelerade in my aerodrink and drank consistantly along the ride. It was only 30k and since I have been riding much longer that these days, the ride flew by.  The course was great - at one point we were heading out to the East and it was mainly down hill with the wind at our back and I was flying.  Then we turned around and headed back.  I went from 44kph to 24kph!  The wind made the ride tougher than it should have been.  I passed a lot of folks and didn't get passed by many females.  There was one chick who I had passed, that came flying passed me drafting on a male and I watched her draft him for as long as they were in my sights.  Made my blood boil, especially since she had a M-dot tatoo on her calf - she should have known better.

I averaged 31kph and finished the bike in 56:43.  Much better than I had anticipated.

coming in from the bike

T2 

T2 went very well though the guy to my right and the guy to my left pretty much left me no space to rack my bike.    I was in and out in 52 seconds but forgot my visor which would have been nice to have once the skies opened up and the rain came down.

RUN

leaving T2 - no visor, watch in hand, it wasn't raining yet

The run was great.  7.5k is a walk in the park for me.  My legs were a little tired from a big brick workout I had done on Wednesday but I just ran.  The rain started about 5 minutes into my run and didn't stop.  There were more hills on the run then I expected but besides the kilometre that was up the hill into the headwind, I kept my pace under 5min/km. I finished the run in 36:57, average pace of 4:56.

NUTRITION
Being a sprint I didn't go overboard with nutrition.  Had my typical bowl of Leaping Leamers cereal for breaky with a cup of coffee.  Drank an eBoost on the way to the race.  Had a caffinated Gu gel before the swim and drank the entire 16oz of Lime Accelerade (3scoops, 360 calories) on the ride.  Sips of water and a gulp  of HEED on the run.  Probably could have taken a gel before the run.

Again, John Salt and Mutlisport Canada put on a great race and I would definitely go back and race it again.  The venue, minus the murky water, was great and close to Toronto.  I'm looking forward to Welland Half-Iron in 2 weeks!