Barrelman Triathlon Race Report

Swim (2K+): 35:14 (1:39-1:45, GPS vs )
T1: 2:14
Bike (86K): 2:25:10 (35.5k/h)
T2: 2:40
Run (21.1K): 1:45:32
Total: 4:50:51

This is the first race report I've typed up in a while, so it'll probably be long. This past weekend I completed the Barrleman Half-Iron Triathlon in the Niagara Region. It was my second half-iron of the year (after Muskoka in July), 7th 70.3 overall and 3rd time I've done 2 long-distance tris in the same year (in 2007 and 2015 I did the half-full iron combo). As well, it was my 4th triathlon - the first time I've ever finished 4 tris in the same season (in 2011 I entered 4 but didn't finish the Canadian half-iron).

Overall I was happy with my race. I felt good at the start of the swim - I decided literally minutes before the start to squeeze down half a gel, as in the past I remember losing steam towards the end of the swim. I had my garmin 905 in my swim cap to help me track swim distance, although the course was well-marked. After the start, I quickly surged to near the front of my wave (M/W 35-39). It only took a few hundred m before I was hitting the slowest swimmers of the wave earlier. Around that time I discovered there was a line down the buoys that you could see underwater! This really helped me stay on course, and I realized I have a tendency to drift left when I swim open water. I stayed on course with another woman in a pink cap as we kept passing swimmers from the earlier wave (literally dozens). I had no idea of my pace but I knew I was keeping my effort low, which was intentional. When I got to the final tur (maybe 100m left) my watch beeped that we were at 2K > so I probably ended up swimming close to 2.1K in around 35. A tad slow, but if you count the extra distance it makes sense (goal was 33). My transition was reasonable and I was on my bike in about  2 minutes. (17th in my AG out of the water)

At the start f the bike my quads were cramping> I might have overkicked in the swim? Either way, I was having trouble holding aero for long periods and had to take frequent breaks. I was managing about 35K/h though without much of a wind, so I just kept trucking. I was passed by a ton of guys with disc wheels, although most were from the wave behind me. I only recalled one guy from the 35-39 passing me. I caught up to a guy from the earlier wave and we ended up riding together, although at a legal distance *unlike many other riders). At around 30K we started to turn back to Niagara falls and my legs were feeling better. We started to get a slight tail wind and I bumped my speed to around 36-37. I was eating and drinking exactly as planned, but it was getting hot. Around 56K we hit the final water station on the bike> I calculated that for 30K left I should have enough water (rough 50-55 min) so I didn't bother to grab another bottle. Well I clearly miscalculated, because shortley after that we hit the few hills of the course, and with the heat my water use went up. With about 10-15K left I was basically out of water. I was still feeling good though, and there wasn't anything I could do, so I jsut kept on trucking while conserving energy a bit (and my legs for the run). Nonetheless my times/speed were the fastest I've ever done in a race of that length, actually close to a PB for 40K as well (around 1:07) and finishing the 86K in 2:25 (equivalent to about 2:32 for 90K). I definitely had a tail wind for at least half the race, so that might have helped, but oh well. I came off the bike in 16th in my AG.

During T2 I stopped for a quick pee and then downed some water. I started off great, going out the first 5K in 22:44 (close to 4:30/k). It started to get hot then and I slowed down slightly, but still was around 47 for 10K. The second loop was significantly harder as I started to slow down to 5:00per k, and then 5:30s. My carb intake for the second loop was probably too low as I didnt want t risk GI issues. I probably should have tried out some of the on course nutrition. My salt intake was good as I didn't cramp at all. Overall I finished in 1:45, losing nearly 5 min in the final 5K of the run or so. Going into the run I was hoping to run sub 1:40 and finish in 4:45, but considering the heat I'll take the 4:50. Even factoring in the short bike course, I would have come in sub 5:00hrs which was my goal!

I was happy with this as it was only my 2nd race sub 5 hrs ever (last was in 2008) and this run course was HOT.