sqwracing guest blogger race report

my friend James Warren reports from a fun low key Vancouver Island race.

This is really what our sport is all about, at the end of the day the best part about our sport are the people and the races that take place at small venues;

long drives to crappy motels, pasta parties with no food, early wake ups after not sleeping, finding parking, GRASS transition zones, orange cones, race number marking, pens that don't work, stabbing yourself with race bib pins, cold mornings, in transition before the sun rises, crazy bike racks, porta potties, the wonderful volunteers, the crazy volunteers, intense official types, watching people do strange warmups, doing your own "special" weird warm up, being late to the start line, wave starts, deep water starts where everyone creeps forward, getting lost out in the lake, fixing your goggles, fixing your goggles again, thinking "when will this swim ever end", frantic transitions, trying to get your wetsuit off, THAT pain you get in your glutes when you try and ride hard at the beginning of the bike, those bastard drafters (never you!!!), going off course on the bike, dropping your water bottle, being told to "slow down, slow down, corner ahead", ignoring them, almost crashing, yelling "why didn't you warn me!!!", more frantic tranisitioning, CAN'T FIND MY SPOT!!!, friends yelling, hearing friends say "man he looks tired" when you're still within ear shot, running along pathways with people in civilized clothes, not really caring, yelling "WATER WATER, NO GATORADE!!!!" then missing all the cups, suffering until your in sight of the finish then sprinting like crazy, "finish line fever", long winded recaps, excuses, more excuses, laughs, post race food, terrible awards speeches, ackward moments, guys still their race gear 4 hrs after the race, more excuses and repacking the car.

did I miss anything? (comments section)

from James, the core of our sport.
http://www.jameswarren-running.blogspot.com/

Since September of last year, I've been going about once a week to the sports centre and getting in an hour or so of swim time. Usually I drop in at the 'swim fit' class where the coach gives us a workout, which provides some good motivation to stay in the pool for that long. I've never been a swimmer so I find it tough to focus on doing more than 20 or 30 minutes in a row. Swimming with others and doing an actual workout though gets me swimming for longer. I also knew that swimming is my weakness in triathlon and anything would help (case in point - at the Cowichan Challenge in 2008 I finished the sprint event 9th overall (that is 7th fastest run, 8th fastest bike and 34th fastest swim - pretty evident where my focus could be). Between weekly swims and more bike/run sessions (averaging two good workouts each week) I've put more time in this year than in past years.

On Sunday, July 5, I did the "Cowichan Challenge" main event (1000 m swim in Fuller Lake, 34 km ride and 9 km run). About one hundred people entered and while I still only finished the swim in mid-pack (19:48) I felt good. I remember doing the 500 m swim last year and gasping throughout the swim, wishing it was over and getting sweet-relief from doing the backstroke for long stretches. This time around, I swam straight through (with the exception of not being able to keep a straight line - sorry to the three or four people I pulled away from a straight line :() and figure that's partly from my new QR wetsuit (care of Simon - thanks!) and partly from the extra time I put into the pool over the winter.

Once I got myself out of T1 (it was a disaster trying to get the wetsuit off because I forgot there was a chip/timer on my ankle) the bike was fun. A hilly ride through Crofton and the Chemainus valley with some fast descents and a couple of tough uphills. I managed 29.2 km/hr and am still in awe of anyone that maintains 34 km/hr over any course. How do you guys do it? Turns out my bike time was middle of the pack also. I was pleased with it and felt strong throughout but realize I can spend some more time getting my legs going for a faster ride (maybe a trainer for the garage over the winter??)

After T2 (much less of a disaster) I was in my element. Running has always been my strongest point and it was again here. The few brick workouts I squeezed in over the spring paid off as I found my legs right away. There weren't any awkward hobbles right off the bike. I guess that even the bricks where I only ran a km or two off the bike even helped. I finished the run in the top 20 in the field for a 33rd overall placing (5th of 11th in my age group).

A good day in the sun and a great event. Lots of friendly volunteers and organizers and I'd recommend the race to all.

Now on to the summer. I'm still looking at the Victoria marathon in October but have to get my long runs in. Also thinking about the Sooke Subaru triathlon in September. It would be my first Olympic distance...

James