9/14/2009

Muskoka 70.3

Yesterday I raced Muskoka 70.3 triathlon and finished 11th. I was off to a good start during the swim in the lead group (I know this because I could see Craig Alexander's fancy wetsuit underwater) but falling off after the 3rd turn buoy. I am not sure what happened but a gap formed and I exited the swim 30-40seconds behind the leaders. Out on the bike I was in 6 or 7th place and rode down a couple people but was then again passed by some stronger athletes. Coming into transition area i was in 7th place just behind Andrew Russell who i just caught towards the end of the bike ride but he had gapped me into transition area. Going into transition i crossed the dismount line and received a 4 minute penalty. I started to wait it out with 3 officials in transition thinking I was serving my time while I made sure my shoes were nice and tight. Finally after what felt like 1.5 minutes an official piped up and said you better make your way to the penalty tent where your penalty will start. In the penalty tent I ran into Andrew Russell who was serving the same penalty. I was pretty mad because i thought i had already been serving it in the transition area and i further had to sit another 4 minutes. Also, this matter was never discussed at the pro meeting the day prior to the race and I have never seen such strict laws enforced about this violation. I watched a lot of athletes come and go through transition area and out onto the run course. I also felt my legs start to seize as I stood there. Upon exiting the penalty box, I made a big racing error of trying to run angry and after the first 5km's where i had been out in just over 16 minutes I started to fade as I had Wolfgang and Russell in sight. My fancy Garmin had me at 121 for my half split which was alright for a bad run but results had me over 126 meaning I lost around 5minutes in transition. I learned some important lessons which i will take into my next series of races. I made the best of the day and the situation. I am really looking forward to Clearwater and i need to remember that each race is going to provide an opportunity for race strategy and execution so i can get everything down for the big race in November. Overall, I think the best parts of yesterday were my great chat with Andrew Russell in the penalty box, who is a super nice guy, and my awesome 70.3 key chain Carley bought me from the expo during the race.

I would like to thank Aquasphere for providing me a great wetsuit and a great swim split, as well as Frank from Powerbar for keeping me fueled, as well as Tino from K-SWISS for outfitting me in great shoes that felt great yesterday. Also, Colonel's for providing me with a great bike, and of course LifeSport. It is now time to go golfing with Carley in hopes of keeping my mind off triathlon and the errors i made. I will post some photos from the race as soon as i have them.

3 comments:

LARRY BRADLEY said...

Brent,

That is a hefty penalty for a missed dismount. Excellent performance and it was cool to see you guys in action yesterday. I have read your blog all season but it is totally different when you see so many of the international pros in person. Best of luck in Clearwater!

Tyler Lord said...

Hey Man,

That sucks about the penalty. Still a strong showing and we will attack in the next 70.3

IAN said...

Nice work man. Tough break on the penalty. Kill it in Clearwater!