32nd Annual Terry Fox Run

Hey everyone that is reading!

I apologize for not posting very much in the last few weeks. My husband and I did a move into our new home. More to come on that in a later post.

My focus for today's blog is on 'Terry Fox' and the 32nd annual 'Terry Fox' run that just happened yesterday all over Canada.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who would high-five? or like to meet if I could meet anyone in the world?" Well my answer has and always will be Terry Fox!!

For those that don't know who Terry Fox is, I'm going to put a quick bio about him in here from:
 'The Terry Fox Foundation' at www.terryfox.org/TerryFox/Terry_Fox.html
  Please check out the website to learn more!

Terry

"Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimeters (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

 While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

 It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

 

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran close to 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. 

An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, over $600 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world."

-Terry Fox Foundation at www.terryfox.org


Now that you've read a little bit about Terry I hope you can see how inspiring, strong both mentally and physically, caring and determined he was. The more I've learned about what he did and what can be done the more I want to be involved.

While living in the states for seven years I was donating but never had the privilege of racing. Last year was my first year back in Canada and I had the chance to be part of the run but my sister had her wedding celebration happening so I knew this year was a must...No execuses.

What I did was team up with my trusty furry friend, Kaiser! We joined in on the 'Thornhill Terry Fox Run' in my local community yesterday September 16th, 2012.

Kaiser and I pre-run! He was distracted by all the energy and people ready to run.

Joining us there was Cheryl Kohut, inspiring run ambassador from lululemon, and friend and Yasmin and her husband (two lululemon run club members).

While I was in Thornhill getting ready to run I was deeply thinking about one of my closest friends, the beautiful Amy Robichaud, who was also running the race with many family and friends. They were all running it in honour of someone very dear to them that they lost to cancer, they called it 'Terry for Sherri' and fundraised $3,300 when their goal was only $1,500. I just want to call them out and say that YOU ALL ARE AMAZING! Cancer has taken so many lives and I am so proud to be part of an organization that works to fund innovative and progressive cancer research programs.

Being that this was Kaiser's first official run I didn't know how he would be/do. I was a little nervous that he would be too excited and burnout very fast with many runners around him. I also didn't know what to expect in terms of other dogs that would be there and I knew if there were a lot of dogs Kaiser would want to play with them all and be pulling in every direction. My last concern was the distance. Kaiser has ran many 10ks and more with myself or my husband Kevin but over the summer his mileage decreases due to the heat. Today was much cooler but he hadn't done a 10k in months.

The weather was ideal: A sun that warmed the body when it hit you, and a cool crisp air.

The run started and we all did a loop around a local school track. This is where we saw the most people and Kaiser wasn't too sure where to go but wanted to catch whoever was in front of us. Pretty competitive...I wonder where he get's that from?
Once the pack separated Kaiser was doing just fine and got into a rhythm. We ran a 10 in 1, that's where you run for 10mins and walk for a min to rest and get your nutrition and hydration in. It was my first time doing this style of running and Cheryl was tracking it on her watch and letting us know when to do so. I'm not sure if this is something I'd be able to do myself for my races but I thought it was perfect for Kaiser and it gave him a chance to get some water in.

5k mark and still distracted!

At the end Kaiser made his last uphill climb and half lap around the track to finish strong and I was the proudest mom ever. He was such a trooper and had energy left over to show it.

The run was beautiful and it was so nice to see runners/walkers of all ages out. Many families participated which warmed my soul. It got me thinking about my future and how much I want my future family to participate in this race together.

The run in Thornhill had over 500 participants, and together it raised an amount of money that may well surpass $50,000.00 when all cheques and final coins are counted.

I also completed one of my fall goals...to find and run a dog friendly race with Kaiser!!!

Looking forward to running it again next year and supporting the amazing, 'Terry Fox Organization'.

-Calea

The Labour of Love

Hey Everyone!

HAPPY LABOUR DAY!!! I am using this Labour day to post about my love of running and the options that are laid out in front of me currently.

This past wee bit I've been on a mission to find my fall races and I've came across many great options. Take a look below to get some insight!

SEPTEMBER:

16th: 'The Terry Fox Run': http://www.terryfox.org/Run/

I will either be at the Cheer Station for this in Thornhill, Ontario or running the dog friendly one hosted by 'The Four Seasons' in Willet Creek Toronto.

22nd: 'Run For Your Lives': http://runforyourlives.com/

This race looks hilarious, HOW FUN! It's a 5k Obstacle Course and it is already 90% full via their website. It happens in Toronto, Pennsylvania, So Cal, Florida, Texas and Maryland but on different dates. The one above is in Toronto. This is a race I will need to keep in mind to meet my goal of 'running a race in costume'??? Thoughts? Has anyone ever done this race? 

23rd: 'Island Girl Half Marathon or 5k': http://www.islandgirlrunning.com/

'Island Girl' takes place on Toronto Island. I did the half marathon of this race in 2010 and thought the course was pretty thanks to the water being so close for majority of the race. I ran this when I first moved to Toronto and I only wish I would've done it with some friends. I went by myself to the race and had no one to celebrate it with. They had a great dance party pre-race and it was pure girl power there. 

30th: 'CIBC Run for the Cure': http://www.runforthecure.com/site/PageServer?pagename=run_homepage_12

This 5k run or 1k walk is to raise awareness and money for the 'Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation'. There are 59 locations across Canada and I am running this with my co-workers from lululemon in the York Region. 

OCTOBER:

6th: 'Albion Hills Fall 5': http://www.310running.com/2012-fall-five/

2.5k or 5k Trail Race Walk/Run. This one I am REGISTERED FOR!!! My dear friend Katie who is part of '310 running' has done this race and recommended it. I can't wait to run this one with her. This race will go towards my fall goal of doing another trail race.

14th: 'Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon': http://torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/index.htm

Scotiabank has both a full or half marathon option. I've done both and raced this race the past two years. It's where I hit my PB on my full last year. A fairly flat course and awesome cheer stations all along the race. Especially the lululemon cheer station! 

I'm not 100% sure if I'll do this one this year...we will wait and see. 

20th: 'Trick or Treat': http://www.trekortreat.ca/register.html

This race is Canada's First Ever Night Trail Run!!! It's a 5k and in Collingwood. I will finally get some good use of my headlamp if I choose to do this one and it can go towards my goal of running in a costume. 

Well these are the races I'm looking at so far. If anyone has any recommendations for the fall that are must-do's let me know. I am still looking for more dog-running race options?

Well I'm now heading out for a run with my husband so have a great day!

Photo Surprise

I got an email yesterday letting me know that since I placed in my age division I would get to choose a photo from the race. Pretty stoked about that since I have never bought a race photo and I always think about it. When I went to the link to see what pictures the photographer captured I had 4 options...3 just like the one below and one pre-race standing around.

I went with this one (the less serious of the 4):

What became clear to me once I saw this picture:

a. I need to learn how to run with my bike while holding the seat! 

b. I haven't quite mastered the skill of balance while running! Every time I practice holding the seat/running, it goes to the right or left. 

Any tips for me?? 

c. I run much faster with my bike shoes on while on grass...The pace slows down the second I hit the pavement in fear of wiping out. 

d. The CN Tower is MASSIVE! and I love it!!!

e. I'm very serious/focused

Last but not least...

f. I love my bike and I am soooooo freakin happy I got into the world of triathlons.

What Next?

Today I went to see my personal trainer, Brandon Crowe. He's been working with me on increasing my strength in my hips, glutes and pretty much everywhere to prevent muscle injury, increase my recovery and make my hill training much stronger. Initially I started working with him to prevent my nagging knee (runners knee) injury from returning. He's quite frankly phenomenal and I've seen much improvement in all areas since working with him.

Here's a video if you want to check him out:

His website is:
http://fitnessunleashedtraining.com/

Today he put me through a tough workout focused on my hamstrings that are my weak zone, my biceps, triceps and core. During the workout when I had a chance to recover I started thinking about what I'm going to train for now and how I need his support.

With my tri's being over for the summer I know I want to focus on my running but instead of doing just marathons I want to mix it up! I am very open here to any suggestions you all might have!!!

My gremlin tends to want me to focus on time and having an improvement each race, but what I want is to change it up. What I mean is, I want to do a few different distances this fall from 5k's to full marathons and I want to do a Halloween Run. I am in Toronto so I want to keep them fairly close to home. I want to really have fun while doing my races. Yes I will still do some races to increase my time but I am all about the FUN this FALL.

FUN FALL RACE GOALS 2012:
1. I will run a race in a costume.
2. I will run a race from start to finish with a friend. 
3. I will run a race with a family member. 
4. I will do a new trail race. 
5. I will seek a race that is dog friendly so my trusty boxer, Kaiser can join.

My trusty companion Kaiser

If you know any races in the Toronto area that would fulfill these goals, please let me know!!!
Or if you have any FUN FALL goals that you think I need to add, I'd love your feedback.

Multisport Canada Triathlon Series Toronto Island

Tri Race #3

http://www.msctriathlon.com/ms/events/showevent.cfm?showEventID=141

Where: Toronto Island, Ontario

When: August 25th, 2012

Cost: Individual=$61, Relay=$92

Other Races: 

• Triathlon
• Duathlon

Aid stations: 1 with heed and water
Swag: Medal for top 5 finishers in each age group, technical t-shirt, cliff bar, flyers etc.

My time: 0:43:13.7

My splits: Swim=0:11:21, Bike=0:19:26, Run=0:10:32

My transitions: T1=1:13, T2=0:45

My Result: 1st out of 74 in my age group of 20-29, 7th in gender out of 222 females, 45th overall out of 475 participants

Kevin's Result (my husband&best friend): 0:38:23.6 He came 2nd in his age group out of 38 and 6th overall out of 475 participants. Can't wait to see what he'll create next year

Winning men’s times: 0:32:41

Winning women’s times: 0:39:28.2

Experience:

Well well well, I can't believe that I am writing about my last triathlon of the summer. I didn't expect to do so many or to enjoy them to the point I have. 

I chose to do the Toronto Island try-a-tri as the last one because I wanted to finish this season with my husband who started it with me. With him now back in season coaching soccer, this one was our last chance and close to home. 

We woke up dark and early at 5am after only getting 4 hours of sleep and to be honest at that moment I just wanted to go back to bed, correction my Gremlin was saying your tired your body doesn't want to do this, just go back to bed, no big deal. I fought the temptation and just kept moving to get my gear on, thankfully I had layed out my gear the night prior. 

We made our classic oatmeal to go, Kevin pumped the tires up and I took our dog, Kaiser out before we took off. We left a little late for my liking, and my Gremlin was out once again, placing the blame on my husband for hitting his snooze and not moving quick enough. He stayed calm through it all like he normally does and of course we made it downtown very quick and on the Ferry to the island with an hour to spare. I'm a very lucky lady that my husband has so much patience with me! 

After getting off the ferry we both got our bikes into the transition area by age group and prepared our gear. My gear as you can see to the left included a running/bib belt. This belt makes it much easier to put on and less worry about pins coming undone as one did in my first tri and figuring out where to pin it. Race cap's represent the wave you are in, my wave was 20-29. My bike shoes, what you can't see is that I have them already half done up so I just have to slip my feet in and tighten. My running shoes! They have quick laces and allow me to slip in my feet just like my bike shoes.

After set up I ate the granola bar I brought along because I ALWAYS tend to get VERY hungry during swimming. I mean to the point my stomach is grumbling so loud all around can hear and then there's the movement factor, not so fun. 

Toronto in the background of the transition gates!

Kevin came and got me shortly after eating and we went to get our numbers marked on our body, our chip on our ankle and pick up our race t-shirt. We still had about 30mins till Kevin's wave at 8am started so we walked down to the water. 

This is the part I was dreading! I've been practicing the swimming portion so it wasn't the distance, but the cold Lake Ontario water. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I stayed on the beach till five minutes before Kevin's wave was off and we both went in to check on the temperature. Much different than the lakes we've been in for prior tri's. Weather was warm outside but the water was numbing my feet. Kevin decided not to even go in full body but rather just lined up in the water ready to go. My wave didn't begin till 8:20 so I had 20mins to adjust my body temperature. When Kevin's race started I went in waist deep till I saw him out of the water and could cheer him on. I'm so happy it was in waves because we got to see that there was a sandbar right before exiting the water that majority of the men were tripping on when the sandbar went deep again. 

Kevin was now long gone and I had gone under, not so bad I thought! It's all in the mind right? My age group filled with women in pink caps and wetsuits on (minus myself) got called over. I made sure to line up near the front of the pack so I didn't get caught behind others. The race director then went over race rules from start to finish with us. Remember we had all been in the water warming up and during this 5 minute talk we were all shivering waiting to go back in. 

The gun was off! I was planning to do three strokes then breathe but due to all the participants I was breathing every two strokes. More feet and hands were on my body than before but I fought to stay calm and keep my position. I had to veer left off course at one point just so I didn't get sandwiched. This swimming is still a huge opportunity that I will be taking advantage of so that I'm not caught sandwiched one day!! The swim was 400m. For me it seemed like a long swim, and I know I've been training much further distances but somehow it seems daunting while I'm doing it. 

Approaching the last buoy, we had to turn right back towards the beach...a 'clothing optional' beach by the way!! I noticed that no one was out of the water yet and there wasn't that many swimmers in front of me. I picked up my pace and realized I had been reserving quite a bit of energy. Still haven't figured out why I do that exactly...I think it's to conserve for later but I"m always feeling that I could've pushed harder. 

Once out of the water we had to run through sand to get to the transition. This is where I started making up quite a bit of ground. Most swimmers were struggling to run the sand and I passed about 10 ladies in this short period. I could hear my breath quickening as I did so. 

On to the bike! 

The bike course was completely flat and why I probably cut my bike time by a few minutes from my last tri. Oh yeah I didn't fall this time, probably a big part of the improvement. I felt really strong on my bike and had it in the highest gear for the majority of the race. I was a bit wary of sand on the road in a few spots and wasn't pushing as hard as I could've been on the course. Sand was a factor the first time I fell and I still get a little nervy when I see it feeling like my tires will give out under me. My opportunity on the bike is with pushing a faster cadence in the higher gears. The scenery was pretty with the water just off to the side, I didn't get many looks though because I was looking mostly at the next racers and trying to catch them. Most races I've been in I'm in the first flight of women so I know any up ahead are beating me but on this day I couldn't tell because the relay and women U-20 were in a group prior. 

I did have one girl in my division pass me right before dismounting off our bikes so I kept a close eye on her and when transitioning to the run I decided to skip putting on my hat to get out of the gate quicker. Right at the start of the run I saw Kevin and not long after pulled ahead of who I will call Navy suit (navy swimsuit). She had something on her that was clicking so once passing I made sure to get ahead enough so that I couldn't hear her anymore. We had to do 2 loops near Helen's Point and then we were back on the grass again where I saw Kevin and he said, "Only 100m to go". This is where I should've sprinted but again my Gremlin was reluctant telling me to reserve my jets till I saw the finish and I chose in that moment to listen to the gremlin....wrong choice! I did turn on the jets once I saw the finish but after crossing the line I knew I could've gone much harder in my run. GREAT LEARNING!! Now I just need to make sure I don't have that same learning. 

My favourite part of the day was seeing all the new triathlete faces below: 

What an inspiration! I hope many of them are hooked and will be back next year. 

Here were Kevin and my results all printed up! My goal is to make it to that first page next year, so I 

don't have to take 2 pictures.

Award Ceremony:

Kevin getting his second places medal! The winner won the full race and was already gone. Probably training somewhere. 

My first gold medal for a tri. Now the hunger is on. 

Ride-Home:

 
 What a great morning with the day still ahead of us!

Paddle boarders and kayakers now out to play!

SeaWheeze lululemon Half Marathon Part 2 of 2

Post-Race Celebrations!!

After finishing the half marathon I tried to find Kat, Tara and Yolande. These are 3 of my friends that were racing. There were so many participants, making it difficult to spot them. I began getting pretty hungry so I decided to go get my bag from bag check then hit up the buffet for runners.

Where you pick-up your bag there was a massage station to get rubbed down after. I decided I’d come back to that after eating.

For the race we all had to wear a bracelet that said, “I runcouver”. This bracelet replaced the traditional race bib, and got participants into all the post race events. I thought this was clever but I still wish there would’ve been a bib so we could have official race photos.

Here’s a picture of the finishing medal that I spoke about in part 1 of 2 of my postings.


FOOD:

The best post race food I’ve ever seen was provided for this day. There were several different station areas to get granola bars, fruit skewers, waffles, and more. lululemon had cheeky sayings to go with each station. I feel for this section pictures are better than word so take a look for youself:







The finished product!


YUMMMM

In the food area I caught up with some amazing ladies that ran and we got a photo together. For many of them it was their first half marathon and they killed it…ALL accomplishing their time goals.


To my right is ‘Bulging Biceps Tara’ (your biceps are my goal!!), ‘Yager Yolande’ is in the blue to my left, she was a rifle in this race.  Kalon Kat is in the pink second from the left and she used that inner goddess to finish strong all while smiling.
After eating we were all feeling pretty tight so we followed the pink mats…


to get our stretch on with some yoga.

The yoga took place in an open grass area overlooking the water where planes were taking off and landing. Whoever went to this spot for yoga had an opportunity to work with a yoga teacher specifically for them and or the group you were with. They were there to support you with positions and modifications to stretch out what needed to be stretched.


Kat enjoying the sun in her face while stretching.


All smiles from Yolande who didn’t want to take that medal off! What an accomplishment.


I’m posing in downward dog, mimicking the mountains behind me! The warm sun felt so good on the skin. After this last stretch we were ready for some entertainment.
Later, after showering up and snacking, Kat and I arrived back at the convention centre area to watch ‘Hey Ocean’ and ‘FUN!’ perform.


‘Hey Ocean’ was so good that I later downloaded their whole album. Great tunes for running and I love their older albums too. They have a hipster, jazzy type sound. In their newer album it’s a bit more pop…with great beats.


Between bands, Tara on the far right spotted ‘Chip Wilson’. He is the very kind, humble, and lovely founder of lululemon who was very generous and was more than happy to get a photo with us.


‘FUN!’ took the stage as the final band. Just look at that stage and the location. Can it get any better? I don’t think so. I had so much fun listening to them perform and danced the whole time.
To wrap up the night, I enjoyed some great Italian food, and well earned Sangria.
I believe this half marathon is one that is only going to get better and I look forward to doing it again one day!!!

Shout-out to my body for recovering so nicely and to my awesome trainer Brandon Crowe who I believe has helped me with my strength so that I can tackle many crazy race courses and recover at a very fast rate. Check him out at:
http://fitnessunleashedtraining.com/

SeaWheeze lululemon Half Marathon Part 1 of 2

Race Report!

What: SeaWheeze lululemon Half Marathon
http://www.seawheeze.com/
When: Saturday, August, 11th, 2012

Where: Vancouver, BC

Cost to register and what you get: $128 CAD=Total luxury experience, breathtaking views and oh yah…speed shorts from lululemon WHAT…seamless too and special edition. TackleBox training program to get you ready for teh race and…… Entry to the concert which featured, ‘Hey Ocean’ and ‘FUN!’. Unreal.


Route:

Elevation:

My Time:
Chip Time- 1:47:26.9

My Result:
Overall-531st out of 5,892 participants
Gender-269/4757 (bummed that this goes off of the time the race starts rather than chip time).
*Key learning…Start in the correct corral!

Pre-Race:
The day before the race I went completely against my average pre-race routine. Instead of resting and hydrating tons. I toured the lululemon athletica headquarters then spent most the day walking around town and at the run expo in the sun.

Run-Expo:
The run expo started at 8am and I didn’t go till about 2pm. The result was that most of the limited edition gear that was on sale at the expo was sold-out by the time I got there. The sad thing was that a lot of the specialized gear wasn’t for individuals to wear but to make a profit on. It was being sold online not too long after the expo opened.
At the expo they had Davids Tea and Vega both present giving out samples. Popsicles, manicures, pedicures and massages were options for those who were willing to wait in line. My favourite was the dancing bear, hockey players and fish on stilts who were cutting shapes.


Before leaving the expo we all got the airbrushed tattoos that were offered.


Then I wrote on the goal wall before leaving.


Pre-Race Dinner at Cactus Club:
Many runners believe it is important to have a large pasta dinner before they race. I’ve tried this theory in the past and find it is too much for me to eat and leaves me heavy the following day. This time around I split a butternut squash ravioli with shrimp on the top with my friend Kat and a delicious salad too.



Race Gear:
For the race I wore my trusty speed shorts and an energy bra (MY FAVOURITE) with a swiftly racerback. All race clothes from lululemon. My runners were, nike frees that will only see a few more races. I didn’t put my usual Vaseline/Body Glyde on and experienced some chaffing at the base of my bra. As you can see the timing chip has a face on it! It’s none other than Chip Wilson (founder of lululemon), pretty cheeky.
Gear Check Take Away: Always stick to what you know and your usual routine.


Race Experience:
Waiting for the gun to go there was great tunes playing and the excitement was high. The start line had a huge watermelon that we all had to run under.


I started off in a slower corral for the beginning of the race because checking my bag at the expo took much longer than expected. This put me with a lot of runners who were running a slower pace than I planned. I will be sure to start in the correct corral next time so that I”m not stuck behind racers for the first few miles of the race.

The pacers were pace beavers, quite the twist on the pace bunnies. They all had earls and a tail on their head and wore bright yellow (ray) tops. I actually didn’t notice them once the race started because everyone around was in bright outfits. In a normal road race they would’ve stuck out but race day they blended in.



The first few miles of the race I was just trying to weave in and out of runners. Because I haven’t done a half or a full in quite some time I didn’t quite know what pace I wanted to run. I started off at around an 8:30min/mile and really started listening to my body to see how it was feeling. Because it was feeling good I tried to stay under an 8:20min/mile.

Between listening to my body I saw many interesting, intriguing, maybe even odd, and exciting cheer stations/non stations!

The first thing I saw was 3 characters (not sure what kind of characters to be honest) on extremely high bikes passing us on the bridge. They had on shiny costumes that caught your attention. It was like watching an episode of the family guy. I didn’t know if they were part of the race or not. Very random!
There were paddle boarders in Hawaiian get ups at around the 5k. The tide was quite low so they were hard to see but I loved it.

There was a choir in a tree singing, ‘Ain’t no mountain high enough’, drag queens and more.
There were so many things I didn’t even see that I heard about but lululemon kept you entertained majority of the race with something to look at, hear or see.

My favourite cheer station was in Kitsilano, around 10k and it was a huge group of young girls dancing and cheering. It seemed as if there were hundreds of them and it was very motivating after the climb to get to them. It’s where I did some fist pumping.

Just around this time I was getting warm in my swiftly. During the mornings in Vancouver it was cool but as soon as the sun was out and the day grew later and my body warmed up I was getting hot. Decided to run in my sports bra and tuck my swiftly tank into the back of my shorts, with the plan to pass it off to someone I knew at the sideline if spotted.

After running around 10k I was still feeling really good and decided to stick around an 8min/mile pace for the rest of the race. As you can see my pace was jumping all over the place from an 8:24 to a 7:46.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/214006797

As my pace started to pick up I got to run my favourite stretch of the race….The Sea Wall! With the ocean right beside me and mountains in the background I was in pure delight. It was a dream becoming a reality for me and I knew deep in my heart that it solidified my goals to live by the water! The marathon could’ve been loops around that Sea Wall and I would’ve been happy…I wanted to stay there all day.
Around the seawall I wasn’t too clear what part of the wall I should’ve ran on. Some were on the bike lane (inner lane) and many were on the outside walking lane where I was running. Maybe I would’ve cut some time on the inside? I was happy to be on that outside though, closer to the water.

Getting closer to the end I picked up my pace as we all ran through the park to the finish. I wish at this point there were more signs to the amount of distance that was remaining. The race was marked with km signs but not mile markers which was unfortunate. I believe there was an 800m sign but after that I didn’t know when I was hitting the 400m and less. I just picked up my pace to a full stride/sprint the closer I got to the end.
After the seawall there wasn’t many cheer people or stations for the last few km when many runners are excited for that cheering for the final push. Hopefully next year there will be. Overall I was so happy to push hard to that watermelon finish and was smiling bright eyed!


What a cool medal too! It’s a keychain on shoe laces, very resourceful and useful.

Thank-you lululemon for putting on such an exciting event…And just wait, it doesn’t end there!

Part 2 coming soon!!!

Orillia Chariot Try-A-Tri

 
Tri Race #2 (picture above is the view when walking into the event)
What: Orillia Chariot Try-A-Tri
http://www.trisportcanada.com/orillia.php
Where: Orillia, Ontario
When: Sunday, July 29, 2012

Cost: Chariot Try-A-Tri: Early Registration=$46, 2 weeks out= $56, Race weekend=$61
Other Races: 

• Triathlon
• Duathlon
• Bike/Run
• Triathlon Relay

Aid stations: 1 during the Try-A-Tri at the turn around point at around the 1k mark
Swag: Medal for top 5 finishers in each age group, coupons, bread, powerade bar, t-shirt, and a lotion for recovery.

My time: 0:45:10.02
My splits: Swim=0:09:09, Bike=0:22:45, Run=0:10:58
My Result: 2nd out of 14 in my age group of 25-29, 3rd was what I medaled out of the 20-29 group, 8th in gender out of 124 females, 30th overall out of 204 participants
Winning men’s times: 0:36:40.2
Winning women’s times: 0:37:44.5

Experience:
For this race, Kevin(my husband) and I drove up the morning of since the race didn’t start till 11am. We had our breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries prior to leaving and had some banana bread in the car once we got close.

The weather in Orillia was pretty hot, with barely any wind or clouds. Water was nice and warm.
Once on site Kevin and I felt more prepped this time as to how to set up our gear. We got our bikes in the transition area and prepped all the rest of our gear out bike our bikes in a way that would allow for a quick transition.

Key Prep:

• Bringing a towel this time to step on once out of the water so that my feet can dry better
• Adding baby powder to my towel and inside my bike and run shoes again to aid in moisture absorbing and friction since I went barefoot this time
• Bike shoes were half done up and ready to go. This allowed me to only have to tighten one strap
• Quick laces on my running shoes. This resulted in me not having to tie my shoes
• Below you will see that my helmet was already on my bike and my sun glasses and bib belt were directly underneath and beside the helmet to slip on quick

Biggest change this time was that I wore a bathing suite for the whole event. Very new for me to even be in a normal suit but the result was lowering my transition time to…
T1=1:16 and T2=1:04 (my first tri transition times were T1= 1:37 and T2=1:21)
I saved a total of 21 seconds in my T1 and 17 seconds in my T2!!!! Very excited about that.
After we were all prepped Kevin and I went to the beach and got warmed up in the water by swimming a little bit and taking a look at the swim portion of the race. It was a triangle marked by buoys and for this race we were swimming clockwise, the opposite of Gravenhurst direction.

SWIM:
Prior to the swim all racers lined up just outside the water on the beach and we all took our marks. Our group included males and females under 29. Once the horn blew everyone was off into the water by means of running till it became too deep. For the swim I felt much stronger and calm compared to Gravenhurst. I did have a few swimmers crossing over me and kicking but it wasn’t such a shock to the system and stayed on my course. As soon as I could touch I started running through the water to the transition area, on the way I could see Kevin only a few people ahead and felt good about where we both were at in our race.

T1:
First transition seems like a blur now. I was there then I wasn’t. I just remember trying to jump over the swimsuits that prior racers left in the middle of the ground…Possibly trying to deter other racers?

BIKE:
Oh the bike! Before mounting we all had to run our bike to the top of the hill. Once on the bike I was off as quick as I could. In the Tri you need to stay to the right unless you are passing someone and you also cannot cross the middle of the road or you can be eliminated from the event. Keeping this mind I started climbing the first hill and I noticed my upcoming target, a male who was biking in the middle of our side of the road. When I started passing him I made sure to let him know and unfortunately while right beside him he started leaning towards me and ended up falling off his bike, taking me with him. He was very apologetic and tried to get back on his bike and fell again. Many passed by us while getting our bearings back. I also did the same thing (falling again)…Learning quickly that mounting on a hill was going to be hard. I ran my bike over to the curb and got on and was on my way again. At this point I was a little frustrated thinking my chances of medaling might be over but I got that thought out quick and started going harder.

T2:
During the 2nd transition I almost took my helmet off to early without realizing that if I was to do so before racking the bike I could be disqualified. I am very grateful for the volunteer who reminded me by shaking his finger nicely to instruct otherwise.

RUN:
I got out on the run quick and the first portion of the run was a slow incline to the turnaround. I saw Kevin at about halfway to the turnaround reminding me that it would be all downhill once I hit it. During the run I kept finding a target in front and kept my focus at chasing them down. I made sure also to focus on all the females I saw and to counted them to figure out what place I was in and strategically figure out who I had to pass next to get to the next spot. At the very end I saw Kevin for the 2nd time and he was cheering me on saying I was just around the corner and to pick it up. From that point on I was in a dead sprint/stride till the end.

After the race I went directly to the mist shower that was there and got some gatorade into my system. Kevin and I then went back to our bikes to put our post race clothing on. Food was next, gobbling down the subway sandwiches, fruit, soda and many snacks. The sun was beating down hard all the while and we both re-applied the sunscreen prior to the award ceremonies.

AWARDS:
Before they awarded the medals Kevin and I went to check out our results, I was psyched to find out I came 2nd and not surprised at all that Kevin killed it again, coming first in his age division. During the medals I was rewarded with third and was a little confused. Found out after that because our age division didn’t have many people they combined two groups together. Overall I’m super happy with even medaling, especially after the fall during the bike ride.

My favourite part of the awards was seeing the guy who won the 80+ division just hop and skip up to collect his medal. He was an inspiration in such great fitness and so happy! Proving that age is nothing but a number!!!

Here is a final picture of my amazing husband who is my biggest supporter and such an inspirational figure in my life who pushes at 100% in everything he does.


Again I can’t wait for the next one!!!