Pre-Season Thoughts

This winter was the first time that I really had a solid winter training program to carry over my fitness from the previous summer. In past years I would either just swim on my high school swim team (no running or cycling) or just attend a few spin classes with the University of Waterloo Cycling Club. The reason for this was because I felt that after hard summers of racing and training, I needed to let my body rest and recuperate. This led me to play a lot of catch up with my fitness in the early spring in preparation for triathlon season. As I have developed as an athlete, I feel stronger and am more in-tune with my body. I have a better understanding of my limits and can recognize the preliminary triggers that indicate when to back off to prevent injury.

My training over the winter consisted of running indoor track with the University of Waterloo as well as temporarily filling in as spin class instructor for the University of Waterloo Triathlon/Cycling Clubs. Due to scheduling conflicts, I was not able to make it into the pool as often as I would have liked but probably averaged one or two swims a week. This resulted in 2 intense track workouts, 2 spin workouts and the odd swim per week.  This was all I could really handle with my schoolwork but it has seemed to have paid off in my pre-season tests.

The last few racing seasons have started off hopping straight into either an Olympic or Half-Iron triathlon after a 7 month break from racing after XC. My performance was always a crapshoot but more often than not I was satisfied and it allowed me to make modifications to my training program. The problem with this is I feel there are only so many 'zones' you can target off of one race, especially one as long as a Half-Iron, as performance factors may start to amplify and you lose a degree of certainty on the factor you are assessing. For example if you feel bad on the run it may not be because of your running form, it could be a whole wack of factors beginning with the swim or nutrition on the bike. One may take that as a cue to kick up the running training when in actuality swimming or nutrition may be the area of interest.

In retrospect, I had not planned for any pre-season racing this year. My family decided to compete in the Mississauga 5k so I figured that I would join in and I registered for the Grey County Time Trial one day before registration cut-off in a spur of the moment decision. Reflecting on the past few weeks, I am happy with my decision to race and plan on making it a yearly routine.

I cannot recall the last time I competed in a running road race. My take on the shorter races was if I wanted to run 5k or 10k, I would just go out running on any given day. That would give me a pretty good indication of my times right?

Mississauga Marathon 5k

The Mississauga 5k took place the day after our #TTFU OYL Cycling Collingwood Training Camp. I felt pretty fatigued, and hadn’t run in nearly 2 weeks. I hadn’t run a speed workout in over a month. My plan going into the race was to at least break 20 minutes and, being optimistic, hope to crack the top 10. At the start line, I was in the middle of the mass corral. At 5 minutes to start, the announcer requested that all “elite” runners enter the box at the line. He described the elite runners as “they know who they are”. Four runners moved up and my dad gave me a shove. I had my reservations about moving up because I doubted my form. Slowly after I arrived, about a dozen boys about a foot shorter than me joined us. I was nervous in the box but it was a risk that paid off.

I’m sure it was due to the pressure of the elites, but as soon as the gun went off I found myself sticking to the front. A few guys sprinted the first kilometer but soon died off. After everyone settled in, I found myself move from around 15^th to 6^th overall from kilometer 1 to 4.5. I was sort of in no mans land as I was ahead of the main bunch, but far behind the leaders who would end up besting me by 2 minutes. It was a very flat course with hardly a bump in the road. In the last 500 meters, to my surprise, I found one more gear to pass the 2 running just in front of me. I finished in 17:39, finishing my last kilometer in 3:12. That was good enough for 4^th overall and 3^rd in my age group. As primarily a triathlete, this race changed my views on running road races. There is no way I could have run a sub-18 5k on my own. It was a good training session and a great way to assess my fitness in a race scenario. I plan to incorporate more running races into my training schedule in the future.

Happy at the finish line

Grey County TT (29.1km)

My second pre-season test was the Grey County Time Trial. It was a totally last minute decision to sign up and by the time I made the call, it was too late to return to my flat in Waterloo to grab my 3Sixty5 Legacy wheels or any warm clothes (which I would end up paying for later). All of my warmer clothes are in Waterloo because that was where I was when I was training in the winter. My set up was less than ideal but given the circumstances I made do with what I had on hand. 

As shown on the map, it is an out and back course starting on top of a hill with a pancake flat middle section followed by the return climb. One reason I was excited about this course was it ran right along where we rode many times during our #TTFU training camp. I knew the road fairly well.

One of my biggest challenges and worries leading up to the race was the legality of my bike. Since it was a UWCT qualifying race for the World Amateur Championships in Denmark, in order to be in contention, you must have had a UCI legal set up. After much research and measuring, I finally figured out the most optimal set up with the gear that I had. I ended up switching from my Pinarello to my Trek and completely changing my aero bar extensions and riding position. I even had to make some last minute adjustments 5 minutes before my start time to comply. 

A little perspective for you triathletes - I'm not sure if it was just my set up, but the right was my normal bar length and the left is the UCI maximum length for TT bikes. This drastically changed the geometry of my set up and forced me to adapt a different riding position. I may keep it for a while to see how it feels - I have long forearms so I keep kicking my elbows, however.

The weather had been solid all week, and the rest of the weekend was looking beautiful. Unfortunately, the Friday of the race was an outlier with a high of 8 degrees and 25km/h winds. My start time was 17h51 so just before dusk on the start line it was 4 degrees. With the wind and at speed it felt like 0. Trying to keep aerodynamics in mind and my lack of preparation, I only had arm warmers, shorts, and a jersey.

The starting ramp was awesome, felt like I was in the Giro!

As soon as I pushed off the starting ramp (which I was stoked about having), I knew something was wrong. For some reason I was seeing double and felt incredible light headed. I felt drunk and everything looked like a cheap movie effect. I thought the wind was making my eyes water but it was the cold. Pushing so hard in such cold conditions really took its toll on me. Right from the gun I was in a battle to keep on a straight path, avoid road obstacles and not fall over. It was surreal and like nothing I had ever prepared for. In the last 100m push my vision completely disappeared. Luckily I managed to roll to a stop before lowering myself to the floor.

My jersey all pinned up

This race had fabric numbers - not paper, which was a first for me. 
No more annoying flapping in the wind!

I finished 13th out of 22 starters in the 19-34 AG with a time of 47:01 over the 29.1km. It wasn't a stellar performance relative to the other competitors but it was a decent effort for myself. I didn't end up qualifying for worlds in Denmark, as the top 25% in each age group got a ticket. It will definitely be a target of mine in the future though. 

Final kick to the line

Take Aways

I am happy with my current running and cycling form - I am already far ahead of where I was last year at this time. My first true test of my swimming will come at my first triathlon of the season. I feel I have a good base in all 3 disciplines; from here it’s time to do some race-specific training to tie everything together. After analyzing my data and performances, I have a few changes to make to my training program to be fully prepared for my "A" races. 

So far, my season schedule is as follows:

June 13-14 TBN Niagara Ride

June 21 Toronto Triathlon Festival – Olympic Distance

August 3 Tour De Terra Cotta

August 8 MSC Bracebridge – Sprint/International Duathlon

September 5 Somersault Canadian Iron 226

In addition, OYL Cycling is planning on sending athletes to the following events:

June 14 Cambridge Tour de Grand

June 21 Tour de Waterloo

August 3 Tour de Terra Cotta

Spetember 27 Tour de Hans

I hope to see many of you out there on the roads and at races! If you plan on attending any of these events shoot us a message!

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