Race Details:
1.5K Swim
40K Bike
10K Run
This was my second time doing this race. I also did the Olympic distance race last year too. This year, race day brought much better swim conditions, and my swim time reflects that. The Olympic triathlon started at 10:30, which was great, as this allowed ample time to drive up to Wasaga from home. I came up with my buddy Steve Good, who was also racing.
We started in the third wave, going off at 10:33. The start area was pretty gracious and at the sound of the gun, I tried pushing pretty hard to see how long I could swim with Steve. It didn't really take long to lose him, which again, is just a disappointing part of my triathlon swimming. I just wish I could figure out how to catch and hold a good draft. I basically swam solo through the halfway point, at which point I connected with another guy and tried to do some drafting. This worked well until we made the final turn back to the beach. From what I could tell, he was really veering the wrong way, so I just pulled out and took my own line back.
Wasaga has a pretty shallow and extended entry, so when I could no longer swim, I stood up and ran the final 40-50m to the beach, which is never really easy...I'd rather be able to swim right to shore. I eventually made my way out of the water and over the timing mat in 24:56. This was good for the 13th fastest swim in the race and 2nd fastest in my AG behind Steve.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Swim
T1 went well as I easily got out of my Nineteen Rogue wetsuit. Side note, I absolutely love this suit. Best one I have ever owned! Highly recommend! T1 took 53 seconds.
Out onto the bike, I really didn't feel great. The power wasn't coming easily, but luckily, the speed kept creeping up. I feel my aero setup on my bike is pretty much dialed in, so as long as I kept my head down and put forth a good effort, the speed will come. At about the 5K mark, I had made my way past a number of folks already and found that the next group was a good chunk of the road. When we hit the middle part of the ride, it was a super smooth road with a nice tailwind and I was hitting speeds of around 48kph. I made up a bunch of time in this section before we made the turn towards the turnaround point. The course was changed last minute compared to last year, and the change was good. It was easier to follow, as it was basically just a big out and back.
Just before approaching the turnaround point at 20K, I saw Steve for the first time, and just after the turnaround, I caught up to him. We rode together for a while, but shortly after, we both got passed by another athlete, who was doing the Swim-Bike. He was riding hard so I did what I could to try and stay with him (legally). Even without the draft, I find it easier to ride with others, as it gives you something to focus on, other than the ongoing suffering. In the last 4-5K, he eventually pulled away and finished maybe 200-300m ahead of me. It still was a good ride for me, as I finished the 40K ride just under the one hour mark in 59:45. Unfortunately, my power meter died around the halfway point (SRM, so thinking the battery needs replacing) but until that point, I was holding an average power of about 266 watts, which was actually lower than what I was hoping to do. I was targeting around 280, but since I actually held a better average speed than last year, I can't complain too much. Coming off the bike, I believe I was 3rd overall in the race and first in my AG.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Bike
T2 went well, in and out in 48 seconds and off onto the run. The course was completely empty at this point, but the first 500m is along the boardwalk in Wasaga and there were plenty of people on the beach cheering, so that was cool.
Overall, I was feeling decent and pushed along at a steady pace, which was right around 4:00/K's. I was thinking that maybe l could run a bit faster than last year, where I ran some of the run with Billy Bostad, who is a pretty good runner. This year I was completely solo, nobody ahead to chase and from what I could gather, not really anyone behind me pushing me.
At about 3K of the first loop I started running into other athletes going out onto the first lap. The course was pretty tight, so I had to be diligent when passing other athletes and at some of the aid stations that were dealing with two way traffic.
After finishing the first lap, I connected with another athlete starting their first lap when I was starting my second. We ran together for maybe a kilometer before I started to pull away. It was much more congested on the second lap, but eventually I made it back to the boardwalk and the final few hundred meters to the finish line. I finished the run in 40:06 (I really should have been paying more attention to my run time to get under 40:00) and a total race time of 2:06:57, which is a new Olympic distance triathlon PB.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Run
Official Sportstats Results
There was some confusion at the end of the race, as to my overall finishing position. I started the run in 3rd overall in the race, and moved past Andrew Bolton on the second lap, so I thought I was then in second. As it turns out, I did get passed with about 3K to go by a guy wearing a running singlet. I thought for sure he was a relay runner (he was flying), but it turns out now that he actually was in the olympic triathlon. He was Scott Hill, and he had a fantastic final run going 34:00 flat to move into second overall. Sportstats didn't seem to have his result when they did the overall awards, as they still had me in second when we did the announcement post race. I still won my AG though, and the M40-44 had a great showing as the top three of us also made the overall podium.
Next up for me is the Niagara Falls Barrelman. I'm not going to lie, I really want to defend my top master and 40-44 AG win from there last year. Thanks for reading!
We started in the third wave, going off at 10:33. The start area was pretty gracious and at the sound of the gun, I tried pushing pretty hard to see how long I could swim with Steve. It didn't really take long to lose him, which again, is just a disappointing part of my triathlon swimming. I just wish I could figure out how to catch and hold a good draft. I basically swam solo through the halfway point, at which point I connected with another guy and tried to do some drafting. This worked well until we made the final turn back to the beach. From what I could tell, he was really veering the wrong way, so I just pulled out and took my own line back.
Wasaga has a pretty shallow and extended entry, so when I could no longer swim, I stood up and ran the final 40-50m to the beach, which is never really easy...I'd rather be able to swim right to shore. I eventually made my way out of the water and over the timing mat in 24:56. This was good for the 13th fastest swim in the race and 2nd fastest in my AG behind Steve.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Swim
T1 went well as I easily got out of my Nineteen Rogue wetsuit. Side note, I absolutely love this suit. Best one I have ever owned! Highly recommend! T1 took 53 seconds.
Out onto the bike, I really didn't feel great. The power wasn't coming easily, but luckily, the speed kept creeping up. I feel my aero setup on my bike is pretty much dialed in, so as long as I kept my head down and put forth a good effort, the speed will come. At about the 5K mark, I had made my way past a number of folks already and found that the next group was a good chunk of the road. When we hit the middle part of the ride, it was a super smooth road with a nice tailwind and I was hitting speeds of around 48kph. I made up a bunch of time in this section before we made the turn towards the turnaround point. The course was changed last minute compared to last year, and the change was good. It was easier to follow, as it was basically just a big out and back.
Just before approaching the turnaround point at 20K, I saw Steve for the first time, and just after the turnaround, I caught up to him. We rode together for a while, but shortly after, we both got passed by another athlete, who was doing the Swim-Bike. He was riding hard so I did what I could to try and stay with him (legally). Even without the draft, I find it easier to ride with others, as it gives you something to focus on, other than the ongoing suffering. In the last 4-5K, he eventually pulled away and finished maybe 200-300m ahead of me. It still was a good ride for me, as I finished the 40K ride just under the one hour mark in 59:45. Unfortunately, my power meter died around the halfway point (SRM, so thinking the battery needs replacing) but until that point, I was holding an average power of about 266 watts, which was actually lower than what I was hoping to do. I was targeting around 280, but since I actually held a better average speed than last year, I can't complain too much. Coming off the bike, I believe I was 3rd overall in the race and first in my AG.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Bike
T2 went well, in and out in 48 seconds and off onto the run. The course was completely empty at this point, but the first 500m is along the boardwalk in Wasaga and there were plenty of people on the beach cheering, so that was cool.
Overall, I was feeling decent and pushed along at a steady pace, which was right around 4:00/K's. I was thinking that maybe l could run a bit faster than last year, where I ran some of the run with Billy Bostad, who is a pretty good runner. This year I was completely solo, nobody ahead to chase and from what I could gather, not really anyone behind me pushing me.
At about 3K of the first loop I started running into other athletes going out onto the first lap. The course was pretty tight, so I had to be diligent when passing other athletes and at some of the aid stations that were dealing with two way traffic.
After finishing the first lap, I connected with another athlete starting their first lap when I was starting my second. We ran together for maybe a kilometer before I started to pull away. It was much more congested on the second lap, but eventually I made it back to the boardwalk and the final few hundred meters to the finish line. I finished the run in 40:06 (I really should have been paying more attention to my run time to get under 40:00) and a total race time of 2:06:57, which is a new Olympic distance triathlon PB.
Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon Run
Official Sportstats Results
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| Sums up how I felt after finishing!! |
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| Overall race podium...I actually finished 3rd. |
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| 40-44 Age Group Podium with my buddy and training partner Steve Good |
