Muskoka Race Report

I am not entierly sure how to feel coming out of this weekend. The Thursday before the race I kinked my neck right after my bike ride and was not able to train the rest of the day Thursday and all of Friday and could barely stand up straight.  But with some emergency Chiro work by Heather Pady up in Muskoka I was pretty well fixed by race time.  I wish I could have used that as an excuse for my run.  Race day came and I was feeling pretty good.  Because of my neck I had not swam since Tuesday and was nervous about how I would feel.  I actually felt pretty good and found Wolfgangs feet and let him tow me around the swim.  I felt really good and was actually looking back to be sure we were still maintaining our gap.  Coming out of the water I was able to relax for the run up the big hill and starting the bike feeling pretty good about how I was feeling.

I took the first 20km fairly steady on the bike and kept on thinking I was going to get caught but when I got onto hwy 35 and was able to see some length behind me I was happy to see that there was no one insight.  I felt great and was in good spirits up until the 75-80km mark where some of the steeper hills started to take a toll on me and I could feel some fatigue in my legs.  I knew I might be in trouble after the steep hill on North Portage road just after the Portage Inn because my legs were getting really tired.  Looking back I definatly went too hard on the bike but I felt great for the longest time and it was a pretty quick decline when I started to feel tired. 

As soon as I started running I knew I was going to be in trouble.  Going down the first hill on Canal Road I could already feel the cramps coming on.  I took it really easy for the first 4km while eating and drinking what I could to get some energy back.  Going up the hills I felt like I was walking and did not have any energy in my legs and going downhills I could not run fast because I would cramp and probably fall on my face.   I got passed at the 15km mark by Michael Lovato and knew there was no chance of staying with him so I kept up as fast of a pace as I could and eventually finished the race. 

I am really happy to have my best ever finish in a 70.3 race, but I know I could have won the race, I can't blame it on just my run, it was a combination of a lot of things that I did wrong and next time I will make sure that my big 70.3 of the year is not my first so I can work out the bugs and be able to get it right on the big day. 

Maybe Next Year!!

Sean