Multisport Canada Bracebridge Triathlon: 3'rd OA 1:59:38

It was a family affair this past weekend in Bracebridge with both my Dad and brother Dan (the Danosaur) taking part in their first races of the season.  Both my Dad and Dan raced on Saturday (sprint and try-a-tri respectively) and I raced the Olympic Sunday.  This was my Dad's second ever triathlon (and also Dan's second ever triathlon), and they both did great (well maybe a bit above medium)!  My Dad came 5'th in his AG and was much improved from last years race (of course due to his amazing coach).  Dan came 11'th overall in his race, and had the surprise of winning a major draw prize afterwords (something I never seem to win...).  I'm sure this won't be the last race with the Bolton family racing together...

My race on Sunday had a pretty competitive start list including contenders like Cody Beals, Mikael Staer Nathan, Jackson Laundry, and Sean Bechtel.  I had been feeling much better after my race in Magog, so I was looking forward to a good fast race.

Swim: 20:58

I had problems with this swim last year.  I'm pretty sure that I swallowed some water which resulted in a bad case of Giardia.  This year, I made a bit of an extra effort not to swallow any water.

I started in 5'th posistion in the time trial start, which put me way out of reach of getting a draft from either Sean or Cody (starting 1 and 2).  Mikael started right behind me, so it was of no surprise when I felt him tapping on my heels about halfway through the swim.  I exited the water 3'rd with Mikael right behind me, and then got ready to chase down Sean and Cody.

Bike: 1:01:23

I knew both Sean and Cody would be riding fast, so I was putting in a good effort to try and make contact.  I seemed to be riding well, but didn't bridge up to either Sean (who I saw at the turn around) or Cody (who I didn't see). When I got back to transition (with Mikael still close behind), I was surprised to find Cody had not yet returned.  As I headed out for the run, I was just hoping he didn't have a crash.

Run: 35:59

In my previous years at this race, I have biked into the lead only to get passed into the run.  This year, I was way behind Sean after the bike, and now had Mikael right behind me to start the run (which put him ahead of me due to the 15 second gap at the start).  I knew I wasn't going to let him pass me without a fight, so I went out with a good pace and tried my best to keep it.  He kept close for a few kilometres, and then I began to open a gap on him.  I saw the gap was starting to spread at the turnaround (and I also saw Jack running close behind), but knew I had to run hard right to the finish (I needed to put at least 15 seconds between myself and Mikael).

I crossed the line with the gap still intact, and was only able to relax after I saw 15 seconds click by.  This was definitely a different scenario for me, and it was a great experience to have a situation like that on the run.

Post-Race

How we roll in triathlon

Compared to my race in Magog (where I was absolutely cooked post race), I didn't feel to bad after this race.  Sure things were a bit tired and sore, but overall I felt like one would expect after a good race.  I crossed the line second, but finished 3'rd OA due to the time trial start.

Rounding out the podium

The way I would say it is "it was a good race, but not a great race".  However, this was kinda the plan going in.  In past years, I have had great races in Bracebridge (like the past two years), only to have okay end of season races (also the past two years).  Going into the race this year, I knew I would feel very medium, but definitely not much more.  This is in anticipation for a great end of season race at the AG World Championships in Edmonton.











Thanks to Multisport Canada for putting on an amazing race (as usual), and also to eLoad for keeping me hydrated in the heat.