Wasaga Beach Olympic Triathlon: 3'rd OA: 2:04:28

It was a tough race in Wasaga this weekend, and it was probably one of my toughest, if not the toughest race of the season.  The race wasn't mentally as difficult as my race in Welland or even as physically difficult, but it was very hard nonetheless.

The Bolton triathletes

Raffi and I before the race

I have raced Wasaga a lot in the past, and this was the first time in a while we actually got to swim (instead of the race being converted to Duathlon).  I was kinda hoping for a wavy swim (just for the experience), and I definitely got my wish.  The waves were huge, making sighting and swimming straight incredibly difficult.  My main goal was to avoid swallowing any water and to stay as relaxed as possible.  I was pretty far back from Alex after the swim.

Finally out of the water

Running up to T1

I came out of the water with Jackson, and I managed to stick with his pace.  He is a strong cyclist, and I was on my limit trying to stay with him.  We caught up to Alex after maybe 20km and put a decent size gap on him.  I was hoping to maybe get bike bonus points by coming into T2 first, but Jack had the same idea, and he was 13 seconds ahead of me into T2.

Here's where the race went sideways.  I tossed my bike on the rack, put on my running shoes, and took off after Jack.  Unfortunately, within my first few strides, I stepped on a wetsuit, which slid out underneath my foot.  Next thing I knew, I was lying on my back on the pavement.  It was kind of a surreal experience.  I knew I was hurting, but I also knew Jack was running away from me.  I got up quickly and ran after him, but after about 400m, I had to stop...my left hip was really hurting and I could hardly move without pain.

My best running form of the race

Alex caught me soon after, and yelled out a bit of encouragement.  I knew I had to try and finish, so I ran at whatever pace I could muster.  I settled into this limp run of sorts, and just gutted it out...I crossed the line third.

At least I finished

I'm glad I could finish and get a decent result for the club championship to support Mettle Multisport.   I'm still hurting today, and have some nice cuts and bruises (I'm not putting a picture of my bruised behind on the internet for you though).  Hopefully It heals up quick, and I'll be good to go for Barrelman.

My friend Raffi was also racing, and also had a crash...except he fell on the bike.  Coincidently, we both landed hard on our left sides.  Vicky was also there as our official photographer, but she ended up taking on a larger role as she took care of us injured triathletes.

As usual, thanks to my sponsors Multisport Canada, eLoad nutrition, and Nineteen wetsuits.  Big thanks to all my coaches, friends, and family as well for their support.  Also a big congratulations to all the Mettle athletes!
The season is almost done.  Time to get healed up and ready for Barrelman!