Toronto Island Sprint Tri Race report -- maybe it WAS the cookie?

Oh! Hello there! Remember me?! Don't ask, because I won't tell, yet. 

Funny thing about living somewhere is that you tend to take things for granted, I know I have. While I've lived in Toronto for close to 16 years, it took a triathlon for me to get to the Toronto Island.

After the rough day at the Muskoka tri last month, I was looking for a race that would work with my available weekends, before my Olympic tri on Sept. 5th... this was it!

I woke up at 5:20am, roused myself out of bed, and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I chose to do this. I enjoy this. I really do.

Gear on, car packed, I made it downtown in no time. I found expensive parking (grrr) next to the ferry terminal, picked up my race kit, took advantage of a flushing toilet restroom in the hotel, then stood in line with a large group of triathletes for the ferry.

The thunderstorm and rain forecasted for overnight hadn't materialized, so while it was cooler down by the water, the humidity could still be felt. Took the time on the ferry to braid up my hair so it wouldn't be one giant frizz ball by the time the race was over.

With a 9:20am wave start, I arrived in plenty of time for transition, and snagged a sweet spot right on the end of a rack, half way between the bike out and run out.  I knew of one other girl racing, so as the transition area continued to fill, I scanned faces until I finally saw her. A little frazzled from having missed a ferry, taking a different one to another part of the island, having to hurry; I listened as she vented while setting up transition... all set, time to head down to the water.

Not only have I never been to the Toronto Island, I also haven't swum in Lake Ontario. Ever. As we got out to the beach, the thing I noticed right after eyeballing the green and orange buoys, were the waves. The sound also caught my ear. Huh, quite a bit more wavy than I had expected. The effort in our stroke didn't seem to pay off with equal movement, as we were constantly being pushed back to shore, but I convinced myself that we'd get an awesome push home...

9:20am, horn blast, and here I am, starting another race! My fourth tri of the season, 6th ever... it sure beats paying for a race, having to volunteer instead, in an air cast, on my champagne (31st) birthday!

As expected, a tough swim, but 750m (plus transition) done in just over 16 minutes... here comes the fun part!

Flat, 10k loop, done 3 times... my fastest ride yet, finishing the bike in 56:35. A little nervous with the upcoming run (this was, my longest sprint tri to date) I fought the negative voices in my head, and was determined not to let them win.

Quick transition to run, time to finish this race. A two direction, out 'n back course, done twice, with plenty of water stations, it was the only time I took a few moments to walk. Took a few sips of water each time, poured the rest on my head to cool off... run on. A funny thing happened...while yes, I was passed by several fast runners, I also did a bit of passing myself! What burning calves? I was feeling great despite the humidity, and that I was running off the bike, which historically has always given me such problems! 7.5k done in 45:42, with a total time of 2:02:17.  Completely elated, I waited for Karly to finish!

If I had to run another 2.5k for the Olympic race distance, I could have.... so to say I'm quite a bit more confident, with less than 3 weeks to go, is an understatement!!


Sarah, maybe it was the cookie at Cameron's birthday party the day before!! :)


Time to start making my rounds again, to see what you've all been up to!