North Shore Triathlon report

Today was the first race of the season. The North Shore Triathlon is always a great start to the year, it's a short race, fun and always well organized. This was also a special event because after three years of training together and supporting one another, this was the first time my fellow TriHard Tash and I were actually racing against each other. We've travelled to races and raced the same race, but always different distances. Today we went head-to-head.

I had a few goals for this race, but really only one important one. Have fun. Because of my recent revelation in my approach to training, this was a true test of my progress. I decided not to train with the club all the time because I found that it created too much of a window for negativity for me. Comparing myself to others in the club left me feeling frustrated and unsatisfied with my progress. I've been feeling fantastic the last few weeks and taking it slow(er) coming out of my back injury. I've scheduled training sessions around when I feel my best and when I can workout with friends (especially Kierstie as we train for The Ride).

Today, my time goals set aside, I focused on having a great day, staying positive throughout and keeping my intentions internal. This was a race for me.

Turns out that it wasn't a bad way to approach it. I had an an incredible day. It was fun to race against Tash even though she beat me by 3 minutes in the end. We started our swims in different lanes and slightly staggered so she was a bit behind me to start. Although I felt a little "hunted" the entire race, it was great motivation. Tash is a really strong runner and all I wanted was to finish the run still ahead of her. I held her off until the last 200M or so through the trails when even though I couldn't see her.... I had an eary sense (probably like how prey feels when their being stalked in the woods.... ) then just as expected about 50M from the finish I hear her yell out at me. I turned up the heat and we sprinted to the finish. I physically crossed the finish line before her, and technically she didn't pass me, but individually her run time was 2 minutes faster and she did beat me. But, I had a ton of fun, it was great being out there with her and I can't wait to race again.

Results:

Swim - 14:56

Bike - 39:20

Run - 25:02

Overall - 1:19:16 (8th in my age group)

In the end I had an incredible day. All goals achieved and huge smiles all around. Mission accomplished.

Next up: The Ride to Conquer Cancer - June 19-20.