So there have been some pretty important events happening in my life lately...I recently returned home from the Triathlon World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. I got to meet some amazing people and see the triathletes that I have admired for so long from a distance up close. The race itself was very well organized, and I owe so much to the team that was sent with us to make our experience the most enjoyable possible. So before I begin, I want to thank a couple of amazing individuals that I got to meet and know better. First off, thanks to Kurt I, Patrick K, Carolyn M for helping me get prepared for the event, and offering their wisdom and advice whenever it was needed. Without Pierre P and Kim W I would have been starved and sore. Rob and Dr. Kealer kept everyone in one piece, and Gabor welcomed us to his home city with warmth and humor, and made sure our bikes weren't going to fall apart! Simon W, Kyle J, Paula F, and Kirsten S taught everyone of true class and dedication. And of course to my fellow juniors, Matt S, Cole S, Alexander H, Allison H, and Christine R, I hope to see you at many more events and I really appreciated the time that I had to get to know you better.
When I first arrived in Budapest, I didn't know what to expect as it was my first time crossing over to Europe. The grocery stores were limited, but we definitely made due. I had a brief episode of banana withdrawal, but once the store received its weekly (monthly?) shipment of yellow gold I was cured. Throughout the week, we started our mornings with swims at a local pool / bath (smelt of eggs). I opted to bike on the trainer most of the time, since the drivers were a tad...aggressive. The week leading up to the race was rainy and cold, which left me slightly depressed, but a race is a race. The inlet that we were swimming in was also slightly chilly...wetsuit to the rescue (or so I thought).
I got to go for a couple of runs on Margaret island (the guys christened it TRI-land), which had a long single rubber track all around it, about 5.3km as well as three pools and a petting zoo. I would say one of the coolest experiences was going for a run with Kirsten S and Paula F. These were two girls that I had looked up to and strived to embody since I started in triathlon, and here I was running with them!!
Race day was quite weird...I have never raced at 4pm before and so it felt like I had so much time...but it definitely went by quickly.
Here is a quick point form race report...
- positioned in 45th spot, which was slightly to the left side of the first buoy, 300m away
- wetsuit swim with 16C water temperature
- water was so dirty that you couldn't see your own hand infront of your face...and I didn't know where the bottom was!!
- lined up for the start, still waiting to for any news of the elite woman's race, called down to pontoon...hands were quivering a bit at this point
- take your mark.
- go.
- dove in, clean start, took about two strokes then felt an awfully weird sensation on my back
- wetsuit zipper had come completely undone; cold water started to pour in around my legs, stomach, arms, and neck
- panicked a bit
- briefly contemplated the consequences of taking off my wetsuit completely. Not really an option.
- reached the first buoy, was dunked completely underwater, kicked, pushed, and scratched right down the back
- girls kept pulling on the flaps of my wetsuit, and so the flap on the left side got pulled down to my left elbow
- proceeded to swim / thrash about with one arm (some side stroke was involved in an attempt to get my wetsuit back up on my shoulder)
- thank you thank you thank you the ramp finally came and it was time to GET OUT
- short steep ramp to transition, flew through that due to lack of struggling with wetsuit zipper
- got to bike. Wetsuit, caps, goggles, all IN box
- got my butt on the bike, was about 50s back from leaders in the third chase pack
- hammered and tried to get a group together on the 5km straight stretch into downtown where we would complete the rest of our laps and transition to the run
- took the corners aggressively, at one point two girls ran into each other right infront of me and went down...lost the pack for a little bit
- smaller group worked well on technical course; lead group was now a pack of about 40
- maintained time to front pack, made up some time in the last lap
- got into T2 about 20-30s back from the leaders
- shoes on feet
- exited transition in 46-48 position (I have heard many different counts, all in this range)
- ran
- passed a lot of people
- came to the realisation that I was getting closer to the front and that a podium spot was within reach
- kept running
- saw second place about 10s infront of me, willed my legs to push harder and faster, but there was not enough ground left
- stepped onto the blue carpet and the final stretch, paused to take the Canadian flag, and crossed the finish line of the biggest race I have ever done in my life
- saw the people that had guided and helped me throughout the week, and wasn't able to thank them enough
- shipped off to anti doping!
Okay, well I think that is enough writing for now. I will post some pictures soon. Glad to be home. :)
