Magog Continental Cup and U23 Nationals

If you have never been to Magog you are seriously missing out. It is such a beautiful small town with a cozy downtown and some interesting small shops and cafés, almost like Canada's mini Europe.
The last time I was in Magog was as a Junior in 2010, and the race was Junior Eastern Canadian Championships. I managed to win that race and it helped me to qualify for Junior Worlds.
Two years later, Magog is just as charming and I am back for a different race, this time it is U23 Nationals and a Continental Cup.

We stayed in a condo close to the race site, and it was very fun to stay with my teammates, coach CT, and Emma Lujan from B.C. and Lawrence Fanous from Jordan. There was an electric atmosphere in the condo, and everyone was excited to be together and ready to race. We had some family dinners and played some board games to keep things loose before the race.
Going into the race, I was very at ease. I had put in a big block of training before Edmonton and then just rolled the next two weeks prepping for the race. I was rested and restless...more than eager to get to the start line.

It was my first time this year being first on the start list and I got to pick my position on the start line. Craig had watched the races that morning and directed me on where to go at the start and in the end it ended up being a great tactical decision. I was very happy to start beside Dominika Jamnicky, because I knew that if I could stick with her, or even try and be relatively close, I would be ahead of the rest of the field. We were a bit thrown off by a late start, but Domi and I took the opportunity to crack some jokes and ease into our warm up. We chatted some more with Craig and started with huge smiles on our faces.

Domi out front and me trying to hold on

The start was fast. Domi was out like a firecracker and it took everything I had to stay on her. I ran in the water as far and as fast as possible and then proceeded to dolphin dive before falling into the water and putting my head down to swim. Being an Olympic distance tri, the swim was 1500m, but it was a one loop swim course. All of the Olympic swims that I have done this year have been a 2 loop course and I was a bit bewildered by the long loop that seemed to take forever. At the first turn buoy, 600m out, I was way behind and a lead group had formed in front of me.
I knew that it was going to be essential for me to catch up and minimize the gap as much as possible. I got into a good rhythm and worked as hard as I could to catch up to the tail end of the leaders. By the time we reached the exit, I had swam my way up to a small group behind the leaders. I had a quick transition and hammered the first 4km of the bike to catch up to the lead group before the far turn. The rest of the bike was pretty uneventful, with a small group of Canadians working well together to keep the tempo up.

When I got off the bike and transitioned to the run, I didn't feel great at first and ran in a small group with Ellen Pennock, Domi, and Alex Coates. Ellen and I got a small gap by the first turn and then proceeded to run together for the next two laps. My legs were feeling quite good and I knew that I had more in them. I held onto Ellen and then tried to get a small break before the last lap. My body cooperated, and just focused on getting my legs around and staying strong.

Many thanks to my awesome anti-doping chaperone Nadine!

After the race on Saturday I headed out to a Fast and Female event with Amelie Kretz (the superstar winner of the Junior Elite race that morning) and we got to hang out with some fun girls and tell them about triathlon. There was also a dance but my feet and legs were so sore that I just kind of moved my arms around and shuffled a bit.

I was sad to leave Magog but hope to be back again very soon. Thanks as always to Cyclelogik, to all of my supporters, and to my family for coming out to take in the race. It was great to see the Asics reps at the race (who I have known since I was 16!) and spend the evening with them catching up. 

Thanks for reading!

Edmonton World Cup

Leeches are hematophagous creatures that feed on the blood of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. To feed on their "hosts", leeches initiate contact with their anterior suckers and then use a combination of mucus and suction to stay connected and snack on your blood. After going for a nice little dip in Hawrelak Park in Edmonton the day before my first World Cup of 2012 and observing a bazillion leeches swimming happily in the little lake, I dreamt of the start of the race...the horn blasts and the athletes jump into the water...there is chaos as everyone struggles to establish their position as the water churns and all you can see is a furious flash of arms and legs...and then someone stops suddenly and begins yelling...they are slowly being pulled down under the surface...as they disappear the crowd catches the smallest glimpse of a dark grey creature...the MOTHER OF ALL LEECHES!

The Mother of All Leeches

Thankfully, the Mother of All Leeches decided to behave on the day of the World Cup and there were no unfortunate victims. I did, however, flash all of the possibilities through my mind; leach in my suit, leech in between my toes, leech in my hair, leech in my ear, swallowing leeches. Needless to say, it was great incentive to get out of the water as fast as possible. 
Edmonton was a sprint World Cup - sprints are becoming increasingly popular on the world cup circuit as they make for fast and spectator friendly racing. A sprint has a swim of 750m, a bike of 20km, and a run of 5km. I participated in sprints all last year as I was in the "Junior Elite" category. This being my first year of U23, I thought that I would be participating solely in Olympic distance tri's (twice the distance) but I have already done a couple of sprints this year. 

Ready...

Set...

GO!!!

The race was in the afternoon, and after a morning of relaxing and taking in some of the Junior PATCO races, I headed down to the race site and completed my warm up. Before I knew it, I was on the starting pontoon, lining up, and waiting for the gun. I had a relatively good starting position and got off the pontoon (after jumping over the wall of leeches that wriggled in anticipation in the shallow water) and started towards the first buoy. The packs immediately split and I was caught in the middle and decided to go with the pack that had the more direct line to the buoy. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off veering to the other side, as that pack was much smaller and contained some fast swimmers. After about 100m I found myself caught up with another athlete, who I later discovered was my good friend Manon Letourneau. We kept running into each other and I was getting quite frustrated, as I would move over and she would follow me and it was almost as if we were tied together. I had no idea that she was also battling with someone on the other side of her, so as I moved over to giver her space, she moved closer to me in attempt to disentangle herself from the girl on her right. I knew that I was going to have to have a stellar swim if I wanted to even be in contention, but my swim ended up being very sub par and I was well back from where I wanted to be. I exited the water and booked it to transition. 

On the bike I was in a small pack with Manon and Chantell Widney and we caught up to the lead group after 5km. Flora Duffy from Bermuda was out front, soloing the ride, and we managed to reel her in on the third lap. My super speedy team mate, Dominika Jamnicky, and I managed to grab a bike prime on the third lap and I was feeling quite good and excited to run. 
When I got onto the run I knew right away that something wasn't quite right. My legs were not responding the way I would have liked. I held a good position up the hill but then got dropped on the way down and started to cramp and feel quite nauseous. On the two loop run, I made my way back up again on the hill, only to be dropped again and plod along to the finish. 
I returned home and did a couple of easier weeks of training in preparation for the Magog Continental Cup and U23 Nationals that was two weeks later. 
I have to say a huge congrats to my travel buddy and training partner Alexander Hinton and Coach Craig Taylor. Zander had an absolutely astounding race, placing second in his first World Cup, and made everyone extremely proud. More great things to come.

Fast and Female Event - Magog, QC

I am really happy to announce that I am a new ambassador for Fast and Female and hope to become more and more involved with this organization. I will be attending a fun bilingual event with Fast and Female after U23 Nationals in Magog...if you are around come and check it out!!

AND if you register you get some cool stuff!! Including a Buff. So many ways to wear them...https://www.buyabuff.com/t-Buff.Content.How_To_Wear_A_Buff.aspx

From Fast and Female - 

On July 21^st, Fast and Female will be in Magog, Quebec for a first ever afternoon of triathlon training and inspirational delight.  This event will be held in conjunction with one of the biggest two-day triathlon events in Quebec - the Tri-Memphré. This year it is comprised of 20 races including an ITU Pan American Cup, the Under 23 National Championship, and a Quebec Cup.   

What is Fast and Female ? Fast and Female is a not-for-profit society started in 2005 by Chandra Crawford, the 2006 Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing. The organization’s mission is to support, motivate, inspire, and empower girls to stick to sports and the healthy lifestyle. Fast and Female fulfills its mission of "Empowerment Through Sport" by hosting fun-filled, non-competitive initiatives all across North-America aimed at exposing young female athletes to inspiring female Olympians and elite level athletes. The young girls who attend Fast and Female events today will lead it in the future, may it be as athletes, coaches, volunteers, parents, and community leaders. For more information about Fast and Female. 

On July 21st, girls ages 9-19 are invited to an afternoon of team-building activities, a Triathlon clinic, inspirational presentations, dance, and autograph sessions. Lead ambassador to this event include Amélie Kretz recently won the junior women’s North American triathlon championships race and Joanna Brown who won the bronze medal at 2010 World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary. So it's a unique chance for your athletes to meet great model to connect, share experience and to be inspired to stay motivate in the sport ! 

The cost of the event is $25, which covers a snack, a Karbon technical tee ($40 value), and a Buff ($23 value) with the Fast and Female colours! To find out more visit  www.fastandfemale.com and to sign up go to http://ff21juilletmagog-efbevent.eventbrite.ca/ - HURRY!! Registration closes the 20th of July at noon. On-site registration is $30. 

Sedona + Dallas ITU Pan Am Cup

I used to think that heat was just heat. In the summer it gets hot. The sun makes things hot. 

Little did I know that there are so many different ways for warmth to prosper, and in the last month I got to experience the bone dry heat of Sedona and the sticky insta-sweat heat of Dallas. 

May started off with a super fun camp in Sedona with the RTC crew + a few special guests. We lived in a very nice house with 12 people and got in some great work in Camp Verde and Flagstaff. I think one of my favourite adventures was our ride up to Flagstaff. The road builds into the mountain and most of the way up there is a meandering creek that runs beside the road. We also ate rattlesnake. And buffalo. And cactus fries. They were interesting.

After the camp we flew over to Dallas to race the ITU Pan Am cup that was being held there. We stayed at the very classy Homewood Suites and by the end of the week we were all get fairly rowdy and ready to race.

When Saturday finally came I was more than ready to go. I had a great warmup and was feeling loose and relaxed.  I was the sixth woman to be called down into the water for the in-water start. The left side provided the shortest line to the first buoy, but I went far right with Alison Hooper, who had made the intelligent move to stay clear of the crowd and take and open outside spot. I was in good company with Ali on one side and Alex Coates on the other. I had a very clean start and didn't really get into a rhythm until the second lap of the swim. I saw that there was a break to the lead pack, and I just tried to minimize any loss of time until we got out onto the bike. 

On the bike I contemplated making a go of it and attempting to catch the leaders, but we were a minute down out of the water and I noticed that I was again with a great group of girls that I could bike with and I was pretty sure we could do some damage. We had a nice little Canadian draft pack going on, and Stevie, Manon, Alex and I were quickly in sight of the lead group. We caught up to Laura Bennett (who had soloed most of the ride) and then continued to push a strong pace until the last lap where everyone relaxed until the end of the bike. 

I was ready to run. The sun had been focused down on the hot concrete for the entire day. By the time that we were ready to set off for the last 10km, the sun had heated up the little town of Irving to a balmy 41-42C. You could already feel it on the bike; with very little wind and absolutely no shade we were riding through the thick masses of humid air and now we got to jump right in it and run. 

I was fifth out of T2 and eased into a comfortable pace. I had to keep finishing the race in mind as I set my pace and just stayed focused on Laura's back. I grabbed water at every aid station and poured it on my head to stay cool. I kept a constant tempo and took things one lap at a time, and finished second. 

Over half of the field DNF due to the heat. Congrats to all who raced...that is a pretty impressive number and finishing the race was a feat in itself. 

I am very happy with another good result at a Continental Cup and am looking forward to getting back to work again. I didn't realize how much I missed Guelph until returning home. The pool is faster here.

I have to give a thank you to all of the race volunteers and organizers for the event and to all of the coaches and officials who helped out before, during, and after the race. There were many great performances that day and I owe a huge thanks to Coach CT, Dr. Jason Vescovi, and the RTC crew. Also thanks as always to  my supporters and I am looking forward to heading home to Ottawa soon to visit Cyclelogik and see all of the new summer stuff! Next up on the agenda is more training and then my first World Cup of the year in Edmonton.

Mazatlan Continental Cup 2012

Ready to travel in style with new World Traveller bag and Bike Bag from Evoc and Cyclelogik!!

About a month ago I travelled to the wonderful city of Mazatlan in Mexico to race in a Continental Cup in April. Travelling to Mexico is always an adventure...but the trip was made easier with the help of coach Craig Taylor, the rest of the RTC crew, and my awesome room mate Manon Letourneau.

The race was talked up a bit by other experienced athletes who had done the race a couple years back and  all of us who were racing were also shown this video. I was initially worried about the waves, but when I arrived it was pretty clear that the waves weren't anything like they were in '08.

The morning of the race was smooth and the most interesting part was trying to find a place to warm up on the bike. The age group races were going on before our race and it was really fun to watch...age group races in Mexico are draft legal so you could see huge packs of 15 or more riders all crammed together trying to catch a draft. There were athletes on aero bars in the middle of the pack and others with race wheels and full TT set ups leading the charge. Then there were those that were completely overjoyed to be in a pack and hanging on in the back with running shoes and cages spinning at 200rpm.
I warmed up with Domi and Manon and then headed over to the course.
I was very fortunate to talk with Alison Hooper and the technical delegate before the race and clarify the swim course as it varied slightly from the course shown at the race meeting. I was lined up far right on the line as I had no ranking going into the race and got one of the last positions.
The swim went fairly well. There was a fair bit of confusion as some of the other athletes were unsure of the swim course and I just followed the buoys as I was told prior to the race. I was so excited to exit the water with the lead group and had a fast transition to be one of the first ones on the bike.
Out on the road, the canadians worked well together to chase down or stop any breaks and did a lot of the work in the pack. Domi attacked after one corner and went for it, she managed to stay away for almost a whole lap before being caught. I felt like I had a new set of batteries after taking a gel and was ready to get out on the run course.

Transition two felt like it always does - I had no idea what the gelatinous masses underneath me were and I hoped I could trick my mind into thinking that they were real, functioning legs. I started off on the run and didn't get into a good rhythm until the second lap, but I had built a pretty comfortable lead on third place and first place had accelerated early on to build a comfortable lead on me. I attempted to take another gel near the end of the run, but I think more ended up on me than in me.
In the end, I finished second in my first Olympic Continental Cup and was happy with the placing and the execution of the race.

I got to pop my first bottle of champagne on the podium and thanks to some precise and helpful coaching from Craig I was able to actually get cork out. I won't mention how I was the last one or that there was barely any foam but I am sure that I will have more times to practice.

After the race there was a medal ceremony with the mayor. There were also dancing girls and a dancing mascot who did strip tease. It was interesting.

I couldn't have even gotten to the race or been able to participate if it weren't for the help from Cyclelogik in Ottawa. They provided me with everything I needed to race and perform to my abilities.

I am more than ready to keep trucking along and get in some good training. Currently I am in Sedona with most of the RTC crew, Coach Craig, and some fun additions. The atmosphere is great here and we are all getting the work done.

Sedona Bound!

Sitting in the Toronto Pearson airport getting ready to head off to Sedona, Arizona with the RTC crew plus a few. Had a nice morning, that involved a 2:30am wake up and a 3:30am departure from Guelph. I am pretty tired. Excited as always to get there...being in the airport is really fun but I'm just about ready to take off.
More updates when we touch down!

The things we learn.

In December I decided to switch my major from a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science to a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the sciences in high school and thought that studies in Biomed would be useful in every day life and athletic pursuits, I am really enjoying learning about the internal workings of the marketing and advertising agencies and can see myself in this field.
Others may have seen this "joke" before, but I found it entertaining (and educational). If I blank on my exam I may just jot this down and hope my prof thinks I am hilarious and deserving of a grade of 100%.

A Professor explaining Marketing to students...

1. You see gorgeous girl in party,
you go to her and say, "I am rich, marry me."
- That's Direct Marketing

2. You attend party and your friend goes to a girl and, pointing at you,
tells her, "He' is very rich, marry him."
- That's Advertising

3. Girl walks up to you and says, "You are rich, can you marry me?"
- That's Brand Recognition

4. You say, "I am very rich, marry me." And she slaps you.
- That's Customer Feedback

5. You say, "I am very rich, marry me." And she introduces you to her husband.
- That's Demand & Supply Gap

6. Before you say, "I am rich, marry me", your wife arrives.
- That's Restriction from Entering New Market