Race Day Muskoka 70.3 #17

September 12, 2010

I woke up today with zero expectations and one simple goal: finish the events faster than the Utah half (chuckle) and don't injure my leg further.  This course has been talked about as one of the hardest on the entire 70.3 circuit.  After completing many of the events in the US and Canada I have to agree and rank this the hardest overall course moving Lubbock Texas and St Croix down to two and three respectably.

The tape job on my hammy!

Muskoka Swim- 34:30
The weather was overcast and not raining yet.  The water temp was perfect and it looked like the weather was going to be ok!  Daryl from TSN found me right away and got some simple footage of me in T1.  Basic race prep today except for one change.  At the pro Q and A yesterday one of the questions was;

"What is the optimal air pressure to run in your tires on race day?"

At first I thought this was a silly question and the answer was going to be an easy one - 120 psi.  Craig Alexander's answer surprised me and was as follows;

"I used to run 120-140 until I saw Chris Lieto (uber biker) put in 105-110 in his tires at a race.  I asked Chris if that's what he always put in and he said yes always and I've done my research.  So I now put 105 pressure in my tires, especially on a wet and rainy day"

If the world champion puts 105 and arguably the best biker on the circuit (Chris) puts 105 then that's sounds like a good pressure for me too.  When in Rome do as the Romans do!

I jumped in the water and just went out at a modest pace.  No need to get too tired here as I knew it was going to be a long day on the course.  The water temperature was just right and I tried to concentrate more on my form than a all out race pace effort.  I finished with a time just 1 minute slower than my standard 33 minutes.

It was a long run up the golf course cart paths to the main Deerhurst parking lot and transition area.  I took my time in transition and put on my arm warners and an extra jersey. Good thing TSN didn't catch this T1 as I'm sure it looked very amateurish.

My brilliant game plan that turned disastrous.  Bike - 3:12:35 (oops)

I knew I needed to take it easy on this ultra hilly bike ride in order to have any hope of not killing my hamstring for the run.  Beside from being a course made up of hills the crew at Muskoka decided it would be a good idea to make it 2 miles long.  My though process was this;  If I could push down on the pedals only and not engage my hamstring that should do the trick.  The day became a game of survival.  I was so deeply concentrating on my form and the act of pounding the pedals that I didn't realize how slow I was actually going. This ride quickly went from fun to pathetic.  Not only was I only using my quads I was also out on the bike much longer than I had anticipated.  By mile 35 my quads were trashed and I was in trouble.  Had TSN pulled up beside me I would have got off my bike, threw it in the bushes and hopped on the motorbike and yelled "Take me in boys!"  So maybe it's a good thing they couldn't find me out there.  I was suffering and I had a long ways to go still.  Now I have a dilemma, continue to push with my quads or bring my hammy into play and risk that already sensitive muscle group.  I deceived it was best to continue pushing down on the peddles.  On some hill climbs I would look down and see a disheartening speed of 3 mph.  The one good thing about the ride is alongside it's number one rating for toughness it's number one rating for beauty also.  This was an absolutely stunning ride with beautiful tree lined roads and picturesk lakes.  I limped in off this bike ride just under 3 hours and 20 minutes, by far my longest ride of the year.

This is a sample of the run course...

Muskoka Run - 1:57:11 (I really am disciplined)

Feeling the way I did I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to run the run or if I was going to have to walk again like in Utah but this time solo as Jess wasn't anywhere close.  I told myself just to start running and to see what happens.  This run course was just a difficult as the bike course with no flat terrain.  While running a fellow competitor said to me;

"I think they would have put hills in the swim if they could have."

This made me smile.  I agreed and kept on running up the hills.  I went out at a very conservative pace thinking it's better to do a slow run throughout then to go out too fast and finish up walking and with my luck this is the point that TSN would show up.  I hit the half way mark holding to my game plan of 9:30 minute miles and surprisingly I felt just fine.  Daryl found me just after the turn around which happened to be a slight downhill section.  I picked up the pace in an attempt to look like an athlete for the TV crew.  He said I looked strong and he was happy that I wasn't walking given my bike time.
I posted 3 straight miles at a 7:30 pace and then shut it down for the last 3 miles.  I thought no sense pushing hard now, who cares if you post a 5:45 or a 5:51 - they are both slow in compared to the 5:05 average I've managed to maintain this year (although I would imagine that average is now shot with my last two stellar races!)

I finished with my head up high  and a smile on my face.  Greg was waiting at the finish line to capture it all.  #17 is in the books and what a race it was. 

The post race food was awesome and the race was one of the best put on races of the year.  Despite a day full of struggles and difficulties I would rank this the prettiest and toughest course of the year.

Don't come to Muskoka looking for a PR, but rather a good time and a great venue.  I would recommend his race to anyone.  If you think 70.3's are easy plan your next race here!!