I just signed up for the Meech Lake Triathlon (in Gatineau). Georghia and I did this race last year and we both found it quite enjoyable. The distance is slightly odd so it isn't a sprint or an Olympic distance, it is somewhere inbetween. It is 1.2 km swim, 24 km bike, and 6.4 km run. Last year it was quite a shock for me because the hills were quite grueling. After swimming through some fairly choppy water my poor legs found the hills quite a challenge. At least this year going in I know what to expect! Sadly, it will be my first triathlon alone. Georghia is quite occupied that weekend and won't be joining me! I guess I will have to supply photo evidence to really prove I was there! I also remember this time last year I took quite a tumble on my bike and was very timid coming down the hills at Meech Lake because I was terrified of falling off of my bike. Hopefully this year I can be a little more relaxed and hopefully make up some time. My goal is to better my time from last year which came in at 1:56.59. Better get to sleep, a tri athlete needs her beauty rest :)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Meech Lake added to the line-up!
I have continued training and hope it will pay off in a week and a half when Georghia and I attempt our first Olympic distance triathlon in Ottawa. The water is supposed to be warm, so hopefully we won't experience hypothermia like we did last year!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
10 km Run - Defi du Printemps
Well well, I should be careful what I wish for! Early last week Jen informed me that there would be a 10 km run in Maisonneuve Parc which is very close to me and which I run in all the time. I thought it would be a great opportunity to fix my pace and to try to run a comfortable race. The weather was supposed to be rainy and cold so we planned to decide on the morning of whether we would race or not. Jen and I talked around 8:30 (the race started at 10!) and we decided we should just do it. So we did. We showed up, signed up and tried to keep as warm and as dry as possible before the race. I was a little nervous about racing because we had just ran the 10km in Quebec City less than a week ago and I had trained pretty hard on my bike Tuesday, ran 10 km up Mont Royal on Wednesday and had done 4 km swim on Thursday. I felt a little sore and not "in the zone." My goal was to start the race very slowly and if I had more energy at the end I could take it up a notch. Jen started out faster than me and was ahead of me for about the first half of the race. It was pouring raining, cold and windy. I managed to catch up to Jen just before the 5 km mark which was the same time my ipod shuffle decided the wind was enough to change songs and play lists. Luckily I was still mentally focused so this small set back (although doesn't seem like much, but trust me can really get to you if you are already experiencing frustration) didn't get to me. I checked the clock and found my 5 km time to be about 26 min, not such a bad pace! I continued running and felt more energy coming to me and I realized I could easily finish the race and this comfortable pace. I decided to pick things up a bit after I passed the 8km mark. After the 9 km mark I pretty much sprinted to the finish line and was able to finish just less than 1 minute slower than my Quebec time, but trust me, the race was wayyyy more comfortable and if it adds less than a minute I'm prepared to take that! Thanks to Jen for getting me out to another race and I am really looking forward to the next one!
Info from SportStats:
I also want to thank everyone in the lab for their awesome support!! I just counted the money we have raised from bake sales and other items and was able to add another $74 to my fundraising goal! Thanks everyone!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Quebec City 10 km run
Man, I have been falling behind on blog posts again! Since I have reached my fundraising goal training has taken centre stage in my life! I won't post all of my training outcomes since they are quite long now but I did want to tell everyone about our awesome Quebec City run last weekend. While in Cuba Jen mentioned that there was a Quebec City run in the beginning of May and since I didn't want the half-marathon in October to be my first official running race I thought the 10km would be a perfect way to introduce myself to the wonderful sport of running. First of all, wow, what an experience!! I have competed in triathlons before so I knew the awesome energy you experience from being in a long distance event - people are awesome and cheer you on, fellow tri-ers push you to continue and the thought of eventually crossing the finish line after all your hard work compels you to move forward. Therefore I will admit I was quite excited that I would "only" be doing the run and not also a swim and bike (that will follow in June in Ottawa when Georghia and I attempt the Olympic distance tri!). I have learned all about rookie mistakes, so my goal was not to start out too fast, die half-way through, and then be unable to finish. Therefore I started the first km or so running slightly behind Jen since I knew she would be a good pace buddy. However, after about km two or three I couldn't contain my energy anymore (and my ipod chose that vital moment to play a great song) and I sprinted ahead. This strategy worked well until about the 5-6 km mark when I looked down and saw my heart rate was an astounding 186 bpm. I must emphasize the highest I have ever gotten it in training sessions (running UP mont royal) was 180bpm. Therefore I KNEW I would not be able to sustain that heart rate for another 5 km. I was right. Around the 7 km mark I wanted to die. I felt exhausted. My lungs couldn't fill with air fast enough, my legs felt like mush, and the desire to stop and sprawl on the grass was overwhelming. This was when the mental fight began. Its very interesting how fast you physically deteriorate after your mind has decided its too much. I almost felt panicky. I had to force myself to focus. Kristin, this is ONLY 10 km! Think of the marathoners! They would find it hilarious you are struggling through a 10 km. I knew if I started walking it would be the beginning of the end. Therefore for the next km I repeated over and over and over in my head, Kristin Anne Dawson you will NOT walk, you can run slow, but you WILL NOT walk. No walking. Keep running. Then I started to pressure myself. You think THIS is hard?! Imagine running for your life. Would you stop running and say I'm tired? I don't think so. You have to keep going. You have to keep fighting. I must point out those sneaky event planners decided it wasn't worth marking the last 1 km. Therefore after I saw the 2 km mark I thought I was running the longest km of my life. It went on, and on, and on, and on. When I saw the finish line I wanted to cry. I almost thought it was a mirage - too good to be true. When I finally crossed the finish line I wanted to hug the people cutting my timing chip off of my shoe. I DID IT!!! I had won the physical and mental battle. It felt awesome. I was hooked. I may have to add more races now! Oh ya, my finishing time was 52.33. Not bad for a first try I don't think.
Info from sportstats:
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