Preparing for the Victoria 70.3 was a bit of a challenge, especially with the unpredictable weather leading up to the race. Just a couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed summer-like sunshine, but recently it’s turned into nothing but rain.
My first lake swim of the season was a couple of weeks prior to the race, and the water was still cold, which didn’t change much as race day approached.
Friday night before the race featured the Elk Lake 1000m swim, a short open water swim. It was a good opportunity to test the water and get mentally ready for the weekend.
We showed up at about 5 PM, with the Elk Lake 1000m starting at 6 PM. Our warm-up might have been a bit premature; after a ~500m swim, we had about 20 minutes before the start, enough time to cool down completely in the cool breeze and overcast sky and start to get the shivers. Adding to the pre-start jitters, a small mouse decided to dash through the swim chute, darting between people’s feet.
Once the swim began, I felt a bit more at ease. The sun made a brief appearance, and despite the wind, I managed to sight well until the first turn buoy.
The glare off the water made it tricky to see, and I found myself veering off course. I followed the feet in front of me until I realized everyone was heading the wrong way. A kayak came to guide us back on track. After the second turn buoy, I hit my stride and finished strong with a pace of 1:48/100m, better than previous years.
I quickly dried off and changed before the chill set in again. I was glad I did the swim, but even happier when it was over.
The Victoria 70.3 was my first triathlon of the season, but I’d already participated in more road races earlier in the year for the Island Race Series and spent extra time in the pool working on my swimming, so I was excited to put these changes to the test.
Race day started early, up at 3:45 AM. I got a ride to Hamsterly Beach at Elk Lake, arriving around 5 AM in rainy, 8-degree weather. I had covered my handlebars and Di2 with bags the night before, as it was pouring rain all night, which might not have done much but gave me peace of mind.
Setting up in transition was chaotic, with bikes packed tighter than usual. There was also confusion about where to set up our gear (under the front or back wheel), but when asked, an official eventually told us to set up wherever we liked, which made things a bit messy.
I managed to sneak in a quick 5-minute warm-up swim to acclimatize to the water and realized I had forgotten my sandals. Surprisingly, my feet were fine on the cold ground and small pebbles, even though I usually have sandals to toss before the start. The water felt warmer than the air at 15.8 degrees, which was a bit of foreshadowing of what was to come.
The swim started well. I seeded myself in a good position and felt good throughout, maintaining my course, sighting well, and drafting where I could. I was surprised to actually be passing a few people here and there, something I’ve never done in a swim before, so it felt like the extra time in the pool was paying off. I fell into a good rhythm, and the swim went surprisingly fast. I completed the 1.9 km swim in 00:36:22, averaging a pace of 01:54/100m, making it a PB race swim for me.
Transitioning to the bike (T1) was a struggle. I was freezing from the swim and the cold air and felt disorganized trying to figure out what to put on first. Getting my jacket and gloves on while wet was trickier than expected as I had never practiced that before. Although it took longer than I wanted, I was glad I took the time to bundle up. I had intended to tape hand warmers to my handlebars, but the tape wouldn’t stick when I was setting up in transition earlier, so I threw them in my jacket pocket just in case.
The bike leg was cold. The jacket and gloves kept my upper body warm, but my feet were frozen almost immediately after I set off. It was not raining, but the course was very wet, so I took it easy on the turns and downhills, gradually gaining confidence throughout the race. I saw quite a few people changing flats and was grateful not to have to change a tire myself, as I have enough experience with that on race day.
Despite some technical issues with the Ironman app not tracking my bike splits, which I didn’t know about at the time, I kept moving. I maintained a good rhythm with two other competitors constantly back and forth, which helped push me a bit. Coming into the 70km mark, the cold was starting to zap my energy, and the rain started up. I could not feel my feet at all and kept checking my time, knowing I had to get back into T2 before 9:36 to have a chance at my goal of sub-5 — although in these conditions, I knew it was going to be unlikely.
Rolling into the second transition (T2) and having watched 9:36 roll by a few minutes ago, I realized I wouldn’t hit my sub-5-hour goal unless I ran a sub-1:30 half-marathon. I’d have to hit closer to 1:25, which felt unlikely given my frozen feet and current state.
T2 went smoother, but I couldn’t feel my feet, making it hard to judge how tight my shoes were. I decided to drop my jacket and gloves as I knew I’d warm up on the run. Grabbed my Roctane gels and put them in my jersey and headed out. I heard Kylie say something to me but I didn’t have time to understand — after the race I would learn she said my tracker had stopped and that everyone was a bit surprised to see me in transition as they had not idea where I was, apparently it even switched to DNF at one point.
The run started rough with numb feet, which lasted for about 4km, followed by shin splints that eventually subsided. But it was not the ideal conditions I would need to run a 1:25 half. Then the arches of my feet were sore after they thawed, and I had to stop early on to remove pebbles and sticks from my shoes as my feet thawed I could start to feel I had not brushed off my feet and it was causing alot of pain. I was annoyed at having to stop to do this twice as the first time I didn’t complete the task.
Despite these setbacks, my nutrition plan was dialled in, alternating caffeinated and non-caffeinated Roctanes. No cramping or energy issues. The first loop was quiet and there were not many people on the trails, as my feet thawed I got into a better cadence and was able to push myself a bit harder on the second loop where it became much busier.
Last few KMs I pushed a bit harder but had to work on some mental strategies to do so after realizing I was going to be over 5:10. I still knew conditions were not ideal and really I was just happy to be finishing at all.
As I reflect on some of my data, I noticed that my relative effort was quite high for my run (296), even for race day. After looking into it a bit further, I noticed my heart rate was seriously elevated compared to other events. It’s rare I get close to 180 bpm.
This may have been due to the cold, as my body was working extra hard to stay warm, or it may have just been my heart rate monitor malfunctioning. Either way, it’s something I will keep an eye on for the rest of the season.
Post-race, I always like to reflect on the challenges, what went well, and what I could improve. The cold and wet conditions certainly made this a tough day, but I was happy with my performance.
The experience emphasized the importance of being prepared for any weather and practicing transitions under different conditions. My nutrition strategy worked well, and I felt strong, even though I didn’t achieve my sub-5-hour goal.
This race was a valuable mental challenge, highlighting areas for improvement like transition efficiency and the need to try different shoes for running to help with my shin splint issues that seem to be coming up now.
Despite all this, I am happy I completed the race, but it leaves me with some unfinished business and a lingering goal to complete this course in under 5 hours.
