My "Post Race Report"

Talk about Energy, Friends, and Enthusiasm! That’s the best way to sum up the energy at the Triathlon this year. My breakdown is as follows:

I got there this year by taking the 7am ferry. The squeezed as many of us as they could on and that was alright. It was *so* foggy. You could barely see the ferry as you got on, I don’t know how they drove it in the water! Shocked really! But thankful. When we arrived I was “late” compared to last year so I bike down to the transition area and got moving. I racked my bike and got my race information packet, t-shirt and got a move on. My bib number this year, even with registering as soon as it was open was 258.



I made sure everything was ready in transition and I got a move on. I headed down to the beach before they closed the area. When you got there… WOW! You could barely see the people in front of you. They called for a 15 minute delay to hopefully be able to see. My start time was pushed from 8:14 start time to an 8:34 start time. When they got the blue guys out I went to the water to see how freaking cold it was and guess what… it was INSANE! I was SO cold. I went out to my hips or so and got wet. I wanted to see if the cold factor would go away and guess what, it did, but my legs were numb! What a crazy feeling. I tried to channel all that energy I had as a kid to go swimming in the lake when it was freezing. But somehow it didn’t come. I couldn’t force myself to get totally wet. I gave Arnold my glasses and stood around the starting area. I visited with a few people and splashed myself a few times with the cold water. It’s such a shock to the system. The guy announcing it even said that if you feel like your lungs are going to explode you should roll on your back, do some back stroke and take some deep breaths. If that doesn’t work and you think you are in trouble take your cap off and wave it around. Someone will come and get you right away. He wasn’t kidding. I think more people were pulled out this year than I have ever seen (which doesn’t say much since this was the second year for me). I got ready and moved into position. I didn’t try and get first out of the pack because I wasn’t in that much of a rush. I waited a bit. My parents joked I had a plan, everyone would get in and pee and the water would be warmer before I headed out! Sad but was kind of true!

The Swim:

My time: 13minutes, 51 seconds, 400m swim | 3minutes and 28 seconds per 100m
Overall Rank: 283 out of 450+ racers
No wet suit
Course: triangle like, out around and back
Waves – barely any
Water Temp: 17.5C / 63.5F

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 13 minutes and 51 seconds
2010 time was 15 minutes and 2 seconds
**Faster this year by 1 minute and 11 seconds**

When I finally headed out it was so cold that I just couldn’t make myself put my head under water so all that breaststroke paid off! I did most of it in breast stroke and head up front crawl. What a difference it made. I just about choked a few times but that’s alright. Lake water is NOT meant to be swallowed. I passed 2 blue caps (first wave) and at least 3 yellow caps (second wave) and a few of us pink caps. I did ok. COLD and you couldn’t see in front of you. What a scary thing. For me it was more of a “if I can see the buoys I should be ok, but if I can’t I need to get help. The Lifeguards were great at directing sometimes as well. They just needed to stop a few of us who went off course a bit. I got out, got my glasses and began the part I *HATE*. I hate the sand and the walk way back to the transition area. Not only is it hard to run on sand but the goose poop on the other side is hard not to step on! AHH annoying!



Plans for next time:
I said this last year but I really have to practice running on the beach. It’s my least favourite thing to do but I know it would help me a lot to have that part mastered. I’m seeing some more trips to the beach next time and lots of walking and running on the beach.

I was greeted by my hubby after the swim to get my glasses and then over the wooden walk way to some cheers from my parents, my sister, my boys and my niece. I swear, next time I’m wearing a shirt that says “yes my family is that loud group”! I loved hearing them cheer me on! What a fantastic feeling!

I got into T1, also known as transition area 1. This is where you change from your swim stuff into your bike stuff. To NOT get DQ’ed you have to have your helmet on before even touching your bike. I have learned that’s the thing to do. My shoes are always prepped (very loose laces and socks on top of them) and my helmet is on my bike. I generally take my cap off between the beach and the transition area and the helmet is the first thing on my head before anything else. Then I know I’m covered so helmet on, socks on and shoes on. A bit of balancing issues but that’s alright. Grabbed the bike and off I went. Heck! I even ran a bit of the way from the transition area to the mounting area. Something I never did last year!

T1:

Time: 2:23

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 2 minutes and 23 seconds
2010 time was 2 minutes and 33 seconds
**Faster this year by 10 seconds** - which surprises me since I was further away from the bike exit this year!

Next was my bike ride. I knew I could do this. I’ve been training a lot on my bike. Most have been splits but I knew it was something I could do. Last year I remember not pushing as hard as I could. I was so scared if I did I would be toast for the run so I pushed myself this year. I managed to pass 5 people on the 10km loop. I was passed WAY more than that. But I made a point of encouraging everyone who passed me or who I passed. The smile on people’s faces was so cool! It was a good path out there and back, flat and fast! The biggest problem for me was that the morning when we were leaving I had a flat tire! Arnold fixed it for me before bringing the bike to the ferry and I was SO worried. I hit a bit pot hole as well. I don’t know what happen but I just hit one! I was mad at myself but I did alright. I went right back up the other side and kept biking. It was about ¼ of the way through. I told myself *if* I did have a flat I would just bike it all the way and buy myself a new rim next time! I remembered I had a water bottle just before half and took a drink and got a wonderful surprise! See the night before I prepped my water bottle and put a bit of water in the freezer and then pulled it out this morning and added some more water and I was good to go… well... I forgot that I had added some Kool-Aid mix to the bottom of the frozen water and wow was that a little energy boost! I was watching those riders with food in their hands thinking I should have done that but the Kool-Aid mix was wonderful! And because of it, and the taste, I think I drank too much water!

Biking:

My time: 24 minutes and 4 seconds 10km bike | 24.9km/hour
Overall Rank: 279 out of 450+ racers
Performance: Good, pushed myself harder than I thought I could
Wind: none but MAJOR Fog, to the point that if no one was in front of me I would have had no clue where to go, also had to wipe my glasses a few times on both sides to just see out of them.
Course: Out to the other end of the island then back past transition area, a quick turn and then back to transition to dismount.
Road: a wet feeling, but not wet more fog than anything, some potholes (that I managed to hit on bad)
Turns: average, I did good on the turn at the far side and lost LOTS of time at the one after transition
Race pace: comfortable
Drinks: maybe too much?

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 26 minutes and 21 seconds
2010 time was 24 minutes and 04 seconds
**Faster this year by 2 minute and 17 seconds**



Transition 2 was a bit easier. You bring in your bike, rack it, and run! Pretty much! I did take off my helmet and add my hat this time. It wasn’t too hard to transition this time because where I was racked was SO close to the exit and not too many people were back on my rack yet so we were good. I just did it and ran!

T2:

Time: 1 minute and 10 seconds

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 1 minute and 1o seconds
2010 time was 1 minute and 22 seconds
**Faster this year by 12 seconds**

My last part is always the hardest for me. The run. I am not a runner by any means at all whatsoever. Just lately I’ve been trying to get my running up. While it’s not an instant fix it does help. I do about 60 steps walking and 60 strides running, and so on. I think if I had started that first I would have been ok. I had so much encouragement on the way it was great. My family was cheering for me, and even some fellow competitors. One girl came out of T2 with me at the same time and told me I could just jog. I did for a bit then when I passed her again she told me she was watching me, in a friendly way. It was a nice kick in the bum to keep going. The first time around the “lollypop”, as it was called, is so hard. I feel like I’m going to die but I don’t! Thankfully. The second time around I can convince myself to go faster. This year my mom came out and kicked my ass. The last little bit she made me pick up the pace of speed walking and go go go! Then I met up with a new “friend”. She and I jogged to the end. She pushed me to get under the clock moving to 1 hour and 20 minutes. I did it! Just. And what a help she was. Our times are .2 of a hundredth away from each other! It was so nice. I found her later on the stands getting a photo and I got one with her, only to find out that she went to St. Pats (a high school I did as well) and we were both on the same swim team! How cool! This is always the hardest for me. And always my goal to do better so that’s the plan for next time:

Run:

My time: 24 minutes and 05 seconds
Overall Rank: 375 out of 450+ racers
Performance: less than average. I mean it was much better than last year, I actually ran some, but I was so tired. I really have to work on this part next time.
Course: out and around the transition area, out to the street and 2 “lollypops”. On the way back the second time back to the start.
Keeping Cool: not very
Drinking: could have used 2 cups instead of just 1 each time around. Even if to just pour on my head to cool me down.

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 24 minutes and 05 seconds
2010 time was 25 minutes and 35 seconds
**Faster this year by 1 minute and 30 seconds** - which I owe all to my mom!

Overall feeling – It was fun. I love them every time. Getting there is sometimes hard but what a feeling! I really enjoyed it. Hopefully next time I do it I can knock off some more seconds.

Time: 1 hour 5 minutes and 30.3seconds
Overall Rank: 350 of 450+ racers

*This year’s time compared to last year’s time –
2011 time was 1 hour 5 minutes and 30.3 seconds
2010 time was 1 hour 10 minutes and 50 seconds
**Faster this year by 5 minutes and 20 seconds** - next time, under 1 hour!!

August is underway!

I can't believe it! Our Last month of summer is almost over. I'm shocked! I'm not sure were everything went but we had fun that I know for sure.


From now on we have the following coming up:

This weekend is Home Depot's building date! The boys are going to build something at Home Depot at 10am on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon we have our youth group coming over for a BBQ (from 4 until 7pm if any of you youth are reading!)

Sunday is church

Monday I'm doing training and the boys are going to chill at home.

Tuesday is the zoo day

Wednesday is our travel day to Niagra Falls

Thursday to Sunday we are in Niagra Falls!

Monday to Friday is a "normal week" here and I'm training like crazy again

Friday night Auntie B and Amber come over

Saturday morning we leave at 5:45am to get there for me to get on the boat to get to the island and do the tri! After that we are doing a day at the island and maybe some back to school shopping.

Sunday we chill!

Monday to Friday is our last week off. I'm not sure what the boys and I will do.

Long weekend brings us into September! Crazyness!

August long weekend!

We had our family reunion that weekend and it was fun. I've got lots of photos and I still haven't looked at them yet! I plan on it soon I promise. But it was wonderful.

We came home and chilled. It was nice to have all the laundry done and to just relax. Now we are moving onto August! This is a busy month for us!

Camp Heslop 2011 Day #4 and Day #5 ~ Wednesday and Thursday

Camp Heslop Day 4

Wednesday began with a very easy feeling to it. The campers woke up individually and came down stairs for breakfast. Kyler was helping his brother play he lego wii game that he had brought and they were having a good time. Papa had taken his car to be repaired, but came home right away because they needed his car for a longer time. We had to wake up Amber and get everyone dressed so we could follow Papa over to the repair shop. We were already out so we managed a quick stop at Zellers for a new bathing suit for Amber's. Her new, old one got a run down the side of it and it was coming apart. We found a great suit for her and it was on Sale.

As soon as we got home the new bathing suit had to be tried out so everyone got ready and headed to the pool. That is when the biggest development of the week happened. Both Amber and Kyler decided to not use water wings any more. They both worked hard to get a style of swimming that got them from point A to B. By the end of the day they were doing sitting dives off the pool side and swimming the width of the pool. Today's race was planes. We had purchased three air hog planes for them to use. These are quite the unique plane that uses an air powered motor to propel the plane through the air. We went over to the park to test out our planes. Quinton got the longest distance out of his, and was the first to tree his plane. Thankfully it fell out of the tree. Amber got her plane to circle three times. It literally looked like it was chasing the kids around the park. Kyler got the most height out of his plane. All in all they were very pleased with their results.

We went swimming again for a bit and then inside to play the lego wii game. Papa set up a timer so they could get equal amounts of time. Just before dinner, we headed over to the repair shop to get Papa's car. Supper was Tacos and the campers enjoyed building their own meals. I was surprised the amount they could eat. Quinton must have had 5 of them ( I am telling you this because of what happened the next day.) After supper they headed outside the front door to play with their planes again and then back inside for a snack and another Handy Manny story. I haven't told you this but I have been telling them the story of the Underground Railway to Canada. I am giving them an oral story about the journey of three kids Henry, Jemima and Evelyn and their journey to Canada. They are loving it.


Camp Heslop Day 5

Quinton came into the bedroom this morning at 7:30 a.m. Papa said he would go downstairs with him. I guess Papa was too long getting ready to come downstairs because Quinton came up to the bedroom and said their was an emergency, we forgot to have supper last night and he was hungry. LOL I got up and made his breakfast and started a Chuggington DVD for him to watch. The other campers were still sound asleep. Quinton must have been bored because he went behind the sofa and brought me over two dead flies. He said in a very enthusiastic voice "Here these are your new pets!" In fact it was really quiet until 10 when everyone was finally up and ready to go. Papa had to go to the states so we decided not to start our car racing until he got home. We went outside again in the front yard to fly our planes. Good thing we got the 3 dollar insurance policy from Toys R Us because we will be getting replacements for all three once camp is over. They have all developed valve leaks. It isn't that bad, but it means I have to pump up the planes frequently. It was really muggy out so we ended up in the pool again. This time Kyler and Amber began to do a lot of underwater activities. We made a couple of recordings of them and took pictures. Amber can now swim the length of the pool. Kyler taught us a new game. You have to have badminton rackets and a beach ball. Two rackets per person. I have to swim for the balls and throw them to the person with the two rackets and they wack them back somewhere in the pool. I worked so hard swimming after balls I decided to forgo my exercises today. It was almost one o'clock before we got into the house for lunch. Quinton has been having pant problems today, after two tries at getting short on him that are his own, I had to go upstairs with him to get a pair that fit. He wanted to know how I knew he had Kyler's shorts on and I told him it was because they reached his ankles. He said that was because he still wore baby sizes. He says this in the cutest baby voice.

After lunch, Papa was home and the building of the racetrack began. I know it turned out ok, but when I went upstairs for a nap, Papa was getting them to read instructions and follow them. There appeared to be some discussion on what was an B piece and what was a D piece. When I came down they were racing the cars around the track and doing very well. I guess the chocolate milk that Quinton had at lunch had finally kicked in because he was jumping all over the place. We decided it was time to go for a bike ride to the park. They are all doing really well, but the biggest improvement in riding skills has to be Amber. She even raced all over the tennis court keeping up with Kyler. You could tell she was so proud of herself. By time we got home we jumped back into the pool where I taught Kyler and Amber how to push themselves to the bottom of the pool and sit down. They were turning somersaults and laying on the pool bottom. Then it dawned on them that they could touch the bottom of the pool with their feet. It was quite the revelation and they were both overjoyed. Quinton and I played grab the ball and we both now have very interesting NANA NANA BOO BOO dances when we get the ball first. Quinton stayed in the pool a long time for one who usually pops in and out. Papa went and got us supper and we ate outside straight out of the brown bags.

This evening we watched two DVD's. Amber got her toe nails painted blue like Nana's and Quinton complained that we hadn't had dessert. One Popsicle and two cookies later he was happy. Amber and Quinton both had a touch of home sickness tonight. They want their parents. Amber has done so well considering she has been away from home for two weeks now. She really misses her sister and her mom and her dog and her dad. Quinton had a quick Skype call to his dad and mom because he was sad. Tonight was the last story about Underground to Canada. Now they want to go to Chatham next year to see Uncle Tom's cabin.

This is the final entry for Camp Heslop. Starting tomorrow it is the Family Reunion. We are in Sarnia this year so that everyone can spend time with Dad who is getting frailer and losing his memory. Thankfully the campers don't seem to remember we usually go camping in Waterloo at the end of Camp Heslop and they don't think it strange at all that all kinds of people are coming to Nana and Papa's house this weekend. But like always life at our house is one big party.