5AM warm-up at the Olimpic Rowing Basin
The gun went off at 7AM in the Olympic rowing basin and sent about 100 athletes on a 2.4 mile swim. The weather was perfect and the water temperature very comfortable. In about 10 minutes I settled into a comfortable pace and finished the first loop in about 34 minutes. Thinking, that I am on course for a 70 min swim I caught on to the feet of a swimmer ahead of me and stayed in his slipstream for the second 1.2 mile loop. Upon exiting the water, when I looked at my watch I could not believe my total swim time, as my Polar read 1hr 20 min. Initially, I thought the watch was broken, but it wasn’t. I had a lot of time to make up.
Riddled with quad cramps T1 took a little longer than I had planned. Once under control I was ready to pedal the 41-loop bike course in pursuit of my competitors. The closed-loop venue was designed on the professional Formula One car racing track, thus, the ride was fast, smooth, and protected from all motorized traffic. Nevertheless, the ride required constant attention to avoid collision with other cyclists on those sharp curves. Counting loops became a mind-numbing game until I heard the race announcer calling out my name letting me know that I just have completed loop # 36. OK, five loops to go. I knew I was having a great day on the bike but never in my dreams would I have thought I would finish the 112 miles in 4hrs 57mins. Yes, for the first time in an Iron-distance race I have broken 5hrs on the bike.
With a big smile on my face I entered T2 for a quick change into the run. Everything was going great. I have even forgotten about my swim. The run consisted of 9 loops around the rowing basin and was perfect for the crowds watching the race and for athletes to keep an eye on the competition. The sun was beating down hard. There was not a single cloud in the sky for the entire day. I started feeling the hardship of the run during the seventh loop. At that time I had to force some food into my stomach and make sure to ingest enough electrolytes. In the end, all had worked out as planned, as I crossed the finish line in 10 hrs 34 min placing 9th overall and 4th in M45-49 age group. As it turned out, M45-49 had ruled the day as four of us finished among the first 10 athletes.
Two more loops to go
Breaking the tape
Sunday was a family day. It was spent traversing Montreal and watching the professional bicycle race of Astana, Saxo Bank, Radio Shack, Garmin, Bbox, and other teams. These guys made climbing steep hills look effortless. I suppose, watching Ivan Basso leading the peloton on a couple of loops was an icing on the cake culminating a great weekend.
Montreal's panorama
The Olympic Stadium
Basso leading the race
In hot pursuit
They made it all look so easy
-- TOMasz
