I kicked off the triathlon season on Saturday at the MultiSport Canada Binbrook Sprint Tri. With perfect conditions, a fast and flat bike course, a mixed surface run and a strong field, it promised to be a fun race. No fewer than 12 Elite men showed up, which bodes well for the depth of competition in Ontario. The MultiSport Canada Elite Age Group/Pro Series will be hotly contested this season.

Here’s a 140 character race report (for the tl;dr crowd) and the top 5 (full results here). Read on for details.

PLACE NAME TIME 750 M
SWIM*		 30.0 KM
BIKE		 7.5 KM
RUN		 T1 T2
1
Lionel SANDERS
1:20:27.5
11:24
43:00
24:52
0:42
0:32
2
Cody BEALS
1:21:11.2
10:41
43:17
26:06
0:41
0:27
3
Wolfgang GUEMBEL
1:23:22.1
10:23
43:35
28:09
0:44
0:34
4
Francois COTE
1:23:50.3
12:19
43:02
27:26
0:38
0:27
5
Keith MARCHANT
1:24:10.3
11:50
44:01
26:53
0:52
0:36
*Swim time includes a long run up to T1.

Swim
It was my second open water swim of the year and it showed. Without the unwavering guidance of the black line, I relapsed into my old habit of hooking right, much to my frustration. I also forgot that everyone likes to start at Phelpsian pace. I’d like to dedicate a future rant to that. I ended up swimming alone trailing the front pack of three.

Bike
Coming from a running and swimming background, I have typically biked minutes behind the “cyclists” on the Ontario circuit. Sometimes I could run them down, but more often than not I would run out of runway. Since last season, I have put swimming and running on the back burner and systematically attacked my physical and technical weaknesses on the bike. But there were also psychological factors; I had pigeonholed myself as a “runner” and ceded dominance on the bike to the “cyclists”. My goal with this race was to break out of that role by riding aggressively, like it was a race into transition.

In that regard, the race went as planned. I took the lead before 5k, defended it, and was first into transition. This is just one race, and a short and flat one at that, but to finally mix it up with the “cyclists” is a first for me. With continued focus on cycling, I hope it’s the start of a trend.

Run
I was pretty confident that I could outrun the field. But there’s a fine line between confidence and complacency. Two minutes into the run I figured I had the win locked up, and switched on the cruise control. I was cruising towards the turnaround when I heard an unfamiliar sound: footfalls coming up fast. Little did I know that Lionel Sanders, elite duathlete-turned-triathlete and 1:06 half marathoner, was in hot pursuit. I briefly matched his blistering pace before he began to pull away. It may not have affected the outcome, but I learned a valuable lesson: the race isn’t over until you cross the line. Next race I’ll be that guy doing a shoulder check every other stride!

Thank you to MultiSport Canada and the volunteers for another impeccably run event. And thank you to my other supporters for 2013: Healthy Results Training and Nineteen Wetsuits.

But wait, there’s more…
I swore off back-to-back races after a somewhat traumatic experience in high school (a surprise blizzard didn’t help…). But time softens even the most painful memories. On Sunday morning a tweet about the Guelph Lake 10k caught my eye. A scenic rolling course through the campground around the lake makes the race a highlight of the excellent series run by the Guelph Victors. With the prospect of a three-peat, I simply couldn’t miss it!

Traveling to Binbrook had already put me over my self-imposed driving quota for the week, so biking was the only option. The ~20k ride probably did my sore legs more good than harm, but two steps into my warm-up I began to regret my impulsive decision. I was a little relieved that a good solo effort to 33-flat put me well ahead of the field and I wasn’t forced to suffer further.
After a cool-down jog and quite a few shot glass-sized chocolate milks, I was ready to take a long scenic route home. All in all, it was a fun weekend and good preparation for my Half Iron Triathlon debut at MultiSport Canada Welland on June 23rd.