I wrote this report up for my triathlon team and some friends, and I thought I would share. Bala is a great little sprint held in Cottage Country Ontario each July, with lots of first timers like I was when I did it back in 2001. If you live in the area I certainly recommend it.
Mike
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Race Report – Bala Falls Triathlon
July 29, 2007
On July 29, 2001, as I waited to start my first triathlon in Bala, Ontario, I was excited, nervous and curious about what this swim/bike/run thing would feel like. Six years and many great experiences later, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the nervousness, excitement and curiosity was still there. Did I forget something? How will my legs feel today? Will I wilt in the heat on the run? Some things don’t change.
One thing that has changed is that after 10 wonderful years, Jeff and Cindy Elder passed their legacy on to John Salt and the HSBC triathlon series as the organizing body of this event. I want to thank the Elders for the passion and energy they have given myself and countless other first-time triathletes over the years, and to John and his team for honouring the event with their professional , yet personal touch (even if they did lengthen that “7km” run to an accurate 7.5km – there was no need for that 
). I was particularly impressed with how they paid attention to waste management at the event, making sure that recyclables were recycled and even having a compost container which the technical director took home to his own composter. Did you know that Royal Chinet paper plates were compostable? They did, and used them for that very reason.
OK, enough of that. Onto the race.
Earlier in the week, I had written a few notes in my journal about what it would take to fulfill my dream of winning the event that started it all for me. Besides the right people not showing up :), I knew I would have to transition fast and finish each hill strong on the bike and run. I also noted that I would probably be “racing a ghost” from another wave for the overall placings and promised myself that I would not let up until the finish line.
Starting in the second wave, I lost the feet of a few quick swimmers in the first half of the swim, and then used the turning trick we practiced at my triathlon clinic to catch back up to some feet at the second turn and ride them to the finish. I rocketed through T1 (mental rehearsal works!) and hit the bike smiling.
Cycling is my best discipline and even though I am not in true cycling shape, I can still make myself suffer over 30km – or so I thought. I flew through the out section bringing back all the fast swimmers and all but two of the wave in front of me. The return leg had a headwind though and I couldn’t fake it any longer. “Stay on it, stay on it, stay on it, stay on it” – self talk limited the damage and the loss to the first place rider who was way ahead, allowing me to roll into T2 about 100m behind the second place guy.
Onto the run, I felt good and soon found myself second on the road about 1km down on the leader with no visible challenge from behind. It was hot, lonely and my quads were starting to cramp up. “Hmm, maybe soreness and lack of sport specific stregth has more to do with cramping than electrolytes…. I should look int… SHUT UP AND FOCUS!! This race is not over. Remember you are racing a ghost!”
The last 3km included lots of self talk: “turnover, turnover turover…. relax, relax relax,….push, push, push,…race the ghost, race the ghost, race the ghost…when will this be over (that’s always in there!)”. Hitting the final downhill and run-in to the finish, I kicked it like the final lap in a 1500m track race, much to the amusement and bewilderment of the spectators who didn’t see anyone around me.
Exhausted at the finish line, the first place finisher joked with me by asking who I was trying to outsprint. My answer was “You”. It took him a few seconds to realize that he might not have won after all. Then the waiting game began. I knew there were many studs in the 40-49 wave and I could tell on the course that they were running faster than I was. When they crossed the line I knew it was close.
I am never in a hurry to look up the results of my races. I don’t wear a watch and in a weird way I enjoy looking back at how my race felt for a little while without numbers mucking it all up. In this case, my unknown overall placing added some anticipation and excitement. I knew I had given it my best, and I would find out soon enough where that placed me.
Then word filtered down. I had won the thing by 31 seconds. The top 3 in the race came from 3 different waves. It was my first win at a race with more than 100 people in it, and more importantly, it was a win at my sentimental favourite sprint triathlon. Looking at the results later, I learned that I didn’t place first in any of the individual sports (only T1), but that the balance of the 3 was good enough. Somehow it was even better knowing that the only contest I could have won against that field was the one being held - a triathlon.
Naturally, we hit the Ice Cream Shoppe in town before heading home. It wouldn’t have been the Bala Falls Triathlon without that!
Live your Dreams!
Mike
750m Swim: 11:31 T1: 0:40 30km Bike: 46:26 T2: 0:49 7.5km Run: 29:34 Finish: 1:28:59
Full Results: http://www.multisportcanada.com/ms/events/results/display_results.cfm?resultID=669
PS – For fun, here is my 2001 Bala Falls race report that I have never shared before now:
Race Report – Bala Falls Triathlon
July 29, 2001
The day finally came to do my first triathlon! A large Sudbury contingent (8 competitors in all) camped overnight in the transition area. After rising early and setting up our gear, the gun was off!
Swimming in a pack is challenging and a bit rough, but drafting is definitely useful. Also, some swimmers are a lot faster than me. One older guy in a later wave passed me very easily even though I had a wetsuit and he didn’t!
Out of the water in just under 18 minutes for what is reported as a long 750m, I did my transition and was mounting my bike when a fellow competitor warned me to take it to the mounting point first or risk disqualification (whew!). Disaster avoided, I mounted at the right place and took off on the bike. It was a fast course with some tame rolling hills and I passed Rob Harris pretty quickly. There must have been a lot of rookies there because many were drifting to the left side of the lane and faster cyclists were getting angry. Just after the turnaround, I was passed by Shannon who started in wave 3 (4 minutes behind me!).
A fairly good T2 and I was off and running (bike time in 52:43 for 30km). The run felt a bit off but not bad. At one point I had to retie my shoelaces (must be more diligent in T2!) but things were otherwise uneventful. At the end I found a burst of energy and ran hard to the finish (run time 31:05 for 7km). It turns out that 7 seconds faster and I would have beaten Dave Busch!
Overall I did very well for my first race, and had a lot of fun. I think I am hooked!
Overall time 1:41:42
82/356 overall
11/26 in age category (20-29)
750m Swim+T1: 17:52 30km Bike: 52:43 T2+7km Run: 31:05 Finish: 1:41:42