So I just finished the Lake Havasu Tri yesterday and got my first AG win. Of course I think there were only 6 guys in my AG and about 44 male AGer’s, so it was not a very deep field. Of course I don’t have to tell that to any one! I thought the course was good, although there were 2 hills on the bike, that were pretty easy to go up, but looked like the first drop of a roller coaster going down. First time in a long while I’ve felt the icy cold hand of fear from a descent.
It was fun to hang out with all of the collegiate athletes.
I have a buddy here in Ottawa that will drive 5-8 hour rather than race locally where all the competition is. He has this ability to pick out some really obscure races that he wins overall, but will not toe the line in a local race. He even claims that races like the Muskoka Ironman North America qualifier, or Peterborough Half Ironman and sprint (two of the best run races in eastern Canada) are too disorganized for his standards. He does the same for XC ski racing. We have one of top two races in North America here, but he won’t do it, saying that the course is poorly designed and not sufficiently technical. He’d rather race 8 hours away. The only way to find out if he is cherry picking or not is to go with him and race at these obscure races and also bag a high overall placing !
I know what you mean. Ran a 5 kms run a few weeks ago and won my AG. Ran a much bigger race this past weekend and finished AG 10th. No loss of sleep though. It’s all about having fun.
It usually works the other way around for me. The smaller the race, the more likely it is that I’ll come in last in my AG. Last year, I ran a small du on a day I still suffering the effects of my annual spring sinus infection. When I saw the size of the field, I remember thinking I was screwed. As it turns out, though, I came in around the middle of my AG. This year, though, I’m working harder and have visions (delusions?) of capitalizing on those small fields.
If you find this type of race the next year take a group of newbies with you to it. That’s what I do. The race builds up that’s good, newbies have a chance that’s good, you get a chance to pay back to the sport and that’s good. If they are French or Canadian they get in the water (bath ) AND THAT"S GOOD!
