Cycling In The RainSunday, June 24, 2018
This race is the kick off to the MultiSport Canada Duathlon season at the Welland International Flatwater Centre
This is a race I have always tried to do better at since the course is so flat with some small hills on the run; my last couple of races here has been a bit of a disaster in my books. Last year I tried an organic gel before the run and things went south real quick. I know I can do much better and need this to build my confidence up for the 2018 racing season.
2016: 1:14:04 2017 1:14:04.
Since being on an AIP elimination diet for the last three 
years I have been learning to train running on an empty stomach which can be challenging at times. I have not done that leading up to this season however I spent more time working on my running as I feel it’s my weakness. So I took out a gym membership in the winter months to spend more time on the treadmill doing speed workouts. It worked to a point until I felt I was getting shin splints with swelling and had to back off. This would cost me to miss the Paris to Ancaster 70k bike race again.
With very heavy rain in the forecast, this race is a long drive from my hometown and means getting up at 3:30am in the morning to be out and on the road by 4:30. I prepare breakfast in a shaker bottle to consume at 5am while on route to the race site. I am trying carb loading this year to see if I can raise my energy levels as I have been running with dead legs lately and cannot figure out the problem.
I am trying out these new set of bike Blade wheels that I purchased late last year. The bike course was held on fully closed roads and that’s new for this year and the course was flat and SUPER FAST!!
In Training I found these wheel to be quite a bit faster than my smaller Shimano carbon wheels, however I made sure I was more aero in my riding position,. I checked that my aero-bars were level and not pointed down or up as sometimes they will get knocked off center after hitting some ridiculous pot holes.
Mass Start
The mass start is in an enclosed fenced in chute, the trouble with being fenced in you had better get there early if you want to get over the start line fast as you can be stuck behind or boxed in by slower athletes making it more challenging to to to the sweet spot in the pack. I prefer to stick to the outside as it’s a great spot to break out from plus it’s always nice to see your fan taking pictures on your way out. I like to try and stay ahead or just behind my competitors so it’s not too hard to catch up especially if I have a slow run as I can probably make up some valuable time on the bike.
The sky did not look healthy, there was dampness in the air and a bit of a chill. I am hoping for a dry run but you can never tell how you will feel when the worst in weather appears with it ugliness. It didn’t take long for the spirit of the race to change trying to avoid splashing competitors as you passed them, then when the sky’s opened up and poured down in buckets it didn’t seem to matter any more because it was a race in a torrential downpour of rain. It got dark real quick and things cooled off in a hurry, that made it cooler for me.
Rose City Welland Run MapI recall a competitor in front of me and thought that’s why you should never race in padded cycling shorts. From behind the shorts were soaked and hung down like a baby’s diaper with big load. That was funny and I am sure it was a struggle for him.
There was some confusion among-st us as to how many loops we had to do, was it on the first run or the second. Usually it is one loop out and back but this year it was a 2-1/2 loop done twice to keep us out of traffic. I like this as it has been a little scary in the past with cars trying to squeeze between us and the local police doing a great job of controlling traffic. But accidents can happen, you never know.
I finished my first loop in reasonable time that I was happy with and had the feeling running I was running on an empty tank and had to keep pushing my self to not slow down. My mind games oh he just passed you cannot catch him now he is gone. Never mind it too late now. I was glad to see the last 300m and the finish line just up the hill, but it looked confusing in the pouring rain as witch way to go around the pillions to make it to the straight path to the finish.
Rose City Welland Bike MapBike
I ran into transition with hopes of getting back out quickly and avoiding any slips or falls in the pouring rain, having to deal with taking soaked running shoes off may be a bit tricky. i am so glad i put my bike shoes in a dry bag to make it a bit more comfortable and easier to get on and out the transition.
As it would be I had an eye on anther athlete that I wanted to stay ahead of, he is like my gauge on how well or badly I am doing. I saw him still getting his running gear on as I was working my way out of the back of the transition area, just as I thought today was my lucky day I got block as a slower athlete that stepped out in front of me and blocking the two lane exit, moments later the competitor headed out in front of us free and clear with a good head start. I would have to work hard in the pouring rain to catch him as he is very competitive on the bike.
When I ran through the mud and puddles to the road I had already decided to push the bike as hard as my tired legs would allow, and I was quite happy with how they well the recovered from the run. The course was quite flat with some small climbs, and while there was a lot of rain and fog during my ride, there were a few spots on the course where the puddles turned into lakes and made us squeeze close to the center line on the road to avoid the water, I got caught on the first loop with my head down and not looking ahead when I started across a bridge and hit a wall of water of about 2-3 inched deep that slowed me down dramatically, but I never had trouble passing athletes and kind of liked the 3-lap course I had difficulty seeing my bike computer because the rain came down so hard. I was not paying attention to the number of laps and got to a good position when it was time to exit the road and head back to transition. Opps as one of the judges asked is that three laps as i was slowing down and I could finally see my computer and looks down and it said 13 km rather than the 18 I thought it said. Just then the competitor I had caught up to and passed went flying by me. Oh My here I go again, good thing the rain was so cool that it kept me from overheating so I could push harder to get my position I has lot to many. I did get my position back plus some. I tried hard at the end to get my average speed up, managed 31.06 km/h but didn’t have enough time to do better. Still very happy with my bike considering my setbacks.
T2
I ran into transition, ripped off my soaking wet water filled bike shoes, and grabbed my Argon18 E112.” I felt soaked to the bone and chilled cold from the constant downpour of rain, I did not use jells or any commercial electrolyte drink. I carefully put my Giro Air Attack shielded helmet on the aerobars face down to keep the water out.
Run
I got into my running shoes as quickly as possible for the final 2 loops of a 5k run along the waterfront trail. Out and back up the same hill that seems tough, it is if you are pushing it too hard and it is a very short climb. I found there was confusion as to the number of laps to do and the turn around seemed to be confusing as it seemed there was a crossover to get to the finish. I admit I was confused as I usually am at this point in the race. My brain seems to drain as my energy levels drop, I try to conserve to keep my focus and then burn up whats left in the tank within the last 500mt.
My second run was about 5% slower than my first run at a 4:58 pace, I usually do a lot better in the runs but for some reason Rose City has been a challenge for me. I still pushed as hard as I could, but it certainly wasn’t my fastest running pace as I had done much faster in my training. However when I ched the number it was satisfying 23 over all 17th in my gender and 1st in my category. Went from 26 to 23rd in running, but had made up time on the bike and was in 20th overall.
Finish/Conclusion
I was over 5 minutes slower than my 2017 race even though I did not do very well on the run, still slower than this race by over 8 seconds per km. My bike last year however was almost 5km/H faster due to the dry roads even though it was not a closed course like this one. I am still very happy with my results on the bike.
Race Stats:
- Time: 1:18:48.2
- Men 55-59: 1/3
- All men: 17/34
- All athletes: 17/62
- 2.5k Run: 11:37.4 (4:38 min/km)
- 20k Bike: 38:38.4 (31.06 km/h)
- 5k Run: 24:52.7 (4:58 min/km)
I am still trying to figure out my nutrition to avoid the energy drain and really bad brain fog that hold me back from doing better. The Welland Rose City race is a great gauge for me to figure out what I have to do in my training to better prepare my self for the up coming races.
I have to give a huge shout-out to the Multi-Sport Canada and its supporters and volunteers for making the race possible in the drowning rain. Oh did you see Simon Donato promoting his brand Stoked Oats, he is an athlete that was in the Travel+Escape Adventure TV series Boundless with Paul “Turbo” Trebilcock from Hamilton Ontario.
Its back to work for the next race July 15th at Gravenhurst, this is a race I have never done before. Cottage Country here I come.