Maureen's 2010 Magrath Race Report

Just 2 weeks after racing her first 1/2 Ironman, Maureen did an Olympic distance race! And boy did her and the girsl she went with have fun! Going to Maureen to this race is worth considering for next year.

This was my fourth time at Magrath's "I Swam the Dam" triathlon; it's an annual road trip for my running friends. I started as a swimmer on a sprint relay team in 2007, bought a bike the next year and did the sprint, last year the Olympic was my A race for the season and this year it was a victory lap after GWN. We had ten friends in our group this year, including a core group that has been there for all four years. Our goal the first year was "to have more fun than anyone else." We've kept that goal and every year we think we achieve it.

This is a terrific race. It's in a scenic location about 30km south of Lethbridge and has a wonderful family feel, with what seems like half of the small town of Magrath volunteering. The race organizers and directors, a young couple, Dennis and Shawna Strong, put on a well-organized, fun and safe event. We've gotten to know Dennis and Shawna over the past four years and this year, in addition to all the directional signs to the race, they put a handmade sign on the highway, recognizing our group. We felt "dam" special. Like GWN, there are two transition zones, so a bit of schlepping around, but it's all very well organized and all your gear ends up right where it is supposed to at the end.

I wasn't sure what to expect, only two weeks after GWN, but I knew I wanted to feel at the end that I couldn't have done more. My only time goal was to be one minute faster on the run, which seemed possible, since many of my runs have been faster this year.

The water was the choppiest it's been in my experience ... not waves but definite ripples. It was also pretty cold! I found it hard to get a smooth rhythm going and for some reason felt oddly irritable through the swim. The swim is usually my favourite part of any race, but not this time. I didn't wear my watch for the swim but based on how I felt I expected the results would show I was about 5 mins slower than last year. Nope. About four seconds. 32:51 vs 32:55 in '09.

I'm still learning on the bike. Scared on the downhills, weak on the uphills and figuring out what I can do on the flats. I'm always cautious about killing my legs on the bike and having nothing left for the run, which is my weakest discipline. But I vowed to ride as aggressively as I could while still having something left for the run. This is a very forgiving course. A few small hills but overall a net downhill ride and most years there's a tail wind for much of it, as there was this year. I was happy with how I pushed and I didn't brake at all on the downhills (unusual). So I was surprised to see I was four minutes slower than 2009 -- 1:29:48 vs 1:25:16. The bike time includes both transitions and I was particularly smooth in either one, but not clumsy enough to add four minutes.

My goals on the run were to be one minute faster than last year, and just like GWN, to start slowly and be meticulous in not taking "unsanctioned" walk breaks beyond 10 and 1s and the three aid stations. It's a highway run with no shade and it was hot. My HR was 182 in the first km, but I slowed down and got it under control. I watched pace and HR and tried to keep both where I wanted them until the last 2 km. Last week I re-read one of Angie's blog posts about how racing hurts and I remembered last year before Magrath Richelle told me she wanted me to "allow myself to hurt." (That seemed ridiculous to me at the time … a totally foreign concept). I remembered both of those reminders in the last 3-4 km when I was getting hot and tired. The run has a "bump" in the last 300m. It felt like the Curling Club hill. I couldn't even respond to my friends who were cheering, I was pushing so hard to get up and over that bump and then drive to the finish line. To my surprise, my run was exactly 4 mins faster than last year: 1:06:47 vs 1:10:47. So I made up the four minutes I lost on the bike and finished 37 secs slower than last year overall at 3:09:27. But I met my goal of being feeling like I couldn't have done anything more.

I am usually in the bottom few in my age group (50-59). This time I was dead last -- fifth of 5. Our age group winner was faster than several in the 40-49 age group. Go figure.

Angie says you can divide results into all triathlons and Wasa. I think it's probably all triathlons, Wasa and Magrath, thanks to the net downhill bike with prevailing winds at your back.

Bottom line: a fun weekend with friends, another great experience and some more things to learn and practice. This was my last tri of the season, as August is full of other commitments. I'm already looking forward to next year.