Sometimes, it happens that you get to try new stuff even if you weren’t planning on it.  Saturday at Wasaga beach was a great example of this. Just one hour before the start of my second Olympic triathlon, which I prepared for and even set some goals to achieve, they canceled the swim. The wind was too strong, waves were too high and the river (our back up swim course) too dirty. Just like that, we were doing an international distance duathlon. It does consist of 10k run, 40k bike and a 5k run in case if you are not aware. Yeah-yeah just in that order. Needless to say, I didn’t train for that. And, anyways, who runs 10k before getting on their bike?  So I decided to go out as hard as I can and see how long I can hold on.

Putting my running shoes on and standing at the starting line in my trisuit felt weird, but my first run went really well. I ran a new 10k pb with 39:51 on a two lap flat run course. At at that point I knew I was in the top 10.  This was the part I didn’t practice for and now I respect the duathletes even more. It is tough! Switching from run to bike was actually quite hard and it took me a while to get comfortable.  But nevertheless, the bike was fun even when the wind made it quite challenging.  When I dropped off the bike and headed for my second run, my the only goal was not getting passed. I succeeded with the encouragements from Tanya, who took time to drive all the way past Barrie to see us race.  In the end I finished 8^th overall and second in my division. Really not bad for a surprise race.

What did I learn from that experience? I will say it again: everyone should try something different at least once a season. Sign up for a different race, travel to a new site, or try a new sport. Just get out of your comfort zone!

Come mountain biking with us at Kelso! Join us at 5:30pm every Tuesday at the summit parking lot for a fun ride in our local trails.  Everyone is welcome, it doesn’t matter how expensive is your bike or how good you are.  We will ride until the light or the weather doesn’t let us, don’t jump on your trainer so fast you will have all winter for that.  Possible weekend rides at Kelso or other venues if some riders are interested.

Rsvp to alexandreboyer@hotmail.com