Race Reports

Barrelman 2023 – Race Report

“No killer training days. No crazy volume. Just consistent training.” – Coach Miranda Tomenson

This was my second year in a row racing here in beautiful Welland, ON and Niagara Falls and I’m always thrilled to support local races! 

Total surprised Personal Best for me! While not an exact 70.3 distance, we had to endure a 2km swim, 87km bike, and 20km run. I honestly was not expecting anything spectacular as I did not do any insane hero workout or massive volume. I just had a really rare and fortunate consistent build with no injuries, missed workout, or illness. Very grateful! 

Last year I completed this exact same course in 5:41:23. So I took off about 38 minutes!

The RACE: [Official Time: 05:04:22]

SportStats: https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=118022&status=results&bib=153

SWIM (2.0 km) – 0:44:10mins @ 2:12/100m

Okay well, in the actual swim itself, I thought I was doing poorly and slow!! A good amount of people passed me. But around the area with 800 left, I realized that I was starting to pass some people (I literally rarely pass anyone in the swim!) Anyways, I was feeling a bit demotivated initially, but when I looked at my watch I was pretty shocked 2:12/100m pace for 2K OWS is my PB! 

Other than the usual kicking and grabbing from other people, this was pretty standard. I just did a pretty easy/moderate effort level. No panic. If I can pull this kind of swim off at IMFL in 6 week, I’d be so delighted. We’ll see! 

T1 – 0:04:05

BIKE (87km) – 2:34:45 hr @ 33.73 kph

This was flat and fast! 33.73km/h is my fastest outdoor ride pace for over 50K! and this was close to 90! There actually wasn’t a super big tail wind like last year (which I was looking forward to, but alas) Avg 175W (higher at beginning with some headwind, and lower in back end) I managed to take ALL my nutrition compared to my failure at Muskoka 70.3 a few months ago. This was a HUGE difference in my overall race. 

T2 – 0:03:03:11

RUN (20km) – 01:38:11 hr @ 4:57/km

While I gladly accept the PB from the swim and the bike, This run was probably the biggest surprise of the day. Coach Miranda Tomenson said to start at 6:15/km pace, and to me that just meant “go easy”. So I started off what felt “easy” for 5 mins, then I looked at my watch and it says 4:50km pace right off the bat. I thought it was wrong because I felt so fresh! Anyways this somehow continued for the entire course, I thought I would blow up at some point too. I followed exactly what coach said on how to approach the Burning Hill first and second encounter and that worked, it didn’t even really feel that hard. All those weeks of increased hill repeats helped a lot I think! It was wild because the entire time I was nostril breathing in. I only switched to mouth in the last 5k when I emptied the tank to the finish!! No niggles, no cramps!

In Conclusion

Overall, this is the best rank I ever got in a triathlon ever. In the Top 28% (17/60) for my AG. Top 22% (132/600) overall. I still need to work on my T1 and T2! Could potentially save another 4 minutes to go sub-5 next time! Congrats to everyone who raced! Thank you to John Salt, race organizers, police, and volunteers for making this all happen so is crazy folks can do this to ourselves! ? While I would have loved to end on a high note, my season is NOT over. All eyes on Ironman Florida in just 6 weeks! Taking a few days to recover and reflect, then it’s back to work. Bread and butter.

Race Reports

IRONMAN 70.3 Muskoka 2023 – Race Report

This was my third time racing here in Muskoka and it’s always fun and convenient to do a local event! 

However, there was no PB today. I didn’t have a good proper build up to this race from a bike crash 2 weeks prior. I got a bunch of road rash, bruised left side of body, and a broken bike frame! I was absolutely devastated. Because of this, I missed out on a handful of key training sessions, and came to this race just grateful to get the start line. 

The RACE: [Official Time: 06:03.17]

SportStats: https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=128814&bib=86

SWIM (1.9km) – 47:53mins @ 2:28/100m

For some reason my swim pace is slower by around 15 seconds per 100m compared to last year. I am not sure why. Maybe because I missed out on the feel for the water the past few weeks? Might need to go back to the drawing board for this. 

Despite this, I sorted out 3 things.

  • I solved my goggle foggy issue with the Orca Killa 180
  • I can sight, but still need to not legs sink
  • And importantly, I did this swim for the first time, not hating the open water, I actually kind of enjoyed it too

Apparently there was a strong as well, so maybe that contributed to me being 3 minutes slower than last year. 

T1 [5:23]

They had wetsuit peelers! Yay! 

BIKE (90km) – 3:03.50 hr @ 29.41kph

I had really great memories of this bike course from last year. While it was still just as fun, my lower back seized up around 45km and I was losing power through the legs to the pedal. As my Trek speed concept Disc was being repaired, I was fortunately to still own my rim brake version. The issue is that it’s a frame size too small, and while still useable, it wasn’t the most comfortable. Additionally, because of my recent crash, my left elbow was still pretty bruised and couldn’t get into aero position. 

I dropped a chain with 5km to go, so I had to quickly stop and put it back on. This is what made me not get that 30kph avg. 

However, the BIGGEST upset on the bike segment is that I only got HALF of my nutrition. I was able to get all the liquid from my cockpit XLAB Torpedo bottle. But only 1/4 of my SpeedFil came up the straw. For some reason I wasn’t able to suck the rest up. And my the end of the bike I was really hungry and I knew I would be going to the run in a big calorie deficit. Not good! Especially when I know my numbers and had it down pack. 

If this happens again in the future, coach says it’s best for me to stop at an aid station and get it sorted to save my run. 

T2 [2:39]

RUN (21.1km) – 2:03.32 hr @ 5:51/km

This run was BRUTAL. It’s so interesting how I can do the exact same course back to back years and yet they felt so very different all because of nutrition and lack of fitness from the crash. 

I almost instantly cramped but quads on the big hill right out of the T2. I knew this was going to be a painful half-marathon. I stopped at every aid station to get as much nutrient and salt to make up for the calories and hydration lost on the bike. I didn’t really work and for the first time, I had to stop to use a porte-potty in a 70.3! After this I did feel a big better and started to feel some energy come back. It was also pretty hot which added to the suffering. I fought and fought as much as I could to try get under 2hours, but ended up running a 2:03hr half-marathon. It’s not my best by a long shot, but also could have been a lot worse. So all things considered it was “okay”. 

In Conclusion

Despite all the adversary I encountered leading up to this race, I am extremely thankful and grateful that I was even able to get to the start line and being this race. I thank all my family and friends who gave me their support and best wishes while I was injured and out. 

Congrats to my good friend Steve Upton who got 13th in our Age Group, getting closer to top 10! And congrats to Camila on completing her first 70.3! Fast swimmer too!

Race Reports

Milton 2023 Race Report

Hello! Haven’t posted in a while. Summer training went well. I got my dream tri bike and did a lot of training over the winter. And I just did my first triathlon race of 2023! 

Back in Milton, ON as an opener to get the motions of a triathlon in play for the rest of the season. 

The RACE [Official Time: 01:55:08]

Swim (750m) – 18:48min @ 2:30/100m 

Even though I increased my Critical Swim Speed (CSS) over the winter significantly, I am still finding it difficult to translate to open water. My legs still sink, even in a wet suit. I need to work more on my kicking. Today my brand new Magic5 goggles kept fogging. So I had to stop at 3 turn buoys to clear it out. I lost a ton of time here. Going to try other goggles ASAP. Anyways…

Bike (30K) – 57:59 mins @ 31.04kph 

The bike is where I saw some good improvement over last year. A full 1kph faster and more confidence in aero position. This was the highlight of the day for me. This is always a breath taking fun hilly course with a big descent near the end. Thrilling. 

Run (7km) – 32:14 mins @ 4:36min/km 

The run was good. A bit slower than last year. But I forgot to “flip the switch” earlier on. I didn’t have any fatigue or lack of nutrition or energy, I just for some reason go harder until the last 1km. I probably should have around 4km. By the end I felt “too comfortable” for a sprint, I know I should have pushed harder way sooner. Anyways this is the purpose of today’s season opener. 

Overall

No amazing result, but a good effort for the first race of the year. Main lessons today is to find new swim goggles, going to try Orca Killa180 as recommended by my good friend Steve Upton. Work on my kick to get my legs higher to the water surface.

My T1 and T2 was about 45seconds slower each than last year. So I need to work on faster transitions as well.

My A Race is still IRONMAN Florida in November. Redemption is waiting! 

Congrats to my coach Miranda Tomenson on winning and Steve for making the podium in 4th!

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Video Recap: IRONMAN Mont Tremblant 2022 Race Experience

On August 21, 2022 in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, I became an IRONMAN. Thank you to my mom and dad for their constant support. Thank you to my family and friends for always cheering me on. Thank you to all the volunteers, race organizers, police, and spectators for making these events happen. Thank you to friends on course Amy D, Steve Upton, Phaedra Kennedy, and Ian Lawrence (who interviewed me on his podcast An Athlete for Life, check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnSN2…) Thank you to my coach and friend Miranda Tomenson of Tomenson Performance & Wellness for making my dream finally come true. Until the next time… My detailed IMMT 2022 Race Report: http://seanchin.com/2022/09/02/ironma…

Photos & video from Parents, Phaedra Kennedy, FinisherPix, Maged Doss

Original music by Agah Bahari

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