Victoria Triathlon 2014: The Joy of the Relay

0 CommentsWednesday • June 18, 2014 • by Imei

Triathlon, Racing, Relay, Fitness, Forty Something

While I trained for a marathon during the winter and spring of 2014, I had my eye on another race distance, the Olympic Distance triathlon in beautiful Victoria British Columbia for the Subaru Saunders Victoria Triathlon, part of the Western Canada Series that was recently bought by the WTC Ironman brand.

The transition area of a triathlon is a great place to observe preparation for quick T1 and T2, as well as drool over some sexy bikes.

Coming off a couple of weeks rest, a moderate case of Tendonosis had not healed, and as the recovery days wore on, I realized that I probably would not have much fun pushing or pulling on the bike while clipped in, nor running on the beautiful trail that circles Elk Lake. I was just about to consider not racing at all when I saw one of the Pro Sports Club Triathlon Team members asking around for anyone interested in forming a relay team, any distance (Sprint, Olympic, or Half IM). Rosie had been training for the run, and the Man-Geek was set for the bike; it was up to me to bite the bullet, swallow my nervousness, and select the swim. We named ourselves Snappy Dragon (that’s me!) and the Gluteneaters, and shared our goal finish times for each section.

In my opinion, triathlon racing as a relay gets very little attention for the large amount of gain to be had by doing your first races as relays. You get to concentrate on your weakest event, you don’t have to worry about transition stuff, and you take long endurance off the table if you are only doing one event; if you do a relay as a duo, you can incorporate transition practice, watch the pros do it properly and quickly, and make mental and visual notes (your phone camera is your friend) for your next individual triathlon race. I was looking forward to participating in this triathlon as a relay, and I think it showed. Man-Geek remarked the night before the race how calm I appeared compared to last year’s races.

Read More…