Kelowna Race Report

The drive home always feels quite a bit more hectic then going to Kelowna, but now that I am relaxed sitting much more comfortably then in the car, I can prepare a race report and so here is how the race played out. I did all my usual morning rituals Granola 3 hours before, decals on and music playing to my favorite tunes then set up the transition area in the usual fashion.

Swim
So we were in the hands of the starter and my ranking of 21st put me smack in the middle of the field. "Take your marks," moved up to the line and the horn blew. 34 guys dashed for the water. Running in I got a swift knock to the left and one from the right as I flailed into the water. Not my smoothest entrance. I re-focused started to spin the arms and worked my way to the front of the pack. I set a strong pace at the front for the remainder of the swim to exit the water with a time of 17.41 non wetsuit.

T1
I ran hard out of the water to ensure a top spot out onto the bike. T1 was relaxed, smooth and flawless, Hi-Ho silver on to the bike and feet into the shoes right away. Fantastico!

Bike
The rain was coming down hard and the roads were slick but we threw caution to the wind and got to it. I looked back to see Paul Tichelaar and Daniel Wells. On the first hill Tichelaar really poured it on in an attempt to get away. We eventually realized it was inevitable that we were going to be caught by a group of 10 working well together behind us. Every lap there was an attempt for a break on the hill. 2nd lap Matt Chrabot made an attempt; I knew he was a strong rider so I followed bridging the gap and began working with him but we would be swallowed up on the flats. 3rd lap Tom Evens, Paul Tichelaar, Sean Bechtel and I made an attempt, again we were swallowed up on the flats. 4th and final lap I heard some discussion between Tom and Paul and 5 seconds later Tom is off about a hundred meters before the hill Paul didn’t go because he knew he didn’t need to. The pack arrived at the bottom of the hill and I knew if something were to happen it would have to be here. I looked down at some motivating words that I had pasted on to my stem and geared up. I hammered it up to Tom about halfway up the hill and yelled for him to jump. I swung past as he did not wish to break at the moment. At the top of the hill I was alone and figured I may as well hold the pressure. Tom changed his mind and joined me. We began to work well together. We were questioning whether to continue as it seemed the pack was playing with us but we kept pushing hard. I had a few close calls as we were trying to get everything we could out of every corner and it was quite slippery. It felt great coming into transition with Tom Evens.

T2
My dismount was almost out of control as I hardly used my brakes and it was because of my dismount that I moved into First off the bike and first out of the transition.

Run
Off on to the run I started at a strong clip chasing after the lead bike. For the first time I was leading the run in an ITU!...for 500m until Paul came by. I got into a pace that I thought I could hold but within the first lap my quads were clenching and cramping so I was passed by a pack of 5 including Chrabot, Messenheimer, Bechtel, Dahlz and Richmond. I accelerated to stick to a shoulder but fell off pace a km later. Collington and Sexton came by shortly after and I found myself working with them holding even with the pack of guys ahead of us. My cramping had gone away and we were bringing back athletes. In the final lap I pulled away from Collington and reeled in Richmond to finish with a strong sprint for 7th place with a 33.51(17.04, 16.47) 10km.

(7) 1:51:40 Andrew McCartney (1)17:41 (8) 58:15 (13) 33:51

My best performance yet...wish I was going to Germany. After 4 races this year I feel like I am starting to figure out this Olympic distance triathlon. I have learnt so much this year.

Congratulations to Scotty for racing his first ITU!


Till then, ciao for now,
Andrew

PS. I will add photographs soon.

Today’s Top 5

Top 5 Songs to drive to: (May be subject to change)

1. TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun (Wow I love this song!!)


2. The Cars – Here in my Car (Sorry it was an obvious choice, also this isn't actually link to that song but another good one)


3. Cut Copy – The Twilight (Just press Play)


4. Sting – Desert Rose (Great song)


5. Brazilian Girls - Homme (sorry for the poor quality version)

More Photographs available at:

TPS SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHS

Thanks guys and I promise I will purchase some.