Race report: Ultranza Chanteclerc Offroad Triathlon

Posted In: Triathlon August 11th, 2014 divider No Comments »

So this was a humbling experience…

I had written a different blog post in my head when I was out there on the swim. But reality set in not long after that…

A beautiful setting in the Laurentians for this, my first offroad triathlon. The distances were 1k/21k/10k. The host venue, Hôtel Le Chanteclerc, was beautiful. But it made for an interesting race with all the ups and downs…

You could tell this was an inaugural race as a lot of smaller details weren’t as sharp as they should have been. Some folks might not have noticed but being a former race director, you notice these things. It didn’t really take away from the experience too much though.

The lake was nice and the water temperature was darn near perfect. I actually had a good swim, it was just a big slower than expected. That will happen when you only do a handful of swims. Muscle memory will get you there but not as fast as when you actually train for something. Message received.

It was almost a kilometre almost straight uphill to the transition zone. That was interesting! I then got my mountain biking stuff on to get on the course before taking it easy up to the start of the fun stuff.

That’s where the fun ended. It was a lot of pressing the brakes and getting passed by faster riders. And then the clincher, a lovely “débarque” where I went over the handle bars. I just wanted to keep my money maker intact for the next day’s filming.

I finished the first loop (of three) and decided I’ve had enough. It was partly because I hate sucking at something so much but mostly because I wasn’t mentally tough enough on the day.

The biggest lesson from this experience was that you should respect every race. I know I have some pretty good triathlon experience but I had never done an offroad one. Now I know what to expect. And what to train for.

All and all it was well worth it. It also helps to have family around to cheer you on and make you feel better. My niece didn’t seem to mind I DNF’d and I actually got to hang out with her some more. Not a bad consolation prize.

I will probably go back but after a tune-up on my bike and my mountain biking skills. And after I nurse my ego back to health…

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I have a few more spots for my next ChiRunning workshops in Petawawa (Sat Aug 23) and Ottawa (Sun Aug 24). As always it’s half price if you want to use it as a refresher!

All the details on the workshop tab of the site!