Kelowna Race Report

Kelowna Race Report by John Pexman

 

The Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon is, hands down, my favorite triathlon. Some of my most memorable triathlon moments have occurred on this course over the past four years. This triathlon is very well organized with great volunteers and is one of the most competitive triathlons in Canada.

This was my 5th race in Kelowna but my 1st as a Junior Elite so there were some changes for me: the distance, now a standard sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run) as well as a draft legal bike leg. My main goals were to place high among other 1st year athletes and among the other Alberta athletes. I also wanted to swim fast so I wouldn't have to hammer the bike to find a pack only to blow up during the run. This was the case in my 2 other Junior Elite experiences this year in St. Albert and Saskatoon.

I arrived in Kelowna on Thursday August 19^th along with the rest of Team Alberta for a swim practice in Lake Okanagan. The lake was a bit wavy but thankfully it quieted down on race day. After the swim we also jogged lap of the run course along the boardwalk.

On Friday we went around the bike course a couple of times, which included a tough 180 degree turnaround near the end of the 5 km loop. After the athlete meeting I headed back to my hotel to get the best night's sleep possible before a race.

This race was especially important for me not only because it was the National Championships for Junior Elites, but also because I had had a knee injury during July and hadn't been able to race since Saskatoon on July 11^th. This meant that most of my training during the summer would all lead up to this one race. During training, I had been swimming and biking faster than I ever have so I was eager to see if this would mean a fast race.

Race morning wasn't too early because the Junior Elite Men had a 10:30 am start so there was lots of time to relax. The Junior Elite Women had a 9:45 am start and we watched the Alberta girls have a great swim, coming 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th out of the water.

Having only attended one of the three races in the National Junior Elite Series this year I had quite a low ranking among the 38 guys racing and so I didn't have a great line to the first buoy from my position on the start line. I had a good start, found some feet to draft off, and tried to stay there. I knew I would have to make up time coming out of the water so I tried to push the pace the whole time and not get too comfortable. I got onto the bike with a group of 5 guys and decided to go off on my own to move up in the field and find some better cyclists. After 2 and a half laps of chasing I caught a group of 5 which included 2 Alberta teammates Kam King and Eric Danielson and we worked well together over the remainder of the bike course. I had a good transition and was out on the run course before the rest of our pack. I knew Eric was the strongest runner and when he came by me I got right in behind him and tried to match his pace. We ran together for the first 3 laps with me barely holding on. On the 4th and final lap Eric made a move about 500 m from the finish that I couldn't match. I ended up coming into the finish in 24^th place, with a time of 1:02:05, just 6 seconds behind Eric (the top Albertan) and the 4th first year Junior Elite.

I was pleased with my performance and I feel that my first year as a Junior Elite went very well. I'm looking forward to making improvements so I can become more competitive in the coming year.