Canadian Nationals; Ryan MacDonald

A report from Nationals from Ryan MacDonald.

Swim went well, as anything other than last place would have been good, as long as I was with a big group on the bike I felt confident I wouldn't loose too much time.

Swim start. That guy in the red-and-white suit nearest the camera has a couple of medals.....

I made one small mistake though, when a couple of riders attacked on the hill, I figured I'd save my energy as the pack would chase them back anyway. Unfortunately, there was a guy up the road who normally would break off to keep from being dropped on the hill, and they joined up with him and ended up gaining a little bit of time on the group I was with. In retrospect it would have been a good move to go with him, but the bike racing skills are a little rusty, will come back in time though!

Ryan (#70, green suit) on the climb.

I was feeling really good on the bike, with the exception of the corners, which were often wet painted and even had cobblestones at some places. On the climb I was in my element and climbing stronger than the rest of the pack.

More climbing.

Run was pretty much suffering the whole time. I could definitely run faster than that but I wasn't used to running so fast after a bike which featured sharp accelerations on the corners, which definitely sapped the energy a bit. All I was focused on was finishing, although when this Whitfield guy lapped me on the first lap I thought about staying with him for a bit, cause he's about my pace :)_

jk lol, it was cool to see him running, although that pace didn't feel AS fast as I thought it would for the entire 10 seconds I held it. A lot of the guys passed me on the run, lapping me towards the last lap or so. I think that if I was fresh I could have stayed with those guys on the run no problem, so getting more used to pack racing in the coming year will be integral in helping me use less energy in a draft legal race. All in all it was a great race though and I'm happy to have finished.

On the run.

Thanks to Andrew, Sarah and Shane for helping me get here and do my first ITU race! And thanks Marie-Claude and Jason for your help in the race.

RM

Photos from Marie-Claude Gregoire and Chuck Perreault.