Having done the Cultus Lake Triathlon for 3 years in a row, I wanted to try (tri) something different this year, and I’ve never done a triathlon in salt water, so enter the Vancouver Triathlon, which took place on Labour Day. The logistics of getting to Stanley Park in Vancouver added some stress to the race experience – the drive was over 2 hours from Abbotsford, and after I had my bike dropped off and race kit picked up, we wanted to spend the late afternoon shopping and having dinner. Unfortunately, I parked in an underground lot (last year my car was broken into when parking above ground) that closed at 7PM on Sundays (stores were open till 8PM at least to say nothing of restaurants in the area). I had no way to get in and get my car and had to call Garda security, wait for 2 hours (without being provided with an ETA for the first hour) and pay $60 CASH to have a guard let me in so I could drive home. Not a great start.
We woke at 4AM to drive back to Stanley Park – the race guide said the parking lots’ access wouldn’t be available after 6:30AM. While I got there very early (my wave would be the last to start), I got one of the best parking spots which made it easy to shuttle back and forth to the car for any items I needed. I got body marked, received my timing chip, and set up my transition area well before the final athlete briefing, though I did notice that the swim course was missing some buoy markers during that period. They were late getting them set up, but the first wave didn’t start much more than 5 minutes late.
I had plenty of time to change and get my wetsuit on before my wave (the Sprint Distance Open) – nearly 2 hours- and while I was glad I had chosen to stay comfortable in street clothes during the drive and set-up, I began to get nervous feeling like the only racer who wasn’t in his wetsuit yet. I should mention it was cold enough (more on that shortly) to be a wetsuit-mandatory race, and apparently some racers didn’t have wetsuits and were forced to scramble to borrow one.
Swim
My wave was called and we headed into the water. Lots of people get in the water for some warm-up strokes prior to the race, but I’ve always figured I’d rather save all my energy for the race. If I had been part of the warm-up swim camp maybe I wouldn’t have been so shocked by the cold. I do cold plunges, so I was a little surprised to be surprised. My feet got numb, my face and hands hurt as I started to swim.
Of course I was fine once I got going. The course was a simple triangle, and the ocean water was actually fairly calm. I think the one time I swallowed some water was more from other swimmers splashing than naturally occurring waves. In spite of my lack of ocean experience, I felt like I was keeping a good pace. Having a late wave meant going out at a lower tide, and there was some walking up the beach involved to make it to the swim exit – that involved dodging some barnacles which I had been warned about, but it wasn’t a serious obstacle. I got high-fives from my sons at the swim exit – and booked my best swim time in 4 years. Swim time: 17:24.
Transition 1
Bottom line: I struggled to get my wetsuit off due to the timing chip – I couldn’t get that leg cuff over the bulge of the chip and strap. I ended up putting the suit back on halfway up my leg, taking off the chip, then stripping it off. I think we’re loath to take off the chip because if you forget it in a moment of distraction (putting on shoes or helmet) there goes your race. I’ve had occasions where this same thing has happened, and others where I was able to pull the wetsuit off easily. If I’m going to learn a lesson here, it might be to take off the timing chip and make it part of the overall transition routine to put it back on immediately. This was my slowest transition in the last 4 years. T1 time: 05:22.
Bike
We had 2 laps around Stanley Park using the entirety of the roads. This felt a little unusual – it’s nice that there were never any cars to contend with, but it meant that the riders were all over the roads. I think the etiquette of staying on the right, not drafting (staying 12m back from the leading edge of the front wheel of the next bike), and passing on the left should still be observed in this race (which was specified as a non-drafting event). For the most part, it was fine – faster riders called out ‘on your left’ plenty of times, but there were some incidents like a rider on the far left who seemed to be trying to work out a calf cramp or other discomfort by shaking out their leg, or a rider who fought off my passing attempt (not illegal, just a bit weird to do when they were up on the hoods at more of a cruising pace until I called ‘on your left’). I don’t think there were any marshalls on motorcycles or anything to monitor these kinds of issues. The roads were bad in some patches, and riding over speed bumps (they were pretty mild bumps, but still) were all extra challenges.
I had thought the bike course was going to be pretty flat, but there was one major climb that seemed to go on forever. I think I tackled the early parts of it too aggressively at first, and ran out of gas nearer to the top. The nice part about a looped course is that the second time around I was able to be a lot smarter about hills.
As I approached the exit of the course after completing my second lap, I geared down to a lighter gear, and my chain came off. I had to laugh because I was coming off a downhill with plenty of momentum and wanting to rest my legs for the run anyway. While there’s never a good time to have your chain come off, if it’s going to happen, this was the best time.
I wasn’t able to find any photos of me from the race photographer unfortunately.
Bike Time: 00:48:05 (my second best time in 4 years)
Transition 2
I hadn’t left my shoes untied in preparation. Untying then re-tying probably cost me around 30 seconds. T2 time: 03:19 (second worst in the last 4 years).
Run
I headed out of transition at a clip I was happy with, and my legs felt strong. For a little while at least – though the overcast weather kept things temperate, and the ocean scenery was beautiful, the run course felt long somehow. I began to slow my pace a little. I had noticed no kilometre markers on the bike course, but they would have been really handy here. There was no lack of aid stations, and I didn’t partake of electrolytes or water at every opportunity but suffice to say I had what I needed. I took a carb gel early on during the run. We shared the seawall path with runners heading back after the turn-around and anyone else who wanted to stroll it, but I didn’t find traffic to be a problem. The turn-around was under the bridge to Granville Island, and I saw some interesting skyscrapers as I approached. My pace began to pick up when I knew I was on my way to the finish and more than halfway done running. Unfortunately, my choice to put on my wetsuit well before the last minute meant I had to take a bladder break which cost me time. During the last couple of kilometres I chatted with another dad named Mitch, who was doing his first triathlon – he seemed to be wearing a Hawaiian shirt, but he explained to me it was actually a cycling jersey (complete with pockets) that he got as a Father’s day gift from his daughter. It was very cool. When we knew we were close to the end, we bid each other farewell, but not before I engaged in what is becoming a tradition – explaining the German concept of Endspurt. Mitch showed me better than I could have shown him by beating me handily, but I had the Lightning Kid join me in the last few metres before the finish line so I crossed it with a smile on my face.
Run Time: 35:17 Total Time: 01:49:28. Second-best personal time in BC (first being Cultus 2023).
I definitely liked the glamour of doing a Triathlon in the big city and swimming in the ocean, but the extra logistics involved might make me choose another event next year. I am hoping to grow my endurance to the point where I tackle the Standard/Olympic distance, and it ought to be theoretically possible to do this event weekend and Cultus Lake in the same year. We’ll see…
