Lisa Bentley 11x IRONMAN Champion
Lots of triathlon going on!
The past few weeks have been crazy – we knew June would be like that but I didn`t expect to be writing a month long update to detail my past two races, our Muskoka Subaru Success Camp and a little side trip to Boulder!
I started off June with a trip to Connecticut to race in the Rev3Tri – an awesome new event which gathered an amazing pro field to battle each other amidst the fun venue of an Amusement Park! What an incredible oxymoron that was – one minute we are planning which ride we are going to go on and the next, we are in oxygen debt climbing one of the many hills on the unbelievably scenic undulating bike and run courses. We stayed in a century old stone house right on the lake across from the start line. Yes, swim prep was simple – I walked down my front steps, walked into the lake, swam for 5 minutes and there was one of the buoys for the race course! I kept teasing that I was going to swim home from the race when I was done! It was truly a gorgeous race venue – the roads were immaculate and hilly, the countryside was so green and lush and the landscaping of the area was so quaint. While I might like to forget my actual race day finishing position, I will never forget the beauty of Middlebury, Connecticut and I hope I get to return again in 2010.
I felt pretty good coming into the race. I finally received clearance from the CF Clinic that my lungs were improving and that I could in fact race. I was so excited to be finally healthy enough to race full steam and with full lungs since I had been a bit subpar in both St. Croix and Florida. And that is why I cannot explain why I felt so flat on race day. I swam well exiting close to Belinda Granger and Mirinda Carfrae, but then I lost so much time on the bike. I rode as hard as I could but I never found that magic gear or sweet spot of the pedal stroke but I ploughed along aiming to get every last watt out of each pedal stroke. Granted, I was racing with some pretty tough customers, but still, I have been riding so well lately that this mediocre ride was unexpected. I charged off onto the run and felt great. It was a super hilly run – my forte – and I was sure that I would claw back some time and hopefully some women. But I never got it rolling – it was all effort and no payback. I finished in 11th place just behind Belinda Granger who had won Honu 70.3 the week before – so I was in good company – but I was definitely disappointed. I suppose the accumulation of `stuff` may have caught up to me – 4 months of antibiotics, Brunswick going to Heaven, countless doctor`s appointments. My body and soul got into the fine beauty of Connecticut and went on holiday!!! Regardless, it was a good little hit out with some of the best triathletes in the world and I got to have a great visit with Belinda Granger and Jo Lawn. After our 5 minute grunt match complaining about our races, we were quickly laughing and joking and remembering why we love our sport so much and why personally I have been doing it for 20 years!
No time to dwell on that, the Muskoka Triathlon was the very next weekend. It was now time to freshen up the legs and squeeze another race out right in my own backyard!
I have been racing the Subaru Muskoka Triathlon for over 15 years. The course keeps changing but the general venue stays the same. It is the go-to race for Ontario athletes! It is a super hilly race and pretty darn short by my Ironman standards. I might not be racing Ironman anymore, but my engine is all about Ironman. No matter how hard I try to `sprint`, I have no `sprint` available in this body. I am all about slow twitch!
The morning of the race, my bike fell over and a rock broke a spoke in my rear Zipp 404 race wheel. Ouch! I think that this is the last technical issue I am going to have for 2009. I have had the broken shoe, the cracked frame and now the broken spoke. This would not be an easy fix since I ride 650 c wheels and finding a rear replacement would be a challenge. Luckily, within minutes, we found a rear 650 race wheel. We fitted it up – checked the gears – and I was ready to go. It was a clincher and I race on tubular tires so I would have no spare but at this stage, I figured that everything comes in threes, and this was in fact `3`- so we were good!
I had my normal swim – nothing super special – and exited about 3 minutes behind race leader and upcoming pro, Jen Coombs. I felt quite good on the bike and started to eat into the lead of the women up ahead. I got to the turnaround and could see that Jen`s lead was down to about 90 seconds and I was gaining on the others as well. That is a bit of catch-22 for me. You see, I coach Jen and I desperately want her to get her first big win but I am also in the race – so part of me is happy I am catching her and part of me is wondering how I am going to make her even faster on the bike!!!
And then `3B` happened! If `3` was the broken spoke earlier this morning, then my current drama - my chain jamming in between the frame and the derailleur and causing my pedals to lock at 3 and 9 o`clock at 40 km into the ride - must be `3B`!!!! I couldn`t believe it. My pedals are absolutely jammed and I am just hoping to not crash as I slow my bike down in order fix the problem. I have NEVER EVER STOPPED in a race EVER in 20 years until this year – first for the broken shoe in St. Croix and now for the jammed chain. It has happened before when I go into my very biggest gear but never in a race. I suppose borrowing a rear wheel didn`t help! Anyway, I grabbed the chain and put it back in place and then pedalled off to make up my lost time and did not use that gear again!! Attitude is more important than fact – the fact is that I had to stop and lose time with a mechanical issue but my attitude is that I will get that time back and more over the rest of the race.
Into transition, there were about 4 women within 90 seconds. I headed out to run as fast as possible and by 2.5 km, I was in the lead. Again, it was with a bit of reservation that I passed Jen. I offered her lots of encouragement and advice and took my own `coaching` notes on how we were going to improve Jen`s run so that I don`t catch her anymore. It is all a work in progress and Jen is so talented, I know it will happen in time!
Once in the lead, I ran as hard as I could to hold off the other great women runners and I crossed the line in first for my first victory of the season! I won my first Muskoka Triathlon over 10 years ago and it is pretty special to be winning it now in 2009!
With that race done, I flew to Boulder, Colorado for a super cool photo shoot on behalf of my bike saddle sponsor – fizik. Fizik had gathered its athletes – Craig Alexander, Matt Reed, Luke Bell, Tim DeBoom, Greg Bennett, Leon Griffin, Mirinda Carfrae, Belinda Granger, Chrissie Wellington and me for a photo shoot. These photos may not be seen until 2010 – so stay tuned – they are not to be missed! It was an absolute blast to get to hang out with my triathlon friends outside of a race venue. There was no pressure and no race face. The only competition was the race to the buffet when the shots were done!
With that 24 hour jaunt complete, it was time for our Muskoka Subaru Success Camp on June 26th weekend. It was a fantastic weekend. The athletes were amazing soaking in all of the information, coaching and encouragement and reaching new athletic goals to fuel them toward their 70.3 goal. Our Subaru Success Camp team of Jody, Teresa, Jen and Mike worked seamlessly together. We had a few curveballs – the gravel road outside of Deerhurst and then for 2 km on the bike route on South Portage Rd. – but we pulled it off! Everyone left with a brain full of knowledge, tired limbs and a full stomach after brunch!
Now, it is July and I am hoping to race Amica Rhode Island 70.3 on July 12th but a recent bout of the flu has set me a back a little bit so I have to play that by ear. From there, we are off to Viterrra Calgary Ironman 70.3 and then the Philippines 70.3. We will finish off August at Subaru Ironman Canada and put the icing on the cake at Subaru Muskoka Ironman 70.3 in mid-September! In the meantime, happy summertime – wear a hat to avoid the sun, drink lots of water, take your fish oil, play outside, spend time with family and friends and do that triathlon you have always dreamed off – there is literally one every weekend. Be well!
Lisa Bentley
www.lisabentley.com
