Are you a runner who would like to expand your talents to try something new? Do you cycle or swim? STARR runner Andy Smith has been a runner and cyclist for many years. It was 10 years ago at a pub in Oakville Ontario when a friend decided Andy needed a challenge to celebrate turning 50 and decided to sign him up for a triathlon. At that time, Andy wasn’t a swimmer. However, the timing was right. He was looking for a new athletic challenge and swimming seemed to be the right fit. He was already doing duathlons so what’s one more sport, right? Here is Andy’s story.
I didn’t grow up a swimmer but cycling and running were part of commuting to school and sports when I was young. By my 30th birthday, working in an office, I took up jogging and cycling again to lose weight. On vacation one year Leslie Ann signed us up for a triathlon relay (we did the cycle leg). It was a new and inspiring to watch athletes competing in three sports. The triathlon seed was planted. However, it took many years and a milestone birthday before I entered my first triathlon. Turning 50 deserves a “big hairy challenge” so over drinks (naturally), my friends convinced me to sign up for an Ironman. “I can’t swim,” I protested. “You have twelve months to learn,” they answered. Easy for them to say. They were already experienced triathletes! I signed up for swim lessons the next day. That was my introduction to triathlon.
I am still not a good swimmer, but I enjoy the challenge of learning something new and even now, in my 60th year I learn and improve every day in the pool. I swim at Seaparc four times a week including a drop-in “Swim fit” class on Thursday mornings attended by fellow STARR members Melanie Cunningham and Danny Eddy. The class is a coached session of drills and intervals for experienced swimmers. Not something I could have attempted 10 years ago. Mel and I swim in the middle lane. The fast swimmers swim in the left lanes. Most swimmers in the Swim Fit class are retired ladies. I nicknamed the fast ones in the left lane “the sharks”. Some of them have a competitive swimming background. Melanie and I marvel at how fast they are. They seem so nice and friendly standing and chatting on the pool deck but once in the water it’s like sharks chasing a meal! Maybe one day I will graduate to the left lane to swim with “the sharks”!
This year I have been training hard for my next goal race - the Victoria 70.3 Half Ironman at Elk Lake at the end of the month. I decided I to try a shorter tune-up race first and conveniently 2 weeks prior to my big race. There was a shorter “Standard distance” triathlon in Nanaimo at Westwood Lake. Triathletes come from the mainland and as far away as Calgary to get this early season race under their belt. Finally, the water is warm enough to swim in! ...Well not this year. Unfortunately, due to our cold Spring weather the Westwood Lake temperature was only 10c so the race changed from a triathlon into a duathlon by replacing the swim leg with a 5.6k run. The new plan was 5.6 k Run/38.5k Bike/11.2k Run instead of the original Swim/Bike /Run. As a poor swimmer, the extra run instead of swim is good for me because I am much stronger at running. However, I was looking forward to an open water swim after all that training in the pool.
In addition to the unseasonably cold weather, it was wet on race day. The opening and closing trail run around Westwood Lake looked like a “Muddy Buddy” event. No chance of keeping the running shoes clean or dry! Every runner finished the first run caked in mud up to the knees. No worries, the mud soon washed off on the bike! We switched our muddy sneakers for helmet and cycling shoes. The technical and steep bike course is challenging. They call it triathlons’ “most honest” bike course (LoL).. Throw in pouring rain and poor visibility and it got dicey. Especially since our hands and feet were numb! Caution was the rule of the day due to numerous tight corners and poor visibility. It was a real leg burner. I was standing in the pedals to maintain forward progress on the steeper hills.
Fortunately climbing helped generate some warmth but I didn’t get feeling back in my feet until halfway through the final run; two more laps of the muddy lake trail. There's a hill on the run course called “soul destroying hill”. I had to walk part of it on the last time around. Nonetheless even on tired legs I made my move. I persevered to the end and got the age group win and a sense of satisfaction from conquering a challenging day and course.
Vancouver Islanders are a tough bunch and most competitors finished the race despite the difficult conditions. A nice start to the triathlon season even if it didn’t exactly go as expected. When I unpacked my dripping gear back home in Shirley it was hard to explain I hadn’t been for a swim, Lol.
Some pics of Andy at Westwood Lake in 2019.
