Vancouver 2008 Age Group World Championships

Yesterday at the sprint race the weather was very poor in the morning. In the afternoon I made my way to the beach and baked myself. I did not think the sun would change that much. Ooops! Next time remember the sunscreen. J

When I woke up today for the Olympic distance race I looked outside and did not see any rain. Just sun, so I figured that I did not need to bring as many clothes as yesterday. This was a mistake. The rain was gone, but it was replaced but a very cold wind. Once again my hands and fingers were cold from the cycle down to the race start. Today’s racers were Lyndsey, Dawn and Shane. I made my way down to the transition but was unable to find anyone. I then made my way to the swim start where I scanned the beach looking for Lyndsey and Dawn. I found Lyndsey just as she was about to head to the start. Good luck and she was off. I could tell that the racers were cold by looking at their faces. The idea of jumping back into the water after a cold warmup seemed like a daunting task, but they were all up for the challenge. I was glad to be a spectator today.

Lyndsey was off and Dawn was next. I could tell she was very happy to be racing and also cold from the weather and the ocean. I chatted briefly with her and Jill. Jill was also happy to be at the starting line. After they started I made my way back to the exit to watch Lyndsey exit. I noted on my back that the water was getting rougher and the swim looked very tough. The strong swimmers had quite a gap on the swimmers who were not ready for the cold or waves. Lyndsey finished well but a little further back than we had hoped. She came out the ocean with a smile grateful to be done and ready to bike. I stayed and watched Dawn and Jill exit and both were happy to get that swim finished.

Now onto the bike. The good news about today was that there was no rain. Very good, I did not have to worry about crashes on the wet corners. The wind was strong where I was standing but I was hoping that the riders were sheltered by the tall trees of Beautiful Stanley Park. Everyone looked strong on the bike and I was enjoying watching the amazing athletes fly by. Soon I had to make my way back to the swim start to watch Shane go. As I made my way back all of these people were heading my way. I asked Jason Kincaid what was going on and he said the swim is cancelled/delayed due to the ocean as he pointed at the rough water. Wow this really changed things including my strategy to watch the race. To keep this short….Basically they changed the Olympic Age group men’s race to a duathlon 3 Km run / 40 Km bike / 10 Km run. Shane adapted well to the change and continued to get ready for his event. His ability to take this change and run with it was very positive, even though he had just lost his strength (the swim).

In the end Lyndsey finished 3rd in her age group. A bronze medal at the worlds is Fantastic! Dawn finished 50th in her age group and Shane finished 78th. Overall I was very proud of everyone for getting to the starting line and crossing the finish on very tough racing conditions. Next year the worlds are in Australia and the Aussies were promising the weather will not be the same as Vancouver :)