Guelph, ON

Jocelyn flies the colours in two back to back weekends of racing.

Our fledgling Multi-sport Squad continues to gain experience and this time it was Jocelyn's turn to lead the charge for the Duke's Cycle Cannondale LapDogs as she participated in two back to back weekend races - the Guelph Lake II Sprint Triathlon and the Lakeside Sprint Triathlon.

Here's an overview of both events in her own words...

Guelph Lake II Sprint Triathlon, September 5th

As I was setting up, I was thinking that I must have chosen three of the hottest days this year to race.

Swim - the water was warm and calm. My swim felt pretty good - controlled and consistent. I think I am getting used to group open water swimming. Being in the second wave helped instead of being in the 3rd or 4th. There was a very long uphill run to the bike which was "interesting"

T1 - had some trouble with the wet suit, but there were still lots of bikes on the rack when I left so I felt pretty good

Bike - not my day... I struggled which was probably a combination of things but people were passing me that I knew should not have been. Finally, at 20km, I got off my bike and realized what was wrong and fixed it. I was able to catch a few people on the last 10km but knew my day was pretty much over. I think this was one of the hillier bike routes I have done in tris before. It should have been a better result.

Run - this was my mental challenge of the day as I was pretty PO'd at myself about my bike and feeling really hot. So, I decided to not give myself anything else to be angry about and just run. I know this is my weakest of the three but I pushed through and tried to use another runner to guide my pace. Still not happy with my run but know it can only get better.

I am going to chalk this one up as a true learning experience. I was 5th after the swim but finished 13th for my category which is just simply disappointing.

Lakeside Sprint Triathlon, September 12th

It was cool and windy, but luckily, the rain held off.

Swim - we started in the water which was new for me. A couple of minor equipment malfuctions did not really affect me, so was able to keep a good pace and a fairly straight line throughout the lap. It felt like my pace was fairly consistent with my other races (and the results confirmed it). I came out feeling pretty good and ready for T1.

T1 - pretty smooth, but loads of room for improvement

Bike - it was an out and back route with a few rollers at the beginning/end. I was much happier with my bike today, compared to last week, but felt I could have pushed a little harder into the head wind. However, it felt good to do more passing than watch people pass me

T2 - a little confined at the dismount and then found that someone had moved my shoes and covered my stuff with his helmet and bike shoes. There was no room on the rack for my bike so had to move down and rack. I admit it threw me off my game for a split second but then I decided to be mad after the run and not waste anymore time.

Run - finally a run where my legs did not feel like cement blocks...it still didn't feel great, but it was much better. My one absolute goal was to pass at least one female during the run and I passed 2, so was thrilled. My pace was much better and I made sure I pushed harder on the last km and through the finish. I was not beat at the line this time.

I placed 7th for my age and 36th for all females.

Training for 2016 starts this week. I am susceptible to the power of suggestion so may race longer distances next year.

Thanks.

Jocelyn Stephen

Duke's Cycle Cannondale LapDogs Race Team