Muskoka Chase Race Report

Jun 16, 2008

The Muskoka Chase was the longest race I had attempted so far and also the
most challenging. The swim was the most daunting - 2km. The course was set
up in a bay but finished in a channel. The first marker was so far away we
weren't sure it was part of our race course! On the positive side, it was a
beautiful sunny day, the water was cool but not cold, and there were no
waves. The swim up the channel to the finish was against a current which one
could not feel directly but certainly slowed everyone down. My swim time was
57 minutes which compared favorably with my pool time of about 50 minutes
for that distance.

The bike course was 55km. It was very difficult because of the hills. It
was like a roller coaster - we were either going up or going down. There was
one stretch of road that was so rough - the paving was buckled and bent, but
what was worse was that the bumps could not be seen until one was right on
top of them. Eventually it became easier because there appeared an
accumulation of water bottles and other paraphernalia around the bumps that
had jettisoned from previous cyclists. I had trouble with the ride because
my legs did not warm up until about the 15km mark. My time was 1:58 for an
average speed of 27.9km/h - it should have been closer to 30.

The run was also tough. It was 15km on by now, hot pavement. As usual, my
legs felt heavy coming off the bike. After the first few km the fatigue was
starting to play games with my head. It's amazing how easy it is for your
head to convince your body that what you are doing is ridiculous and you
should just stop. Then you have to find another part of your head to
convince your body to keep going, the next water station is just up ahead,
you can walk for a moment and get a cool drink and so on. The course was
out and back so there was a constant flow of runners coming back on the
other side of the road, fellow team members to shout encouragement to and be
encouraged by. Several places along the route there were sprinkler hoses set
up or hand wielded by obliging volunteers. It is impossible to describe how
wonderful those showers felt! Finally the finish! It was set up in the
center of town at the end of a long downhill - it allowed everyone to finish
in dramatic style, sprinting through the chutes with a final flourish of
energy and enthusiasm. My run time was 1:27 for a pace average of 5:49
min/km. My final time was just under 4 1/2 hours which, under the
circumstances was a personal best!

Klaus Fritzsche