Kirk Hopkins – Life and Times of a Triathlete

Made the news tonight 🙂

Check it out here

One of the ways I keep improving in this addictive sport of triathlon is to learn from my (as I see them) failures.  Every time I do not reach one of my goals in the time line I have set out, it starts a fire deep inside of me that drives me to focus on what went wrong and what steps need to be taken – not only to reach my goals but surpass them entirely.  This is the sickening feeling I have been stuck with since the ITU race.

Although I have had a great season, winning all of my races this year, including 2 course records and a National title, I am only able to focus on my short comings and attack them with a vengeance.  Some may think that I have done quite well and just may be at my limit, but I have been told that many times in my life and it just helps fuel the fire – a desire to prove that I can go further and race on an elite level.

I will continue to post on my blog throughout the winter, about my goals and training for the upcoming season, because it takes a year long commitment to make these goals more than just words thrown about on paper… stay tuned for a fantastic season of swimming, biking and running!

Didn’t post anything yesterday as we spent the day sightseeing and trying to pretend I didn’t lose my race.  I’m still feeling at odds about it, the guys that beat me weren’t any faster than me, they just somehow managed to get it done better than I did.  I’m going to take this as motivation to push myself in the off season and pull myself up higher next year.

Looking forward to coming home, a week of grey skies and rain is starting to get rather depressing.  Our shoes haven’t been dry since we arrived and our dirty clothes bag reeks of wet socks.

Today was the main event at the World Championships – the Elite Men’s race.  Hyde Park was full of spectators lined up to watch the final race.  Started out with a little bit of sunshine but turned to drizzle halfway through the bike.  The course was 2 loops of the swim around the Serpentine, 7 loops for the bike from Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace and back and 3 loops of running on the path on the north side of the lake, taking the runners past the grandstands (which we couldn’t get close to) a total of 6 times.  It was a great race to watch, the crowd was full of energy and the race for first between Javier Gomez and Jonathon Brownlee was fantastic to watch.  Alistair Brownlee (the third major contender) dropped out of the running early in the run, but still finished his race and received the loudest cheering from all the spectators.

On Your Mark

Get Set

Go!

Me cheering one of our Canadians on

Javier and Jonathon fighting for position

Kyle Jones racing the pack on the final 500 meters

So, I’ll get this out of the way first – I did not win my age group, not even top three…  I came in 7th but I can’t say that I feel too badly about it.

Last night wasn’t great, I was tired but couldn’t sleep at all.  Too much buildup maybe, or still adjusting time zones.  I wasn’t alone though, every Canadian I talked to said the same thing.

Went and dreary out today, not full-on rain but a steady drizzle to keep everything nice and slippery.

So we lined up in our waves to start the swim, too many 35-39 year olds for just one heat so we were split into two, with 5 minutes apart.  I was in heat B and I have to say, that was one of the toughest swims ever.  There were bodies everywhere and everyone stayed in a pack for most the way.  I pulled out into a lead group of about 4-5 swimmers and we stayed close til the end, the Aussie that ended up taking the gold came out right beside me.

The bike was the craziest thing I have ever done.  Hundreds of people on the same course running 3 loops with tight turns, narrow lanes and pedestrians crossing a little slower than I would have liked.  Saw lots of road rash along the way, thankfully I was able to keep upright.  Not my ideal course that’s for sure.

The run took 2 loops around the lake, it was a decent run for me, about what I was expecting.

With the split wave start for our group the first three to cross the finish ended up getting knocked out of their positions when my wave came through.  Either way I came in behind the 6 of them, ending up with a 7th place finish (first Canadian in my age group and 78th overall).  I can’t say I’m exactly pleased with that but I do know that I have no regrets with how I ran my race.  It was a chaotic course, never really sure who you’re passing or trying to catch made for a very different race experience.

Got the bike all checked in, got the course and transition maps memorized, had my usual pre-race dinner of fish and chips and a pint of beer, and now I’m getting my gear ready. By the time you wake up in the morning we should know if it was all enough 🙂

Went for a look at Harrod’s, guess its a world famous department store, or so Elissa tells me. Anyway, would have to take out a loan to buy just about anything there… Looking through the toy department and found these:

Not sure if you can tell from the picture but the price tag on the Range Rover reads 39,999 Pounds – that would be roughly $64 THOUSAND dollars!! And yes, those are KIDS cars!

Anyway, off to the bike check in and to watch the Men’s U23…

Slept nearly 12 hours last night, felt fantastic. Low-key day today, just gonna stay within a block or 2 of the hotel today and try to stay off my feet as much as possible.

Team Canada took a group pic today, a sea of Red and White invaded Kensington Park and the Albert Memorial.

Kind of a “Where’s Waldo” shot…

The team headed over to the course to watch the U23 Women’s Race that is underway. They’re on the bike course now but the 2 Canadian Women, Joanna Brown and Ellen Pennock, were 4th and 5th at the start of the bike.

Bike check is this afternoon and I’m gonna watch the Men’s U23 while I’m there…

Busy day in London today. Headed out for a run with the team first thing in the morning to check the course out. Then took a long walk around Kensington and Notting Hill just trying to find a grocery store that had anything similar to my race morning food routine. Watched a bit of the Aquathlon along the way, the swim was great to watch, because of the size/shape of the lake you can actually see the swim from lots of different viewpoints.

Picked up my race kit after lunch and then headed for a swim in the lake to test out the water. Temperature was 16 degrees today, a little cold but I think Toronto was colder. They have a 100×25 meter “pool” in the lake, fairly shallow the whole way but it was great to be able the get in and test it out.

Tried out the bike course a bit today too, its going to be interesting to say the least. Assuming the ground is dry, we still have to contend with tight turnarounds on a 3 loop 6.5km section of road. Oh, and then there’s the speed-bumps – not just the little bumps we have in neighbourhoods back home, but huge bumps at least double the width extending over the whole road, not sure what that will be like at 40km/h… I’ll be keeping an eye on the juniors tomorrow to see if they slow down, stay strong, or bail.

Tonight was also the Opening Ceremonies in Trafalgar Square. Finally ran into fellow Runner’s Life Member Sylvia at the Team Canada Meet and Greet before heading to the main ceremony.

The Opening Ceremonies started to get rained out so we didn’t get very many great pictures but the energy was good. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow, or at least no rain.

Gonna try and post a little more frequently tomorrow instead of one big post at the end of the day. And going to keep the activity a little lighter since its the day before my race, 20+km walking today was a bit much 🙂

Cheers!

Long flight (with an air-sick wife), left Toronto just before midnight on Monday and arrived in London just before lunch. Didn’t get much sleep on the plane so I’m pretty sure I’ll have no trouble going to bed on London time tonight.

We took a walk to Hyde Park before dinner to check everything out, looks pretty cool, can’t wait to see it all finished. The swim course looks awesome but the bike might get a little crazy – the road surface is going to be slick if there’s any rain (I know – not in London, right!).

Going out again to walk off dinner (lots of little cafes and eateries within a block or two of our hotel) to try and find the Team Canada base.

Did a speed workout around the neighbourhood and took advantage of the speed warning sensor down the street to really test myself…