It must be spring. It must be triathlon season!
The first race of the season was approaching at an alarming rate, and I was getting concerned.
My winter training has been, to be frank, largely non-existent. My motivation post ironman had been frustratingly lacking. Add to that a concussion following a cycling accident in February and an unexpected trip to the UK in April and things were really not looking good. I had images of the race going incredibly badly and even wondered if I should pull out.
The day hadn’t got off to the bet start when my alarm didn’t go off meaning I was late. Luckily, this race starts about 2 blocks from my apartment, so at least I didn’t have too far to travel. I had also made the mistake of deciding to add some pressure to my tyres before I left. In my rush, I couldn’t get the pump to work efficiently, causing more stress. However, my decision to go ahead and just treat it as a fun training session was immediately vindicated when I walked into transition and saw so many friends.
I quickly set up my transition and hurried into the pre-race meeting. The swim at this event is in the 50m pool, so starts were staggered, one person at a time, 15 seconds apart. Therefore, I had around 45 minutes to wait. I hung around to pool deck chatting to numerous friends – this is why I love to do triathlons!
This is the third time I have competed in this event, you can read about 2015 here. My goal was to go faster than before, though I wasn’t getting my hopes up.
I had decided to take it fairly easy on the swim and this strategy served me well. I had estimated my time well so I wasn’t passed by many people. Unfortunately, I twice got strict behind very slow swimmers, (passing is only permitted, going up the pool, not down). Instead of getting frustrated I opted to just see these as opportunities to relax and breathe slowly, saving my energy for later in the race.
Finally, I came to the last turn. I remember thinking to myself that really need to work on my turns as I started final length. I felt good as I pulled myself out of the pool. Removing my goggles, I could see my friends cheering for me. I jogged down the fire exit stairs and across the cold asphalt of the parking lot towards transition.
I ran down the line of bikes, completely passing mine – “wow I’m rusty!”
Once I found my bike, it was a quick change and I headed out onto the cycle course.
Due to the general lack of training, I didn’t have high expectations for the bike leg. The course is 3 loops over a hill so I had 3 chances to do it right. I pedalled hard and was surprised at how fast I seemed to be going. I was also able to say in aero position for the majority of the ride which was encouraging.
Things were going great, but as I headed out on the run, I could immediately feel the stiffness in my legs. As I pressed on, it felt like I was running so slowly! A quick glance at my watch confirmed that I was running 15-20 seconds slower per kilometre than usual. I must have worked too hard on the bike.
Happily, though, my run was strong and consistent, albeit slow and I crossed the line in 1:35:24 – slightly faster overall than last year!
