Waking up this morning to the sounds of pouring rain, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed to do a triathlon. I actually searched the event’s website to see if they would cancel it due to bad weather. I found nothing. Fortunately, by 5am the rain had subsided and the sky was clearing…just a bit, at least enough to motivate me to put the bike in the car, grab my bag and set on the road… a ten minute drive to the event from my house so nothing too adventurous.
After racking the bike and being rushed out of transition area, Jarek and I went back to the car. My wave wouldn’t start for another two hours and it looked like the rain would come running down again. So after a quick snooze, a little bit of stress over the distance, we made our way to the starting line.
The swim
I wasn’t expecting much from my performance in this leg today. After all I hadn’t done any swim training in two months except for the ten minutes last weekend. I have to say the swim turned out well, at least for what I hoped for. I didn’t come out of the water last, and I managed to do the 750m in 16:27 which isn’t fast but it was fast enough for me today. I couldn’t have asked for a better swim.
The bike
Horrendous. That’s the only way I can describe it. The bike is most definitely my weakest leg in the triathlon and definitely something that has to be looked at and improved. The 20km felt like double that, it was windy and raining and the roads were slippery. So many competitors had unfortunate falls as they took the turns that I’m surprised I didn’t fall on my ass during the event. Maybe it was thanks to Jarek on the sideline hoping that I would take it easy and not slide and hurt myself – thanks Jarek.
I didn’t enjoy one bit of the bike, well except for getting off it and going through T2 and onto the run. I managed the 20km in 54:08 which is shocking and far worse than I was aiming for.
The run
Loved it. The run has got to be my favourite leg of the triathlon. The first half kilometre was painful though, my legs felt heavy, my shoes and socks were drenched but I persevered until I reached a comfortable tempo and kept it up for the full 5km. Finished the run in 24:57 which is pretty much what I was aiming for, anything under 25 was fantastic to me especially when running on tired legs.
Total time: 1:35:33
Yay! Great job! So glad the weather cleared up for you.
Thanks Su!