Swim
Comments: What a crappy swim if not my worst ever!! I ran so hard into the water that when I dived in I ended up with my goggles on top of my head, full of water, how stupid!! I tried to pull them down and swim at the same time but it was impossible. I ended up with one eye full of water and the other half full. To make it worse, when I turned my head to take a breath I was looking directly into the sun and the salt water just caused my eyes to sting like crazy. I had to keep on closing my eyes every couple of breaths to rest my eyes and so my navigation around the course was crap. I was so glad to finally reach the finish and to get out of the water. What would you do differently?: Take it a bit easier getting ino the water. Transition 1
Comments: T1 went well. After the terrible swim I managed to pass a couple of guys on the run to T1. Found my bike, donned my helmet, glasses and grabbed my bike and headed out. My rubber bands, which I was using to hold my pedals straight so I could jump onto my bike had broken but I didn't really miss them so I probably won't worry about using them again. What would you do differently?: Nothing it all went well. There was this flag flying right next to where my bike was racked so this helped my to locate it quickly. Bike
Comments: I pushed really hard on the bike, still trying to make up for lost time in the swim and recorded my best ever average speed (my bike computer read average 33.1km which is a pb). A small pack had started to form after the first lap and it contained a couple of guys from my age group. There was one guy on a mountain bike with aero bars and he was putting us guys on road bike to shame. I managed to break away from the pack as we came into T2 which was good because I wasn't sure how I would go in the run after pushing so hard on the bike. What would you do differently?: It was a great leg and having other guys from my age group around me really pushed me to ride faster. Transition 2
Comments: I got in and out of T2 as fast as I could and again that flag was a great help. Just as I was leaving T2 the announcer said "there goes number 58 (me), he was the runner-up for his age group from the last race" talk about putting a target on my back. I could just feel the guys behind me thinking "gotta beat that guy", anyway that's what it felt like. What would you do differently?: Again the flag was a winner, I need to have a chat to the race director so I can get this organised for of all my future. Run
Comments: I managed to pass a couple of people as I started the run but no-one from my age group, darn it!! I thought I was maintaining a good pace and heading for a good run time until I got passed by a guy from my age group. I managed to stay with him for about 20 seconds but eventually he just pulled away. I never lost sight of him but I just couldn't catch him. A couple of other people passed me towards the end of the run and my so-called sprint towards the finishing line was pitiful. What would you do differently?: I felt pretty good going around and thought it would be a good time but I think the ride took a lot out of me. Post race
Warm down: I stood around and tried to count how many guys had finished from my age group and work out how where I had come. I then realised that I hadn't seen Sandra on the course so I grabbed a banana, watermelon and some water and headed back to the run course to cheer her on. What limited your ability to perform faster: Stuffing up the swim by filling my goggles with water was a real bummer!! I lost minutes here and was never able to recover. Event comments: Overall another great race and to see real improvement in my cycling time is fantastic. I really enjoy the Bribie course and the shorter races but I know I have to pull my finger out and step back up to the longer races. PS I didn't stay around for the presentations so I'm planning to pick up my silverware later in the week. Last updated: 2006-02-16 12:00 AM
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Australia
The Run Inn
28C / 82F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 37/217
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 3/22
I had finally convinced a couple of work colleagues (Will and Sandra) who I train with, to have a crack at a tri. One pulled out at the last moment with a cold but one remained keen. I picked up Sandra at 4.45am, loaded up her bike and set off for Bribie. The drive to Bribie took about an hour or so and Sandra seemed pretty relaxed about her first tri, way more relaxed then I was about mine. When we arrived, we registered, set up our gear and checked out the entry and exit points.
I was fairly relaxed coming into this race, concentrating more on supporting Sandra then organising myself. When we got to the swim start I wished Sandra good luck and then went for a warm-up swim to gather my thoughts. It was going to be a tougher swim then normal with the swim against the tide, there goes my good swim time.