The swim at Noosa is always fun (arms, elbows and legs going every which way) as there are so many people scrambling to get around the course. My wave set off at about 8.11am which was about 3/4 of the way through the field. I started at the front of my wave and got swam over by about 5 guys within a few hundred meters. I got passed by heaps of other swimmers who started after my wave. That wasn't too bad as I was able to draft them as they went by. Basically I tried to draft as much as I could throughout the whole race. My time of 27 minutes was 3 minutes faster then last year so I was very happy with the time.

My swim went well and I can really start to see big improvements in my times because of the training I am doing. I just need to keep it up.

I got out of the water and found my bike in row 10 (I had racked it in the same spot as last year), grabbed my glasses, stashed some GU's and put on my helmet. As with last year, I put my bike shoes on in T1 and although it takes longer to do this it is much safer. It had started to rain while I was swimming and the roads were going to be slippery and I didn't want to be weaving all over the road trying to put my shoes on.

It wasn't the fastest T1 but i got out on my bike safely.

I felt pretty good as I started the bike leg and because there are so many people on the course at once, everybody drafts, (even through it's highly illegal) so I tried to make the most of it as well. I also put into practise some of the tips I picked up at my training camp about how to ride the course (money well spent) which made the hill climb seem easier then last year. I also capitalised on the down hill sections of the course which helped me to beat last years time by about 13 minutes, which was fantastic.

I have incorporated a few longer rides into my training and they seem to be paying off but I will need to do more if i want to see improvements again next year.

T2 was OK and I managed to rack my bike, take off my helmet and put on my number belt in a reasonably time. I didn't have to sit down like I did last year to put on my shoes and socks so that may have saved me some time. On the way out of T2 I almost ran into a guy who was going the wrong way. I ended up turning him around and pointing him in the right direction.

It all went well.

This was the most disappointing part of my race even though at this stage I knew I was going to beat last year’s time. As I started my run I felt pretty good and I was able to set a good pace but by about the 2km mark I started to feel a bit sore in the legs and found myself just shuffling along. I also starting thinking about having a little walk but I resited this urge and kept on plodding along. I passed the 5km mark and started to feel better as there was only about 20 more minutes of pain to go. I also had my boy, parents and some friends on the course who were yelling out encouragement which really helped me continue with the run. By the time I hit the 1km mark I started to run a bit faster and knew I was almost there and finally after 2:37 it was all over.

I thought I was on track to run a good time so I'm a bit perplexed as to what went wrong. My only guess is that the bike took a fair bit out of me and I had nothing left for the run. Maybe i need to do more bricks sessions in training.

I was on a bit of a high in the warm down once I got over my disappointment of a slow run time and realised how well I had done overall. I feasted on watermelon as nothing hits the spot like a piece of watermelon after a tri. I caught up with a few friends and we swapped stories about the race.


At this stage of my limited tri capabilities I just need to keep building on my training and my times will continue to improve.


Another short goal completed and another Noosa tri comes to an end. Overall I had a great time competing and to have smashed last years time by 15 minutes was just fantastic. I achieved my goal time and am well on my way to achieving a long term goal of finishing in the top half of a race for my age group.

The Noosa tri is a massive event with more then 2000 competitors. Everyone is there to compete and have a fun time which creates a great atmosphere. They have set the date for next year and I am already looking forward to it.