You never have a perfect lead up to a race, i mean nothing in life ever goes like you plan does it ? my week leading up to the race was no different, i was way to busy with other stuff to fit in any kind of training and with all the rain we had even if i did get a gap it was impossible to get out there. My new bike only arrived 2 days before i was to leave, so never got to ride it until race day, i could go on and on, but who cares right ?
Race morning arrived and felt ” Rather Olympic ” as Gareth would say. I knew my body was ready to hurt and that gave me a hint of excitement s we headed down to the start. I got ready quickly with n issues and headed down to the water. It was about 12 deg cold and even just standing in it gave you foot cramps. This was going to be the first mental battle of the day as your whole body was telling you not to go swimming. I got to the front of the huge group of men and the gun went off and we all ran in.
I must admit to the first turn i had so many feelings of wanting to stop but somehow i just pushed through, i cruised the swim and managed to get clear water most of the way, i just swam consistantly and didn’t try go too fast, i knew saving calories was going to be important as it was raining already and the wind was howling and it was cold.
I ran up and got my bag and had the usual suspects along side me so i knew i swam ok. I got a bit stuck in transition trying to get suit off and put my stuff on, putting on arm warmers when you wet is never easy…ha haa
Anyway onto the black pearl i got and immediately it felt like i had been riding her for years, i got goosebumps as i was feeling good and ready to go, i took the first part of the ride steady until about 10km and then decided to push and see what happened, around 25km and i had caught up to the chasing pack of guys that i normally never see in the race on bike and i went past them, i decided to play a mental game and ride away from them. I did and it felt great. At the turn around on the bike i think i was in about 17th overall and was feeling very comfy, my stomach was holding well and i was eating well.
Coming back on the bike i faded a bit and pee’d on the bike 3 times, it didn’t matter cause it was pouring with rain. I started to cramp up a bit as i guess i was riding harder than i had trained for and decided to ease up a little and try and save some for the run.
I got onto the run quickly and got full legs cramps instantly, i was passed by about 15 people almost straight away as i was near the front and in the mix and the racing is tough. I decided to try and walk it out and that hurt too, suddenly i thought my day was over, but after a few minutes of standing around it eased off and i was able to start a slow jog. Now i needed the toilet badly and when i found one i wasted no time in getting my stomach to work.
After that i ran as hard as i could, my legs were hurting the whole way as i tried to pick the pace up when ever i felt good and maintain it when i felt bad. I wore funny Oakley Over the top glasses which made people smile and got people to cheer for me which was nice. I even made it into the newspaper the next day with this shot, nice and big.
I ended the day in 5.13 which i am happy with considering the month i have had, i was 15th in age group out of about 317 guys which i am happy with. I had a great day out and loved being in the mix and racing, its the only reason i force myself to train because i love racing. My weight is right and i have some good base and so i am looking forward to the rest of the year. Plus we rocked the after party very hard and laughed so much that it felt like we didn’t have a care in the world. If you can party till 4am after a big race then LIFE is good.
But for now i am packing up my house and moving to Cape Town. See you all there soon
Love the “i decided to play a mental game and ride away from them” :). Nice race dude!