I Would Rather Be Running

There is really nothing to like about waking up at 3:30am, driving to Robina, waiting around for 3 hours and then diving into murky canal waters. So it is really no suprise that I hated race 4 of the Gatorade Tri series. Still, I was a little shocked by just how miserable I was, especially after the swim leg. Even more suprising that I kind of want to do another one, despite saying "I am never doing this again" as I crossed the finish line. Here is my report on my first sprint distance triathlon (750/20/5).

Race day did not start too well. After racking my bike I went to put my wonderful Garmin 310XT on, only to have the band break. I didn't even have a spare waterproof watch so I could at least see my splits and have some idea of how I was going. To make the wait even more pleasant, the weather was miserable leaving me cold and soaking wet. My wave started second last, so the elites had actually finished before my feet even touched the water.

Swimming in a canal is most unpleasant. I usually swim at Ithaca or Bellbowrie pool, where I generally share my lane with one other person and swim in peace with good visibility. Today's swim was very different. For a start, the water was very murky so I could not see where I was going at all. I would swim a little bit of freestyle, look up and discover I was heading off course and realign myself, then the whole thing would happen again. This was one of the many reasons I just gave up and swam breaststroke. I positioned myself at the back of the pack at the start because I know I am a weak swimmer. I at least didn't have to battle with other swimmers for the first few hundred metres. I did have to do battle with seaweed and reeds however and I got myself tangled a few times. Then some people in the wave behind me caught up and I was getting hit and spashed. Then the girls in my wave who were still around me seemed to become quite aggressive. I think they all had a sudden panic that they didn't want to come last, and they didn't care who they hit or kicked on that mission. I had a few good wacks to my head and one in the ribs, making me very cranky. I thought I must have been dead last as I came out of the water, but race results indicate I was ahead of four other competitors in my category.

My transition went much better than in my first triathlon attempt. I had no trouble locating my bike this time and didn't waste time with socks. I was quickly out on the road on the bike. I was very excited to overtake those girls who got aggressive on the swim leg. I overtook a few people on the first lap but then I think I stayed in the same position until the end. The roads were wet so I took it very easy on the turns but some people didn't. There were quite a few crashes and stacks.

I was in and out of transition very quickly again. I didn't feel as stuffed on the run as I did last time, and I had swum and rode a lot further this time, so I think that the brick training helped, and I don't think I went out quite so hard. Again I overtook a couple of people at the start but then stayed in the same position for quite a while. The only wave behind mine was the team wave so sometimes it was hard to know who was in my wave and who wasn't. I assumed the runners who looked really fresh were in the teams so i was ok with them overtaking me. For the first lap of the run I was sitting about 50m behind a girl and I just couldn't close that gap. On the second lap she stopped for a water and I put my foot down, passing up the offer of a cup of water and moving past her (really who needs water with 2km left). I stayed in that position to the end and even managed to sprint over the finish line.

It was really just the swim leg that I hated, but I wouldn't say I really enjoyed the rest either. Still, I am interested to see if I can do better so maybe I will do another one. Maybe. I would rather run 100km though. At least the other runners are nice to me, and being slow over a really long distance is kinda ok. Also, I still find the term 'sprint' rather offensive. The only bit I sprinted was the last 100m or so.