I actually typed this recap up after the race but
unfortunately got pretty caught up in work and life which meant that I forgot
to post it until now…on to the recap…
The weekend marked my second race and my first “proper
distance” race. I was signed up to the Fleet Cycles Interclub race. This race
is the only one on the calendar that you race for your club (and a little bit
of personal pride too). All finishers earn points for the club and there is an
eventual trophy for the winning club.
Still being a relative newbie to the club I wasn’t sure
what to expect. I was grateful that there were three others from my current
training group signed up too and there were a few friendly faces from the club
that I knew there too.
The thing to note for future entries to this race is that
some of the big guns come out for this one! As it is a club based competition
it felt like ALL the heavies came along to stretch their legs for the day. That
and the fact that the race entries are capped at 350 people meant I had a
genuine feeling of a last place finish!!
The race was in Mandurah, approx. 50km south of home. So
an early start meant I got to enjoy breakfast on the drive down. Not one to
like to arrive late I was there in time to help set up the club tent and score
a parking spot right next to transition!
After the obligatory run through of registration and body
marking it was on to set up my transition.
 |
| Love this sight on race day! |
The Swim – was 750m and so I decided that it would take
me longer to take the wet suit off than any benefit I would get from it and
decided that I would go sans wettie. Well only about 5 people total did
that….hmmmmm…learn from the more experienced people?! I felt great in the swim.
Swam the 750m in 14:05. I felt strong and my sighting was good, up until we
rounded the last buoy and swam directly towards the sun – then I was using the
land and other people to sight off. I swam until my hand scrapped the bottom
and then stood to run. I must have taken about two steps before I was warned
that there was a drop off…back to my waist and then thanked the volunteer for
the heads up.
T1 – SUCCESS – I found my bike unaided! Although for some
reason I seemed to take ages in transition before I left 2:36.
The Bike – I could not get comfortable on the bike…at
all. I couldn’t find a rhythm to stick too and in all honestly I just decided
to suck it up and ride. The course was ok…had a couple of technical bits to it
but overall was uneventful. One “exciting” part was the corner at the bottom of
a decent…I think that kept everyone on their toes slowing, turning and climbing
that corner. 20km – 38:54.
T2 – better – 1:05. Racked, helmet off, switch shoes and
off we go…
The Run – as per the trend (all one race previous!) I set
out a little too fast. That said, I was pleased that I recognised it and
managed to bring my pace back to a reasonable level within the first km. The
run was an out and back which was nice as I got to see some of the uber fast
people come flying the other way and I got to high five and cheer on my
teammates who all looked mega strong and in good form! It was starting to warm
up so I decided that at each aid station I would pour a cup of water on my head
and down my back. Even with the elevated heart rate that nice ice cold water
still gave me a welcome jolt! 5km – 25:08.
 |
| Obligatory action shot! |
Overall, apart from the ride where I couldn’t get
comfortable and find my rhythm I was happy with the day. Total time 1:21:46 was
an improvement on my first race and is a great bench mark for the races to
come.
 |
| Got it to work for a second race... |
Thanks for reading and here’s to the next race –Hillarys
14/12/14.
PS - Placed 21/21 in the M35-39 category and couldn't be happier!
No comments:
Post a Comment