Finally!! It has been 9 months, 3weeks and 4 days since my last competetive triathlon and man have i been looking forward to this one. This race, a Sprint distance 500/20/5 on a man made water skiing lake in Heerhugowaard in the mid north of Holland was always going to be interesting. Predominantly because it had been so long between races but also due to a lingering hammy/calf/achillies injury from the last week. As a result i kind of approached this one with an open mind, just get through it and let what happens happen. 
THE SWIM - Not really being worried about the result i decided to chuck the wetty on for the swim. Really only to get a bit of practice in T1 taking the thing off. Overall it went reasonably well but i could definitely feel that this was my first proper open water outing. If i said i felt good in the water id be lying taking a good 300m to get into a rythm with all the openwater skills very rusty and if. With the swim raced on a smallish lake the high wind conditions still managed to provided a small swell which combined with the setting sun to make conditions a little difficult. All this said i still managed to get out of the water in the top 3 with a pretty slow 8 min swim.
T1/BIKE - into transition 3rd and out in about 6th, not the best transition but realistically not worried, it did take me a little time to get the wetsuit off and in doing so dropped a few places. Onto the bike course which consisted of two 10km laps starting off with some straight sections into the wind straight out and then back before heading off into some really technical sections through bike paths. Not all that bad of a course for this kind of event. really the most difficult aspect being the 30-40km/h winds and the local elderly residents who seemed to not understand there was a race in progress. Really it was good to get out there and turn the pedals in anger and while not trying to push too hard i rode myself back into the top 4 trying to focus more on how i felt and making sure i was comfortable.
T2/RUN - Off the bike with the first 3 it was about now that my race was pretty much over. As much as i had wished my calf would losen itself and allow me to at least run a solid pace it was not to be. I was forced to plod around at more of a jog pace than a run pace running close to a 24min 5km finishing just on the 1:03 mark, frustrating to say the least. Not to worry, there were alot of positives to be taken and really the first one never really goes to plan. Looking at the overall result it was a fair bit below where i should be but good to get a bit of race practice in. the next one ticks over on snday at Terhijden near Breda. I just hope that the pain sessions at the physio and the trusty old frozen water filled coca cola bottle can losen up my calf and get me back on the wagon. Either way my triathlon season is truly underway and given the work over the last 9 months im sure things will be on track when it matters. Until Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment