mytrilife

Sam White Memorial Tri

Competed yesterday at the Sam White Memorial Tri. Woke early to ride out to West Lakes with plenty of time to spare. The temps were already in the high 20's at registration. Picked up my number and racked my bike and proceeded to coat myself in high-test sunscreen.... not a cloud in the sky (as usual) to provide some relief from the UV.

Competitors were required to rack their bikes based on wave, and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't in row one, as I had entered as an open (they called it "elite') competitor. I figured I'd have a go at winning some prize money.. as the race paid to 5th spot and the field wouldn't be that large. They accidentally put me in the age group wave, so I had to get my number changed. Number 8 I now was... so if I was to get in the money, I had to beat at least 3 other guys... or more....

During the race briefing, I was busy searching the grass for the snap on my number belt that I had dropped, and failed to hear that they had changed the swim course slightly, due to the rowing competition further down the lake.

So, at 9:30am I stood there in the water next to a bunch of dudes who looked way fitter than me. Within the first 20m... most of them were gone, no surprise. I did however have the feet of a guy who swam about my speed. He had a HUGE kick though which churned the water and made drafting unpleasant, so after 400m, I decided to have a go on my own. I rounded the far buoy and headed for home. But OOOPS, I was suppose to go around one more buoy about 50-75m from shore. I had to swim back out and around it.. damn.. that cost me precious time that would be impossible to make up in the short distances of the course (750m/19.5k/5k).

The bike and run were fairly uneventful, smooth, fast courses, out and around the lake. I traded positions with a couple of junior elite guys on the run before finally pulling away. I'm not sure as I haven't seen the results yet, but I think I was the final open competitor to cross the line in 1:04:xx. At the awards, 5th place was 1:00:59. 2mins of the margin was due to the swim mishap. Ah well... I'll make sure I know the course next time! Heather managed to rip it up for 4th place and $55.

The ride home afterwards was harder than the race! It was to be our hottest day of the year so far... 41.2C at 2pm. Every stop light, you could feel the intense heat radiating from below from the cobbles and bitumen, and above from the sun. We were warned that February was the hottest month of the year.. and already it has proven that to be so!

Scott and Helen have offered to take me to the Kingston triathlon on February 18th (thanks!), so I have changed my race schedule slightly. I'm not really feeling fit enough to do an Olympic distance yet, but it should be fun, so I'll have a go! The swim is in the ocean, and part of the run is down the beach, sounds like a great course. It is also the state championship, so the field will be very competitive.

posted by Greg @ 2/04/2007