Woo! Competed in my first open-water swim race this weekend! I wasn't planning to race, but our friends were heading down the beach to compete, so thought I would give it a shot. No wetsuits allowed of course (as most open water races), but the water this time of year is pretty warm anyways. A beach start, 100m to the first buoy, then 1300m UPWIND (unlike Kingston), 100m back to shore. I always feel a bit nervous swimming that far from shore here as there has been the occasional shark spotted in the water.
With no bike and run afterwards it was an all out HAMMER to the finish. A lot of fun! I've never felt I was able to swim that hard before.. but my body responded pretty well. The hard swim last week in the triathlon probably helped my preparation a bit. I exited the water and ran to the finish line. 19 minutes even! Probably the fastest I'll ever swim 1500m... but it was wind assisted, and minimal current too. The winner was just a tad over 15 minutes. Yikes.
The temps have started to even out here a bit.. cooler nights in the high teens, and perfect 28-32C and sunny days. It should continue like this, gently cooling all the way into May. We're due another nasty hot spell this week though.. with temps running up to 40C on Thursday. Rain? What's that?
March is festival month in Adelaide... everything is going on! The Clipsal 500 kicks things off with some V8 Supercar racing action on an inner city circuit. The hoons should be out in full force for that one. Then onto Womadelaide a 3-day world music festival, which runs into the start of the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the second largest Fringe festival in the world which runs to the end of the month. I'll probably go check out some of the art shows, buskers, and comedy shows.
And finally.. a little Aussie humour (warning, contains foul language):
Last weekend was the SA state triathlon champs in Kingston SE, a small fishing/tourist town about 300km south of Adelaide on the coast. With Adelaide forecast to be over 40C for both Saturday and Sunday that weekend, Heather and I were eager to get out of the city and down the coast, which had forecast as the lowest temperatures in the state with daytime highs of only 34C! Ouch… hottest weekend of the summer so far here.Our accommodation in Kingston was an older caravan setup in the caravan park.With no A/C and only a fan… it was going to be a hot night (high 20’s for sure), and sleep was tough. I think I managed about 3-4 hours sleep before the alarm went off and it was time to get in some cereal, pack the gear, and get down to race start. Heather decided to sit this race out and have a weekend off, so she was our race photographer and support crew.
After getting my gear sorted I jumped into the ocean for a quick warm up.A “change” was starting with the weather and a strong north wind had developed, breaking the waves into a fast chop. It would also mean 800m of the 1500m swim would be straight into a headwind. To make things even more fun, instead of a mass start, the RD announced that there would be 4 waves, with the open males going first. Needless to say, it was one of the hardest 1500m swims of my life.Dropped quickly by the fast guys, I struggled in the unpredictable ocean water, and managed to swallow more than a few gulps of the salty stuff, threatening to upset my stomach. Surprisingly, I entered transition with three other open men, so knew I wasn’t the only one who had difficulty in the conditions. 28 minutes and change.
The bike was flat and fast and I set out to try and make up lost time.Each lap I felt better and better, but my legs never really had a lot of spark. The strong winds meant a tough grind up the backside of the course. I think I managed to get back a spot or two on the bike, but that was about it. The race leader was already finishing his first lap when I pulled in transition. 1:07.
The run was TOUGH. First a 1k out and back loop, then onto 3x3k loops, up the beach, back on the bitumen path.The beach was a bit of a mess. Usually, beach sand is quite firm near the water, making running almost as easy as pavement. However, a couple weeks previous, a “king tide” had rolled in and moved all the sand, making it similar to quicksand. So, every so often, the sand would go soft under your shoe and almost roll your ankle.The fastest guy on the day barely broke 38 minutes for the 10k! I managed a respectable 43:XX.
I was quite happy with my performance, and hope to add some speed work in the next few weeks to get ready for VictorHarbour.I’m feeling fit, just not fast yet.I also won the most interesting draw prize… a crayfish (a smallish lobster)!Made for a tasty supper when we returned to Adelaide that night.
The organizer of my K100 team has sent me an email informing me he is once again entering three teams into the relay. As always, runners come and go, and this year will be no different. If anyone is looking for, or knows anyone looking for a K100 team, I might be able to get you on one.
The race date is June 23 (the link is under myraces on the right).
However, I may decide to pass on the relay this year and enter the Prestige 1/2 Ironman. I was so impressed by Charlie Cooper and his rmevents races last year, that I find I must try and get out and support them. Not knocking any other RD's, but Wasa Lake Oly and Prestige 1/2 are probably the best run events in Western Canada.
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.
