I was feeling a little nervous about this triathlon. I havent done a tri since November, its only my second sea swim, and the wind has been pumping recently so it could be very rough out in the sea… Fortunately we were blessed with a beautiful calm day.
With my bike racked and everything ready I went down to test the water and have a warm up swim. Brrr it was cold!! But I knew once the race started that the temperature would be the least of my worries!
After a short race briefing we were on the beach lined up ready to start. The men started 2 minutes ahead of the ladies which was good so that the water wouldnt be so crowded. Quickly we were off, over the breakers and kelp. After a couple of hundred metres I got in to a rhythm. I knew I wasnt going fast but I felt very calm and was actually enjoying the swim. I couldnt really see the buoys so I was just following the swimmers in front.
I was out of the water in about 32 minutes. My hands were so cold I struggled to press the button on my watch as I went into T1. I decided not to put socks on to save time and I was reasonably quickly out onto the bike route. 3 laps of the bumpy Blouberg/Melkbos road went… ok. The wind was behind us on the way out so you could pick up some speed. At the turn around point on my second lap I had to contend with 6 mtbers who decided to use to road; I had to tell them politely to get out of the way! I began to slow a bit on my last lap – my glutes and hammies were beginning to take strain (not sure why…but I’ve booked a bike set up check with Velocity to see if something needs altered) At the end of the bike leg I managed to dismount like a pro, leaving my shoes in the cleats, and doing a moving dismount. I was quite impressed that I didnt hash it up!! First time I’ve done this and it wasnt so hard after all and it made it alot easier to run into transition.
My run didnt go so well. My legs were feeling tight. I can normally pick off the runners in front with ease. After about 8kms my legs were beginning to feel looser… a bit too late!
It was great to have 32Gi sponsoring the race; a much needed bottle of 32Gi at the end of the race to quench our thirst on a hot day. And 32Gi products in our goody bags 🙂
I finished in 3rd place in my age category so not a disasterous race but I could have and should have done better! At least I’m feeling a lot more confident about my Ironman swim 🙂
Swim: 33:41
T1: 1:43
Bike: 1:14:45
T2: 0:58
Run: 49:11
Total: 02:40:21