Just for the fun of it, my race report from my third sprint tri. The pre-race day: I had to work, I have a job as cheesemaker. During the whole day I was thinking about the race and if I was ready. My legs felt some sort of tired. The wheather was really awful. It rained and was pretty cold. About 15 degrees Celsius and that is June, incredible. In the evening it got warmer so I rode a few minutes on my bike to make the legs feel more comfortable. Even without much effort I was ableto go pretty fast. From this moment on I felt ready and comfortable.
At night the weather got worse. It was raining cats and dogs and thunder and lightning came for a visit. Race Day: The rain did not stop. Start was going to be at 3pm and I had to pick up my "support crew" first of all. She was already freezing at the meeting point - this would not change till the end of the day. I had decided to ride my Cervelo Dual, although I tried to keep it from rainy weather. Absolutely impossible on this day. When I got my stuff to the transition area I asked myself: What am I doing here? Is it worth standing in this rain, freezing, risking crashes on the slippery course, dealing with the wind (and this was not wind, it was close to a hurricane)? I always had the credo: DNF- not an option. But I never thought about did not start.
But time went on and I kept preparing for the start. The swim was taking place in a heated pool. The only place around warmer than 15 degrees Celsius. Trying not to look like a whimp, I got rid of warming clothes, stood there in my trisuit. This is your sport, you chose it... I thought about all the training leading up to this point. I ran in snow, I biked indoors for ages, I just had no place to train the swim. I felt comfortable enough to give it a go.
After the start I fell back very soon. All the other swimmers left the pool and I was struggling for unbelievable 12 minutes. My father took photos. At the beginning the pool is full, after some time I am the only swimmer. Pretty start, I thought.
Knowing about my strength on the bike I did not become that desperate.
Out of the water it was really cold. I rode hard from the first pedal stroke on. Things began to work out. I were able to overtake a lot of starters, almost everybody and then rode after the pros. It was a course with turning point. Going out we faced head wind and I thought about Ken Mierkes advice in this forum, kept calm and saved energy for the trip back.
And this was the best decision during the entire race. Being not worn out I hammered back to the transition with to me absolutely unused 53/14.
It then took my a time to tie my shoes, because my arms were so cold, I just could not tighten the laces.
My mum tried to make me wear a warm top. She were not able to force me to, I was heading out to the run, trying to get a new personal best. And it seemed to work. But my running leg was always followed with cramps and I had problems with my stomach. This time it was just great. I was faster then ever before, being only passed by one competitor. This did not happen to me ever before. The rain, by the way, felt like needles on my arms.
On the last hundred meters I went all out and finished 5 minutes earlier then ever before.
In the worst weather I had the best race. And I was so proud for having done it.
Can't wait for the next race to come.
PS: This being my first race report ever, I hope you enjoy it a little bit. Of course it does not include all the things happening at a race, which we keep in our minds forever. But that would have been way too much to post here. Thanks for reading.
Just for the fun of it, my race report from my third sprint tri.
The pre-race day: I had to work, I have a job as cheesemaker. During the whole day I was thinking about the race and if I was ready. My legs felt some sort of tired. The wheather was really awful. It rained and was pretty cold. About 15 degrees Celsius and that is June, incredible. In the evening it got warmer so I rode a few minutes on my bike to make the legs feel more comfortable. Even without much effort I was ableto go pretty fast. From this moment on I felt ready and comfortable.
At night the weather got worse. It was raining cats and dogs and thunder and lightning came for a visit.
Race Day: The rain did not stop. Start was going to be at 3pm and I had to pick up my "support crew" first of all. She was already freezing at the meeting point - this would not change till the end of the day. I had decided to ride my Cervelo Dual, although I tried to keep it from rainy weather. Absolutely impossible on this day. When I got my stuff to the transition area I asked myself: What am I doing here? Is it worth standing in this rain, freezing, risking crashes on the slippery course, dealing with the wind (and this was not wind, it was close to a hurricane)? I always had the credo: DNF- not an option. But I never thought about did not start.
But time went on and I kept preparing for the start. The swim was taking place in a heated pool. The only place around warmer than 15 degrees Celsius. Trying not to look like a whimp, I got rid of warming clothes, stood there in my trisuit. This is your sport, you chose it... I thought about all the training leading up to this point. I ran in snow, I biked indoors for ages, I just had no place to train the swim. I felt comfortable enough to give it a go.
After the start I fell back very soon. All the other swimmers left the pool and I was struggling for unbelievable 12 minutes. My father took photos. At the beginning the pool is full, after some time I am the only swimmer. Pretty start, I thought.
Knowing about my strength on the bike I did not become that desperate.
Out of the water it was really cold. I rode hard from the first pedal stroke on. Things began to work out. I were able to overtake a lot of starters, almost everybody and then rode after the pros. It was a course with turning point. Going out we faced head wind and I thought about Ken Mierkes advice in this forum, kept calm and saved energy for the trip back.
And this was the best decision during the entire race. Being not worn out I hammered back to the transition with to me absolutely unused 53/14.
It then took my a time to tie my shoes, because my arms were so cold, I just could not tighten the laces.
My mum tried to make me wear a warm top. She were not able to force me to, I was heading out to the run, trying to get a new personal best. And it seemed to work. But my running leg was always followed with cramps and I had problems with my stomach. This time it was just great. I was faster then ever before, being only passed by one competitor. This did not happen to me ever before. The rain, by the way, felt like needles on my arms.
On the last hundred meters I went all out and finished 5 minutes earlier then ever before.
In the worst weather I had the best race. And I was so proud for having done it.
Can't wait for the next race to come.
PS: This being my first race report ever, I hope you enjoy it a little bit. Of course it does not include all the things happening at a race, which we keep in our minds forever. But that would have been way too much to post here. Thanks for reading.