I got that feeling just before 6am when it was time to get up and go do the triathlon. It was chilly and I was so cozy in bed. To get up and drive oneself to a river and throw oneself in? Crazy.
There were a whole bunch of duathletes, including Hennie and Barendine - people I train regularly with now - and some familiar faces like the herculean Vic, and Adri, who has hurt his back. His young son Jean was there. The kid has qualified for Xterra world champs in Hawaii. Not bad. Nice girlfriend too. Kids riding a wave at the moment.
The swim was tough for me because I haven't swum for about 2 months. I thought my 'swimming background' would be enough to get me through such a short swim (about 600m), but after the first 200m my arms were feeling like liquorice that has been lying in the sun for much too long.
Vic and Jean finished about 50m ahead of me, and were sprinting out of the transition when I arrived.
It took me all of 20km to catch Jean. We entered the transition virtually simultaneously, I was about 10 metres behind, and there was Vic, casually putting on his socks. So all three of us were in the transition together at that point. Then they gradually pulled away on the run.
My cycle time was not that hot: about 36 minutes for 20km. Need to bring that down to 30 minutes for less. I didn't race with TT bars, so with those attached I think I can take off at least a minute. Will need to train harder now, and get lighter and fitter, to slice away more time.
I finished 2nd (since Vic got a puncture and a ride back), in 1:07. Would like to bring the time down to about 1:00.
I think if Vic hadn't punctured he would have won, so here's my gola for the next race: Beat Vic!
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