Xmas Cracker Olympic distance race report

A triathlon the Saturday before Christmas…..excellent! Run by the good folks at ultimate triathlete  this was our tri club pre Xmas race down in Lake Hood, Ashburton……. scene of a half ironman several weeks earlier ( race report   ).

I finished up a good training block several days earlier and combined with my busiest time of year at work, I had taken a few lighter days and was still a little tired- but this was really a C priority race so didn't really care. I didn't even put my race wheels on as I ran out of time the day before which ended up being a blessing given the conditions. My only trepidation was that I hadn't done an Olympic distance triathlon since January 2007 and I knew it was going to hurt reeeeeaaaal bad. Sprints are painful but short enough to be over quickly. Two and a half hours on the rivet… hmmmm. Must be good for you though ?

A wise man (Gordo) advised me a few years ago  that one of the best ways to develop as an athlete is to race more often…………….I am finally following suit :)

So want to post this on FB…….!

Agh…. I am rambling again. Ok. brief synopsis of the race below with times but let me preface that with the weather. Forecast was for northwester lies turning southerly about midday and then rain. For all you non-weather obsessed  kiwis out there, a norwester blows across the Tasman from Australia and is a warm, dry, gusty+ at times gale force wind that dumps rain on the west coast and then hurls over the Southern Alps to create havoc on the east; mainly Canterbury Plains.  A Southerly comes from the South ( read: Antarctica) tends to bring rain to the east coast and much cooler temperatures. The wind direction in the South Island swings around in matter of minutes with little warning. We are in the roaring forties after all.

Race start was not until 11am as there were rowers on the lake so I had an inkling that we may be into the race when the weather would turn. Yep. Nice 21 degrees with the wind picking up when i arrived at lake Hood; 40 minutes prior to start time I felt the temperature drop about 10 degrees then the lake started to chop up. My only thoughts were…. Thank f***  ( sorry for swearing, Mum!) it was not like this in November for a half ironman. I can put up with it for a shorter race.

Race result - 2:32:47, 16th female over all 7th in 30-39 AG ( I mustve been the oldest in the AG!!)

Transitions ~ 2 m 52 sec


Swim -  22:36

Jeepers, that was a PB and a half! I haven't swum quicker than 28 xx before! Everyone had very fast swims it seemed; the longest straight from the 2nd buoy back to the exit had the southerly wind behind us so it was a bit of a surf down the home straight. Oh well, I'll take it as unlikely I will ever swim 1500m in that time again! Girls started 15 minutes before the boys as the race was a handicap style-first across the line -wins kinda deal.

Bike - 1h 19. 42  NP- 165

Managed to do less fumbling this time around and only spent ~ 2mins in T2. Put  a light rain jacket over my trisuit mainly for the wind chill and headed off. Luckily, the wind wasn't too gusty and the direction of the 2 lap course meant a 4km stretch of tailwind, then 6km of headwind then 6km tailwind, 4 km headwind etc. Towards the end of the first lap the drizzle started and it got heavier and heavier……the only bonus being the wind dropped a little. Coach John had suggested I try to go hard on the bike and aim for ~160W but managed to crank out an average of 164W ( NP- 165) so was pretty chuffed with myself for that although would have preferred a faster bike split but it shows how strong the wind was and how times don't always reflect the work. I was relieved when the bike was over as I was starting to get a bit chilly and was soaked through….

The morning after the day before….

Run  - 47.37

Decided to take my jacket off as skin is waterproof and wet plastic flapping about my self would likely irritate me. I set off, bare feet squeaking away in my wet trainers and my tummy feeling mildly unsettled. I hung on the shoulder of some chick who left transition beside me which I am sure annoyed the hell out of her as my Garmin was beeping away ……I passed her at the turnaround on the river track and wondered if she would get her revenge by sitting behind me for the rest of the run but I thankfully had managed to shake her and keep trucking. I had a double espresso Clif shot with the intention of throwing it down halfway through the run but I was rather concerned my stomach may explode if I gulped it in one- but if I didn't then I was probably going to crash and burn very soon! I chose to drip feed myself the gel so took little sips every  few minutes and it lasted a whole 4 km with no tummy issues at all! Something else i can take forward to Ironman racing.

Managed to get changed in the car and into some warmer clothes then we all huddled in the tent avoiding the horizontal rain for prize giving. A fun day out, excellent pre Xmas blowout and always something to take away from every race you do.  Got over my hydrophobia and basked in the hot shower when i arrived home.  Two days left at work and then its a training camp at home until 6th January along with the eating, drinking and socialising endemic to the festive period !

Drying off..