I arrived down the south coast the night before the race. It was raining on the way down, which didn’t look promising for race day. However, waking up the next morning the weather was much nicer.
We arrived at the race, registered and put our bikes into transition. Having done quite a few races in the last two months, Im getting much quicker at setting up and getting out before it gets too crowded. This race was definitely not popular, there were only 3 bikes in my rack, so the extra space was an added bonus. Waiting around for race briefing, it was starting to get a bit hotter, and there wasn’t much shade around.
I walked down to the water to see what the conditions were like. The one thing I noticed was the quite large sand bank in the middle of the water.
Our race briefing got underway, the same as always, and we headed down to the start point. The wave starts were quite simple, all kids, all women then all men.
The kids wave went off and immediately they hit the sand bank and start running. This wasn’t something I’m used to. They explained to us that we need to follow the channel on that runs around the river, as opposed to swimming straight to the swim exit.
Once my wave started, and I got into a rhythm, I felt great. For once, I was at the front of the pack, and seeing as we were going along with the current, I felt much faster than I normally am. About 150m in, we hit the sand bank. I had to get up and run for abit, before diving back in and heading for the exit.
Coming out of the water I was feeling alright. My aim was to limit transition time as much as possible this race, so I headed to my bike, threw down my goggles and cap, chucked on my helmet and shoes, and headed out.
The course was relatively flat, with one small hill over a bridge and that was it. The first 4km for some reason I couldn’t get into a good rhythm. I felt like I just wasn’t moving at the pace I wanted to. Once dad passed me I started to pick up pace, and for the remaining 6km I followed behind a lady to preserve my legs in preparation for the run. I definitely pushed myself a bit extra on the bike, but I also wanted to hold off enough that I could run a bit fast than usual.
Getting off the bike, I headed back into transition. I quickly racked my bike, took of my helmet, changed my shoes and grabbed my hat and belt before running out. This was probably one of my fastest transitions to date.
Heading out onto the run, it was once again a flat course. There was a small 2 person bridge we had to run over, but once we got onto the road it was a flat out and back. I tried not to look at my watch as much as possible to avoid seeing my pace, I tried to only look at my distance. At around the 1.5km mark I was worried my pace was slowing down. I just tried to look ahead, and pray the bridge was coming up. Getting across the finish line was so relieving.
Overall, I’m super happy with my result. Finally, a podium after trying for the last couple of months. I’m glad I got permission to push that bit harder because I think it gave me the motivation and belief that I could produce a decent result.
As it stands, im currently sitting 5th in the 20-19 age category for the elite energy tri series. After this weekends results, I believe ill jump to second, with a 15 point difference between me and first.
Bring on Port Stephens, the final race for the season.
