Sun, sand & surf
Off road Triathlon #2 and this time it was on the coast – where I feel more at home – and to help matters, Chris was doing this one with me.
After my ‘incident’ in the water at Lysterfield (see earlier post), my apprehension of the water was even greater. The day before this race, I went for a swim at Torquay to accustom myself to swimming in the ocean with goggles. So many people said I should be more scared of swimming in the ocean because of the sharks, but I felt safer in the ocean, away from the eels and reeds of the lake (yes, I know this is strange but its just the way my mind works).
A cold, frosty morning certainly did the job of waking us up as we registered and set up at transition. The walk down to the beach and the start line, and again, I found myself one of the few people not wearing a tri wetsuit (Chris was in his surfing wetsuit which was a good alternative). But this time, I was surrounded by 160 people as this race was doubled at the Victorian off-road Triathlon Championships.
The starter gun went off and this time I took my time getting into the water. As the waves crashed over us, I was doing ok, until the time came to start the freestyle. A quick moment of fear, but then Chris calmed me down and swam beside me so I did a bit better than last time! Still…..the swim is certainly not a strong point due to my fear of seeing was lies beneath the water.
A run up the beach from the water to transition and ready for the mountainbike. First 50m and through the water in the inlet. On my new $15 mountain bike, I raced along the track which seemed easier than Lysterfield. The uphills I passed people, but then quickly got overtaken on the downhills – I think I really need some more experience/training in downhills. On one downhill section I was glad to be going slower than normal as a large kangaroo hopped across the track only 2m in front of me. The last stretch took us back onto the beach and back to transition for the 6km run leg.
This run leg started with along the beach for a kilometre, then up, up and up the clifftops for a scenic but undulating run. As I peered down to the beach through a glimpse in the trees, I saw runners heading back towards the finish line. My turn soon came to reach the beach and the next 2km was on the sand. What a gorgeous way to finish the race (I kept telling myself this). After running up the now full inlet I was greated by Chris to cheer me across the finish line. A much better way to finish the race.
A day after the race, I went to spend my $50 voucher I won at the Lysterfield on some new triathlon gear (no, not a wetsuit) but a nice race top and pants, ready for my next race at the You Yangs (which doesn’t have swim leg!) on 24th May.
TOTAL TIME - 02:11:39
SWIM (including transition) - 18:25
RIDE - 01:11:11
RUN - 42:02
-------------------------------------------
How to climb into this adventure:
Off road Triathlon #2 and this time it was on the coast – where I feel more at home – and to help matters, Chris was doing this one with me.After my ‘incident’ in the water at Lysterfield (see earlier post), my apprehension of the water was even greater. The day before this race, I went for a swim at Torquay to accustom myself to swimming in the ocean with goggles. So many people said I should be more scared of swimming in the ocean because of the sharks, but I felt safer in the ocean, away from the eels and reeds of the lake (yes, I know this is strange but its just the way my mind works).
A cold, frosty morning certainly did the job of waking us up as we registered and set up at transition. The walk down to the beach and the start line, and again, I found myself one of the few people not wearing a tri wetsuit (Chris was in his surfing wetsuit which was a good alternative). But this time, I was surrounded by 160 people as this race was doubled at the Victorian off-road Triathlon Championships.
The starter gun went off and this time I took my time getting into the water. As the waves crashed over us, I was doing ok, until the time came to start the freestyle. A quick moment of fear, but then Chris calmed me down and swam beside me so I did a bit better than last time! Still…..the swim is certainly not a strong point due to my fear of seeing was lies beneath the water.
A run up the beach from the water to transition and ready for the mountainbike. First 50m and through the water in the inlet. On my new $15 mountain bike, I raced along the track which seemed easier than Lysterfield. The uphills I passed people, but then quickly got overtaken on the downhills – I think I really need some more experience/training in downhills. On one downhill section I was glad to be going slower than normal as a large kangaroo hopped across the track only 2m in front of me. The last stretch took us back onto the beach and back to transition for the 6km run leg.This run leg started with along the beach for a kilometre, then up, up and up the clifftops for a scenic but undulating run. As I peered down to the beach through a glimpse in the trees, I saw runners heading back towards the finish line. My turn soon came to reach the beach and the next 2km was on the sand. What a gorgeous way to finish the race (I kept telling myself this). After running up the now full inlet I was greated by Chris to cheer me across the finish line. A much better way to finish the race.
A day after the race, I went to spend my $50 voucher I won at the Lysterfield on some new triathlon gear (no, not a wetsuit) but a nice race top and pants, ready for my next race at the You Yangs (which doesn’t have swim leg!) on 24th May.
TOTAL TIME - 02:11:39
SWIM (including transition) - 18:25
RIDE - 01:11:11
RUN - 42:02
-------------------------------------------
How to climb into this adventure:
- visit the Tri X Series website: http://www.trixseries.com/index.php
- ensure you cross train and do at least 1 session a week in riding, swimming, running, gym to build both strength and fitness
- if possbile, find a training partner - its a lot more fun and you will push yourself further in each training session
- visit Sleep Monsters website to find other adventure races on within Australia
Labels:
adventure race,
anglesea,
mountainbike,
ocean,
run,
swim,
tri x series,
triathlon
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