2004 BRW Triathlon RR
(400m Swim/10k Ride/4k Run)
Fri:
Replaced American Classic Hubbed rear
wheel with a "normal" Ultegra-hubbed one
Replaced a badly frayed rear derailleur cable.
Sat:
Rode 'new and improved' Peugeot down to Elwood
Beach for registration. After removing all the
removable bits the bike stayed there overnight.
Somehow the three of us scored prime positions
on bike row 1. It's nice not having to remember
a row number in the midst of a little exertion. 🙂
Sun:
After attending a friend's birthday dinner last
night (pizza and beer - best pre-race meal!) and
retiring at midnight, I was pleasantly surprised
by my alarm going off at 4.30AM. Yes, "A"M not
the much preferred "PM". This might be normal for
some of you folks, but certainly not me - I prefer
the sleep-in/dodge-cars method.
Hooking up with a team mate, we drive in to
Elwood and prepare the bikes: pump tyres, layout
helmet, spd shoes, runners, t-shirt, sunnies.
Nibbling on a Powerbar and sipping Gatorade (Hey!
I had to look the part :P) we spent time wandering
around or 'flushing' dinners, waiting for the
start.
Sooner than we expected, the first wave was off,
disturbing the beautifully calm sea. As well as
the good bike spot, we were also off early, ~4mins
after the first wave, I think.
Dave had to rush down to the start because they
were actually on time! He's quick and estimated a
35min finish time.
Passing most of the waves that left before him,
Dave was into transition in approx. 6th place
overall!
Scaring the "buff" crowd, I was ready and waiting
to take the electronic timing band, wearing only
tri-shorts, goggles and a swim cap. eek!
I'm out of breath before I even make it to the
water. Swim goes relatively well (well I'm alive
to type this!) and I exit the water feeling better
than I expected.
On goes the tee, the glasses and the helmet.
Glasses fog up. Off come the glasses.
Onto the bike course and I spin briefly to get the
legs used to not drowning. Then it's into 52/15(?)
and my mission Jim, is to pass everything that moves.
Early on I am passed by a CBD Cycles rider on an
aerobar/disc-wheel bike. He was moving!
I pass just about everyone else. Another aerobar
rider passes me, then I pass him, then he passes
me, etc. (you get the idea, right?).
He loses me at the turn-around but then catches me
~1k from the finish. He has 3 riders sucking his
wheel... hard... in this 'non-drafting' event.
I like to mess with people, so, I up the pace and
pass all four of them, then click it down and spin
the last 100m before dismounting.
The run was slow. I had only trained for a week
and I was the heaviest I've been.. ever (100kg).
First 1k was ok, then I slowed quite a bit. Moral
was boosted at the turn-around and I started
chasing people down that passed me.
The "double-bouncing, trampoline bridge" was fun!
Really hurting myself, I 'sprinted' the last 2-300m
to the transition. Struggled to remove the stupid
ankle timing strap and watched our last guy take off.
Into the Gatorade...and snakes...and beer ;-)
Averaged ~37.6kph over the 10k ride.
Official times might follow, if not too embarassing.
Summary: Bloody good fun, even after all my
sooking about having to do it. Training not
necessary, but faster run would've been nice.
hippy