Corporate Games Triathlon

What better way to follow up a triathlon, then to race in another one. It's not like I haven't done it before...

So it was back out to Penrith, this time we were starting from the other side of the lake, and it was my flatmate's turn to feel nervous, as it was his first triathlon. I, however, was much more confident this day. I won this triathlon 2 years ago, and was confident I could repeat the effort.

After registering, and warming up, my self-belief led me into swimming without a wetsuit - after all, it was only a 400m swim, and I had my best swim ever in a race the day before. So I tucked by race top into my pants, listened carefully to the race briefing (3 laps, same as the day before), then headed out for a warm-up swim. Being the Corporate Games, there were many first timers, and most people didn't have a wetsuit, so I didn't feel out of place. A lot of people delayed diving in until the last moment, believing that the coolish air meant (incorrectly) that the water was also cold.

This race start was a lot more hectic than the previous day, and I almost immediately began to feel slow, swimming without my wetsuit. I drafted a few people, but they tired quickly, and I swam the final half mostly slowly. I managed to see the lead swimmers get further and further away, and when I finally exited the water, I felt the swim was slightly more than 400m.

No time to procrastinate, though, there was some catching up to do. Although this was a draft legal race, I only drafted for about 1-2km of the whole 15km - enough to get a small rest, before realising I had better push the pace. Snot and froth was flting everywhere, as I tried to gauge if I had made any inroads into the leaders. On the last lap, I saw I had a bit of catching up to do...

Onto the run, and I pushed the pace from the very start. The course was a flat out and back, so I could see who was ahead of me, and I had my sights set on Michael King, someone I frequently see at the races. He seemed to be running at a good rate of knots, with some other competitor, but I knew he was someone I should aim for.

As I pushed the speed, I overtook a few other racers, and towards the end of the run, just after I overtook the guy who was running with Michael, I started to dry wretch. I'd never done this before in a race, and it was solely due to the speed. I slowed down enough to feel better, but tried to keep the pace high. I dried wretched a few more times, but even with a final sprint, ran out of room, finisheing behind Michael by 2 seconds. He had run really well, and I knew he was looking out for me (he told me before the race he would be), so congratulations. I ended up 4th overall, very annoyed at myself for deciding not to wear a wetsuit, but pleased that a could still push the envelope in short course triathlons. I had probbably also raised my VO2 Max, which is a good thing coming into Forster.

Mental note to self: Next time, wear a wetsuit, bitch!

Shane, my flatmate, finished with something in reserve and a desire to do another triathlon, which means he has heaps to room for improvement. Another friend, Brian, also completed his first triathlon, and actually won his agre-group. That should motivate him to do another race.

Sunday, 23rd March, 2003
NSW Corporate Games (400m, 15km, 4km)
Swim: 6:57
Ride: 23:50
Run 13:16
Overall 44:03
Overall Place: 4th