4th at the European Championships - Cameron Brown
5 July 2010
Well it was a mixed bag of emotions today. I still finished 4th so I can't really complain to much, in fact I'm very happy to finish in that position! Again some bad luck on my behalf slowed me down .
I had a great swim but almost had to stop half way through with bad cramps in my calf's and I'm someone who never ever cramps! I was out with the front pack so I was very happy about that and the group would stay together for much of the 185km ride except for one man named Andreas Raelert, he put in a scorching ride to record the fastest bike split of the day 4:20:35 and this is a course 5km longer than last year due to road works so quite amazing.
My calf's on the bike were like rocks and I struggled to loosen them up and ride with any power for the first 50km, that and my bad neck, I've been trying to get it treated over here but it flared up on the bike and there wasn't to much head movement going on on my behalf! Then at the 120km mark I started to get a slow leak in my front tire so that didn't impress me too much, I manged to stay with the group until the final 10km but then that was it.
Starting the run leg I felt terrible and was thinking I might not even finish in the top 10! but on the 2nd lap I started coming right and was back running my normal speed and was still only 3mins down on 2nd place at the 21km mark and then booommmmmm! I fell apart and struggled home in a very respectable 4th place at the European Ironman Champs. I can still hold my head high with the caliber of the field. Jo Lawn also had bad luck breaking a spoke on the cobbled section of the bike course and would spend some 20mins on the side of the road waiting for mechanical help, she still finished an incredible 6th place!
It's now rest time for 10 days and tomorrow I fly back home to New Zealand to see the family, something I'm really looking forward too!
Thanks again for your support,
Kind Regards Cameron
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