First Triathlon Done & Dusted - Kris
4 February 2008
Well my first Triathlon for the season is done and dusted.. And boy did I mess it up haha! It's easy for me to laugh about it now after it is all said and done, as all of you know that's the type of person I am, And I have put into perspective already. People make mistakes for better or for worse all the time it's just up to you to decide which category you file them under.
The start of the race and more importantly the swim went as I had thought it would go. Exiting the water in the front with my mate Tony Dodd's. We managed a slight gap over the 750 meters to the rest. And I was in control the whole way. It was nice to swim like this as it backs up all the Ks I've been doing down at the Nicholls's swimming academy.
The bike was where I hoped to force the issue on the big climb on every lap. I wanted to wait until the right moment as not waste any undue energy until I gave it go for keeps. But this is where all my problems on the day started. I had in my head from the get go it was 4 laps we were completing on the bike. That meant 4 times up this very hard climb. On the 4th time I would try to attack!! Well that was the plan. Ha, that was a joke in itself and the joke was on me.
On the third lap Bevan attacked and I followed closely. The whole time up the third time I thought to myself this is hurting everyone and when I go on the 4th lap they will be smashed already great!! We got away slightly up the climb and as we headed back down to transition I arrived into the turning point for the laps first and whipped it around the corner to start "MY 4TH LAP". I heard people shouting at me and thought it's such great support here in Taupo. Then I realised Ooh oh that's not shouts of support!! I turned and looked over my shoulder to see the other boys heading into transition to change the shoes and head off on the run. I knew right away I had made a mistake and proceeded to turn back as fast as I could. After this dumbass mistake I had managed to lose 34 seconds. I'd gone from feeling in complete control to having to regain some sort of composure as quickly as I could.
If there was one thing I was unsure about before the race it was how I would run. With only basic endurance I was unsure if my body would even allow me to try to run fast. As it was I was able to get into a good rhythm quickly and made back a lot of the ground I had lost. And even come in with the fastest run split of the day to still grab 5th place.
The race up front was a good one with Clark Ellice taking out the win over Bevan and Shane Reed. It was a shame not to be up there mixing it with them but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Overall for myself there were far more positives that came out of the race than negatives. It was just another reflection that everything is heading in the right direction. It also brought to an end my second block with three weekends in a row of racing. I now have an easier week to recharge all the batteries before my next block begins.
Cheers,
Kris
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