Short Distance Triathlon

Yesterday morning, in Yeppoon, during an event hosted by the Frogs Triathlon Club, I completed my first real event of the year. It was great fun, but it was very, very tough. It was the culmination of 14 days straight training, and I think fatigue might have played a part.

It was great competing again, though, after not doing any triathlons for about 3 months. It was a bit of a wake up call, as to my poor fitness at the moment, but hey, there is still time. I got 30 out of 30 for the male participants. Very ordinary. My goal for this year, is to get into the top third of competitors by the end of the year. There is a challenge.

It was an Olympic Distance Triathlon, and the swim leg was probably the toughest. It took me 21 minutes and something to get out of the water (750m). Then, with long transition time (due to a run up the beach and a run to the road with the bike), I was on the bike by about the 26 minute mark - very, very slow. The ride went well, though, very happy with it. I didn't check my average speed, but it would have been 33 ks ish over the 24 k distance (not 20, just due to the road and the way the race is set up). I was back into transition at about the hour and 10 minute mark, a two minute transition before a 26 minute run for the 5 ks. It was very slow overall, and it was about a 1.38 minute finish for the triathlon. Very slow, and somewhat disappointing, given that that the last one I did on the same course was finished in 1.26 ish. Anyway, just more work to do, and more to aim for.

Thanks to Wayne Clifford, the energy behind the Frogs Tri Club. Wayne rocks, and does a great job. If you live in the CQ region, you will hear Wayne on the radio on Monday mornings with a sport report. His nickname is Shimmer, not sure why, but I am sure there is a great story behind it. Now, Wayne is also a great cricketer and plays other sports, apparently. He is a national level triathlete. Good on you mate.

There were some great efforts, yesterday, and Ben Wriede was the winner, followed by Finn Turley and a Gladstone guy, Scott Murray. Scott is the guru in Gladstone on Triathlons. He does full Ironmans, and has got the calf Ironman Tattoo to show for it. He is a fit man, and I have done one ride with him. Maybe I should be doing more. And, of course, Ryan and Rebbecca McLaughlin went around. Ryan trains with Scott, and he is very fit, too. Rebbecca has a great story, as she was inspired by watching Ryan do the Mooloolaba triathlon last year. She made the decision to do the 2010 Mooloolaba triathlon. Rebbecca was not fit, she was not a sportsperson, but she was committed, and she has done amazingly well. She has lost weight, and is looking forward to seven weeks time. All the best, girl.

Hey, not sure why I am telling you about everyone else, but hey, it is all part of the story.

After the triathlon, it was off to Sizzlers for lunch. That was great, after being good for two weeks.

As I close out this week's edition of this blog, I am going to start closing the blog out with "you know you are an elite (not) athlete when".

So, for this week, "you know you are an elite (not) athlete when" you still start the bike leg of the triathlon without your cycling shoes clipped into your pedals - and you can still run in them!

Until next week, train hard.

Anton