Race season has started

Yep that's right the racing has started. Two weeks and two races are now done and dusted. Lucky for me the first three races I am doing this season are at the same location which I am very familiar with. Based at the Sydney international regatta centre in Penrith which is the home of the Hills tri club.

The first race of the season was a Hills club race. Distance is a standard sprint. 750m swim, 20km ride, 5km run. Shouldn't be a big deal with all the training I have been doing. Normally our club races are in the afternoon once the heat of the day has gone but this one was early morning. I like that as it gets it done and you have the rest of the day to do what you like. With my bike stripped down to the bare essentials for a short race I was ready to go.

Ready to race

View of the swim leg

It was a perfect morning for the race. It did feel a little cold at the start but no wind and with the sun coming up it was going to get warm later. The wetsuit optional call went out while we were setting up which always makes me happy. With the bike racked it was time for the long walk down to the start point.

This race is a straight swim. So the long walk to the start and looking all the way down to the finish can be a spirit buster until you get used to it. Its not as fun as when you have a few turns to think about. Anyway soon we were in the water and racing. My group being the older males is always the last to leave but soon we were catching some of the slower swimmers. My race typically revolves around trying to see if I can keep up with my old trainer Mike. We like to start a bit away from the rest and get a good run down the lake. I took off at the start trying to make sure I did not fall to far behind Mike. But I lost him. I didn't know if he was ahead or behind but he was gone. Half way through I was hoping that I didn't go out to hard. I find it hard to pace myself on the swim. I just swim stupid and feel it when I get to the end. I tried to calm down and swim relaxed but that's easier said than done.

I exit the water puffing away as always. I don't run right away. I walk out of the water undoing the wetsuit and make sure that I am not the guy that falls over as they stand up. As I start to speed up to a nice jog into transition I see Mike run past me crossing the timing mat 1 sec ahead. He made sure he gave me a little crap as he past me just to rub it in. We both strip down and grab our bikes and head off. This is the first time I had my shoes set on the bike and was going to try a flying start. Being closer to Mike than I ever have gave me some hope that if I could just get close enough I might finally beat him. Well I jump on my bike get both feet in and peddle up a small hill. When I get to the top I do up my straps and look up for Mike. Yeah 20m ahead and leaving me behind. The guy is a beast on the bike. My heart is racing, I am short on breath and I start to realise that my hopes of catching him and maybe cheating a little off him is rapidly becoming less of an option. But not to worry if I go hard enough I might be able to get him on the run. Well thats what I tell myself. By the 5km mark I start to wonder why am I doing this. Whats wrong with me. I question my training and wonder how am I every going to make the full ironman if I can't even complete a sprint without this much pain. I do everything I can to slow my heart rate and get myself under control. Yeah maybe I should have slowed the legs down but knowing I was falling behind that's not an option. I never said I was smart.

Soon the ride came to an end. No I had not been able to calm down but I thought that if I get into a good run then it would all work out. Looking in transition I see the normal view. Mikes bike neatly racked and him gone. Damn it. Oh well I rack my stuff, put on my shoes and head off for the run. It's a two lap run up and back on a path. So you get to see everyone a few time. The run starts off a little fast for me. It tends to happen as you try to keep up with people. I try to slow a little which does work but its still hard. I push on and see Mike as he passes going the other way. I then try to work out how far behind I am. The state I am in I wouldn't have been able to count to 10. The rest of the first is pretty much the same. Some people pass me and I pass others. I look at my watch and I am still travelling at a fast speed for me. I just assume that if I just put my head down I could make it to the end like this. I actually start to feel better for a while. Then I hear someone catching me. As he gets along side me some guy says "you are a hard man the catch 47". Yes that was my number. We chat for a moment about how the race is going. While I am being nice on the outside all I can think of is you bastard why do you sound so fresh. If I was hard to catch why don't you sounds like you are struggling. Anyway he soon continues on and leaves me to push to the end. I come across the line with nothing left. When I finally got myself settled I checked out my time. Faster than last years times by about 6min. That cheered me up a little. I later found out that I was only 49 seconds behind Mike. Yes he beat me again but I was getting closer. My run really help out.