Round 2 of the ATS series took place last weekend in the spectacular and
scenic town of Newcastle. A handful of tridents made the trip north to test
themselves on what turned out to be one "tough day in the office".
I was close to pulling the pin a few days before race day, suffering a virus
which zapped all energy levels, leaving me sniffling, coughing and lying
horizontal for most of the Thursday and Friday before the Sunday race. On the
Saturday I felt somewhat better, enough to be able to check out the bike course
Saturday morning. It was going to be a killer hill fest. Normally something I
don't mind, but with a virus, I knew I wasn't going to have the strength to
perform to my usual level.
Nevertheless, Sunday morning rolled around and I was at the start line in 20
degrees water for the wetsuit swim.
after a perfect Saturday though, the weather had turned for the worse with a
strong gusty wind blowing on race morning. With the swim start and finish at
different locations, competitors had to walk the 1.5km from transition to the
swim start area. The swim was dead straight, following the side of the
waterfront. I was in the 3rd wave with most other females.
I got off to quite a good start, tagging onto the feet of one of the competitors
whom I knew was a fairly strong swimmer. at around the 1km mark though, I
started to lose contact with her as I started to wonder how much longer the swim
would last. I was left alone for the remainder of the swim with no one to
follow. it felt like it was going on forever! When I finally reached the exit
pontoon I nearly fell over trying to get up! but I was certainly relieved to be
out of the water! :) swim split 22:49. not too bad, considering I was coughing
during it!
Out onto the bike for the 4 laps of 10km. Each lap with 1.5ks of climbing into
a headwind, “Tour de France" style. (U turns and switch back corners).
By now, the winds were in full force as the ride turned into a matter of
survival. any thoughts of trying to catch the leaders were quickly put to rest
as I battled the headwind (bad!), tailwind (good!) and crosswind (VERY bad!!).
My initial thought was to just get through each lap without getting blown
off-course or crashing into passing competitors! That quickly turned to "just
get through each corner without crashing!!" my Zipp wheels only made matters
worse as I struggled through the bike course. I was close to tears and thought
about pulling the pin, I was struggling so much in the wind! forced to brake
even on the big downhills, I would otherwise have ended up smack into the side
of the cliff, or into the cafes lined with locals enjoying breakfast!! lesson
learnt for next time we have a windy race! no Zipp wheels! Finally though I
made it to T2 (thankfully still in one piece!) but well and truly out of the
hunt to real in the leaders. bike split 1hr 23min.
I tried to at least make up some lost time on the run, feeling good for the
first 5ks and moving along quite well. (I was so happy to be off that bike!).
However, fatigue from the virus started to kick in and combined with a fierce
headwind, the rest of the run was a struggle. There was another female
competitor not too far ahead of me and i briefly gave chase to see if I could
catch her, but my body just said no, as i sniffled and coughed my way through
the race. Run time 42min. Overall 5th female and 2nd F20-24.
Well done to all tridents who toughed it out. Particularly to Kat who was again
the fastest age grouper, some 7min ahead! Thanks to Mum and Sonja for standing
all morning in the wind and cheering me on! Very much appreciated!
Big break now till the next of the ATS series - CANBERRA!!!!
Till then!
Shell :)