Where to from here?

It has been 12 days since my Shepparton race, 65 days until Challenge and 114 days left until my next Ironman.

My body is starting to feel normal  again after a week off any real training with intensity or load. Someone pointed out that there is approx 16 weekends left until Ironman (with approx 15 weekends of long rides and runs) left, give or take.

Whilst I was supporting the Gatorade Sprint on Sunday, I was itching to race again (call it crazy) so I will speak to the coaches to see if it would be smart for me to race the Olympic Distance on the 12th Jan (Challenge Melbourne being on the 2nd Feb). If not, then I will be at the Gatorade race minding the enquiries tent for Tri Alliance and supporting as much as I can. 

Post Shepparton, my knees are starting to feel better. I still feel a pressure on the quads (just above the knee) and the physio advised that it may be inflammed tendons too. The knee caps are ok now, no more internal bleeding/swelling. It feels unstable to squat on the left leg due to the load but it no longer feels like my knees are about to fall to pieces. The Physio used some radio-shock-thingy therapy on it, wasn't invasive but it felt like a small hammer knocking on top of the knee cap (where the tendons were), slightly uncomfortable but didn't hurt as much as needles.

I am so envious of people running at the moment, no matter what size or shape they are.  As much as I find running a huge discomfort to my joints (being very hypermobile), I do miss it and want to be able to run again soon. For now, I will be doing strength work with squats, lunges and water running. 

As much as I can balance with work, I will do at least a session a week along with all the non-programmed sessions such as pilates and strength work. As I have discontinued my membership with the gym, I will need on I find alternative methods such as doing squats with a heavy backpack and using bands to do leg extensions. 

This weekend is suppose to be a long ride amongst the hills but as I am packing the house, I will just be riding Beach Rd for about 3-4 hours. Will try to get to bed early so I can get this ride out of the way early in the morning and try to stay awake for the rest of the day whilst I back stuff into boxes. 

On Sunday, I will try to head down to Elwood at 7am to join the squad in the open water swim but will make it a good session as I won't be running with them afterwards.

Last night, we had a dinner to congratulate the first group of athletes to trained with us leading up to the Elwood Gatorade/Active Feet race. Heaps of prizes were given out as well as membership packs for the ones who joined the squad.

Some of the coaches got a special note and a gift from one of the athletes. He was an enthusiastic person. Right from the start, he was eager to learn, took on board all the advice and more, turned up to all the sessions early and supported the entire team. He has now joined as part of the main squad and we look forward to see his growth in this sport. 

(Name hidden for privacy purposes)

Happy training everyone. 

A Fornight's Reflection 11/11 - 24/11

Due to my Shepparton 70.3 race on Sunday 17th Nov, staying in Shepparton until Monday, I had completely forgot about this post until Thursday afternoon. I figured it was too late then and would compress two Weekly Reflection's post into the one.

The main crux of the fortnight was my Shepparton 70.3 race and my 1km Open Water swim for Corporate Games. I haven't really done any training in between these apart from the occasional swim and massage.

I went to the Liv/Giant event on Tuesday 19th instead of a recovery spin. It was organised by Giant and Witsup.com. There was Charlotte McShane, Erin Densham and Hanna Whiteside on the panel and the night was moderated by Jo (Giant) and Stef (Witsup). We had a good insight (not all great news, but that's life) from triathlon - training and racing through to some women's issues in the sport from politics and how bodies react.

On Wednesday 20th, I did a light swim in the afternoon and it wasn't pretty. My body (post Shepp) was just tired and stiff. It took be about 1.5km to get comfortable in the water. A massage also helped to loosen up my muscles. I coached on Thursday evening (no training of my own) followed by another light swim on Friday after work just to make sure that everything is a-ok for my swim on Saturday.

On Saturday, I did the 1km swim in choppy conditions and came 2nd. I know my time was slower than last year but last year had picture perfect flat conditions. The turning buoys were also much bigger last year. This year they had small cans (practically the size of milo tins). So hard to see when the waves are tall.

2nd Place for 1km Swim

 Apart from that, I went and supported at the Gatorade Series Race 1 event on Sunday. It was a good day where some first timers did their first ever triathlon whilst others (more seasonal athletes) achieved massive PBs considering the swim was a bit of a misery due to poor weather conditions. Everyone had a great day. Some of the core squad members also had PBs for this race showing that training over the off season does pay off.

Favourite session of the week: My 2nd Shepparton Race.

Least favourite session of the week: My recovery swim session on Wednesday 20th was a struggle. Even using the pull buoy and just moving the arms proved to be a bit of a chore. I did some kicking to get some movement in the legs and it was just a struggle. Usually, when I am swimming by myself, I place myself in the Fast Lane at my local pool (being in suburbia) but for this session, I had to do most of it in the Medium Lane.

Advice of the week: Something which I liked hearing about at the Liv/Giant event was that everyone has good and bad days. Learning to listen to the right people is also something interesting. There is no rule book on how to become a perfect triathlete. You have to go through your own journey.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This week, I am trying to get back into the groove of training again. This point onwards will be my training build towards Ironman Melbourne. There are 17 weekends left until Ironman but there may only be about 15 long rides left to do. Rides will go back up to the 120-180km distances and depending on the coaches, they may still place me in the "first timers" category regarding training load and intensity. I am comfortable about this as it is not about the label of the program that I am in but rather how I am able to get through them and how quick I recover for the next.

Shepparton 70.3 2013 - The Race Report

It is hard to believe that I have just done Shepparton 70.3 for the 2nd time and now have 2 more races in my triathlon calendar for 2013/14 season. I have learnt plenty of lessons from the race on the weekend and will take on board whatever I can to improve over the next few months to make me a better athlete.

In the previous years, we ventured off to Pizza Hut for all you can eat dinner the night before but this year, I decided to eat something which my stomach is used to - white rice (with coconut oil & salt), grilled salmon and a yoghurt and cucumber salad. Easy on the stomach and I didn't feel too bloated going to bed.

In the morning, I woke up at 4:30am but leaped out of bed by 4:45am. Had a banana and yoghurt for breakfast with half a bottle of gatorade. Got all my drinks and stuff ready for the day. We drove to the lake at about 5:30am and there was a traffic jam but luckily I just hopped out of the car and then the Canadian parked the car at the competitor's parking area.

In transition, I had everything set up to what I was use to in previous races. I stopped running with a hat around November of 2012 and haven't had one since. I don't wear socks in the bike ride and not in the run for a 21.1km (I wear socks in the Ironman run only). Left the Vaseline in transition to apply after the bike ride to either soothe or prevent further chaffing for the run. Thank goodness I didn't forget anything this year.

Went to do my last minute toilet visits in the transition area (as the line for the main toilets looked too long for the ratio of toilets available) and then I headed off to the TA tent for suiting up. What I had forgotten to do before I put on my wettie was Vaseline (between the legs and I paid for it big time - rookie mistake).

The wave starts changed to minimise congestion so the Male 40-44 (largest wave) started after the pros. For me Female 30-34 started at 7:07 instead of 7:00. Not much difference. The infamous walk to the wave start took forever and I didn't have enough time to warm up (I got into the water after the pro men took off) but had a few minutes to acclimatise to the cold temps of the lake. 

Swim - 39:23 (37 out of 57)

I decided to stay to the right of pack (my comfortable position). When the gun went off, it took a while before I found any space but I did stick by people's feet for a bit. The first lap was good. I sighted well and made sure my technique was consistent. I increased my intensity during the long swim past the exit. I even found myself passing a few people from the previous wave.

The swim back pass the starting line was when the wave behind me caught up and they tried to swim above me. I had a huge punch in the back of my head which sent me down into the lake and out of breath (more from shock) for a few seconds. I quickly composed myself and tried to get the heart rate down. This was the only part of the swim where I stopped to look up.

Prior to that I saw (what I thought) was a yellow turning buoy but it ended up not being part of the course...confused the hell out of me.

When I saw the swim exit again, I kicked my legs more to get the blood flowing and to also stop the people behind from trying to swim above me. The two area where I find the most aggression in the water is the start at the exit.

When I saw that I had a 3 in the finish time of the swim, I was happy as I knew that I had done a swim PB for this course.

Nutrition - 1 caffeine gel 15min before wave start and 0.5 bottle of Gatorade.

T1 - 2:34 (19 out of 57)

I don't put on cycling knicks or cycling gloves and I think this is where I did make up the time in transition.  No eating a banana in transition like last year either.

Bike - 3:10:24 (43 out of 57)

I got really frustrated on the bike leg. I always get passed by hundreds of people. This time around, there was little wind so the intensity was pretty consistent all the way around. I enjoyed the bike more than last year as I didn't have lead legs.

Had a gel at about 2km from T1 and then every 35min. I decided to try a different hydration strategy this year and had a salt/gatorade solution instead of a concentrated salt solution and water separately. I tried my best to drink on the bike but just couldn't finish a whole bidon within 45km. I think I drank about 2/3 and threw it out before moving the 2nd bottle to the front.

I was so happy to see people when I came back from the first 45km. I smiled from ear to ear.

The 2nd lap of the bike ride was good. The winds did pick up a slight but it was still not as Strong as last year. The roads were quiet at the 2nd lap and I did pass a few more people.

I only drank about 1/3 of my second bottle of hydration on the second lap as I felt I was busting to go to the toilet.

Nutrition - 6 x Gels. 1 x 750ml of Gatorade/salt solution.  

T2 - 2:35 (26 out of 57)

This was a quick transition for me as well as I didn't have bike knicks to remove over my shoes unlike last year and I just dropped off the bike, took off helmet and slipped on my running shoes.

 

Run - 2:33 (52 out of 57)

As I mentioned in my previous post. The wheels came apart in my run. I cramped from about 2km onwards. A jog when I was feeling OK and then a walk through the aid stations and whenever my quads and toes seized up. I had only had one experience of this before at the half marathon in October and only when I spoke to my coaches and then subsequently my dad that I found out it is actually cramping.

I guess is is why my quads hurt for weeks after my events as I am trying to push myself when I am cramping and hence impacting on the knees.

One toilet stop on the first lap of the run (after I grabbed my first wrist band) and this is where I dropped my pain killers into the toilet. Booooo!

Had coke and water at every aid station and poured water over my head to cool down. I felt that it was much warmer this year compared to last year. I knew I had exceeded my goal time but I kept pushing through the day. The aid stations distances were not as well placed as Melbourne but I kept with my nutrition plan as much as I could. I stuffed up my Garmin (same as last year) and so I had to make sure that I was properly timing myself to have nutrition at every 30min.

Nutrition - 4 gels, plenty of water and coke.

My total time was 6:28:31 coming in 47 out of 57 for my age group. I am disappointed that my run didn't pan out the way I had "hoped" but I couldn't expect anything better as I had done no running since Noosa. Although water running helps with the running muscles, it doesn't compare to actually getting out on the road and your feet hitting the bitumen.

Just comparing times from last year (and conditions being slightly better this year):

Swim: 2012 - 41:23, 2013 - 39:23 (an exact 2min improvement)

T1: 2012 - 3:58, 2013 - 2:34 (improvement of > 1:20)

Bike: 2012 - 3:13:18, 2013 - 3:10:24 (improvement of approx 2min - less windy this year, higher average)

T2: 2012 - 2:49, 2013 - 2:35 (went up the right rack and less clothing changes)

Run: 2012 - 2:14:42, 2013 - 2:33:32 (about 15min slower than last year)

I went back to Geelong to my parent's house to pick my my little dog Lucy and was speaking to my dad. Apparently, cramping is something which is quite big in my family and something which I use to get more often when I was little. My dad told me that my little brother had to be brought into a hospital once as it entire body seized up and couldn't move - his arms, fingers, legs and toes all clenched from cramping! I hope that doesn't happen to me anytime soon.

Lessons learnt:

• Apply Vaseline to needed areas before putting on wetsuit. Now my "area" looks like I have slit myself with a small knives
• Repair, Run, Recover (a new set of legs would be awesome too)
• Increase salt intake up to a week before event, start training with salt tablets.
• Tape painkillers on the bike 
• Swim-drafting behind someone's feet really does help but you have to monitor the intensity! 



Running towards finisher's chute

Shep was all hurt.

This is not my official race report as I don't have my photos or official results yet so it will be a quick low-down on how my day went.

Don't let this picture fool you, I had a long day with my longest half marathon ever.

Swim - great. I felt better even when I was punched on the back of my head really hard at one point that I had a bit of a panic attack. I quickly gained control of my nerves and kept swimming. Saw a yellow bouy and swam towards it but it ended up not being part of the course (as it was on land). Don't know what my time was but I am pretty sure it was better than last year as I had a 3 in front of the time.

Bike - I am grateful that I did the ride on Saturday as I felt that I knew the course better and knew what was coming up. I actually drank a full bidon on the bike (90km) but needed to go to the toilet....don't know what to do about this. I couldn't average 30km/h and felt a bit frustrated. I had hundreds of people pass me and I only passed about 10 people :( 

One lap down!! Woot!

Run - cramped. All the way from about 2km in the run all the way until the end. My quads seized and my toes clenched up whenever I tried to run. So I pretty much tried to run as much as I could when the cramps went away but had to walk when the toes seized. One toilet stop. Stuffed up the Garmin so my nutrition was not 100% timed. 

So I blew out my time by about 30min+ Dodgy knee, leg cramps and every taken into consideration, I tried my best in this event. I had a good swim and bike and that was the small goals I wanted to tick off from this event.

What now? I will venture out to the SPC factory in the morning as well as having a good breakfast. I have a massage booked in on Thursday and that will help with the knees. I have no major events coming up until Challenge Melbourne in Feb. I have an open water swim next weekend as part of corporate games and the will be supporting at the Gatorade races. 

Limpy McLimp, signing out for now. 

It's Shep time yo!

Wowsers! One more sleep! 

This morning, I rode a whole lap of huge bike course. I had forgotten how "not-so-interesting" the long stretch of the course was until this morning. Luckily I had some company with me. The winds were not as strong as last year. I rather a day of hardly any winds than a tail wind, head wind and side winds any day. 

After the ride, it was a quick soak in the lake, then it was off to register. The Shepparton packs are always awesome. This year we got a small bag with a pull bouy, a clapper, a head sweats visor, a stubby holder and ankle band. Still the best value for "competitor" money for me so far. When I finish the race, I will then pick up a medal and a towel. I actually forgot to pick up my competitor shirt so I will see if I can pick one up after the race. 

The bike was racked on rack E. This year, they have rack numbering (lettering) on the end so I will be vale to recognise which rack I am on (unlike last year).

Dale with his race shoes on!

Number 782 on rack E

Race nails are done and ready!!

Anyways, my wave will go at 7am along with the pros. Each wave after is 2min apart. Sure will have people swimming over me the whole way. 

Fingers crossed that I will have a good day tomorrow. Things I must remember to do in the morning include:

- Fill drink bottles

- kinesio tape my knees

- apply numbering tattoos

- put in ankle chip before I leave the cabin

Time for some rest. 

Happy racing!

Just a few days to go....

Here I am in my small studio cabin at Big4 and starting to come to terms that I am going to be swimming, riding and running (walk-jog) on Sunday amongst a few thousand competitors. 

In just 2 more sleeps, I will be on the start line for my 2nd Shepparton 70.3. The days leading up to this weekend was busily filled with work, packing the house (little by little) and training. 

We arrived in Shepparton at about 3pm after dropping the little dog off to my parents house in Geelong first. This had been a long day as I drove for about 5 hours in total, one really really bad coffee was purchased and consumed. 

After we checked in to our cabin, we went to the event venue for the Tri Alliance swim session. We started from the swim exit and swam to the other side of the lake to the swim start. Then it was a half lap to the swim exit (going the long way around). The taste of the water was still funky as always (however, I noted not as funky as last year). Maybe it was due to the rain over the last few days, maybe it was just me. 

After the swim, we went to Coles to buy some essentials for the weekend such as milk, salmon (dinner Sat night) and yoghurt. 

I have just had a pretty big (yet delicious) meal at the local pub of Parma with bacon, BBQ sauce and a fried egg on veggies and potatoes. 

Tomorrow, the Canadian and I will ride a lap of course as I will not be running until race day. We will probably finish by 12 and then I will register, check the bike in and the May get my race nails done. Getting nails done has been a bit of a tradition and I love it :) 

Getting excited and nervous at the same time. Crapping my pants.

(A Fortnight's) Reflection - 28/10 - 10/11

I did mention that there will be a slight change in my weekly reflection as I was racing up at Noosa. I have updated the blog to include the events leading up to the race and also have added my race report.

I came back to Melbourne on Wednesday 6th Nov and have pretty much tried as much as I can to recover from the week's holiday and preparing myself for Shepparton 70.3. The registration for Noosa 2014 opens on the 12th November and I am not planning on signing up as I am planning on taking some of my long service leave holiday in Aug/Sept to participate in a few Grand Fondo rides in Canada, volunteer and support at the World Champs in Edmonton 2014. As luck would have it, I have an all day course on the Tuesday 12th so I will be off social media and won't be sucked into the hype, tension and excitement of The Noosa Entry (it is about as hard to enter as it is running in 30 degree heat). Good luck to all the triathletes who want to do this event in 2014. It is a great one to tick off the bucket list.

Favourite session of the week: Believe it or not, the Noosa Olympic race was my favorite session for the week (fortnight). I remembered why I love this sport and being part of the Tri Alliance team (family). From the moment we landed, the sun of Noosa just made me smile from ear to ear. The familiarity of Hastings Street and the time away from work and house work makes for a great holiday.

The ins and outs of the race was in my race report so I won't go into too much detail but I did enjoy pushing myself through the race albeit being slightly uncomfortable. I do love swimming (now) and felt like I am getting stronger on the bike. I still  haven't found the Running Nirvana but I don't hate it. I want to love it, I just want my legs to stop hating me for it.

The other reason why I loved this session is that it brought me back to a few years ago (Nov 2011) when this was my first Olympic Distance (and longest race) and how much I was so proud of myself for finishing in one piece. It is humbling to know how much I have improved and now a better triathlete. I am grateful for the ability to do this race with little hesitation.

Least favourite session of the week: I am not able to run so I am doing water running instead. It is not a session I hate but just a session I wish I didn't have to do. Yes, it is mind numbing but I rather do water running than not doing anything at all or doing more injuries if I was to run on hard surfaces.

Noosa 2011 (with 2075). Spooky fact, for 2013,
my race number was 2705.

Advice of the week: For a person who has been training as a long course triathlete for a few years now, I had (and many others around me) lost sight of what it is like to be a beginner triathlete kicking goals with enthusiasm. The week leading up to the race at Noosa, I was reminded of what it is like to do a 1.5km swim, a 40km ride and a 10km run for the first time. The nervousness and anxiety of the days leading up to the event of uncertainty on how your body would handle the stress through to the joy and gratification of crossing the finish line!

Reading through social media, the mood can be quite negative - triathletes who have been through training and racing for a few years just don't understand why beginner triathletes are so excited when they accomplish a training session, why they tweet and facebook about their day, the distances they have achieved and that lovely aching feeling of a good session. I think we forget the small things about triathlon when we start racing for the big events and have been through the training before - we start to feel that "its no longer such a big deal". People blog/tweet/facebook about their achievements not because they think they are "top shit" or necessarily want to throw off their competitors....for a newbie age grouper, its not about that.  

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This weekend will be Shepparton 70.3 - my 3rd half Ironman event (2nd Shepparton 70.3). Looking forward to kicking small PBs (Personal Bests) even if it is just feeling more comfortable pre race, during the swim, during the ride and fingers crossed, during the 3 laps of the run course.

I think I am in Taper Town....

I can't believe it has come down to this again....taper town. I have a half Ironman in 8 more days (7 more sleeps) and I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I know my mind and body can finish a half Ironman (1.9km swim, 90km ride and a 21.1km run) - I am just slightly worried about how my knees will hold up. I do want to finish this.

Post Noosa (Olympic Distance), I am still limping 7 days after the race. Its all to do with the inflammation and bleeding behind the left knee cap which has been more annoying than my previous shin splints.

I haven't been running since the 10km as part of the triathlon other than doing a few water running sessions since I have been back in Melbourne. I will stick with the water running and seeing the physio sometime next week for a pre-race prep and to purchase more kinesio tape (or knee brace) to hold these bloody (no pun intended) knees together.

I can't believe that this time next week, I would have done my pre-race re-con of the course, picked up my registration pack (the Shep packs are always awesome), racked my bike in transition and maybe even taken a pre dinner nap. Between now and next Sunday, I still have the following sessions:

Sunday - I will either do a ride (90km) or a few hours on the windtrainer (see how the weather Gods are feeling), go to Elwood for the Shepparton de-brief, head home to watch the Noosa highlights at 1:30pm...
Monday - Swim in the morning, work
Tuesday - Small water running session, work, windtrainer
Wednesday - Swim in the morning, work (or swim in the afternoon)
Thursday - Small water running session, work, combo (most likely be a small session, maybe one last open water swim)
Friday - drive to Shepparton, bike course re-con, maybe a swim
Saturday - bike course re-con, register, rack bike in transition
Sunday - Race Day...

In my non-triathlon life, I am also moving house in a few weeks so I will need to do some sorting, throwing out of crap and packing before the start of December (officially get keys on the 2nd Dec). I am looking forward to this move as I will get a garage (hello bike racks!!!), a dishwasher (hello real kitchen space!!!), a bar (hello triathlon supplements corner!!), a study (hello triathlon/sports room!!) and just generally not having the stress of packing multiple bags if I want to spend time with the Canadian. Words cannot describe how excited I am about getting a dishwasher.

After Shepparton, I will have 2 more races in my 2013-2014 calendar, namely Challenge Melbourne and the big one - Ironman Melbourne. The good thing about the new year is that I will also get my health insurance benefits back and start claiming for massages which are mandatory for Ironman.

Shuffling my way through Shep...

I have also received an addition to my bike-kids family. I have now a mountain bike (a Giant Arete) to play with post Ironman. The CX bike is still in the factory in Taiwan but I am in no rush in getting it into the house. I am looking forward to riding these bikes for the love of riding (rather than the prescribed hours as per program).

Noosa 2013 - The Race Report

Another year, another Noosa raced....this was my 3rd (and will be my last) Noosa for a while. Not because I didn't enjoy the holiday or the race event itself, I will be travelling next year and giving Noosa a miss to participate in other events outside of triathlon.

So how did I go in the race? I am actually pretty happy about it albeit that it was slower than last year's time. I felt good on all 3 legs (swim, bike and run) and I am happy that my knee held together during the day (can't say much about it post race - I am now Limpy McLimp).

I woke up at about 5am, got my bags together, ate a banana and went down to transition for the set up which closed at 6am (instead of 6:30am in previous years). I forgot to bring my triathlon towel but I had a white one which did fine for the 'bright towel'. Decided to stick to my (long course) routine of putting on the bike shoes in transition (no fancy mounts) and no more running with a hat. Transition set-up was finished at about 5:30am. Went back to the apartment (across the street) to relax. Watched nearly an entire movie.

My wave started at 7:49am (last year being 8:05am). I headed to the start but didn't get in until about 7:45am due to the congestion. Quick warm up and last gulps of my gatorade and pre-race gel. I started around the right side (long side) and when the gun went off, didnt have anyone swim over me.

My swim time was longer than last year - could be due to current, could be due to me swimming wider. I felt good in the swim and came out of the water in 33:12 (112 out of 222). I navigated well and made sure my technique was consistent. 

Ran my way into T1 to only realised that someone (a total douchebag) had moved my transition over to the other side of my bike - firstly making me look like I had no idea what I am doing in transition and setting it up wrongly and secondly, had all my things all over the place (not the way I had it set up). To make matters worse, this person had a plastic tub in transition (like an ITU Pro), on the left side of his bike AND had the tub going sideways - hence, the need to move my transition over the left side of my bike...I don't understand how this person got away with it and not realising that no one has set up their transition that way. 

After I tried my best to go through T1 like a squirrel scavenging through my pile of nuts - shoes on feet, helmet and glasses on and clipped clopped off on the bike course, I was still fazzled about what had happened and almost reminding myself in my head for a few minutes that everything will work out at the end....not sure how long T1 (and T2) was as it was all accumulated in my ride time.

The bike was not too bad. I had moments on the course where I literally ran out of gears and pedalling at a high cadence (post Garmin Hill). Nothing too interesting to report except that I had to dodge a few people who took their time to pass and also others who rode in the middle of the road (blocking). There was a slight wind on the course and the last 5km or so was not my fastest. I did also feel slightly slugging at the 25-30km mark - not sure if it was the wind...I didn't drink enough on the course (only about 200ml) and I know I do need to change this for Shep but I was afraid of going to the toilet on the run. 

Ride time of 1:27.29 (115 out of 222) including T2 of trying to recognise which transition was mine (as it wasn't what I had set up).

On the run, my legs (like always) were sore. I pushed through the pain and just tried to increase my cadence to push the legs on. My mouth was dry (dehydrated) and couldn't wait for the first drink station. Felt like I was running through the desert. I had a girl from QLD (Alana) run with me for a few hundred meters and we chatted until I picked up my pace and pushed on.

I had half of my gel at the 5km mark (just after the turn around point) and then tried to hold a steady (and slightly beyond my comfortable pace) for the rest of the run. The run towards the finish line is never the easiet when you know the end is so close yet you have to go through the little streets. The spirit of the neighbourhood was once again the highlight of the run course. So much support especially for local triathletes. 

I walked through all the drink stations so I was able to drink properly and pour water over my head. Finished the run under an hour 59:22 (143 out of 222).

My overall placing was 116 out of 222 for my age group (Female 30-34) with a time of 3:00:04. Slightlly out of the top 50% percentile for my age group but I am considerably happy with it. Why? I guess I had really low expectations about how I would go and didn't expect to get anywhere near the 3 hour mark. I wanted to pace myself and didn't want to ruin my body with 2 weeks to go before Shepparton 70.3. I used this race as my practice (not an A race at all).

How am I feeling now? My knees are not great and will have to order more kinesio tape prior to Shepparton. I will continue on with my water running as to not ruin my knees even further. 

  

Noosa Update

So after we arrived here at Noosa on Thursday, we had time to eat lunch before Lee (a friend from the squad) and I went to the lagoon for a lap of the swim course. The water is as salty as the previous years and my mouth did get ridiculously dry.

After the one lap swim, we went and had dinner at the life saving club before Sally and I headed back to our accommodation to sort out what we were doing for the undies run. Lucky Sally had an extra pair of moustache printed undies as the ones which I bought were too small (I have actually bought a size smaller in the past).

Friday 1st - the long course guys had a bike ride which started at 5:30am. I thought 5:30am would require bike lights but I ended up having to wear my sunnies because it was so bright already. The ride was over the course and then further out to Boreen Point and a loop back. I lost the guys after every stop but I happily rode at my pace until I caught up with them (next stop). It was a great 70km ride through the back roads.

I then got back to the apartment to take a shower, nap and then we got ready for the undies run at 11am.

Sally posted that we were starting at 11am and we had a few people from the squad who were there to see us off which was great. People donated too. We ran (walked) along the foreshore and then up Hastings St via a lap of the expo.

We raised nearly $100 that morning from donations.

Here is some picture to prove that it happened.

 

After the undies run, I then had a quick pool session (of pool soak and drying out on the lounge) before we headed off for lunch. As we had a few hours to kill before our afternoon swim session we decided to properly check out the expo. 

There was the obligatory purchase of Noosa 2013 tops and then I bought a Timex watch ($30, was $120). I didn't buy anything else. The things you buy at the expo is inversely proportional to the years of triathlon. 

The swim session with the squad was good as we had a small insight in pack swimming. Learning the difference between where to swim was also great. After the swim, there was a quick briefing about race day and what to do leading up to it (such as hydration). 

We had plenty of time to head back to the expo for registration where we picked up our bag (with towel - bonus!) 

Tomorrow is a day training before we have some downtime to watch some of the events. 

I still don't know how I feel about the race on Sunday. I will take it as it comes.