I had an awesome time away felt like i was really competitive and was really happy with my overall finish which was 3rd in the C final placing me 39th out of 83 and i still have 2 more years in this same age bracket. i have done a little bit of a race report of the whole weekend for you so you can get me feed back across all my races.
1st race swim meet 50m, 100m and 200m
pre race
before the race i did a land warm up with lots of core activation and should chest and arm activation with minimal stretching to try and keep the muscles short because these were all sprint races. i was also super nervous before this first event not knowing how i was going to fair amongst all the other athletes knowing that i am generally a poor swimmer and not wanting to come last.
actual race
in the first race the 50m i felt really good once i hit the water and did a PB of 29.07 and was really happy with this. this first result relived all the nerves and stress an i was able to carry my form though the next 2 swimming events getting another 2 PBs of 1:05 in the 100m and 2:26 in the 200m.
Post race
i did a light swim recover followed by a practice ride of the criterium course to spin out any lactic acid and to prepare my self mentally for the next race.
after the swim event i was ranked 64th which i was very happy with because i am quite a poor swimmer and not having done much squad training i thought that it was a good result for now but defiantly one that needs a large amount of improvement for next years racing.
2nd race bike criterium with 200m run 6km ride 200m run
pre race
i felt really good before this race i did run activation drills and sprinting drills before the start as a warm up for a intense first 200m for transition. my plan for this race was to lead into transition get out in the 1st bunch then try and run into some points off the bike.
actual race
i ran at full max for the first 200m to get to the front of the race and lead into transition as planned, then had a poor T1 getting me out of transition in 5th and a poor transition onto the bike, which resulted in me just missing the first bunch of 5 riders and placing me in the second bunch of about 12, i managed to break away with half a lap to and come into transition in 6th finishing off with a strong run but unable to catch the athlete in front of me i held my position and came 6th missing out on points in this race by 1 position.
post race
after the race i was stuffed i did a light jog cool down followed by 2 cycles in the ice bath. i felt that in this race had i not of had poor transitions i would have been right up there in this race and that is something i hope for next year that this can be a key race for me to pick up points in and perform highly in.
3rd race 1km run
pre race
i felt good but could still feel a little bit of sorriness and fatigue from the other events on this day. i did a long warm up to try and work all the lactic acid and muscle fatigue out of my system. on the start line a felt confident because my run is a strong point i have and i drew a relatively quick heat so felt like i my get a fast enough time to make the final.
actual race
the race was super fast i sat in behind NTA athlete dan coleman the whole race until he broke away from me with 1 lap to go, i then got ran down by 2 other athletes and came in 4th in my heat of 18 with a time of 2:41finishing overall at 21st leaving me only a few positions short of the final (top16 is the final)
Post race
i did a light run cool down followed by ice baths and lots of streching. i felt that this was a good out come in this event i ran a PB and was ranked over at 24th after day one but this ranking was inaccurate because of incorrect points being distributed in the Crit (race 2).
End of day1
after the end of day one i was super happy with my results i wouldn’t have ever dreamed that i would have been this competitive at such a level and couldn’t have asked for more but there are still many aspects of day one that i could improve on such as transitions and more aggressive riding in the criterium because in the days to come i found that i was very much one of the strongest cyclists there. all in all was really happy. that night i did lots of stretching and rehydration to prepare for the 2 triathlons tomorrow.
4th race triathlon super sprint (300m swim, 6km bike, 1.6km run)
pre race
before the race i was quite relaxed and mentally prepared with a race plan to swim as hard as i could to make the 2nd bunch then try and break away from them late in the ride with hope to run down athletes from the front bunch. the body was a little bit stiff and tired but after a pool warm up before the race i felt really good.
Actual race
swim
in the swim it was only 300m metres and i had to go has hard as could because i could afford to lose more time because i am already a poor swimmer. i came out just behind the second bunch by a couple of seconds but after a hard run to transition and quick transition i managed to just make the back of the 2nd bunch.
bike
in the second bunch on the bike i was clearly on elf the stronger cyclists in the bunch. i rolled turns with them for the first 2 laps but no one wanted to work so coming out of the last u-turn with one lap to go i went for a break away but as i attacked by Di2 battery bracket snapped off my frame and i was forced to ride the last lap holding onto the battery with one hand as it hung from the frame and ride with the other hand, i managed to stick with the bunch and still come into transition with them.
run
i had a strong transition off the bike. coming out first onto the run out of my bunch and managed to run up into 5th in my heat. i felt really good running off the bike i found my rhythm really quick which help me a lot to have a really good run in this event.
post race
after the race i went for a light run to recover followed by ice baths then just staying out of the heat and sun to try and keep my energy up for the next race in the afternoon.i was really happy within race despite my mechanical issues i sill performed really well and a lot better than i had expected in this race, i felt that it showed to me that despite my poor swim leg i can still compensate for it with a strong ride and run.
5th race triathlon ultra sprint (200m, 4km bike, 1.2km run)
pre race
i was feeling very tired before this and my legs were really starting to feel the fatigue from today and yesterday. i did a pool warm up before the race but still didn’t feel any better in the body, this naturally made me very nervous not knowing how i would be once i hit the water.
swim
when i hit the water i got a huge adrenalin rush and couldn’t feel a thing and the body was fine. i pretty much sprant the whole way and came out of the water in the second bunch.
bike
i lead the second group out of transition and onto the bike i was feeling really good. on the last lap of 2 laps i broke away in an attempt to bridge the gap between bunches by myself but could not quite make it across in the 1 lap i had to do it but came into transition not to far down on the front bunch.
run
i went all out on the run because it was only 3 laps and managed to run down one person in the front bunch to finish 8th in that heat.
post race
this heat in comparison to my 1st triathlon today was a lot faster with my seconded heat having a much higher calibre of athletes in it compared to my 1st heat so 8th in this race i still felt was a good achievement and one i was pleased with. i did a light run cool down after this race followed by ice baths and long stretching later that night.
day 2
at the end of day 2 after they had changed the points stuff up from the criterium i was ranked 42 which put me in the top half of athletes in the C grade final for the next day. i was very pleased with this result to be sitting in the top 50% of athletes and still having 2 years in the age bracket. the body felt terrible that night i did lots of stretching rehydration and slept in my skins to try and recover.
The Final ‘C’ grade 400m swim 8km ride 2.4km run
pre race
before the race i felt surprisingly good the body felt tired but my muscles were activating well after my land exercises and pool warm up. i had planned to swim as hard as i could to try and make the second pack then work from there, i thought that i would struggle in this race due to the exceptionally long swim compared to other races and i didn’t know if i would make the bunch because of the longer swim.
swim
i swam as hard as i could to try and make the second bunch and got out of the water just behind them, with a hard run in and out of transition i just made the second bunch.
bike
i was in bunch of about 8 with a bunch of 10 up the road on us, i tried to work with them for the first 3 laps but they were giving me nothing so i broke away out of the last u-turn with one lap to go and managed to bridge the gap by myself to the front bunch within about half a lap then attacked them after taking 2 seconds to recovery and went into transition leading the race with about a 2 second gap from the bunch.
run
i lead out of transition and for the first lap of run but was then ran down in the second lap of 6 by 2 athletes who stayed away from me for the rest of the race but after the 3rd lap i found my rhythm and form and hung on the 3rd place.
post race
i was absolutely wrecked i had never worked so hard in my life. felt that my race plan went well but i may have got to excited and over exerted on the bike whited i paid for on the run.
over all
after my result in the c grade final i finished 39th overall for the whole weekend which i was really pleased with and would have never though going into this race that i would have faired like this and been competitive. i feel that taking away from this i need to improve on my swimming but don’t want to subsidise training on my other 2 legs, i still want to keep my ride and run as a real strength but i need to improve on my swimming still. next year my goal is to be in the A final, i feel that this is possible with having a good race in the Crit an the 1km run i could do this and these would be my key points races if i was to do so i believe.
cheers gabe 🙂
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