I have not been training for 'short' races and despite having a rest week last week, I did not feel like I was in great shape for an Olympic distance race. But I was still really looking forward to it, and celebrating the anniversary of my first ever Olympic distance race at this event in Canberra 3 years ago. Wow!
The water temp was 25 so it was a non-wetsuit swim. After the first 50 meters or so I was a bit surprised to see so many yellow caps ahead of me, it felt like I was at the back of the wave when usually I would be closer to the middle. It wasn't particularly rough at the start and I didn't have many people around me for most of the swim. I tried to swim moderately hard, i.e.. a bit harder than I usually do and I was breathing quite heavily most of the way. Towards the end I started to tire and I was breathing every second stroke, which I have noticed in races before. My split was 27.5x minutes which is okay for me, but not spectacular.
It was a little cold when I first jumped onto the bike but I soon forgot about that. I started at about the same time as two women in my age group that I know. Both I estimate are slightly stronger than me on the bike, but not heaps. We each passed each other a few times to start with and then they were both in front of me and I noticed one pass the other on the left. I know that is an automatic DQ so I thought, 'naughty' and also, 'I want to stay clear of them'. At that moment the official motor bike pulled up along side me, showed me a yellow card and said "Number 88, penalty for drafting, you did not get out of the draft zone in time, you must serve a time penalty, do you understand?". I was shocked and I just said yes and kept pedalling. At that time I was sure I was more than 7m behind them, but I guess I must have been wrong. I felt that at most I should have got a warning as it would have been obvious I was not cheating. For the rest of the lap I just stayed about 20 meters behind them and tried to put it behind me and ride well anyway. I was not 100 per cent sure if I had to serve the penalty on that lap or I could wait till to the end of the bike, but when I got to the box there were 4 other people there so I figured it must be at the end of the lap. (Later I discovered that not serving it at the end of the lap means a DQ). Not surprisingly, everyone else in the box was also protesting their innocence and the strictness of the draftbusters. I had a good drink and a stretch for my 3 minute penalty time and tried not to watch all the people passing by. The second lap was MUCH more enjoyable as I didn't have anyone around me. I tried to ride hard on the flats and spin quickly up the hills. My bike split was 1.14.xx, so maybe I could have done about 1.10 without the penalty. Maybe not. Oh well. I had 2 gels on the bike and about half a bidon of water and half a bidon of sports drink. I actually really needed to pee on the bike and at the start of the run, but I just held on.
Getting off the bike my feet were completely numb but I felt like I was running okay. The run was 2 loops of a figure-of-8. I much prefer a simple out-and-back. I was never quite sure where I was up to on the course. My plan was to run the first lap steady and the second lap hard, but as usual I just managed to run steady-ish the whole way. At the start of the second lap Brownie came past me and I tried to stay with him but that didn't last long. Then with about 2k to go a woman in my age group came past me. I said to myself 'try to stay with her' but my legs would not do it. I really don't know if its mental or physical weakness. Probably a bit of both. My run split was 45.30 which I would be ecstatic with, but I am sure the course was short. I am not running 4.33 ks for 10k (yet) and others said the same thing about their splits. It would be nice if triathlon runs could be more accurate, but I know its hard to set a perfect course. I took one gel with me on the run but I didn't have it because I felt like I didn't want to slow down that much. I had just a few sips of water at the aid stations.
All in all I was happy with my race. I finished in 2.27.xx which is my best time for an Olympic distance race, and my first time under 2 and a half hours, even with the penalty. I didn't finish in the top half of my age group (10th out of 17), but I think that says more about the quality of the field than about me. I definitely went harder and faster than I did at Nowra when I got 2nd! I also learned that I have to be even more careful about the drafting rules. Its not enough to be not cheating.
I followed some recent tips I heard on recovery which was to drink plenty of sports drink straight away, do a reasonable cool down run, have a swim, eat a good meal with some protein, elevate your legs for 10 minutes, and keep well hydrated. I also had 9 hours sleep and the next day I felt great.
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