Monday, March 14, 2011

New Zealand Standard Distance Championships

Even though i have decided i will primarily race longer triathlons from now on it is always fun to mix it up, so i entered myself in the NZ Standard Distance Champs.  This race involved a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run.

Leading up to the event i was a little nervous as my mock race run and especially bike efforts were not much faster than if i had been doing an Ironman.  With speed being a big factor in the upcoming race i wasnt sure how my long distance body would match up.

Race day came and was suprisingly quite a nice morning for Wellington.  Usually i would be preparing for gale force winds up there! I was kind of hoping it might change to a duathlon with the Tsunami warning (swimming is not my favourite part of the race) but all was well and we lined up for the swim. Off we went...

My swim was ok and didnt get hit too much at the start. I did get a good wack to the upper arm near the end though. I came out of the water 18th out of around 120ish. At the time i thought i was a lot further back. Usually i end up playing catch up after the swim which i dont mind too much as i love the bike.

On to the bike i was feeling fairly comfortable and enjoying the fact that it would be only 40km rather than 180km. The bike course is out and back on a road following the harbour. Mostly flat with a couple of small inclines near the turn around. I started to pass a few people as the ride went on.  It was difficult to get into a rythm with lots of corners (i definitely need to practise those at high speeds!) and a lot of people on the course with the men having started 5minutes before us.  It is meant to be a non drafting race so everyone is required to stay the allocated distance away from each other.

Off the bike and onto the run i was feeling pretty fresh, but knew it was going to be a big task to try make my legs run fast!  I had passed a few girls near the end of the bike but because of a very slow transition 2 by the time i started the run they were half way up the road...dam it.  So i now had the task of making my legs run really fast to try catch them again.

My legs were not doing as they were told but still mangaed an ok run and passed all but one of the girls that had passed me in T2.  Ended up being only 2 seconds between us at the finish line. Came away with winning my age group and an overall placing of 3rd. By all means not a bad day.

It definitely made me realise that i really love long distance racing though.  I like having more catch up time after the swim to make your mark.  I will however still mix up my training with some short races to work on speed, but the main focus now is for the Cairns Half Ironman in June and Challenge Roth in July.  Finishing off my international races for the year with Standard Distance World Champs in Beijing in September.

A big thanks to R and R Sport who supplied me with my new racing kit for the event. It was super comfortable and Newton Running for my trusty Stability Racers.