22 replies to this topic

[Kilee]

Has anyone entered this tri? Has anyone done it before? I went and did some recon on the course last night and I can't work out transition to cycle and run - seems like a very big area (was going by the map on the tri web site).

The hills are a little intimidating.

[guinness]

Kilee, on Mar 13 2009, 04:31 PM, said:

Has anyone entered this tri? Has anyone done it before? I went and did some recon on the course last night and I can't work out transition to cycle and run - seems like a very big area (was going by the map on the tri web site).

The hills are a little intimidating.

hi kilee, i think it's the same course as the Australia day tri at point walter?
i've done australia day - it's a bit hilly, and the turn at the bottom of the hill can be a bit scarey if you take it too fast.
it's not one of my favorite tri's but there arent many olympic distance races around are there?
i was planning on doing this one anyway, but will be out of town for work now.

[Kilee]

guinness, on Mar 13 2009, 10:04 PM, said:

hi kilee, i think it's the same course as the Australia day tri at point walter?
i've done australia day - it's a bit hilly, and the turn at the bottom of the hill can be a bit scarey if you take it too fast.
it's not one of my favorite tri's but there arent many olympic distance races around are there?
i was planning on doing this one anyway, but will be out of town for work now.

We rode the course on the weekend, it is hilly but at least there was no walk of shame - in the Australia Day tri was the bike start up hill?

[serena]

I'm not doing this but my husband is so I will be milling around to cheer you all along.

serena

[Kilee]

Kilee, on Mar 16 2009, 10:27 AM, said:

We rode the course on the weekend, it is hilly but at least there was no walk of shame - in the Australia Day tri was the bike start up hill?

Thanks - I will be the one bringing up the rear

[LaurenR]

I've done the Australia Day tri at Point Walter and the bike course is hilly, but there is enough flat ground or downhill after the (up)hills to give you enough recovery time. From memory the bike start is on a very slight slope, but not very noticeable.

In good news the run is fairly flat, although there is a big hill to get up from the swim exit to transition - yuck! Not my favoruite course either, I won't do it again.

Good luck!

Edited by LaurenR, 18 March 2009 - 04:55 PM.

[mjail]

I would be doing the unofficial Olympic swim/run biathlon. Hence, should any of you normal triathletes not wanting to do the cycling leg, please join me then.

[mjail]

Yep, I am the sole competitor of a category that the organisers have dubbed 'Olympic Dash'.
Kilee, I hope to meet you and serena, hoping to catch up with you again as well.

[Pelagie]

mjail, on Mar 27 2009, 08:20 PM, said:

Yep, I am the sole competitor of a category that the organisers have dubbed 'Olympic Dash'.
Kilee, I hope to meet you and serena, hoping to catch up with you again as well.

Good luck Mjail on your 'Olympic Dash'! I am sure you will do well, you are 'on fire' at the moment!
Good luck to Kilee and everybody taking part in this tomorrow!

[Suzy]

Good luck Mjail and Kilee!
Looking forward to hearing all about it

[mjail]

Thanks Pelagie & Suzy. I made the big mistake of looking at last year's results. My goodness, even if I were to join the triathletes for only the 10K run after they had swam 1600m and cycled 40K, I will still be at the bottom 10 percentile !!!!

Do the majority of the participants for the Olympic distance do the HIM or ironman ? They are all super fast and I am feeling very intimidated. Oh well, possibly my one and only chance and I have paid $80 too so no backing out. Will update on my humiliating experience after the race.

[serena]

Mjail Rob will be there and he isn't an ironman or even half of that so don't worry! I was hoping to be there to support but will be entertaining 15 boys instead (sons bday party).
Good luck all who are doing it, I am looking forward to hearing how you all go.
serena

[mjail]

Before we started, I was feeling rather self conscious as everyone was in their wetsuits with possibly only myself in a swimsuit. But I am so glad I was given the opportunity to do it ! It really was a wonderful experience. Thank goodness it wasn’t the 8 degrees it was the Sunday before and although windy and coolish, the water was OK once we started swimming.

I did learn a few things about swimming in the river. Only realised it was salty when I gulped a few mouthfuls now & again. Thought that the waters would be calm but was a little choppy when we were further out. Visibility was also practically zero making it difficult to judge if someone was ahead until you touched their toes or got kicked.

I also found that I could not swim in a straight line and had to do breaststroke now & again to look up and angle myself correctly. Swam the 1500m in 35.52 but was hoping that I could do 30mins as at the pool I am not far off from that. But then again, I had the advantage of the wall to push off every 50m. I ended up being in the bottom 40 of 245 participants.

Coming out of the water, we had to run up the slope to the Transition area where I washed and towelled my feet quickly before putting the shoes on, my shorts and CR singlet. It was a 4lap of 2.5K each where it started off going downhill for about 200m. I was already anticipating the dreaded uphill bit on the way back. Anyhow, when I came back from my first lap, the helpers did not know where the turnabout should be and I continued running all the way up to the finishing line where I was told to turn at where I started off. Well, 2nd lap came around and this time they told me to turnaround at an even lower spot. So, at midway I had done 26:30 but finished the route in 49.29 which I am very pleased with.

So, all in all I did 1:25.21 but on the results page they have me as DNF !

[Suzy]

Well done Mjail. I'm really glad you enjoyed the race. Open water swimming is very different to pool swimming with currents, chop, other competitors, navigation, and sometimes inaccurate measuring to contend with so you can't really compare times with pool swims. It sounds like you had a good swim anyway without any problems.
Did you have the run course all to yourself? What a shame the marshalls weren't sure where the turn was on the 1st lap - I guess you took them by surprise! 49 mins is a great time on a hilly course like that - and you probably ran a little extra as well. Fantastic effort. Will we see you taking up cycling anytime soon so you can do a full triathlon?

[mjail]

Thanks, Suzy. I don't see myself taking up cycling for a very very long time. It is both the time and expense. As it is, my current aim is to run a marathon before I hit 40 in 2011 and I am having difficulty finding time just to run.

Managed to do the swim the last 3mths as my parents were visiting from overseas and hence had the chance to go to the pool twice a week when my 9 yo daughter has her squad training leaving the 2 younger boys at home. And as I also work part-time, time is scarce.

Summer is good as I can get up at 5am and go running but winter I find it way too cold in the mornings and can only squeeze in time to run twice a week if I can leave work early and run lunchtimes before I pick the kids up from school. The days when I don't work I have my youngest with me so no chance of going for a run. I am looking very forward to next year when he starts fulltime schooling.

Who knows. Maybe in 10years time, I can be an accomplished triathlete like you.

[Suzy]

Mjail, I think I know where you are coming from being a single parent who works myself. Let me just say that creches are wonderful when the kids are young, windtrainers and treadmills are a godsend for working out at home. Jogging prams are great for little ones. I try to do my training early morning before the kids wake up. Its not easy - everything is a juggling act - but it is possible to keep a reasonable fitness level up (and even compete in a few races). And you are a great role model for your kids. Keep it up girl!

[Pelagie]

Well done Mjail, that was a great time on the swim and particularly on the run! Pity they listed you as DNF......

Hope to catch up with you at a run soon!

[mjail]

It definitely was an experience, Pelagie which I hope you would join me next year. My swim was pretty bad and needs a lot of improvement. I wasn't tired but could not go faster either.
As for the DNF, the organisers told me that the timing is done by an external party and because I just did 2 legs it automatically appears that I had withdrawn from the race.

Suzy, I just found out from the latest WAMC newsletter that you are a 5 time ironman finisher. I was already in awe of you with your success in triathlons and ultra runs before even knowing your personal circumstances and the Ironwoman status. You truly are an inspiration and I correct myself to say that in 10 years time, perhaps I can achieve just a fraction of your accomplishments. You truly are remarkable.

[Suzy]

[serena]

OMG Suzy! FIVE times?! I knew you were modest, but really... that is awesome girl!

Hey Mjail well done on the great Duo. I wish I could have gotten down there to cheer you on as well as Rob but I had to do my sons 11th bday party at that time. Rob came along (to Revolution Sports) in his lycra afterwards (!) which scared all the parents when they picked up their boys.

serena

[Kilee]

mjail, on Mar 29 2009, 05:06 PM, said:

So, all in all I did 1:25.21 but on the results page they have me as DNF !

Just logged back in to check this out - I gotta say this triathlon was one of the worst organised of any I have competed in and I have competed in a number organised by the same group. I felt unsettled from the beginning not really knowing where to be and what to do. My sister was in a team and one of the volunteers tried to argue that their cyclist should go to transition when they still had a lap to go.

I was one of the bottom 20 and the drink station on the run was packed up before I had finished my last lap - I am hopeless without heaps of water and really struggled on the last lap as a result.

The swim was tough, we found the visability hard and you are right the chop was unexpected, it looked so calm from the land. I take my hat off to you for even trying.

Training around kids and work is hard keep it up, hope to see you at the next event

[djefa]

I did the Olympic and while I've only done one other tri in recent history (Karri Valley) and I know tri's must have a lot of organisation go into them, I had a few issues with this one. Firstly the information on the website was a bit scratchy in terms of start times, and was the swim 1500m or 1600m? The main issue though was the run - it was congested as all hell, especially along the brick path and there were so many grades of people all sharing. I saw one guy go down. I would've thought stretching the run further along the path could've resulted in halving the lap numbers. And did anyone think the run was a little short? I ran 42.5 mins for the 10k but it certainly didn't feel like that. Then again, I couldn't really feel my legs much after the cycle.
I would do it again though.

[DenielHop]

Don't afraid just keep on trying, triathlon itself is a game of great vigor