Grrr....13th! I know...I should be happy, I am but not fully! Funny how quickly ones expectations change! Actually, I think it because this year I know I've put in all the work and that a top 10 should be there....be patient, I know!
Here's how it went:
Well I arrived in Ishigaki on Thursday afternoon, put my bike together right away and went out for a ride. I noticed when I was assembling my bike that the derailleur wasn't screwing on quite as tight as it usually does, but I went riding anyway...after about 25min of riding I noticed it wasn't shifting quite as smooth as I like. I stopped and just touched my rear derailleur and it fell off--my hanger was stripped!! Oh Crap (well, other words were used..)!
I happened to be across the street from the local Ishigaki bike shop, with all the cruiser bikes out front, I was confident that they would stock parts for a Spanish bike. To my dismay they did not! But the guy offered to "make" a temp one for me but "it might take a few days". I came back to the hotel and put in a frantic skype call to Richard in Noosa and sent an e-mail to Coach Paul....What do I do?? Now this story is getting a little long, so I will try to condense it. I ended up going to the Japanese Triathlon Union (JTU) mechanic, I think he saw the panic in my eyes, so he made a call to a buddy on the Mainland....Orbea Japan (thank you!) was sending me a new hanger but it wouldn't arrive until Saturday afternoon from Kyoto. Just in case the part didn't make it, I also arranged for a back up bike (thanks to Marc Jenkins for volunteering, well, I think he saw the panic too...). To wrap this novel up, the part came at 3pm the day before the race--thank goodness! Heads up to the Speed Theory guys (Dale and Greg)...the bike is in major need of an overhaul when I get back in May, slot me in!
Now the race: The swim: went really well. I was just off the front couple girls going onto the second lap, so I put my head down (literally--right Coach?) and bridged the gap. Too bad it didn't really matter as the girls behind us in the water eventually caught us on the bike.
The bike: went well too, I felt really good on the bike. Although the group didn't really work well together, so we were caught after the first lap. I also pulled way too much. Then I went for the 'prime' on lap 6, which I didn't get, and expended WAY too much energy to be second across the line. I can onto the run in first place (for a fleeting moment--Hey, the Aussie's can run 33min, I knew it wouldn't last long!).
The run: I just didn't feel super great. I tried to run with other girls but got dropped going over the bridge--the hills weren't working for me today. I managed to move from 15th to 13th in the last 2k and for an 'off' run day, my run split was okay--much better than last year!
Now, I am heading off on a long journey back to Australia for a week of training and then back to Korea for my top 6 finish.
Phew, that was a long one! I'm sure there are many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in the is one Dad!
Later,
LM
3 comments:
UGH... I know how you feel... You had a GREAT race (super swim, super bike, super STRONG bike actually, and a good run on an "off" day) but I know you wanted your top 10 because YOU have it in you!
Ahhh... moving on... NEXT race... still cheering, glad you are posting more so we know how it's going for you! Safe travels back to OZ!
Lisa...19 then 11 now 13, funny how much difference a year makes in our expectations. I know there are goals and objectives but all in all-pretty good,eh! Remember Triathloning is like golf in many ways; Forget the last bad shot, remember how to gain from that experience and move on. Water under the bridge. You did great.
Still not golfing in Calgary...Grrr
Lisa, I managed to stay up and watch the race (past my bedtime), I thought you did GREAT!!! Got to see lots of you during the bike. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing you next race!
Louise
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