It has taken my a lot longer than anticipated to get this blog posted as I had originally planned on having it done soon after the completion of the race and had even made time in the days leading into the race to pre-write some of it but that never eventuated. The reason for this is mainly due to the fact that for myself personally Geelong was one of those races where nothing went to plan and I am very disappointed with my result and it wasn't until I read the above quote that I have stopped thinking about what I did wrong and started thinking about what I can and will be doing in the coming weeks leading up to the next series of races to make sure I have a better result.
However in recent times many of my blogs have had more of a team centered theme to them and the achievements of the entire DAT Racing squad and Geelong is no different in that sense with several athletes making the trip down to compete in the Olympic distance race to try to accumulate as many points as possible to go towards selection in the Australian age-group team to compete in the World Championships later in the year as well as Brayden Tucker and myself to compete in the ITU Premium Oceania Cup that also doubled as the National Sprint Distance Championships. As seems to be the trend of late there were several outstanding performances whcih gives me some great stories to share instead of only being able to share my individual race stories.
There was only a small contingent of us flying in to Melbourne on the Friday as many of the other athletes chose to organise their own travel arrangements but 5 bikes and 9 people still required a bus to get us from Melbourne to Geelong and as you can see it was somewhat of a puzzle to fit all of us and our luggage in! Luckily no one's bike recieved any damage from the airlines or our own handling of the bikes!
Melbourne is well known for producing 4 seasons in one day and Saturday was a perfect example of this with the day beginning with an easy run instead of the usual bike ride because of the overnight rain and continual drizzle that greated us upon wakening followed by glimpses of sunshine and heat throughout the day before our afternoon run ended with what could only be described as an absolute downpoor! It was very reminisant of 2011 when our Saturday race had to be postponed until Sunday because of the gailforce winds. With the race scheduled for Sunday this year there was no worry of that and the day was very leisurely and even included an unintentional tour of the sights of Geelong when our 2min drive to Anaconda so Dan could get himself a rainjacket ended up taking us halfway back to Melbourne because our backseat drivers were too scared to interupt the conversation to let us know we were going the wrong direction. And the day was not without more drama with the afternoon downpoor making its way inside Elyza and her mum's room through a not so ideally situated leak that proceeded to saturate their suitcases, not exactly the preparation you want the evening before a big selection race when you have already had a minor crash earlier in the day on the way down to rack your bike!
The morning of the race was not too different from Saturday evening with the age-group athletes waking to cool conditions and rain not too far off. Never the less the entire DAT crew are never phased by a challenge and with all of them starting within 30min of each other there was plenty of spectating to be done. Having to save myself for my 3pm start time my spectating was limited but with the run going straight past our hotel I couldn't help but find myself a shady spot on the side of the road to help keep my mind occupied while cheering them on. Robbie, Courtney, Elyza, Lotte, Kate, Geoff, Simon, Dave K and Dave S all had great races and are well on their way to representing Australia later in the year and without going in to too much detail on each of their races I must point out a few special stories:
- Courtney had an outstanding race to finish 4th in her age-group just off the podium and in her first big race in who knows how long she is bound to improve out of sight from here and also managed to catch Robbie in the swim who was unable to shake her throughout the 40km cycle leg in what was described as painfully hard rain.
- Anyone at DAT Racing will be able to tell you how hard Dave S pushes himself at training and racing is no exception. Unfortunately the weather gods had a good old time with Dave who came unstuck not once but twice out on the bike course but to his credit he continued on, battle scars and all to not only finish the race but to finish inside the top 10 in his age group!
- Unfortunately injuries are part of the game and it looks like Lotte will need to undergo ankle surgery following the race and as much as this is a major dissapointment we all know she will be back stronger but this still didn't stop her from finishing the race in a very respectable and impressive position.
With the age-group race done and dusted, Sunday afternoon was all about the National Championships for the pros and with Brad Kahlefeldt not taking the start line a new champion was going to be crowned. With close to 60 guys taking to the water for the start of the race the start was crucial and unfortunately for myself I got stuck right in the middle of the washing machine of arms and legs and struggled to find any clear water and was still struggling to get going by the time I'd made it to the far end of the course. As I exited the water the majority of the bikes were already up the road but still managed to get myself into a pack with plans of pushing as hard as I could to make up lost ground. Throughout the very technical 20km our group did catch a few of the groups ahead of us but all the main players were still ahead in the first few packs. It was only about half way through the ride that I first spotted Brayden who had swam well and positioned himself well within one of the bike packs further up the road. I was still hoping for a solid run off the bike to take something away from the day but unfortunately it was not to be my day and although I had periods where my running felt good there were also periods where it didn't, resulting in anybody I'd caught passing me again. I finished the race in a disappointing 41st position while Brayden finished in a very pleasing 26th position for his first big race in a pro field.
But rather than kicking myself for what I could've done differently I'm learning as much as I can from the experience and moving on and with the next race scheduled for next weekend at Raby Bay before heading down to Devonport 2 weeks later there is not only plenty to learn but plenty to gain from these races.
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