March 2012
My last update seems a lifetime ago, like January and February, March was filled with numerous ‘first time’ moments for me. The first Sunday of the month I was back at Kurnell before sunrise for the final TriShave Sprint Race. I had a solid race, winning my age but more importantly putting into practice race skills and transition techniques while under the pressures of the clock.
The next weekend there were road closures around Wollongong, these being justified by a fairly big event, TRItheGONG. I raced the Enticer event (300m swim, 9km bike, 2km run) on Saturday, which was short and sweet and made me realise how much I prefer endurance based racing. The Sprint event on Sunday delivered a greater challenge as I was chasing a girl in my age group in the bike leg. I ensured the pressure of the ‘chase’ would not affect a smooth transition giving me the opportunity to lift my ‘first across the line’ banner.
With a few more weeks of solid training under my belt, I was on the plane to engulf myself in the ‘Mooloolaba Multi Sport Festival’. While on Saturday I was all about preparing for my race the next day, we were able to time our pre-race swim and run so I could catch glimpse of the Men’s World Cup event, opening my eyes to elite triathlon racing as I got up close and personal to athletes in transition and on the course.
A 4am wake up is something I haven’t missed since my days in a swimming squad and by 4:10am I was in to action. Fuelling the body, braiding the hair, having an accelerometer device strapped to my back, putting my bike into transition, running 1500m up the beach to the start line and warming up all before race start at 6:36am. Sitting comfortably in the front pack in the swim and for the majority of the bike definitely had me in a good mind set until a slight mishap in the pack occurred and I was sliding on the road. While I wanted to finish in the top females, I was desperate to complete my first Olympic distance race. After a decent run, I crossed the line in 8th position and my answer to people asking about the fall is simply ‘s**t happens.’
It always feels good to be training alongside people who have reached the elite level and the past week we have been graced with the presence of a few international ‘Olympic hopeful’ athletes.
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to. – Kahlil Gibran
The month ahead will comprise of another solid block of training before I venture to my first international race at Subic Bay in the Phillipines in early May where I hope to stir things up.
Grace Musgrove
