Watching the first race of the season unfold and then chatting to everyone postrace, the content for this week’s Blog pretty much writes itself.
Expectations are always interesting. Some had high expectation, while others like Asad just wanted to survive as he competed in a race for the first-time using cleats! Some like Steve P invested into the race, staying up the night before and doing some course recon (which in itself filled him with some doubt and fear as he wondered about how best to ride the hills) while others just rocked up thinking the bike course would be the same as other years!
For me the first race of the season is not one you go into with high expectations. Rather it is a race to find out. After months of training, it is time to find out where the gaps are. These could be in the pre-race preparations; it could be in fitness, or it could be in skills or the mental game. In this case the Victor course provided the perfect learning ground.
The new course meant it was worthwhile investing some time studying the course maps and maybe driving the course in preparation. Changes on the morning also kept everyone on edge, but the basics of the course remained the same. Just like Tuesday night running being able to understand instructions is vital.
No where in the course info was there a U turn in the first part of the ride (and just because Matt Fallon does it, doesn’t mean you all have to follow him!) So even though there could have been an arrow, or marshal present it is always the athlete’s job to know the course, there is no one else to blame if you go the wrong way (Verity). So, when athletes are doing a U-turn and heading back to where it all started it should have got the alarm bells ringing for those who had done the pre-race preparation work. As a result, we had quite a few athletes riding too far, while others took a short cut as they followed these athletes back onto the main drag.
Mentally those who went too far had a choice, let it affect them like Brayden Currie after being given a penalty in Nice and simply imploding, or take it in your stride and see what you can get from the day. It is a long season; this race won’t define you!
The swim was a challenge with a bit of chop, cold water, a mass start, a rocky exit and entry, but it is still just a swim. Some loved it while others found it difficult. There was ample time to warm up and swim out to the first turn buoy in preparation. The next thing you should have done was watch the first wave go out and see how they were being moved to the right. Clearly starting to the left was the best option for this race. Amanda wearing her skull cap was a good option in the 15-degree water as some complained of the cold.
The standout for me, as that is where I was positioned, was transition. It was staggering to see how long people were taking. In T1 some struggled to get their wetsuits off- the key is to stand on the leg and pull the leg out rather than trying to peel it off, while in T2 it was how long it took people to get their shoes on. However, it was only after chatting at the end that you learnt people’s hands were just so cold they couldn’t get their fingers to work properly! However there still looked like plenty of time to be gained by having a clear process to follow. This is one of the many things we will be learning at the Beginners skill development day on Sunday October 29th (spots still available if you are keen).
On the run it also appeared as if it took people some time to get into their run gait. This could be due to a lack of hard runs off the bike in training, or again as we learnt post-race, that people’s feet were still numb so they couldn’t feel them. Sunday was definitely a day for toe warmers on the bike. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day with minimal wind, warm sunshine and a great course so most warmed up quickly and finished strong.
So, the take home message is, invest into pre-race planning and preparation! Be clear on how you want to execute the day, learn as the race unfolds, make a list and then set about practicing and planning for all of the little things that challenged you on race day. With only a week to the first west lakes race and 3 to Moana now is the time to fine tune all of these little elements.
Happy training and please feel free to contact me if you have any triathlon training, coaching and racing related thoughts or questions.
Nigel