Victor Harbour Olympic Distance – a battle against a tough course

VICTOR HARBOUR OLYMPIC DISTANCE
Sunday 9 March 2014
By Tri Alliance Ambassador Anne-Marie Cooke

“I had gone through all kinds of emotions, questioning my love of the sport and what the point was of a whole year of training when I had just got slower!… But later I realised that as triathletes, we need to stop obsessing about times and PBs. Race the course and attack each race on its own merits. And this one was a tough one!”

A few months ago a plan was put in place for a convoy of Tri Alliance athletes to make their way to South Australia for the Victor Harbor Olympic Distance World Championship Qualifier.

3 cars left Melbourne, the boys (Tim Salt, Gordon Hassett, Charlie Nathan and Stephen Drake) making their way on Friday morning, all the way to our destination I hear a quiet night in watching ‘The Holiday’ is how they spent their time! The girls (Sinead & I) drove as far as Horsham on Friday, breaking the journey with a stopover. We had a slight hiccup when, after our third time googling its location, we realised that our hotel was located in Horsham, UK, not Horsham Victoria……….who knew! We were tired & dying to get to bed but could do nothing but laugh (and promptly checking in at the local Comfort Inn!)

We did the final part of the drive (a further 4 to 5 hours) on Saturday morning. The day before was very relaxed as we took advantage of our waterside location and went for a dip and a paddle in our canoe. Later that evening, we drove over the bike course and I got a bit of a surprise! The course had changed and they  introduced two pretty serious hills, the first a steady climb shortly after transition, followed by a descent, some rollers and a second steady climb. This was the first time I thought, this race may not be the ideal race for a PB….and I was right!

The swim was a dream, completely flat water in a beautiful location. The gun went and after the usual mess at the start, I settled in quite well. I took a few lines a bit wide but was happy to exit the water in 30mins,a 2min PB for the distance…but that’s where the PBs ended!!! A forecast high of 35 degrees on Sunday had us all worried, especially as the Olympic Distance didn’t start until 9.30!!!

On to the bike and the first hill came around far too quickly, and I soon thought that the Time Trial bike may not have been the best decision for this course as I am much more comfortable climbing on my roadie. The whole way to the turnaround point I struggled. There was a slight headwind and I found myself looking down at my wheels to make sure I wasn’t carrying a flat tyre. I later found out that several of us had the same thought, some of the others checking their breaks weren’t rubbing! My time was blowing way out and I got disheartened as I began the run.

Within the first kilometre I tried to recover from the bike but it became clear this run was going to be a struggle. I saw Tim and Gordon early on, where Gordon had just overtaken Tim. This is always a hotly fought rivalry with some friendly competition pushing them on (and Tim trying to avoid an ass tap from Gordon by side stepping as he heard him approaching behind!) 🙂

The temperature was 34 degrees by now and the course was full of people shuffling around, me included! Sinead was having a fantastic first OD and caught up with me just after the 2k mark. She gave me some encouraging words as she passed, offered a gel and continued on looking very strong. Then I did something I’ve never done in a race…. I walked. Once this happened, the decision was made to walk through every aid station, I even queued up for a cup of water at one point!! One local had set up a little table with an esky and some kitchen cups and having not had any water in a while, my head was feeling fuzzy, so I stood behind 2 others – and waited! The mental battle was awful as I knew I would be disappointed at the end, but I gave everything I had, it wasn’t my day. I crossed the line, happy for it to be over. The overall time, slower than my first ever OD more than a year ago….my thoughts – disaster.

I had gone through all kinds of emotions, questioning my love of the sport and what the point was of a whole year of training when I had just got slower! 

When I met up with the group, the first thing that I heard was ‘Worst race ever’. I had assumed that I was the only one struggling but everybody had found it difficult. I can’t remember who admitted it first but 4 out of 6 of us had walked at some point. Kudos to Sinead and Gordon who made it the whole way around without walking and especially to Sinead who had somehow managed to enjoy the day and had one of her best races yet!

I was a bit grumpy but the realisation that it had been a challenge for everyone somehow made it better. Stephens first words to me were ‘What the hell was that!?! (in reference to the course and heat, thankfully not my race..). But later he told me to think about what I got out of it. I realised that as triathletes, we need to stop obsessing about times and PBs. Race the course and attack each race on its own merits. And this one was a tough one! You can’t compare a race like that, to a race on Beach Road, or the beautiful course at Noosa. In the end I came away with 9th (of 16) which on a day where I had to walk, is not so bad! Only half of my age group ran the 10k in under an hour. Everybody else had also done better than expected and we began to gain some perspective.

So on we went to T3!!! Back to the house for beer, pizza and a lot of laughs! We decided to sample the sights of Victor Harbor later that night by heading to the local pub which was an interesting experience, the only other occupants being a bucks party from Adelaide and a few dodgy looking locals (No offence Vic Harbor, an off night I’m sure!)

Monday was a looong drive back to Melbourne and all were happy to be home with some recovery time coming up.

One more race to go…..and with my last 3 races featuring a strong performance in the ride, then run and in Victor Harbor, the swim, fingers crossed it can all come together for once and I finish off the season on a high! 🙂

Until next race, I’ll keep on keeping on…
Anne-Marie.