Hardly know where to start on this one! Finally managed to get a motel room in Maroochydore for the night on saturday, so I went and helped rack the bike and pick up our race kits on saturday afternoon. Saw Schultzy who did a commando roll into a flower bed at running on wednesday - turns out he actually broke his hand, poor thing!
Got up at 4am to find I had a really sore throat. I'm not sure if it's the same bug that I had early this week, but all was not well. Being slightly asthmatic, things of that nature never bode well for me, so I pretty much scrapped my PB plan then and there :( I drove up to Noosa and met my team mates at 6am. Saw the lovely Karisma, on the way into get numbered but couldn't stop because I was terrified of losing my team mates (having only just met them, I didn't think I'd find them again in the crush! LOL!) we got tattooed and then began the long process of waiting around in the transition area. Bumped into Tori after her swim and we had a good chat. Saw Puntermatt too, looking all posh with his official press pass! (I want that job!) Also saw Little Kirlou I think, not that he knew who I was *grins*
The swim looked brutal and some of the other people in the other zenergy teams (organised by my trainer) came back with black eyes and various bruises. My team mate escaped the scraps but looked exhausted! I'm starting to think the run is the 'easier' leg after having seen what the others had to do! Definitely made me realise that I am going to have to be doing a lot more training before I'm even half way ready to do the whole thing. At the moment, I don't think I'd last five minutes!
My rider came back quite early in the scheme of things which was good for me, since I knew I'd be slow. Lots of fun tagging hands and then zipping off through the transition area to the start line. Saw a whole tent load of familiar faces as I took off all yelling for me *grins* Competing with people from PT was fun but not as much fun as it would've been with fellow running friends - I think it would mean more with people you have a rapport and friendship with - so it was lovely to get that boost as I went by :) Made me realise just how lucky I am to be part of such a great running community, actually :)
Predictably, I felt absolutely shit for the first 4km. Really, really bad. Almost to the point where I thought I can't do this today! but the idea of letting my team mates down made me realise that a DNF was definitely not an option so I ignored my legs and my burning throat and lungs and kept going. I didn't actually like the way the run course was set out at all - 4km to the turn around and then 6km back (with two separate loops around culdesacs to make up the extra distance. At the half way mark, the sun came out and it got really, really, REALLY disgustingly humid. It was like running through soup. The glare came up off the pavement and it got really difficult to breathe. Some kind souls were out on their driveways with their hosepipes dousing us as we went by - temporary respite from the temperature.
It was positively the hardest run I think I've ever done, ever. Way harder than 25km. Seeing all the full tri competitors keep on plodding on was really inspiring though and seeing them made me keep going. By comparison to them, I should've been fresh as a daisy and if I had resorted to a walk, I knew I would look like a complete cop out. (not that I didn't fantasise about stopping for a walk relentlessly!) I did manage to overtake a fair few team runners on the way which was nice and even managed a bit of a last minute glory dash over the line. I finished my run in 57.33 (crapola but expected!) but overall our team finished 134th. I was 584th in the run (132 in the category - though quite what that bit means I'm not sure ;)
As I crossed the finish line, I started feeling not very well at all.... the world sort of started to tilt on me and I thought I was going to throw up. Had to grab the rail for a few minutes. One thing I noticed is that they didn't seem to have anyone keeping an eye on finishers like they do in fun runs. I suppose they assume everyone is fit enough to cope. There were about a million people all packed together and being so hot and out of breath made me a big panicky. Nearly went to the medical tent actually as i had the shakes. Bloody virus. Bloody humidity. *L* It was really weird not seeing anyone I knew after, either... couldn't find the water and got a bit disorientated. After a while, a good sit down and whatever was left in my fuel belt bottles, I calmed down and went for a shower and some food. Felt better after that. Good job I didn't land on my face really though - I wonder if I'd still be there! *snorks* my fault for running feeling ill to begin with.
All up, despite having such a bad run I did enjoy the triathlon. I think it sort of left me feeling a little bit thunderstruck at the moment... thinking about how hard I struggled just to finish the run today made me reevaluate my fitness levels a fair bit. I know I can train up to it, but it's going to take some time to get there I think. I'm also packing it about Kurruwa now, since running in that sort of heat was incredibly difficult today. Not that I'm going to back out of Kurruwa for anything (too stubborn for my own good!) but still! *freaks out slightly*
Anyway, hopefully whatever is wrong with me will fix itself in a few days and I'll be set to have a proper crack at my 10km on sunday at BRRC :)
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8 comments:
Good on you for finishing it Hannah!!
I heard it was very hot and humid up there - the end of the run is horriblr - you can see the end but you have keep running into the little side streets that loop around and they're so stuffy!!!1
I love the Noosa tri though, I find the atmosphere just awesome.
You'll just have to do the whole thing next year ;-)
Hannah - good on you for hanging in there. It WILL get better....and don't ever forget how far you've come!
A mighty effort, Hannah! You did yourself & your team & Cool Running real proud!!
Good on you Hannah for hanging in there. I'm really proud of you. It sounded like really tough conditions.
I have no doubt that you will do a tri one day. And I, and the pom-poms, will be there to see it :-)
J
Sounds like a tough day and your time is pretty respectable considering the conditions and that you were feeling less than your bouyant self! Great effort to keep on going, especially when most parts of your body are screaming at you to stop.
Firstly, congratulations! It's very brave of you to do the event even when you're not well. It's also incredibly smart of you to pace yourself, given that you weren't feeling well, and set realistic goals for the day and the conditions - good girl! I am sure you'll do brilliantly at Kurrawa and you'll have lots of friends there as well. Make sure you get plenty of rest for now.
Your "category" is an option to compare yourself against people who raced in the same class. For individuals, this is an age group. For teams, there are a variety of classifications for corporate teams, families, sporting clubs, and also male, female or mixed.
No one watching the finishers at the end? That's a USM thing, not a triathlon thing. If you're going to have a hitout on your own, I recommend starting with the Bribie Tri series, by the Run Inn. They're good people and they do it for the sport, not for a profit.
57:33 - not so crapola Hannah! I know of runners (who just did the run leg) who were more than five minutes slower than expected. That's a fantastic time in those conditions so congratulations.
I like your comment 'way harder than 25k' - definitely the marathon/ultra runner in you just dying to get out :-)
You are making me worried about the Kurrawa Race. I was planning to do it but would have to run second. Everytime I think about it and how hot it will be, I wonder what craziness has got into me.
Look after yourself and gutsy effort.
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