Coogee Olympic Distance triathlon

Transition race morning Coogee .Pic by Dennis Tan

The swim start .Pic by Dennis tan

The weekend in Perth was not only blessed with good weather but there was lots happening.Two OD races and the 3/5 dams ride which was a mega ride int he hills of 146 and 235 km .

My legs were feeling a little tired after Saturdays ride and the yoga session in the afternoon. But I was determined to do a OD race. the last race I had done in that distance was probably 2 years ago in 2010.

I got down fairly early , at about 5.40am and i was one of the first to rack my bike and register. it was still pretty dark and it is amazing seeing 700 people slowly filter in. .Many were doing their first triathlon or first OD race. There was even a section for a 4th leg paddling .

The race started off with the usual briefing and it was a little chaotic but otherwise i had a fairly good idea as to the course and transition lay out. Down at the beach Stephen Doyle the Race Director and for many years one of only 2 race organisers who ran triathlons , stepped into a hole on the beach and broke his leg.he will need a total knee reconstruction. That was very unfortunate.Probably the only race where the only casualty was the race director.

It was 30 minutes before my wave went off. I had a few issues with the swim and my arm but managed to get into a comfortable rhythm and followed a swimmer on his feet but is was really a bit of luck if I got onto the feet of someone swimming straight and a little faster than me. i stepped out at 28 minutes but crossed the timing mat at 29 plus minutes. I took 2 minutes 16 seconds in transition and that was probably my fastest so far .Just had issues with my wetsuit and timing chip.
The ride was a bit of a disappointment and I did a 1hr 17 minute split.It was a funny course with a climb up a slight inclination stretching about 150m and then descending half way and climbing back up again before a full decent to the other turnaround for a circuit of 6 plus km which we did 6 times.

I managed to dismount and get my bike into transition and out on the run course in just over a minute.again a reasonable T2 time. the run was flat and reasonable ramble on the footpaths but on the return of the 5km loop there was a beach sand section of possibly 1km and that hurt.the run course was over 10km and i did a slow 56 minutes.

At the Point Walter OD in 2009 I did a 44 minute run but i suspect that course was shorter.  finished in 2.46 and it was a little slow .I was hoping for a time closer to 2.30 but the legs were just tired from the hills ride on Saturday. I felt it on the climb on the bike leg. But it was good to be racing after the accident and I am hopeful for a reasonable showing at the Half despite the disrupted preparation. I finished the race and felt OK .Not spent and whilst not fast I think with the rest and the 2 more weeks of preparation I will be able to give of my best .

It was great to see some familiar faces and I hopefully will do more OD races next season. they are good preparation for the long distance events and a good practise for Transitions. .