Today's triathlon (number six this season, and actually my sixth one ever) was a total crock. Excuse my gutter Italian from here on in, but it was. I was so close to pulling out before the swim start that it wasn't even funny. I wanted to just pack up my 'merda' and go home. I'm no quitter - but this nearly changed today.
Why? The "swim" was an absolute bloody joke. We were meant to start at 8am. At 8.15am we were still trudging out through mud and slippery rocks and shells to get to water we could actually swim in. Low tide was definitely low tide, and it was a good 300m hike out to somewhere that my knuckles wouldn't scrape the bottom when I swam. We couldn't hear the wave starts, by the time we got to actually swim some ladies were just about had it, and we still had 14.3km to go. What a crock.
It got worse. Not only did we have to trudge out, we then had to swim around a buoy 300m away (that part was fine), and then trudge back in about 200m. What a pezzo di merda! Then, when we actually managed to get back on dry land, we had to run across a stone chip road in bare feet. I cut the sole of my right foot on a submerged large sharp rock on the way in from the swim, and was pretty darn angry about it. So much for assuring our safety.
Let's just say that there was very nearly a mutiny in the knee deep water when we all realised how far out we had to go, and what we had to walk on and through to get there. It was crap. There were some really angry ladies out there, myself included. Makes me glad I'm moving to Melbourne in under three months and never have to put up with that kind of stunt EVER AGAIN. The words "piss poor planning" don't even begin to cover it.
I took my time in T1, as I was in no mood to push myself after the farcical debacle that was the "swim". I had to patch up my foot as best I could as there was no St John or first aiders in sight (great planning again, NOT!), and then got into the bike. I rode the bike course last week, so for me there were no surprises. I don't think that can be said for many of the other ladies who were pushing their bikes up most of the hills. It was a nasty bike course for a first timer, a nasty bike course for a semi-fit person and a nasty course for any woman in the "Athena" competitor category (i.e. over 70kg).
I did pretty well in the bike, considering. I got through the bike by drinking at the top of each hill, chewing on Gu Chomps in blueberry and pomegranate flavour (yum, just like wine gums but better), and singing "it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll" (AC/DC) through clenched teeth as I ascended each undulating roll in the road. I just had to grind it out. My legs really didn't need the extra 550m worth of walking to and from the swim, let alone the cut foot. Thankfully my pedals and cleats don't really allow me to get off and walk up hills, so I had to push on.
I still have a mild panic attack every time I can't clip out of my pedals instantly, but I'm getting there. The only time I had to clip out was at the end and that went okay. I hate having to mount my bike without a kerb or something to lean on. Someone always has to hold my bloody bike for me. It's a hangover from that truck incident back in January. But I have to get over it.
And then there was the run. Yet more poor planning and a last minute run course change meant we had to run about 1.8km of it down the beach. Yes, on loose dry sand. Crock number three. And because the tide was so far out, it was on a downhill lean. My ankle ligaments started to complain so I went to ground that was as flat as possible.
My time was abominable as the proverbial snowman:
Swim + T1
00:19:32
Bike + T2
00:37:30
Run
00:39:10
Total
01:36:12
But, it was the longest course to date (by the alleged/advertised distance and then the actual distance), I had a cut in my foot, and no supporters waiting at the finish line. I only kept going because the suffering I endured for that 1hr 36mins was nothing in comparison with what the people of Chile went through on 27 February. I am proud to say I earned every single cent of the $125 I have fund-raised for the Red Cross for the Chilean Earthquake relief fund, from today's triathlon. It was 14.3km of bloody hard work but I kept going and I finished.
I'm going to finish this post tomorrow, when I'm in a slightly better mood.
Ciao.
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