Pre Race
The day started around 4.00am with a number of alarms alerting me to the fact that it was time to meet the challenge front on and achieve that challenge that I have been working towards over the last 12-18months.
Having a glace outside, there were a number of stars visible. It looked like it was going to be a relatively fine day.
The morning preparations involved firstly waking up with a shower and getting into my race gear. The outfit for the day was to be my BTS (Brisbane Triathlon Squad) Tri Suit.
I was given a tip that Amo-Lin baby cream was great for putting on parts of the body where chaffing and rubbing would occur, particularly during the ride…thought I’d try it! Other apparel included the heart rate monitor strap and the very important timing chip. This chip was worth its weight in gold. Mental note…don’t lose it! Tracksuit pants went on and my newly purchased Ironman Jacket was also worn.
4.15am - Breakfast was next on the agenda, with about 2 hours to race start I new I would be able to have something substantial to eat. The menu for breakfast was somewhat different to other races due to the extended period of time I would be racing (exercising). It consisted of a banana, rolled oats with a minimum amount of milk (not a big fan of having any milk the morning of any race), 750ml of sports drink (Gatorade) and then 1 pancake with maple syrup. I continued with the carb loading knowing that the 2hrs before the race would be enough time for the food to digest and get the most benefit throughout the swim.
By this stage the nerves had returned! The stomach was very fluttery!!
4.30am – Finished preparing my gear, ensuring that I had not forgotten anything…goggles, swim cap, wet suit, pump etc. I also did a final check of the nutrition that needed to be placed on my bike when I got into transition this morning. It seemed a lot but better to be over prepared than under prepared!
4:50am – Loaded the gear up and began to walk down to transitions. Motivational music playing as I walked. Well it was too good to be true on the way down the heavens opened and it poured! Great! But there is nothing I could do about it I had to just trudge on through the rain…with no wet weather gear…the clothes that I had on got saturated and therefore I had not dry clothes to put on when I finished…..oh well….worry about that when the time comes…there were more pressing things to worry about.
5:10am – Arrived in transition, the atmosphere was unbelievable it was a buzz the anticipation and nerves were getting more intense. Focus…was the name of the game…..focus on one bit at a time…worry about what is about to happen or what I was about to do!....that was getting registered for the swim and then ‘branded’ with a big ‘D’ for the 35-39 age group. There were people everywhere…gear bags everywhere….water everywhere….
The next objective was to set up my bike in transition. First thing was to worry about pumping up the tyres. Doing this first enable be time to get things fixed if something went wrong….no problems…moving on (still drizzling)…next was to organise the hydration side of things…back cage – water, seat post cage – water, frame cage – Gatorade and then the aero bottle (AquaCell: 2 cells/straws so that you can carry 2 liquids between the aerobars) – Gatorade. Apart from the liquid that went into the main section of the AquaCell all of the liquids in the bottles were frozen. DONE... 5.30am.
Next the packing and attachment of the nutritional side of things…The plan was to tape 5 gels to the cross bar of the frame; however, because it had rained and the frame was wet the gaff tape didn’t want to stick….even after wiping it down…managed to get 2 gels to stick…better than nothing I suppose. The rest got stuffed in the snack bag on the cross bar. The aerobag was then packed and I was done with the bike. (still drizzling…but looking skyward - it was lighter)
5:45am – Wetsuit on…Body glide on ankles, knees, wrists to help with the removal of the wetsuit when it needs to come off. I did this at my bike getting it on as far as my waist. Packed up my gear and put it in the gear bag area.
5.55am – stopped raining, dropped off the rest of my gear to my parents. I put on the rest of the wetsuit, applying plenty of Body glide round the neck region to ensure there was no rubbing/irritation of the wetsuit on the back of my neck.
Before making my way down to the swim start I had a gel. The nerves were still there however the adrenaline had kicked in
6:05am – Headed to the swim start. Swim cap on. Ran into a few of the squad when making my way to the start.
6:20am – With hundreds of others got into the water and made my way to the starting zone….the White cap area. I was moving into the water with the National Anthem being sung….it was a stirring moment… it was relatively quiet (people slowly moving into the water) and then when it was finished the place erupted! This was it! The challenge was about to begin! BRING IT ON!
6.30am BANG the cannon went off and 1500 competitors were on their way for the 3.8km swim.
The day started around 4.00am with a number of alarms alerting me to the fact that it was time to meet the challenge front on and achieve that challenge that I have been working towards over the last 12-18months.
Having a glace outside, there were a number of stars visible. It looked like it was going to be a relatively fine day.
The morning preparations involved firstly waking up with a shower and getting into my race gear. The outfit for the day was to be my BTS (Brisbane Triathlon Squad) Tri Suit.
I was given a tip that Amo-Lin baby cream was great for putting on parts of the body where chaffing and rubbing would occur, particularly during the ride…thought I’d try it! Other apparel included the heart rate monitor strap and the very important timing chip. This chip was worth its weight in gold. Mental note…don’t lose it! Tracksuit pants went on and my newly purchased Ironman Jacket was also worn.
4.15am - Breakfast was next on the agenda, with about 2 hours to race start I new I would be able to have something substantial to eat. The menu for breakfast was somewhat different to other races due to the extended period of time I would be racing (exercising). It consisted of a banana, rolled oats with a minimum amount of milk (not a big fan of having any milk the morning of any race), 750ml of sports drink (Gatorade) and then 1 pancake with maple syrup. I continued with the carb loading knowing that the 2hrs before the race would be enough time for the food to digest and get the most benefit throughout the swim.
By this stage the nerves had returned! The stomach was very fluttery!!
4.30am – Finished preparing my gear, ensuring that I had not forgotten anything…goggles, swim cap, wet suit, pump etc. I also did a final check of the nutrition that needed to be placed on my bike when I got into transition this morning. It seemed a lot but better to be over prepared than under prepared!
4:50am – Loaded the gear up and began to walk down to transitions. Motivational music playing as I walked. Well it was too good to be true on the way down the heavens opened and it poured! Great! But there is nothing I could do about it I had to just trudge on through the rain…with no wet weather gear…the clothes that I had on got saturated and therefore I had not dry clothes to put on when I finished…..oh well….worry about that when the time comes…there were more pressing things to worry about.
5:10am – Arrived in transition, the atmosphere was unbelievable it was a buzz the anticipation and nerves were getting more intense. Focus…was the name of the game…..focus on one bit at a time…worry about what is about to happen or what I was about to do!....that was getting registered for the swim and then ‘branded’ with a big ‘D’ for the 35-39 age group. There were people everywhere…gear bags everywhere….water everywhere….
The next objective was to set up my bike in transition. First thing was to worry about pumping up the tyres. Doing this first enable be time to get things fixed if something went wrong….no problems…moving on (still drizzling)…next was to organise the hydration side of things…back cage – water, seat post cage – water, frame cage – Gatorade and then the aero bottle (AquaCell: 2 cells/straws so that you can carry 2 liquids between the aerobars) – Gatorade. Apart from the liquid that went into the main section of the AquaCell all of the liquids in the bottles were frozen. DONE... 5.30am.
Next the packing and attachment of the nutritional side of things…The plan was to tape 5 gels to the cross bar of the frame; however, because it had rained and the frame was wet the gaff tape didn’t want to stick….even after wiping it down…managed to get 2 gels to stick…better than nothing I suppose. The rest got stuffed in the snack bag on the cross bar. The aerobag was then packed and I was done with the bike. (still drizzling…but looking skyward - it was lighter)
5:45am – Wetsuit on…Body glide on ankles, knees, wrists to help with the removal of the wetsuit when it needs to come off. I did this at my bike getting it on as far as my waist. Packed up my gear and put it in the gear bag area.
5.55am – stopped raining, dropped off the rest of my gear to my parents. I put on the rest of the wetsuit, applying plenty of Body glide round the neck region to ensure there was no rubbing/irritation of the wetsuit on the back of my neck.
Before making my way down to the swim start I had a gel. The nerves were still there however the adrenaline had kicked in
6:05am – Headed to the swim start. Swim cap on. Ran into a few of the squad when making my way to the start.
6:20am – With hundreds of others got into the water and made my way to the starting zone….the White cap area. I was moving into the water with the National Anthem being sung….it was a stirring moment… it was relatively quiet (people slowly moving into the water) and then when it was finished the place erupted! This was it! The challenge was about to begin! BRING IT ON!
6.30am BANG the cannon went off and 1500 competitors were on their way for the 3.8km swim.
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