I suppose I’ve been consolidating the first few months of my adventure racing ‘adventure’, hence I haven’t written anything for a while.
The
100km bike ride from Brisbane to the Gold Coast was the last official event I participated in and since then I haven’t really been testing the limits of my skills and abilities. I have only really been coasting along with what I have learnt so far.
However my next new challenge is just around the corner and again I am being taken out of my comfort zone. This weekend I will be attempting my first triathlon, abet a fairly short off road course. The
Tre-x short course for this weekend involves a 350m swim, 10km mtb course and 4km of trail running.
I’m looking forward to the mountain biking and the running, while at my usual rather pathetic standard, is sorted. The swim, however, is the next big fearful test. I haven’t attempted any proper swimming since that last horrid school training back in Grade 10, some 17 years ago (dear god - I’m getting on!). My focus back then was on what t-shirt to wear over my togs, and how to get dressed in the change rooms without flashing any private bits. Any swimming was very much secondary in the activity.
I can swim, no self respecting Edge Hill State School student would have gotten through the system without decent training in the school pool. However as with running I never took a shine to it and in proceeding years have used my learned ability for fun, rather than practical purposes. Therefore I would be a shue-in for pool handstand competitions, marco polo and bomb diving, but unfortunately those aren’t on offer in the upcoming tri.
Also, I am my father’s daughter, so unless the water temperature is a balmy 25 degrees or warmer I’m going to be reluctant to let a toe near the water. I doubt you would see me even contemplating Tre-x if it wasn’t summer and Queensland.
One saving grace of my upbringing is a lack of fear of entering all manor of watery environments. I grew up in a location where the local freshwater creek or dam was a more attractive option that that the some-what dangerous and boringly flat beaches or bath-like backyard pools. Therefore I don’t really have a fear of the Tre-x swim leg water courses.
As per usual, my preparation in the lead up to this event has been woefully inadequate, particularly when we look at the swimming training (or lack-there-of). I attempted my first, and so far only, laps a couple of weeks ago. I really had no idea about pool etiquette and was wrapped in fear as I approached the edge. Thankfully I was with a friend who gave me a quick 101 on the unwritten practices and procedures of swimming laps.
So off I went. In all honesty it was much more physically challenging then I anticipated. Two laps (of a 25 metre pool) in and I was on my first breather. Obviously I have some work ahead, and with Tre-x only a few days away it's going to be an interesting race start!
M
