Date: Sunday, 8 November 2009
From: Helen
Update from Helen ...
Just a quick note to let you know I backed up from the Olympic Distance Worlds on the Gold Coast by heading over to Perth for the Long Distance Worlds 5 weeks later. I was probably looking forward to this race more, because the distances suited me better – 3km swim, 80km bike, 20km run.
When race day dawned I knew it was going to be a tough one – it was blowing a gale, and the river looked like Bass Strait (but browner). We swam 2km straight into the chop and it was a real struggle, but then coming back with the wind behind us didn’t seem any easier – it was just plain hard. Swallowed a fair bit of water. Anyway, I came out of the water in 3rd place in y age group and jumped on the bike. I had decided not to use the disk because of the wind and I think that was a good decision, there were parts of the course where I was battling to keep the bike on the road anyway. I had caught the two in front by the 15km mark, and was still in the lead at the end of the bike. Averaged 35.6km/h which is pretty good for me, especially in those conditions.
Started the run with a 4 minute lead and still held that after the first 5km. I was starting to think maybe I could do this. Then things started to turn a little bit ugly – the soles of my feet started burning, then my knee and hip were giving me grief. I kept going, trying to ignore the pain and even saw 180 on the heart rate monitor, which I don’t do very often. It was also quite a hot day, well over 30 degrees. I was still in the lead with 5km to go, when alas, my main rival caught me and ran past me like a gazelle. Bugger! Still, I held on for 2nd and certainly can’t complain about another silver medal! Finished in 4.45 which I was pretty pleased with.
Of course, the day after the race was cool and cloudy, not a breath of wind and the river was like a millpond. Perfect for wine tasting ;-)
Bit of R&R now, then heading to Adelaide in January to see Cadel and the boys at the Tour Down Under.