Windy Wellington lived up to its name with the conditions being exactly that. The night before the race we witnessed cyclonic conditions with howling winds, torrential rain and cold temperatures so race day was not looking good. However, the weather settled overnight and only the wind remained for the race
The swim leg proved to be quite different than my past experiences as it was the first time (since my switch to triathlon) that it was rough and slow. Holding your position was challenging with a lot of people swimming on top of each other and I did not get into a rhythm until the second half of the 1500m. This did not bother me as I grew up in Surf Life Saving and was a regular occurrence in a surf swim race. It actually brought back some memories! I still manage to exit the water in 2nd position but after a terrible transition jumped onto my bike in 10th.
As the swim was slow everyone was bunched up and all the main ‘players’ were in the front bunch so it was a matter of patience for the 40km bike. Staying out of the wind was crucial and with a challenging hill put in each lap (5 laps), positioning for this was important. I felt as though I did this successfully and stayed near the front of the bunch. Coming into transition for the run was like a Tour de France sprint finish, with everyone wanting to get a good position at the front. I had a much better transition and was out onto the run in the top 10. I wanted to have a fast run!
In the week leading up to the race I had a big confidence booster with a fast 5km running time on the track so I wanted to be in the race and be a contender for a top ten finish. Frenchman Laurent Vidal and Kiwi Kris Gemmell were a class above the pack and established an early lead with a group of seven closely behind including myself. I stayed with the group up until the 7.5km mark where I gradually lost them, and started running on my own for the last few kilometers. I managed to pass one athlete from the group in front and finished 3rd U/23 athlete, 8th overall at the Oceania Championships.
To get a bronze at the Oceania Championships is great, but I am still looking forward to running faster and improving again. This is definitely achievable in the near future! I have one last race in Australia in Mooloolaba before heading to Europe, so I want to have another good race.
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