Hello Everyone,
I apologize for not putting an update up sooner but it's been a bit whirlwindy since the end of the race. I am focused on maintaining the huge fitness gains I had while preparing for my team support role and trying to enjoy the experience of the Commonwealth Games that surrounds me here in Melbourne. So far I have been successful at both but it keeps me pretty busy.
I have been to see cycling, mtn. biking, weightlifting, swimming and athletics. The level of organization has been amazing and getting to and from the venues has been a breeze.
As far as my take on race day goes here it is:
The morning began at 5:30am. Jill, Gill and I woke up and hit the Main Dining area in order to fuel up for the big event. We met the bus and our driver at 6:30 and arrived at the course around 7am. Most of our gear was already down there so all we had to do was get organized in transition and warm up.
At 8am the call was made that it would be a wetsuit swim. The temperature was 19.4 celcius which meant that it was 0.6 degrees too cold for it to be a non-wetsuit swim. I didn't care either way because I was just going to hit the swim full throttle no matter what.
Jill and I warmed up for a bit on our bikes and then went in for a dip. As soon as I came out of the ocean I got a big suprise. My little brother had arrived from Japan and he and my boyfriend were ready to cheer me on. I got a little teared up and said hi. I didn't stop to talk but went in to get ready for the athlete march in.
At 8:40 they announced each of us by name and country as we walked through the transition area. Once we had been announced we were directed along a 800m walk to the start pontoon. At 8:59 we marched onto the pontoon and lined up; the horn went off.
I put my head down and maintained my focus on the first buoy. Immediately I was away from everyone but not really focused on where everyone else was. My job was to try and stretch out the swim so that there might be a smaller group of women together on the bike. I swam well and felt like my normal self which was a treat since I had been swimming very well leading up to the race.
During the 2nd lap of the swim I started to get warm in the wetsuit and I remember thinking, there's a camera right in my face and I can't feel anyone at my feet. I kept looking to the right to see if the camera was panning back but it wasn't, the thing was right in my face. I kept my stroke rate high and kept good pressure on my hands.
As I approached the beach I could see how huge the crowd was and I knew I was going to be first out. I mentally prepared for a quick and clean transition. As I did my last dolphin dive and began running over the water I heard the crowd roar. It was so loud in the transition shoot. I thought for sure there must have been an Aussie on my shoulder. In fact I was 25secs ahead of the next person. As I mounted my bike with the media motorcycle right with me I heard, "28secs to Jill." I thought to myself, "OK, get ready, feet in, glasses on, a quick drink and look back."
Before I knew it there were a group women in front, with and coming up with me. I saw Jill and we took off.
The bike was a really casual pace for the most part so our strategy, being a defensive one, meant I had to move to the front and push the pace whenever no one else was. I did that and my average power ended up being quite high by the end of the bike. I felt like I did what I could to always make sure Jill and I were never in the position to get dropped and if something happened, like an attack, Jill and I could have got up there and shut it down.
Once I was off the bike I looked forward to my first 10k run in a month and a half. Since I came to this camp the longest run I had done was 45mins of base. I am positive I never made it 10k in those 45mins. It was interesting for me to see how my body and mind would initially react to running at a good pace. I felt fairly fair. I didn't feel fast, slow or in pain. I just thought about keeping the legs moving, arms down low and celebrating the experience I had around me. I didn't run too badly either and I think that's because I am so swim and bike fit right now.
It's promising for the rest of the season and I look forward to keeping the pressure high on my swim and bike and building into a running program that entails more than 2hrs per week.
All in all I had a fantastic experience. Our team strategy was a solid on but on the day there were a couple things that didn't work out in order for the team tactic to really pay off. I am very thankful to have been selected to be part of the team and I think that we all learnt a lot about the training that is required in a team scenerio. I enjoyed the team atmosphere that all the athletes and support staff provided as well as everyone's support.
It will be a good year.
I am about to head out for a short run and then a swim. Following those two workouts I will be heading out to Phillip Island with my boyfriend to visit a couple wineries and the penguins. We plan on staying somewhere up there and then tomorrow will be a day of packing and getting ready for the Closing Ceremonies.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
Suzanne
