Always trust what your body is telling you. Sometimes, your ratio may be too conservative or you are feeling too scared, but the body knows the best. In every race, give your ALL, as if it is the most important race of your life.
This was a fun race! :) I have never competed in an aquathlon race, and for those of you who are wondering what the heck is aquathlon, it is a sport even where you swim and then run. There are different distances, but the one I did yesterday involved 360 m swim and then 2 km run.
It was a big event. More than 150 people on the deck. Luckily, there were several heats, so in the end it was about 20 people per heat. Not too bad, one would think. But, to spicy the things up, instead of swimming in the lanes, the organizers made a simulation of an open water swim, so the lap was a 120 m long swim around the buoys. This means that we only had a narrow space outside of the buoys, so everyone started sprinting out!
All of the sudden, I found myself in the second position, and worried that I might not be able to sustain it, I decided to back off a bit, and settle into the comfortable pace. I exited 5th and quickly came out of the transition toward the running track.
The transition run was about 100 m long until you hit the 200 m track. We were doing 10 laps. Almost from the beginning, I started passing people, and I thought, wow, this is fun. I kept my pace steady and it felt good. On my 7th lap, I heard someone behind me pounding like a locomotive. That woman looked really fast! She overtook me easily, and continued swiftly, while I kept my pace on. In my last lap I sped up a bit for a strong finish and came in second.
Considering that before the race my only thought was hoping that I would not be the last, second in my age group is not too shabby. I only wish I knew my swimming and running times, but they had some technical issues, so I only know my overall time, which includes the transition and that long transition run. But, if I'd have to make a best guess, I'd say I swam at app. 1:50/100m pace and ran about 4:30/km pace. It would've been great to have a water resistant Polar! That would have also given me an additional boost for improving my running performance. I always get a kick from looking at the numbers!
After the race, I felt great , and I wished I hadn't slowed myself during the swim. I also felt I could've gone faster on the run, but I didn't have the reason to speed up, because I knew I wouldn't be able to catch that woman who passed me, and the other girls were well behind me.
It was a big event. More than 150 people on the deck. Luckily, there were several heats, so in the end it was about 20 people per heat. Not too bad, one would think. But, to spicy the things up, instead of swimming in the lanes, the organizers made a simulation of an open water swim, so the lap was a 120 m long swim around the buoys. This means that we only had a narrow space outside of the buoys, so everyone started sprinting out!
All of the sudden, I found myself in the second position, and worried that I might not be able to sustain it, I decided to back off a bit, and settle into the comfortable pace. I exited 5th and quickly came out of the transition toward the running track.
The transition run was about 100 m long until you hit the 200 m track. We were doing 10 laps. Almost from the beginning, I started passing people, and I thought, wow, this is fun. I kept my pace steady and it felt good. On my 7th lap, I heard someone behind me pounding like a locomotive. That woman looked really fast! She overtook me easily, and continued swiftly, while I kept my pace on. In my last lap I sped up a bit for a strong finish and came in second.
Considering that before the race my only thought was hoping that I would not be the last, second in my age group is not too shabby. I only wish I knew my swimming and running times, but they had some technical issues, so I only know my overall time, which includes the transition and that long transition run. But, if I'd have to make a best guess, I'd say I swam at app. 1:50/100m pace and ran about 4:30/km pace. It would've been great to have a water resistant Polar! That would have also given me an additional boost for improving my running performance. I always get a kick from looking at the numbers!
After the race, I felt great , and I wished I hadn't slowed myself during the swim. I also felt I could've gone faster on the run, but I didn't have the reason to speed up, because I knew I wouldn't be able to catch that woman who passed me, and the other girls were well behind me.
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