Finally, here the race recap for the Sprintman - an “almost-olympic” event that took place 2nd October. It was the last race before focusing on uni’s final exams. This meant to me: Go. And Go FAST. And I won.
I recently have been very motivated and excited to race. If you know me then you know that I love harsh weather conditions. Xterra has been my passion mainly because of the battle with nature and the worse the conditions the better I feel. To me, skipping a session due to weather is hardly acceptable. Although usually the entire Brisbane Tri and Bike community is out on the roads by 5am, it has been the case that I was the only one out there in the mornings recently due to the weather being cold and rainy. I also was the only elite girl in the race, after the 3 other elite women pulled out prior to race because of it pouring. (Thumbs up for all amateurs- you showed much more attitude than some Pro’s). So I was mixed in with "the Guys". Elite Guys. The swim start was strong and I was able to hold on to the leader group for about 300m and then was on my own for the rest of the swim. I came out in the middle of the field and was strong on the bike, passing one after another. It is always funny when the first guys are heading back after the turnaround. Most of them usually give me a prolonged glance and you can read on their faces something like "what is this girl doing here already". The ones I passed suddenly had much more in their legs and it was a great race out there. I actually liked being among the boys. The best part of the bike leg was the kangaroos hopping in front of me. I usually only get to see them dead on the road; so that was a nice treat! By the end of the bike split, it was pouring buckets. And I am not joking- I loved it. Heading into the run felt surprisingly fast and strong and I was able to even progress the pace. Considering my torn ankle ligament and no consistent run training other than DWR, a 5.9 min/mi is decent.
I am blessed having a gritty mind and being able to push physically. It lies within the family. My grandma died on this same weekend; which i got to know only a couple of days later. She was 97 and still had a gritty "tough cooky" attitude then. Lots of memories have come up and the realization that you have shaped part of what I am today. Hab dich ganz fest lieb! Love you mom and dad!
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