Walkerbay Xtreme Day 3
TRI-TIME!!
So day 3 had a bit of a rocky start. The smarter half of the crew woke up feeling fresh and pumped for the next day of activities, whereas, perhaps the less intelligent of us woke up feeling a little fragile from the festivities the night before. Then it was at 6 in the morning that I, the only one of us in our group that hasn't done a triathlon before, learned that there are rules that need to be adhered to before and during the race. Sheesh but I wish I had done a bit more research!
Next thing I was being told there are times you can and can't be on the bike, there is certain kit that has to be put on in a specific order during transition, plus I was trying to work out how my number could be seen at all times (which is another rule), as I didn't have a tri-belt. Rookie error. As I got to transition and we were minutes away from setting off, I suddenly realised: "I have no idea what I am doing...and I LOVE IT!"
We started with the swim which was a real scramble! It's crazy what people are capable of when you throw a swimming cap on their head, cover up their bodies and they become unidentifiable. It's vicious! There were foot grabs, body slams, pull backs, swimming overs and I honestly had to convince myself that I was okay and NOT going to drown. You really can panic in that moment. But anyway, the swim was 600m around a buoy to the slipway where we climbed out and I copied the professionals, peeling off my wetsuit to save time for the transition onto the bike leg.
We headed up to transition, and being the one of the few idiots doing the road tri on a mountain bike, I managed to find my bike pretty easily. Once I had located it, there were a couple of seconds when I actually didn't know what to do. But then once again, I looked around me and copied...
The bike leg was a real challenge for me. I knew I would manage the swim and the run just fine, but 20km on a mountain bike riding on the road was not going to be my finest hour. It was really hard to only have people passing me: a man in a Speedo (and nothing else), a friend I didn't even know did triathlons, and then an elderly woman on a mountain bike herself...it was pretty demoralizing but I was still enjoying the process. I couldn't be more thrilled to get back to transition and get off the bike to start the run...I was so ready in fact, that as I jumped off the bike I fell over in front of the whole crowd and my bike crashed to the ground next to me. I may have found it embarrassing had I not been shattered from the cycle, so I popped right back up and dropped my bike off in transition. Then next up was the run...
Gosh, the first km or so was a real struggle. I got this crazy jelly-legs feeling which made you feel like a bit of a spazz...but once that subsided, I got into my stride and enjoyed running the stretch along the Hermanus footpath. What a pleasure! 1km, 2km, 3km and I was absolutely loving it. I ran through the finish line all happiness and smiles...I HAD JUST COMPLETED MY FIRST TRIATHLON
After the tri our group chilled out for a bit at the house before prepping for the next challenge: the 2.5km open water swim. I really DID NOT expect to feel how I did in the swim. I am a swimmer. I swim 2.5km 2-3 times a week! Only difference is that's in a pool. Swimming 2.5km in the open ocean is a C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-L-Y different ballgame! I was feeling pretty relaxed waiting in the water, and I was pretty relaxed after the first kilometer, but from there on I had these waves of panic. It's so irrational, but it's amazing how strong your mind is. Every time I felt a panic coming on, I would tell myself I was okay and there were many safety measures in place etc,,,
When I finally made it to the slipway - after fighting with myself for 43 minutes - I felt pretty rocked. I clambered out of the water and sat on the concrete floor to try and regather myself. It took about half an hour for me to feel okay again, and then our group mentioned the plans to go wine tasting and I was up and ready faster than you could blink!
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at one of the many amazing Hemel-en-Aarde Valley wine farms: Benguela Cove, before lighting a fire back at the house and enjoying another amazing braai! I couldn't believe we were onto our last event. 5 down, and 1 17km trail run to go. Somehow my body was managing all the physical exertion really well and I was feeling good about the run in the morning. Just 0.4 seconds behind the third lady from the Big 6, I was fairly confident that my run would make up the gap...
