Report by Robert Wright
This is it, my A race, the winter training sessions seem a long time ago but I feel prepared, this is what I trained for. The weather doesn't look good but I have been out training in worse or so I hope. I go through the usual routine of setting up my transition near something that will stand out to my swim fried eyesight, then listen to the race brief and pull on my wet suit.
The water is cool but not cold as I warm up, then the race is quickly under way I opt for a place on the far side of the pack and slowly cut in as the pack thins out. The first buoy approaches and the first turn is hectic all arms and legs flailing but I make it unscathed. I can settle into a rhythm now, catch my breath and the pace feels good I am passing a few people. Lap 1 of 2 soon goes and I seem to be sticking with the same people, I get boxed in at one point as a few swimmers tire and I have to swim around them but the final buoy comes into sight too soon in my opinion I was actually enjoying that.
T1 goes without a hitch and the pedals are turning well, down into my aero tuck I settle in for the next few hours, my triceps are taking a hammering due the road surface but the underlying burning in my legs concerns me more. I really don't want to back off the pace but I have 12 miles of running after this, it’s a balance of how I feel versus common sense and this is my first half distance so I don't know which to choose. In the end the decision is made for me after lap 1 the rain starts and common sense wins and I back off the pace. Ok I said rain but this stuff is hurting me, rain is not supposed to hurt this is torrential. I am on what I consider the way back and have stopped going away from transition, my left eye becomes a deposit for sweat and I can’t see out of it properly, around about then Pirate Captin Rob took control over me.
Captin Rob here me hearties, we do be ridin out a storm here but this is the good ship Planet X and she can cut through the waves like a hot knife through butter. We do be sufferin a bit from such a long voyage but port is not far away, come on you salty dog put your back into it. The weather has thrown all she has our way and we still be ridin the waves arrrgh. Ships do be passin us who have more wind in their sails after a long voyage they do be in good shape but we don’t be finished the race yet har har. Land hoo, time to dock, wipe the salt from the eyes and start the final leg of the voyage. The good ship Planet X do be tied down and left in port, Captin Rob do be running off in search of wine, women and song a plenty.
Captin Rob’ sea legs took a while to get accustomed to dry land, the traitorous scurvy dogs, but there was plenty of water around to keep them happy, he gives up trying to avoid the puddles and runs through them. It’s now time to recapture the places lost on the race into port arrgh me hearties. Captin Rob recedes into the back of my mind as the race on land starts to take its toll, lap 1 went without a hitch and I had passed a lot of people, but I don't know if they were on the first or second lap so I just concentrate on my race. Mile 10 was awful, my thighs didn't feel like they were mine, just lumps of meat taking a pounding. My pace dropped but I'm so close to my pieces of eight I refuse to give up, soon I can stop running and be done, that spurs me on to finish in under 5 hours a whole 10 minutes under my target. To say I was happy wouldn't do it justice, I beat my expected time, beat the weather, beat the tiredness and pushed my limits Captin Rob would be proud of me, job done.
Sun City finished as follows:
30th Steve Robertson 4.35.49
53rd Robert Wright 4.50.09
97th Chris Wright 5.12.09
145th Ian Walker 5.44.49