Hi,
on the 22nd September I took part in the final race of the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sprint Triathlon Series organised at the Salina Coast road in less than ideal conditions. Weather forecast was windy with rain showers and although it rained in other parts of Malta the course was dry. Of course the wind plays a very important role and it affected the first part of the swim and bike segments.
I felt the water cold and although I had been warming up for a whole hour before the race, the few minutes in the water before the start felt to me as if I had not done anything. The water was choppy and it was difficult to breathe as waves were very irregular. In some swim strokes my hands were hitting directly the oncoming waves and the same happened with the oncoming waves when putting my face to the side to breathe. This slowed me down considerably, finishing the swim in 14:15.
The bike segment, although windy for the first part did not prove extremely difficult as I had been training the whole week before the race in stronger winds. Moreover, coming back towards transition area was easier as the wind was from behind. I still didn't manage to get a personal best, slowing by around 2mins as I was afraid my legs would be too tired for the run; entering again transition area to prepare for the run in 35:34.
As usual, the first part of the run is the hardest: slightly uphill and cramping legs. I counter the feeling by immediately taking my last energy gel. It took me the first 2km to feel comfortable to push a bit more, always taking into account what the other athletes were doing and changing my pace accordingly. In fact in the last 200m I was seeing an athlete behind me catching up and he managed to get exactly behind me. With less than 50m to the finish gantry we set out into an all out sprint finish to get in both at exactly the same time. The run took me 22:51.
I finished the race in 1hr 13mins 47sec, having slowed down in all 3 disciplines and slightly disappointed. However, upon receiving the general classification of the whole race series (adding up the sum of all 4 races), I was extremely pleased as I have finished 12th out of 92 athletes (Full classification details). I am now more determined than ever to beat my personal best of 1hr 10mins 35sec in the most important race of the season: The National Triathlon Championships on the 6th of October.
Thanks for all those who supported me, especially my wife Maria, my child Elena and uncle Victor, who were there to support me all the way.
Cu
Anatoly
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