Hi,
since last April I did not post any more entries in this blog mostly because I had other things going on which made me put Triathlon a bit on the side. I was also not expecting any good results or improvements from last year simply because I could not find enough time to train.
My predictions were not so bad. I could not swim any faster; my bike splits remained the same and my run was slower than ever. However, since my other commitments were mostly from April to the beginning of July, the added time to train in August and September started showing in the last few races of the season.
The following is a list of the races I've had since May:
- National Duathlon Championships (7.5km Run - 27km Bike - 4km Run)
- Birkirkara St. Joseph Sprint Triathlon Series (4 races of 750m Swim - 20km Bike - 5km Run)
- Birkirkara St. Joseph Open Water Swimming Championships (2km Swim)
- Birkirkara St. Joseph Running Series (5km Run)
- National Aquathlon Championships (2.5km Run - 1km Swim - 2.5km Run)
- National Triathlon Championships (1.5km Swim - 40km Bike - 10km Run
September was very hectic - I was racing almost every weekend leading to the most important race of all - the National Triathlon Championships. This was the second second year I have tried to race this distance but while last year the sea was calm with a slight breeze on the bike, this year the conditions were terrible. Even though I'm very confident in my swimming skills, I've had to rethink my skills all over as I was struggling to breathe and drinking loads of water. I slowed down a lot and was about to stop racing twice but once it was over, I felt I could manage the gale force winds during the bike and run. In fact I managed to improve my run split over last year by 2mins. I finished in 12th place (compared to the 20th place of last year).
What inspired me to write this post was my placing in the Triathlete of the Year award which acts as a ranking system for Triathletes based on their best 9 times from the 12 major races of the season. Last year I worked hard to finish in the top 10 but missed the spot by one place. This year I thought I was nowhere near placing but managed a 10th place due to the result obtained in the last race. I am very happy with my achievement and will keep working hard to improve.
I want to thank all those who supported me in one way or another especially my wife Maria and daughter Elena.
Anatoly
Thanks to Angie Conti - Sportshooter and CaptureMe Photography for the nice pictures.
