Yep, I finished what I set out to do...I finished the cycle leg of the Mooloolaba Triathlon in under 2 hours which was my goal, infact my time was 1 hr 48 mins! I am pleased with that.
The morning started at 05.30, I had to get into the transition area and orientate the swimmer to where the bike was so she could run to it after her 1.5 km swim. We watched all the other age groups set off and we were getting more nervous by the minute. Eventually it was Jen's turn to head off to the start line for her swim, she's a great swimmer and we had every confidence in her, she finished her leg in 30 mins. As I saw her run into the transition area heading for me I knew there was no turning back for me, we transferred the timing chip to my leg, I got on my bike and I was off.
It was a real test of endurance for me, I found it hard and most times challenging. The weather was the worst during the cycle leg than it was for the whole day! The wind whipped up so we had a head wind going out, the rain set in and it was a torrential downpour, I couldn't see and I was totally soaked, this lasted for about 20 mins. Then the sun came out for a while and then the wind changed and the rain came again and the conditions were the same for the return leg. So many times I just wanted to get off the bike and wait to be picked up by the crew but something inside stopped me from doing that, every time I said to myself I can't do this and thought of stopping something spurred me on.
4 km from the end I got a terrible cramp in my leg and I couldn't push on, I stopped to massage my calf and promptly fell off the bike as I had no strength in my leg to hold it up, I fell to the roadside and just lay there with this awful cramp and a feeling of just wanting to give up. I couldn't believe there was no one around at this time, I was totally alone. I tried to walk with the bike but my leg was so painful that I had to stop again, I kept massaging it and managed to get back on the bike. I had to peddle slowly as I felt the cramp coming back, eventually the feeling subsided and I was able to pick up the pace again, as I turned the corner there was the last big hill I just told myself to do it slowly and get up that hill and finish the race. I managed to get up the hill and down the other side to the waiting crowd. The cheers and atmosphere helped me to dig deep within myself to make it to the end of the race...a total of 41.25 km!
I had no idea I was capable of such a feat, I got into the transition area and the runner took over, my part was over. Claire took off like grease lightening for her 10 km run, she had been raring to go since 05.30!
I took my shoes off and emptied out the water and rung my socks out, the extra water from the rain must have been an extra 1 kg I had to carry!!!! I went off to the first aid tent to get my graze cleaned up, I felt a bit of a fraud as the tent was full of severely dehydrated people receiving intravenous fluids and having broken bones set!
Claire came through the finish line with a big smile on her face and we were all so happy we had achieved something we set out to do.
The human body and the human mind are such incredible things that we seem to abuse and take for granted. Our bodies are capable of almost anything we put our minds to, we need to cherish and respect ourselves and others as we truly are a wonderful species!!
