The course consisted of a 1,5km sea swim which did feel a bit longer, a 2-lap 40km bike leg and a 3-lap 10km run leg along the coastline. Apart from the bike leg, the course layout was very spectator friendly and this is a real positive when hosting an event of standard triathlon distance.
Going out on the swim, felt good and fast, not much swell and the water felt smooth and clean, must have been the sand scrub of the hands before the start, thanks Bernard (Wyatt)... The bouys were positioned so that the crowds could get a great view on Shark Rock Pier as the 500 age group athletes covered the course. As we approached the shoreline, trying to mark the bouys for a good line in proved a little difficult, this just meant an extra run down the beach towards T1. Running on the sand towards the transition area I realised I had a decent swim and came out of the water in 7th position overall.
"In the yellow cap and white goggles"
The bike leg was a little deceptive as it seemed very flat but once on the course their were slight gradients that soon began to sap the energy needed to maintain a good average speed on the bike. I made up some good time on the first lap and was soon in 3rd position overall by the end of the bike leg. I had averaged 39.1km/h and needed to make up time on those in front of me. Being able to use my Garmin 310XT both on my bike and later on the run is a real convenience, giving me the splits and info I need accurately and fast! KZN's Gilbert Quevavilliers was a machine on the bike and built up almost 3 mins on 2nd position. I knew I had my work cut out at this stage as the clouds had disappeared and the heat started to take its toll on the athletes... Having experienced severe heat two weeks previous at the Midlands Ultra triathlon, I was not looking to spend any more time racing than I needed to!
"Start of the 2nd lap of the bike, just moving into 3rd position"
The run leg started well, although I was not really making up any time on 1st position, unless Gilbert had to stop, he had this race in the bag! I could see 2nd position about 300m ahead and tried to close the gap perhaps too quickly, after about 3km I had to maintain as I was spending more than what my legs could afford and had to back off a bit. A determined Marcel Roos from Eastern Province came past me at about 5km's and I was hanging on till the finish. I lost one more position to Ryan Peter, a fantastic runner and in the end had to settle for a respectable 5th overall and 3rd in my age group. My feet were shredded, the heat was becomming a real factor, I was just glad I had finished. My season was now done and looking back on it, I was really proud of what I had achieved, starting in Budapest for World Champs in Sept 2010 and finishing at SA Champs, Port Elizabeth... Time for some rest before the next challenge - 2 Oceans Trail-Run in April...
"Finishing 5th overall (3rd in age group)"
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