My TriRock Austin experience

It is a day after the race here in Austin and I thought whilst I still have some memories of the event I would put pen to paper – or in this case digital renderings of the alphabet in random order on a screen. I came, I saw and it kicked my ass however I did finish, which was the goal so there is celebration in that fact. I will probably, maybe write something about this whole trip to nowhere special once I return to base camp Raleigh but to some a recap of this event, which was the reason for the whole trip in the first place, might be of interest.

The whole thing started with a conversation with my brother about doing a triathlon again one day and the fact that he might like to do one with me. I have been riding a mountain bike pretty consistently lately and had been trying to get in the pool a bit in the summer as I knew swimming was good for my back and that if I swam in the ocean the Japanese would take me for scientific research. All I needed to do was to be able to run again – we will address that part later. So earlier in the year I decided to look for an event that would be geographically equidistant between LA and Raleigh and found a small town called Austin and a race called the TriRock – so it was decided, an Olympic distance race of 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run – no worries at all J

I then thought maybe this would be a fun thing for other people to get together and do, sort of a social sweatfest followed by a social drinkfest. Along with my brother doing the Olympic race I had a couple of people on the hook to do the Olympic and/or the team relay sprint event but time or lack of it to co-ordinate this properly killed that idea. A friend with a bucket list item of doing a tri was also interested but then money and time (those 2 annoying but essential things) got in the way so it was decided by me to go solo. I had always thought from the outset that this might be a fun thing to raise some money for charity (no idea why but it seemed like a good thing to do) and picked Make-A-Wish. I set a pretty decent target of $2,500, which was surpassed (which is pretty damn awesome) and I proceeded to train a little more than usual. I had been running a bit coaching kids rugby and knew that I had some mechanical issues that would cause problems in the run, but I also knew that no matter what I could always walk (which I did a whole lot).

Sunday was the pre-race registration – well organized, highly efficient and very friendly – and bike check in. I noticed some nice looking bikes already racked and realized there were some pretty serious racers here – oops J Sunday night was spent trying to work out what to eat (ended up being Subway because it was easy) and an early night. Monday morning arrived bringing race day with it. I headed down to transition at 6am with the first racers set to go at 7am then the age groups to follow. I was in the 50 plus mens group due to the fact that I am what they call a Clydesdale (more to do with weight than anything else I will admit to here) and we advanced man by man towards the water in a single file – jumping in gracefully (or in my case doing a cannonball gainer) for the 1.5k swim.

The swim started well enough until I realized that I really should have practiced wearing my wetsuit as it was too tight around my throat and chest and I couldn’t breathe properly – I damn near pulled out of the race then but I didn’t, I just tried to loosen it and focused on combining some freestyle with my favorite stoke as it has the name breast in it J I passed a few people, quite a few more passed me then the end of the swim ramp beckoned - 1^st leg complete. A gentle jog to my waiting steed and off on the bike course – 4 laps in downtown Austin – actually wished there had been some more hills in it but a fun ride all the same. At one point I saw a couple of people blow past me with the letter NZL on their kit – I was able to shout out “Go Kiwi” then focused on moving the pedals round and round and not on how my butt was hurting in the race shorts (should have ridden with them on pre race also). The course was lined with locals, family members, friends cheering on the competitors with a couple of cowbells ringing away, I felt a bit like The Bruce Dickinson but looked more like Gene Frenkle – it was actually pretty damn cool. 4 laps of the course, 40k, no worries at all until I pushed a little hard on the last lap and got cramp in my right calf – no worries, it would walk out J

Speaking of walking the next leg was the 10k run for some, walk/jog for me. I must have looked pretty bad at the start as at the first aid station someone asked if I was ok – I smiled, took a Powerbar goo, some water, and kept on keeping on. It was time to really embrace the suck. Walk a bit, jog a bit, walk a lot, jog a bit for 10k, 2 laps of what is probably a great fast run – I spent more time on it than most. By the time I was hitting the second lap the runners had really thinned out in numbers but the crowds were still there – walk a bit, jog a bit, embrace the suck – at least the cramp in my calf had gone away.

Finish line, up the ramp, threw a shaka at the finish line photographer and it was done. 26 years ago a doctor had told me I should never do a triathlon again, well I did. It might have been slow and it might have looked damn ugly and to many people it may not be a big deal but I came, I saw and I did kick its ass as much as it kicked mine. I cannot find my time on the race site for some reason but it was in the 3hr 20 min range at a guess (really slow 10k). A stupid idea shared with one of my favorite people in the world resulted in a 1,300 mile drive (each way – got to get home at some point), a great time spent with some awesome friends on the way here, a great life story and funds raised for the most important people out there – kids.

Now it is all over what have I leaned?

Well for one, the next time I do one of these things I will do everything I can to be able to actually run the run bit. I will definitely put some real pressure on the people that said they were in this year to do this in 2017, wherever it may be (Austin is pretty cool), and see what funds we can raise for charity again (will start working on that before the year is out). I will name names this time Jonno, Mr Booth, Mr Toddum, Mr Griffin, Ryan K, Melissa, Marla et al. There is no excuse for any of y’all because if I can do it and you cannot, well you better be buying J I have proven to myself and my kids that I can do it (not that there was any real doubt) so now I just need to be able to do it better, to maybe inspire some people in my own weird little way and to prove that I live what I believe - work hard, play hard and earn your inspiration.

Thank you to all who donated to my Make-A-Wish page, thank you to all the race volunteers, the organizers, the local LEOs and most importantly all the competitors. I spoke to a few, received encouragement, got passed by many, cheered on people as I myself struggled along and would not have missed this for anything – I will cherish my finishers medal for a very long time and I will be back.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, I have realized that I look fantastic with shaved legs J

Work hard, play hard and earn your inspiration

Happy Tuesday in this case – hopefully by Poets Day my thighs will stop hurting – but still look great J