Noosa Race Recap

It was the night before my first ever Olympic Distance Triathlon. After 10 months of preparation, I was ready, albeit incredibly nervous. Sitting down to a home-cooked dinner with my support crew, I felt like the biggest kid eating my large bowl of pasta, side of garlic bread, all washed down with pasito (dietitians orders). As I forced it down (nerves!) I looked enviously at my friends casually enjoying their pizza and wine without a care in the world. All I wanted to do was grab the Shiraz and neck it myself! I called it an early night and before I knew it, the alarm was going off. With a blink, it was race day. Ahhhh!!!

My first thought that morning was, “I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and not feel so nervous”. I knew I was prepared and I knew I would finish, but that didn’t stop the pre-race butterflies. I got myself ready, feeling like livestock being marked up; right arm tattoo, left calf tattoo, left ankle tag… It was soon time to leave for the final transition set up.

I couldn’t have asked for a better race day. Noosa definitely turned on the weather and whilst it was hot, the conditions were in my favour. Time flew that morning and before I knew it, I was standing nervously on the beach waiting for my wave to start, surrounded by my friends and family doing their best to distract me.

The swim, my weakest and biggest concern, unexpectedly turned out to be my favourite. The water was beautiful and clear. We were off and I found my own space, settling in quickly. I kept on course (mostly), made a bee-line for the beach and was stoked to finish in 30 minutes without drowning.

Quick transition (well, as quick as I could without doing a flying mount) and I was onto the bike course. I felt fatigue in my quads straight away so perhaps my taper wasn’t enough in the week leading up. Still, I was determined to maintain an average speed ~ 30km/hr and used everything I could to push through the burn, conscious to save a little for the run. Descending Garmin hill was my highlight and I even cracked a new PB top speed on the bike; it was so much fun! Coming off the bike, I checked to see I had done enough to hit my goal time of 1hr 20. Right on target.

I did some quick math and realised that sub-3 hours was within reach. Yass! Running is my strength but it was hot (~27°C), my feet were burning, and my body was tired. Learning the hard way in previous run races, I knew I had to pace sensibly…These lessons paid off as it soon became apparent the run was going to be far more challenging than I’d thought. I needed every ounce of energy to make it to the finish line. A friend had given me some valuable advice the day before and this mantra repeated in my head; “Pain is temporary. Glory lasts forever”. I kept to a consistent pace and somehow even managed a sprint finish.

I went into race day hoping to finish around 3 hours. As I crossed the finish line, I sneaked a peep at my watch to see the time 2:55! I couldn’t believe it! I was ecstatic! Thank you Noosa!