Carlow Sprint Triathlon 2017 – Dee Needham
A Tribute to Michaela Gonda
So race season 2017 is underway, and after doing reasonably well in my age category during my first season last Summer, I decided I would give the National Series a shot this year.
Unfortunately, it didn’t get off to a great start in the North Tipp Sprint in mid April, but I think that was just too soon after an intense training week in Mallorca. I was hoping Carlow was a chance to redeem myself.
The hours leading into the race can only be described as personal chaos. I was cursing myself for my lack of organisation. My first blunder was leaving my race timing chip in the bathroom of the hotel where registration took place. I couldn’t find it as I was unloading the car, which I had parked 5 minutes down the road. I had to cycle back up to the hotel where, thankfully, I found the chip where I suspected I had left it. I got back to the car, unloaded it and headed down to transition to get set up. Then, I thought I had left my phone in the car and had to jog back up to see if it was there. It wasn’t. It was in the bag I had with me all along. Duh! No sooner had I got back down to transition to finish setting up when I realised I actually had left my race number in the car. By this time, everyone was heading down to the swim start. I ran back up to the car once again. At this stage, I was really wondering if I had the organisational skills it takes to do a triathlon! So much stuff to remember and I was all over the place. On the upside, at least I was warmed up with all the cycling and jogging back and forth, and I was grateful that I had allowed myself plenty of time arriving before race start time. I had needed every minute of it.
I managed to quickly get into the wetsuit and follow everyone down to the swim start. I was very happy with my last minute decision to wear my own swim cap under the race swim cap, because the second I put on the race swim cap, it split up the back. It was ridiculous looking and I was getting a bit of friendly slagging from the other swimmers in my wave as we waited to get into the water, and my hat was flapping in the breeze. I was quietly hoping that nobody got my flappy swim cap in the mouth if it slid off my head once we got going. I was also wondering whether I’d had too many signs not to start this race. I always suffer with pre race nerves and an overwhelming sense of really not wanting to do it. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s that I’m a bit freaked out at the thoughts of swimming in rivers, or that I’m afraid I won’t live up to my own expectations. I’m always grand once I get going, but I’m always standing at the swim start wondering if I should just not race.
Then, I thought of a little nine year old girl who, only three weeks previous, had fallen off her bike in the Pulse kids’ duathlon, and jumped right back on to finish her race. Michaela Gonda put on a brave show that day. I spoke to her after her race and told her what a little trooper she was. She beamed up at me with her big huge smile and a big medal around her neck. I thought of Michaela – and I got in the water.
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The swim start was about 200 or 300m of kicking, punching, people swimming over you, across you, under you…. It was a melee until we got to the turning buoy and we all started to get some space. I had a good swim down the long stretch and was delighted when a spectator shouted to me that I was the first ‘girl’ out of the water. I was thrilled but my hands were numb and I couldn’t get the velcro of my wetsuit open. I tried from the second I got out of the water, all along the run stretch into T1 and then for what seemed like ages in T1, but it wouldn’t budge. My hands just weren’t working. The other girls were coming into the transition from the swim. Two of them I knew through work. One offered to help and just as we were about to ask a marshal if that was allowed, I eventually got it. I lost the lead I had after the swim and came out of T1 about 3rd or 4th female in the wave. I was gutted. The swim is my opportunity to get a bit of a head start on the better cyclists and runners.
The bike was a hard 10k drag out and I couldn’t regain the ground I’d lost. Seven more girls from my wave passed me out. I resisted the temptation to ask what age they were as they went past! The 10k back home was fast but it was very windy and the road surface wasn’t great. I’m still a bit tentative on the bike so it was a white knuckle ride in parts. I’m hoping I’ll get braver as I gain more experience.
The run was mostly along the river bank on trail terrain. Not ideal for me. I slotted in behind a guy from Athy Tri Club who was doing a pace I knew I could manage for 5k. Being a local, he seemed to know everyone in the race and spectating along the route. I fed off his supporters too.
It was a warm sunny day and about 2k into the run, I began to feel like I was overheating and possibly a bit dehydrated. Another of my pre-race blunders was forgetting to put an electrolyte tablet into my water bottle. Not that I’ve yet mastered drinking from the bottle on the move on the bike, but I’m getting better at it, and was once again kicking myself when I took my first mouthful and realised it was just water. I knew I’d finish the 5k run, but it could have been more comfortable had I drank more on the bike, and had electrolytes in my bottle. I’m not sure if that’s psychological or whether it would have made any physical difference over a short course race. The last 1k of the run felt like a whole 5k. I once again thought of Michaela’s bravery in her race and dug deep to keep my pace to the end.
I was glad to see the finish line and was fairly pleased with my overall time. It was a 5 minute PB on my three previous outdoor Sprint triathlons, and it was the type of improvement I had hoped to see after all the training since last season, and the training week in Mallorca. I wasn’t near a podium place in my age cat but I was pleased with the swim result. My run time was a PB in a tri. My bike needs an awful lot of work, and my pre race planning was nothing short of disgraceful (if not a bit comical). Lots of lessons learned.
More than anything though, I learned how the bravery of little nine year old girl could touch and inspire us in ways we never imagined. I genuinely drew from Michaela’s bravery. Michaela passed away two days before that race and I know we all thought of her during it. The race organisers granted the request for a minute’s silence in her honour. She was in our hearts and minds that day.
Michaela, thank you. My race that day was for you.
