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Sri Chinmoy Triple-Triathlon 2005 Report by James Sullivan
View from the middle
“To Beer or Not To Beer” is what happens when you can’t think of a team name, but you know that it should have the word “beer” in it. So it was that Patrick, Mick and I set out on the Triple Tri journey. We knew that we weren’t going to be competing with the big guns but there was some serious competition on our minds. Patrick’s wife, Susie, was in a pretty good women’s team, the “Transcending Chicks” and it became clear that we would be evenly matched. Our goal for the day was to beat the chicks – Rachel, Sam and Susie.
At the registration desk on Saturday, and again at the start on Sunday, it became clear that we picked the wrong name. Clearly “Two Kegs and a Six Pack” would have been much more suitable. How come Mick and I had the biggest guts on show? At least Patrick looked to be in shape. Things weren’t helped by the fact that I was one of two people at the start not in a wetsuit. Man, I bet one of those things would have helped with hiding my belly. Still, at least the water was the perfect temperature for swimming.
Tip 1 when preparing for the Triple Tri: don’t let your first ever open water swim be the first swim of the day. I had been training well in the pool and thought I’d do a reasonable time – just goes to show how much I knew. I put my head down and started swimming and when I looked up for the first time I was way out to the right of the pack. And I thought I knew how to swim in a straight line. I corrected and put my head down again. Next time I looked up, I’m way out to the left of the pack and a long way behind to boot. I was about ready to give up at that point, but Mick and Patrick would kill me. I finally got it together, but the extra distance I’d swum and the time it took me to figure out how to do it efficiently meant I was a fair way behind most of the 3 person team starters, as well as one or two of the 9 person team swimmers. More importantly I’d lost about 7 minutes to Rachel. Patrick had his work cut out for him already.
I handed off to Patrick and we made our way to the next transition, where I was due to start running. For this leg I was up against Susie, Patrick’s wife. This was not a good situation for me. I’ve been running with Susie a fair bit, and generally I’m faster – in training. All her best race times are way better than mine though, she’s a tough racer. For example, earlier this year she did a 2 hour half marathon. Not a very impressive time you say? Try doing it 8 weeks after having a baby and pushing the baby along with you all the way. Suddenly I’m hoping that Patrick comes in behind Sam so at least I don’t have Susie flying past me on the way up Mt Majura. Patrick had a great ride though and I was off 7 minutes in front. I slogged up Mt Majura with no sign of Susie and started down the road on the other side. Suddenly there’s footsteps getting closer. I look over my shoulder to see Emma Murray come flying past. How can she look so fresh after that hill, and be going so quickly? It’s just depressing. Still, at least it wasn’t Susie. I headed down the bike trails and over to Hackett Hill, twisting my ankle several times on the way, as usual. Coming over the top of Hackett Hill I see a guy from a team of 9 running towards me. “Wrong way mate!” I say, any comedic talent I had being beaten out of me by this stage. “Missed a check point” was the reply. I found out a couple of days later that the guy had missed the checkpoint at the top of Mt Majura and had to run back up there before continuing. He finished the leg too – mate, whoever you are, I salute you. If it had been me I would have burst into tears and curled up into a little ball, refusing to go on.
Finally slogged my way to the top of Mt Ainslie, what a relief. Only a couple of km’s to go, I thought to myself. I was most disappointed to find out just how far around the lake I had to run to get to the transition, but on the upside, I was still in front of the chicks. Mick was a pretty good swimmer so we were in with a shot.
Handing over to Mick, it occurred to me that we were probably the only team to do all the swims without any wetsuits. Not only that, but Mick was going to take the prize for the least apparel worn in any swim. Wasn’t he a sight in his budgie smugglers. No really, they had the words “budgie smugglers” written across the back. Hopefully, those who weren’t revolted at the sight would be laughing so hard they couldn’t finish the race. I went over to the library to provide Mick with his half way gel. Susie had come in only a couple of minutes after me, she had made up some time, so he had about a 2 minute start on Rachel. While waiting for Mick, I see this person go swimming by. Wow, tall, great stroke, and absolutely flying. Hang on, that’s Rachel! Where the hell is Mick, how did he get so far behind so fast? Watching Rachel swim away, suddenly it didn’t seem so likely we were going to achieve our goal. Mick came in, had his gel and left. Over at the transition point, Rachel came out of the water about 6 minutes in front of Mick. Patrick was going to have to chase Sam down again.
We went out to Uriarra Road to watch the guys go by at the halfway point of the ride. When Patrick came through he had a big grin on his face, he’d just passed Sam. She threw an empty gel pack at me as I yelled out encouragement and it occurred to me she was taking the whole thing too seriously. Later she claimed it was an accident, but I’m not so sure. At the transition to the run over Mt Taylor, Patrick came in first by several minutes. This was where we were going to start making time on the chicks as it was Mick’s first run and Susie’s second. She’d been saying all week that she’d start to struggle from here.
Sure enough Mick came in first to tag me for the swim through Lake Tuggeranong. I set off, and quickly fell into a good rhythm, also managing to swim in a straight line for a change. As I got to the end of the swim I thought I’d done pretty well, I cramped as I got to the ladder but that was OK, I was done for the day. Two people were right behind me. Unbelievable – one of them was Rachel! Susie had taken a bit of time off Mick on the run – told you she was tough – and then Rachel had murdered me on the swim. Two legs to go and we’re level pegging.
It was Mick and Susie again on the ride and off they went. As Patrick and I drove to the final transition we were sure that Susie was done for and he’d just have to cruise home in the last run to keep the chicks at bay. Waiting at the transition, Patrick and Sam started preparing for their final runs. I was keeping an eye on the clock. I noticed a team come in that were just in front of us at the last change. Mick wouldn’t be far away now. Then Susie came through the tunnel, she beat Mick – so much for tired. Off goes Sam, and now Patrick and I are starting to worry about how much time he has to make up on the run. Mick came in 4 minutes later and off Patrick went. Turned out Mick copped the dual bogeymen of cramps and gear failure. Still, Patrick is a good runner and despite the two rides he’d already done, we figured we might still be in with a shot.
Down at the finish line, my wife and kids had shown up with the beers. It took all my willpower, but I decided to wait until Patrick arrived before we opened them up. Waiting, waiting. The first solo guy came through and got a big cheer, as he should. It occurred to me that there’s something wrong with him. I’d only done three legs and I could hardly stand up, but he did the whole thing and in nearly the same time as our team and he looked mildly tired. Clearly I’m missing that gene.
Then at the 11.30 hr mark, Patrick came around the corner and down the hill. He passed Sam on the way. Probably people were wondering why he crossed the line with his arms raised (49th place overall is not that exciting), but if you were listening you would have heard – “We beat the chicks!”. Sam arrived 5 minutes later, just as we were sucking down the beers (Patrick tells me they’re isotonic, which I guess means good for you. To me they were just good). They did well too, finishing 3rd in their category. Slaps on the back all around.
As soon as Patrick could catch his breath we were planning for next year. One thing’s for sure, Mick and I need to get into better shape, or “Two Kegs and a Six Pack” will be making an appearance on the running sheet.
James Sullivan
“To Beer or Not To Beer” is what happens when you can’t think of a team name, but you know that it should have the word “beer” in it. So it was that Patrick, Mick and I set out on the Triple Tri journey. We knew that we weren’t going to be competing with the big guns but there was some serious competition on our minds. Patrick’s wife, Susie, was in a pretty good women’s team, the “Transcending Chicks” and it became clear that we would be evenly matched. Our goal for the day was to beat the chicks – Rachel, Sam and Susie.
At the registration desk on Saturday, and again at the start on Sunday, it became clear that we picked the wrong name. Clearly “Two Kegs and a Six Pack” would have been much more suitable. How come Mick and I had the biggest guts on show? At least Patrick looked to be in shape. Things weren’t helped by the fact that I was one of two people at the start not in a wetsuit. Man, I bet one of those things would have helped with hiding my belly. Still, at least the water was the perfect temperature for swimming.
Tip 1 when preparing for the Triple Tri: don’t let your first ever open water swim be the first swim of the day. I had been training well in the pool and thought I’d do a reasonable time – just goes to show how much I knew. I put my head down and started swimming and when I looked up for the first time I was way out to the right of the pack. And I thought I knew how to swim in a straight line. I corrected and put my head down again. Next time I looked up, I’m way out to the left of the pack and a long way behind to boot. I was about ready to give up at that point, but Mick and Patrick would kill me. I finally got it together, but the extra distance I’d swum and the time it took me to figure out how to do it efficiently meant I was a fair way behind most of the 3 person team starters, as well as one or two of the 9 person team swimmers. More importantly I’d lost about 7 minutes to Rachel. Patrick had his work cut out for him already.
I handed off to Patrick and we made our way to the next transition, where I was due to start running. For this leg I was up against Susie, Patrick’s wife. This was not a good situation for me. I’ve been running with Susie a fair bit, and generally I’m faster – in training. All her best race times are way better than mine though, she’s a tough racer. For example, earlier this year she did a 2 hour half marathon. Not a very impressive time you say? Try doing it 8 weeks after having a baby and pushing the baby along with you all the way. Suddenly I’m hoping that Patrick comes in behind Sam so at least I don’t have Susie flying past me on the way up Mt Majura. Patrick had a great ride though and I was off 7 minutes in front. I slogged up Mt Majura with no sign of Susie and started down the road on the other side. Suddenly there’s footsteps getting closer. I look over my shoulder to see Emma Murray come flying past. How can she look so fresh after that hill, and be going so quickly? It’s just depressing. Still, at least it wasn’t Susie. I headed down the bike trails and over to Hackett Hill, twisting my ankle several times on the way, as usual. Coming over the top of Hackett Hill I see a guy from a team of 9 running towards me. “Wrong way mate!” I say, any comedic talent I had being beaten out of me by this stage. “Missed a check point” was the reply. I found out a couple of days later that the guy had missed the checkpoint at the top of Mt Majura and had to run back up there before continuing. He finished the leg too – mate, whoever you are, I salute you. If it had been me I would have burst into tears and curled up into a little ball, refusing to go on.
Finally slogged my way to the top of Mt Ainslie, what a relief. Only a couple of km’s to go, I thought to myself. I was most disappointed to find out just how far around the lake I had to run to get to the transition, but on the upside, I was still in front of the chicks. Mick was a pretty good swimmer so we were in with a shot.
Handing over to Mick, it occurred to me that we were probably the only team to do all the swims without any wetsuits. Not only that, but Mick was going to take the prize for the least apparel worn in any swim. Wasn’t he a sight in his budgie smugglers. No really, they had the words “budgie smugglers” written across the back. Hopefully, those who weren’t revolted at the sight would be laughing so hard they couldn’t finish the race. I went over to the library to provide Mick with his half way gel. Susie had come in only a couple of minutes after me, she had made up some time, so he had about a 2 minute start on Rachel. While waiting for Mick, I see this person go swimming by. Wow, tall, great stroke, and absolutely flying. Hang on, that’s Rachel! Where the hell is Mick, how did he get so far behind so fast? Watching Rachel swim away, suddenly it didn’t seem so likely we were going to achieve our goal. Mick came in, had his gel and left. Over at the transition point, Rachel came out of the water about 6 minutes in front of Mick. Patrick was going to have to chase Sam down again.
We went out to Uriarra Road to watch the guys go by at the halfway point of the ride. When Patrick came through he had a big grin on his face, he’d just passed Sam. She threw an empty gel pack at me as I yelled out encouragement and it occurred to me she was taking the whole thing too seriously. Later she claimed it was an accident, but I’m not so sure. At the transition to the run over Mt Taylor, Patrick came in first by several minutes. This was where we were going to start making time on the chicks as it was Mick’s first run and Susie’s second. She’d been saying all week that she’d start to struggle from here.
Sure enough Mick came in first to tag me for the swim through Lake Tuggeranong. I set off, and quickly fell into a good rhythm, also managing to swim in a straight line for a change. As I got to the end of the swim I thought I’d done pretty well, I cramped as I got to the ladder but that was OK, I was done for the day. Two people were right behind me. Unbelievable – one of them was Rachel! Susie had taken a bit of time off Mick on the run – told you she was tough – and then Rachel had murdered me on the swim. Two legs to go and we’re level pegging.
It was Mick and Susie again on the ride and off they went. As Patrick and I drove to the final transition we were sure that Susie was done for and he’d just have to cruise home in the last run to keep the chicks at bay. Waiting at the transition, Patrick and Sam started preparing for their final runs. I was keeping an eye on the clock. I noticed a team come in that were just in front of us at the last change. Mick wouldn’t be far away now. Then Susie came through the tunnel, she beat Mick – so much for tired. Off goes Sam, and now Patrick and I are starting to worry about how much time he has to make up on the run. Mick came in 4 minutes later and off Patrick went. Turned out Mick copped the dual bogeymen of cramps and gear failure. Still, Patrick is a good runner and despite the two rides he’d already done, we figured we might still be in with a shot.
Down at the finish line, my wife and kids had shown up with the beers. It took all my willpower, but I decided to wait until Patrick arrived before we opened them up. Waiting, waiting. The first solo guy came through and got a big cheer, as he should. It occurred to me that there’s something wrong with him. I’d only done three legs and I could hardly stand up, but he did the whole thing and in nearly the same time as our team and he looked mildly tired. Clearly I’m missing that gene.
Then at the 11.30 hr mark, Patrick came around the corner and down the hill. He passed Sam on the way. Probably people were wondering why he crossed the line with his arms raised (49th place overall is not that exciting), but if you were listening you would have heard – “We beat the chicks!”. Sam arrived 5 minutes later, just as we were sucking down the beers (Patrick tells me they’re isotonic, which I guess means good for you. To me they were just good). They did well too, finishing 3rd in their category. Slaps on the back all around.
As soon as Patrick could catch his breath we were planning for next year. One thing’s for sure, Mick and I need to get into better shape, or “Two Kegs and a Six Pack” will be making an appearance on the running sheet.
James Sullivan
