Through the Wind, the Rain and the Cold – Self-Transcendence Triple-Triathlon 2003

 When it rains the whole drive down to Canberra, it certainly doesn’t fill you with confidence that race day is going to be any better.  That was the situation we faced as we drove south on the Saturday afternoon.  That prediction was not too far off the mark either.

 This year’s Triple Triathlon in Canberra was in stark contrast to last year.  Then we endured intense 40-degree heat.  This year we suffered through the cold and rain, but we loved every minute of it, and would do it again, had the circumstances been the same.

 My buddies, Davo, Muz and I have become regular competitors of the Triple Tri, having attended every one since 1999 (and excepting 2001 of course).  We love the chance to get together and race around Canberra.  This year, we were pretty confident of a good result.  We had all trained pretty hard, however the lousy weather certainly put paid to us breaking any personal bests this time around.  We had an excellent time though, and that was the main point.

 This year I was doing the second MTB leg, a 40km jaunt around the Mt Stromlo forest area, well, what’s left of it anyway.  My mate Davo was doing his usual, the first MTB leg around Black Mountain and the vicinity, whilst Muz was competing in the 20km run over Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie.  We also had various others that make up the team, but the core of the team is us three stooges.

 When the alarm went off at 4.45am, I struggled out of bed and got ready for the day.  It was going to be a long one.  My mate Doug was doing the first swim at Lake Ginnindera and I was going along to cheer him on.  Things weren’t looking good as I walked outside.  Still raining.  I didn’t have much time to think of it as we all hurriedly jumped in the car and headed north to the lake in the dark.  The start was a mass of umbrellas as everyone tried to keep dry.

 At around 6.15am, Doug dived into the lake and our race had begun.  It would be an interesting next 13 hours.  Doug finished in a reasonable time, but not to his standards I think.  Or maybe it was just the fact that it was early.  He didn't talk too much afterward, he was too busy shivering.  He tagged off to Davo who took off into the twilight and rain for the first MTB leg.  We would next see him on Black Mountain.

 When we reached Black Mountain, it was still steeped in fog, but was lifting.  It wasn’t long before we caught sight of Davo coming out of the mist at the top of Push Bike Hill.  As he slowly climbed the road to the turn-around point on Black Mountain, Muz leaned out the car, video trained on a wet and muddy Davo.

 “How you going Lance?” Muz asked in a totally cheesy Euro accent.

 “I can do another!” was Davo’s equally cheesy reply.  We left him at that point before catching sight of him again as he plunged down the other side of Black Mountain.  We would catch up with Davo again before the finish, but we were all starving so we stopped for Macca’s, the breakfast of champions.  After downing a Bacon and Egg McMuffin and Hot Cakes it was back out to support Davo.

 When Davo finally rolled into the transition area after what seemed like an eternity, the rain had stopped but it had been replaced by a biting southerly that had most people diving for blankets, trackies or anything else to keep them warm. 

 Davo tagged to Muz who set off for an easy (for him) 20km run over Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie.  We caught him at Mt Ainslie.  This was the first time we had actually caught up with Muz as we have missed him in previous years.  I’m sure he was grateful for the support as he strode easily toward the summit and then down the other side.  We caught him on Anzac Parade as well as he hotfooted it to the transition on the shores of Lake Burly Griffin where our own ‘super fish’, Dave Hux was waiting for him.  Dave Hux was looking forward to the 3.5km swim to the Acton Ferry Terminal and was pumped up and ready to go.

 As Dave Hux dove into the water I realised that I had not brought my pump along, so as we drove to the next transition we made a quick detour to pick it up.

 Once at the transition, I was in a frenzy as I readied my bike for the long ride ahead.  I finally got everything sorted and was soon over to the transition area waiting for Dave Hux.  After numerous false sightings of Dave he finally emerged from the water.  I felt I had been waiting forever, so it was with a mixture of adrenaline, anticipation and nervousness that I set off from the transition area.

 I got into a good rhythm early on the bike path and felt good to finally be on my way.  I knew the course was not going to be easy and the previous rains were certainly going to make things worse.  It was too late to pull out now.

 Once on the dirt I felt as if the race had really begun.  I did my best riding straight into a headwind, trying to keep a good rhythm and the cadence high, but that all went out the window as soon as I started the first major climb, Dairy Farmers Hill.  My eagerness got the better of my early as I charged up the hill, but as my body started to redline I knew I had to back off and take it a little easier.  I still had over 30kms to ride and couldn’t blow it on the first hill.

 From Dairy Farmers it was all undulating terrain over to Pipe Flat via a few fences.  It was during the run down to Pipe Flat that the rain started.  It would follow me all the way to Cooleman Ridge in Chapman.  From Pipe Flat I really got motoring as I made my way to Coppins Crossing.  I passed a couple of other riders as I sucked on a GU energy gel and drank up the rest of my Gatorade.  The rest of the team was at Coppins Crossing to cheer me on and it was great to see them.  It was the emotional lift I needed. 

 After grabbing a new water bottle from my wife and receiving some directions from another spectator, I sped off towards Bluett’s where another of the steep sections beckoned.  As it loomed in the distance I could see other riders making their way up the hill.  It wasn’t long before I too was making my way up the same hill, a nice rhythm going.  It was little disheartening to see a female rider with pannier racks ride past me like I was standing still, but I had my own goals and catching her was not one of them.  My goal was to try and clean Bluett’s without stopping.  It wasn’t to be though as chainsuck caused the drivetrain to lock up not far from the summit.  A complete bummer.  It would be the first of numerous times that chainsuck played havoc with my forward progress.  I guess that’s what happens when you play in the mud.

 After crossing a road and past the drink station, it was on to Mt Stromlo.  I remember last year the place being very green, but not this year.  The Canberra bushfires in January took care of that.  The place was barren with only a few charcoaled remains of trees near the summit.  The rain was beating down steadily now as I made my way up to the observatories.  The mud was starting to take its toll as I passed quite a few riders wallowing in the mud.  I would also become a victim as chainsuck forced me to stop and run through the mud, which was ankle deep in places and with suction as strong as quicksand.  I nearly lost a shoe a few times.

 After walking the bike for a distance I decided enough was enough.  I’d gotten through the mud but the chainsuck was getting worst.  I had no granny ring so I decided to jump on the bike and in the middle chainring and largest rear cog, clawed my way to the summit, talking words of encouragement along the way. It worked.  I made the summit and quickly passed the observatories as I made my way along paved road to a turn off and back down the other side of the mountain.

 Going down Mt Stromlo was much more interesting than going up.  It was much muddier which, when approached at speed, made for some white-knuckle action.  On the way down I passed another rider who had literally been sucked in by the mud.  I had just enough momentum to get through it as he struggled to get his bike out of the quagmire.

 By the time I reached Cotter Rd, I was absolutely covered in mud.  I can’t believe some women will pay a fortune to have it plastered on them.  All they need to do is going mountain biking.  A much cheaper option.  I caught up with my team again and sped past them as they cheered, grabbing another water bottle along the way.  The worst was over now but I still had some short sharp hills to get over before I reached the finish.

 The first of them was Narrabundah Hill.  Last year I went around the Duffy Pines.  This year I went over it.  Similar to Stromlo, the Duffy Pines was completely flattened so it was now a familiar sight when I reached the summit.  However, I couldn’t linger to admire the view, I had a race to complete.  By now my back was sore, my legs were sore, my arms were sore… you get the picture.  I urged myself on, as I knew it wasn’t far to go.  I made my way up and onto Cooleman Ridge when I was joined by another competitor on an Avanti hardtail.  It was quite windy on the ridge so I decided to use this to my advantage.  I drafted Avanti nearly to the finish.  I finally passed him at Namatjira Drive, as I felt guilty letting him dictate the pace.  He was probably grateful for the rest.

 We reached the bike path together and we made our way up the final climb of the ride.  I was absolutely shattered by this stage, but I wanted to give it one last sprint.

 “Have you got enough legs for a sprint?” I asked Avanti.  His reply was no, so as I crested the final climb I thought even if he wasn’t, I was going to have a go.  I jammed the derailleurs into the big ring/small cog combo and launched a final sprint.

 I finally crossed the line after two-and-a-half hours hard slog through the mud, wind and rain.  I tagged off to my teammate Erica and she was off.  I slowly came to a halt with my other teammates crowding around me offering congratulations.  I leant on the bike for a while but I knew I had to hurry.  We had to catch Erica on her run.  So as quickly as my exhausted body allowed, I got changed as Davo heaved my muddy bike onto the roof racks.

 Davo drove on down to the usual spot where we catch Erica, whilst I sucked two GU’s and drank the rest of my Gatorade and some water.  As Erica ran passed we cheered her on and blew the car horns.  Davo pulled out her favourite CD, Dirty Dancing (?), and turned it up as she ran past.  Apparently though she didn’t hear it.  She must’ve been in the ‘zone’.  We caught up with Erica again before the transition where Doug and Libby were waiting in anticipation.  Lake Tuggeranong is quite exposed so the wind was very cold.  When we reached Doug he was wrapped in his towel and jumping on the spot trying to keep warm.  He didn’t have long to wait and he was almost in the water before Erica tagged him.

We headed straight over to the next transition, as we knew Doug wouldn’t take long to finish the last swim leg.  He was certainly motoring as we saw the fluro orange swim cap come toward us.  He made his way up the ladder and tagged to Scotty who took off for the final bike leg.

 Even though nearly two hours had passed since I finished my leg, by this stage I was pretty well exhausted and wanted to curl up in a nice warm bed and sleep.  I would have to wait for that luxury as we stopped just near Isaacs to see Scotty jump a fence and speed through a tunnel under Erindale Drive.  Scotty was riding at a quick pace so it was straight to the last transition area where Muz suited up ready for the final run, his second for the day.  The rain started to beat down steadily so I decided to stay in the warm, dry car and have a power nap.  It certainly worked, because I felt a lot better for it.

 Scotty shot out the stormwater tunnel shortly after I woke up and through the rain tagged Muz who was bringing the team home.  He set off and we lost sight of him quickly, more probably due to the weather.  We headed over to Red Hill and Lady Denman Drive to see him run through the rain.  It was then over to Yarralumla yacht club for the finish.  We didn’t have to wait long for Muz to appear at the finish.  The man is a freak.  He crossed the line hands in the air hamming it up for us as we all took photos of him.

 So, our race was over for another year.  It was as much a journey as a race.  The satisfaction that we had raced against not only ourselves but also the weather was enormous.  As bad as the weather had been throughout the day, we never gave up and enjoyed every minute.

 We finished in a time of 12:23:48.  Although, we weren’t classified because we didn’t have enough women in the team, we would’ve finished around the middle of the pack (note: to qualify as a mixed team, 3 of the legs must be completed by a female team member).  Not bad going I thought.

 We headed back to the motel for a nice warm shower then over to Timmy’s Kitchen at Manuka for a well-deserved meal, a celebratory drink and a recount of the day’s action.  By the end of the night we could barely keep our eyelids open but we all vowed to be here again next year, no matter what the weather.

 Ed’s note: On behalf of the team, I would like to thank our team captain, Davo, who yet again got everyone organised and in the right place at the right time to cheer each other on and offer words of encouragement.  To the team, Doug, Davo, Muz, Dave Hux, Erica and Scotty.  To Davo, Erica, Tori, Libby, Brit and Scotty for driving everyone all over the beautiful capital that is Canberra, and to my beautiful wife Ricky, for putting up with me, my bikes and my training schedule throughout the year. You guys are all legends.