So who is heading to the gold coast for the tri this weekend should be a good one and I have monday off work and staying down there on sat and sunday night bring it on

I am driving down saturday afternoon to drop off the bike and then turning around and driving back to Brisbane. Wish they had bike check in Sunday morning. Apparently they are trialing the same registration schedule they will use for the world champs next year.

I've just entered!, my first full sprint distance!

Steve I'm pretty sure Saturday racking is optional, but you do get a preferential parking pass for doing it...
at least that's the impression I get from here...

Does anyone else think it's going to rain?

Best of luck to all racing - and I'll be looking for the race report on Monday Owen ;)

Coming down from Brissy to check the bike-in is a bit of an ask, but may be worth it if you're thinking about being competitive on the day. The Harrop memorial race attracted good numbers last year, and prime possies in the transition area will be in high demand.

I am going to have a run around - without too many expectations though, just to have some fun ($65 worth? :unsure: )

Anyway - Steve, I agree that it is an OPTIONAL check in on Saturday afternoon and will personally be checking the bike in on the morning.

Have a great race everybody!

Cheers
Steve.

Did not realise Saturday check in was optional. I certainly dont have to worry about being competitive, so I think a Sunday morning check in will be the go.

If SteveCan "make it around" I should be able to. :D

bda20, I'll be there for cheering purposes. If you'd like to meet up with some fellow CRs send one of us an email and we can look out for you.

sorry Cirque I only got back on here now and am back from down the crazy coast!! :) probally not the best place to meet people with the weather the way it was (It was rainning with wind gusts of up to 110km/h)the ride was canned and it was turned into a swim/run and most people went home including me. I know I can hear you now "you were there you should have done it" but it was crazy and cold (well for up here anyway). Did anyone still do it the water looked like it was really moving with the tide on the way out!! hope you were swimming with it :D

bda - a few foolhardy souls did it but I don't blame you at all for choosing not to.

I'll let Owen fill you in with his race report.

You know that saying "when hell freezes over???" - well I'm pretty sure that's what Southport was this morning, hell frozen over!

On Saturday afternoon I drove down the coast to rack my bike because I wanted to get one of the exclusive preferential parking passes that had been held as a carrot for us to rack on Saturday. This was where my race FIRST started going wrong; I hadn't brought garbage bags to tape over my bike (which is apparently what everybody does when they're leaving it over night in possible rain) and there was no longer going to be preferential parking...

I then had to drive back to Brisbane to work for a couple of hours on Saturday night and then back to the Gold Coast again to sleep.

Woke up this morning, drove back to the race site where it's raining and blowing an absolute gale (110km/hr winds!). I went to the information board and the ruling is that it is a wetsuit race, this is where I next start panicking! (who packs a wetsuit for a race on the GOLD COAST!)

So everybody stood around looking silly for about 45 minutes and then the announcers said they were delaying the start time 20 mins while they wait for a weather forecast. 20 mins later the announcers get back on the mic, apologise profusely and say the bike leg has to be cancelled for the age groupers and enticers, but may go ahead for the ITU junior Championships which were to be held later on...

So the race was now going to be just a swim-run. Most people just packed up and left but I thought after all the effort I'd been to to get there I may as well have a crack at it. 45 mins later waiting *freezing* on the beach for the start I was not so sure that that had been my finest decision making... I was sort of consoling myself with the thought that it HAD to be warmer once we were in the water... I was wrong!

Now to the actual race! There were only nine people in my category. My swim was awful, couldn't keep in a straight line, kept breaking ino breast stroke and was last out of the water for my group. The run wasn't much better... I only overtook three guys and had all the elite ladies overtake me (and I usually come home strong in the run!). But I did manage to finish it.

I should have prefaced all this with the fact that I have been sick and fevery all week, haven't had a chance to train since last weekend and have just started back at uni.

So overall thoughts?

Well I don't think there's such a thing as a bad race. There are races where I feel strong, and races where I feel weak. Today I felt weak, but I finished, I've learnt soooooo much more about the sport and myself than I knew two days ago, and I've done my first ever duathlon!

Roll on Mooloolaba!

I got totally soaked racking my bike and then waiting around to find out what was going to happen to the race start. After finding out they were postponing the start 30 minutes or so and dropping the cycle leg, I took my bike back to the car turned on the heater and waited around till just before 8am.

I figured the original start was 8:05 for my wave so with an extra 30 minutes it would be 8:35. Wrong! :angry: I had wandered down to the start to check things out just before the final wave went and had no goggles, just a raincoat and my prescription sunnies. So I got to start with the final wave instead. I know I am a poor swimmer but they were all out of sight in no time (about 6 metres for my myopia. Had a bit of trouble seeing the bouys and did a bit of zig zagging in what was inconsistent choppiness. Just before the end I started to catch someone but they held me off so was last out of the water for everyone. It was when I was running into transition that I realised I had started with the teams. No wonder I could not keep up. Needless to say I was a bit behind out of transition. I decided that socks were the go as comfort in the rain was more important than time. Took me over a kilometre to catch someone on the run but I was feeling good despite the headwind going out. After the run turn I realised it must have been a tailwind. The rain was stinging as it pelted into my face but I kept the pressure on despite having one eye closed and squinting out of the other as my head was turned. I think I caught about six people in the end.

Despite the whole ordeal I really enjoyed it. Sometimes beating the elements can give you more satisfaction than going fast. Bring on Mooloolaba (but no rain please).

Bad luck Owen, Steve and to the other competitors. Not sure who had it worse - the guys at Gold Coast, or those over at Taupo. Ah well - what doesn't kill you ...

All the best for Mooloolooba all you northerners :)

Sounds like an entertaining day out.....

What happened at Taupo? Did they get snow? :D

I was there two years ago and it was almost snow.

quote:

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Originally posted by minersrun:
Bad luck Owen, Steve and to the other competitors. Not sure who had it worse - the guys at Gold Coast, or those over at Taupo. Ah well - what doesn't kill you ...

All the best for Mooloolooba all you northerners :)

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Well - I was there for the aquathon and it was as cold and miserable as has been said. Personally I was hopeful that they still would have held the race, but have to acknowledge that the bike course would have been far too dangerous. A correct decision was made and thats the way it goes!

As for Taupo - my feelings go out to the people who have trained so long and hard, spent so much time energy and money to do an Ironman to have it cut down to a no-swim 90kbike/21krun - and then to have perfect weather on the Sunday! Life is not fair - and that's the way it goes too.

best wishes to all who were there - I can understand why so many pulled out as although I did the swim/run I personally found it to be a fairly dissapointing workout on a day that the elements were just not cooperating.