Last Sunday the second race of this years' championship took place at Salina/Coast road area. Everything was set, training was done and quite honest I was quite confident that I could do a good personal best. In fact my aim was to finish the race in 1 hr 18 minutes.
Started the swim and was feeling good so kept swimming whilst holding a steady stroke. I finished the swim in 00:17:46 (2 minutes 8 seconds faster than the first race). I know it's still slow however I did not want to risk hyperventilating during the swim, at least not during my second race.
Went through the transition in 44 seconds, (9 seconds slower) however I knew that this would happen since during the first race the cycling shoes were already clipped on the bike, slipped and crashed just after the transition while wearing the shoes and I didn't want to risk it again. So I had to wear the cycling shoes before taking the bike and then just clip in and go, and that's why it took me 9 extra seconds. I was quite confident that I would make a personal best in the bike since I had cycled a lot this month so 9 seconds wouldn't be a problem.
During the first kilometer of cycling I could feel something bumping on my back wheel...felt like as small bump every revolution. Immediately, my first thought was that I had a slow puncture or a pointed stone got stuck on the tyre itself. Suddenly, during my second kilometer I could clearly hear and feel that something is wrong with my bike. The bumping sound increased dramatically! I started trying to inspect my bike while still trying to keep up the race pace.
It took me about 2 minutes to identify what's wrong on my bike. Basically, the rear tyre came off the rim and the tube followed. I had to stop because I thought that if I take a puncture during a sprint triathlon I will would stop. I did not want a D.N.F. near my name. As a quick fix I deflated the tyre from 120PSI to about 30 PSI, tried to put the tube back in but no use. I had to continue the race with a very low pressure tyre, the tyre and the tube constantly scraping to the brake shoes. This will not work, after some meters I would have a puncture for sure. I quickly loosened the brake shoe as much as possible and tried to pedal again.
Fortunately enough, only the tyre was scraping the brake shoes now, meaning I could continue the race however I had to be very very careful and to avoid potholes due to the low pressure tyre. If I take a pothole, that could lead to a puncture and also damaging the rim, something which I definitely didn't want to go through.
After some kilometers I could smell burnt rubber and I was really afraid of having a puncture at that point. At times I had to stop pedaling to avoid lactic acid in my feet however this was not possible. The first time I stopped pedaling, the bike almost came to a halt after 10-15 meters. I immediately realized that this would not be an easy ride and had to continue pedaling whilst being cautious of potholes. Finished the bike in 38 minutes 58 seconds (1 minute 30 seconds slower than the first race).
At that point I knew that I had to make a quick transition and a good run in order to stick to the 1 hour 23 minutes 38 seconds. Transition lasted 35 seconds (4 seconds faster than last race) but now I could feel that my feet were already in pain. I wanted a personal best so I had to run at lest 5 minute/km.
Managed to stick to my 5 minute/km and finished the race in 1 hour 23 minutes 22 seconds. Did a personal best by 16 seconds. Was really angry about the bike part but I much now focus on the next race, within a month and a half. I have to train more, focus on a faster swimming style, have to get a faster bike time and a faster run. I want to finish the next race in 1 hr 18 minutes or less!!
This is what is left of the tyre:
Started the swim and was feeling good so kept swimming whilst holding a steady stroke. I finished the swim in 00:17:46 (2 minutes 8 seconds faster than the first race). I know it's still slow however I did not want to risk hyperventilating during the swim, at least not during my second race.
Went through the transition in 44 seconds, (9 seconds slower) however I knew that this would happen since during the first race the cycling shoes were already clipped on the bike, slipped and crashed just after the transition while wearing the shoes and I didn't want to risk it again. So I had to wear the cycling shoes before taking the bike and then just clip in and go, and that's why it took me 9 extra seconds. I was quite confident that I would make a personal best in the bike since I had cycled a lot this month so 9 seconds wouldn't be a problem.
During the first kilometer of cycling I could feel something bumping on my back wheel...felt like as small bump every revolution. Immediately, my first thought was that I had a slow puncture or a pointed stone got stuck on the tyre itself. Suddenly, during my second kilometer I could clearly hear and feel that something is wrong with my bike. The bumping sound increased dramatically! I started trying to inspect my bike while still trying to keep up the race pace.
It took me about 2 minutes to identify what's wrong on my bike. Basically, the rear tyre came off the rim and the tube followed. I had to stop because I thought that if I take a puncture during a sprint triathlon I will would stop. I did not want a D.N.F. near my name. As a quick fix I deflated the tyre from 120PSI to about 30 PSI, tried to put the tube back in but no use. I had to continue the race with a very low pressure tyre, the tyre and the tube constantly scraping to the brake shoes. This will not work, after some meters I would have a puncture for sure. I quickly loosened the brake shoe as much as possible and tried to pedal again.
Fortunately enough, only the tyre was scraping the brake shoes now, meaning I could continue the race however I had to be very very careful and to avoid potholes due to the low pressure tyre. If I take a pothole, that could lead to a puncture and also damaging the rim, something which I definitely didn't want to go through.
After some kilometers I could smell burnt rubber and I was really afraid of having a puncture at that point. At times I had to stop pedaling to avoid lactic acid in my feet however this was not possible. The first time I stopped pedaling, the bike almost came to a halt after 10-15 meters. I immediately realized that this would not be an easy ride and had to continue pedaling whilst being cautious of potholes. Finished the bike in 38 minutes 58 seconds (1 minute 30 seconds slower than the first race).
At that point I knew that I had to make a quick transition and a good run in order to stick to the 1 hour 23 minutes 38 seconds. Transition lasted 35 seconds (4 seconds faster than last race) but now I could feel that my feet were already in pain. I wanted a personal best so I had to run at lest 5 minute/km.
Managed to stick to my 5 minute/km and finished the race in 1 hour 23 minutes 22 seconds. Did a personal best by 16 seconds. Was really angry about the bike part but I much now focus on the next race, within a month and a half. I have to train more, focus on a faster swimming style, have to get a faster bike time and a faster run. I want to finish the next race in 1 hr 18 minutes or less!!
This is what is left of the tyre:
