Having returned from Auckland late on Saturday evening, the thought of getting up early was not a happy one but the day dawned clear and calm, so I hauled myself out of bed and got ready. I had prepared all my gear before I left for Auckland so I just had to get dressed, jump into the car and head down to Scorching Bay. It was to be a team event but I had not met my fellow team members. I was first off at eight thirty. I had had a so called warm up swim (actually very cold) and set off to swim my 400 metres around a couple of buoys with the others of the first echelon. I got caught up with a couple of people who swam as I used to swim - frantically swimming till exhausted then breast stroking to recover, then repeating this over and over till the end. Now I swim a steady if slow stroke with no panic or stress. The two practising my old method kept getting in my way and I gave and received a passing kick or two.
I finally got away from them and came ashore in one rather cold piece.
I trotted into transition, found my bike, stripped off my wetsuit and cap, and put on my shoes and helmet. I gave away the gloves as my hands were wet and sticky and I could not get them on. Cruising off for the fifteen kilometre ride I felt quite good in the beginning. The cold swim had certainly woken me up and the breeze around my wet body as I rode kept me alert. There was only one mild hill on the course - the Passa Branda. I passed a few people and a few people passed me. I looked down and noticed my bike computer was not registering. I gave it a wiggle as it looked loose. It was loose and my push made it fly off, shoot into the air and bounce onto the road. Its functioning had grown pretty dodgy over the last six months so I decided to leave it where it lay. After the turn around I found it hard going into the wind and slowed down considerably.
Back in transition I changed into my running shoes and stood up. One shoe was decidedly uncomfortable and I had to take it off again. Inside I found the ear plugs that I use for swimming. I had forgotten about them and had left them in my shoe. Once that problem was solved I headed out for the four kilometre run. At the start I bounced along but quickly became leaden as tiredness caught up with me and the wind hit me head on. It seemed a long way to the turning point but once I reached it and had a quick drink I livened up a bit on the return. The wind helped me along and soon the end was in sight.
I finally met up with one of my team mates who had set out at later times than me. I was too tired to wait for the other one though and decided to call it a day.
Home and an afternoon siesta called.
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