The final racing chapter for this year was two 70.3
races in Korea. This was going to be a good test because of the fact that the
races was only 2 weeks apart and this will be the first time I attempt this.
Balancing the races, recovery as well as being a tourist was going to be
difficult, but I thought I could manage that.
The first race was in Incheon, where it was very
hot and humid. This was a very tough race as South Africa just came out of
winter and I wasn’t prepared for the heat. The swim was in a canal and was
quite enjoyable. The cycle was a bit technical in the first 8km as we had to
navigate about 8 U turns and several 90 degree turns. This hurt the legs for
the run and the rest of the cycle. To make matters worse we had to do 3 laps of
the bike. I felt good for the first 2 laps and then suddenly I started to cramp
a bit. But nothing too bad, just the body’s way of saying listen here you are
on the limit. I was glad when the cycle was done and was eager for the run to
start. My running felt good in training and I was happy to start the run. The
first 10km was good and I felt that if I can keep this pace I will be very
happy. Unfortunately the wheels came off and I suffered the last half of the
run. I ran slower and slower and I was in a lot of pain. I managed to soldier
on and finish the race in 7th position.
It was a good learning
curve, but I felt drained emotionally and physically. I wanted to go home and
even asked my mom to change my flights so I could come back and rest and start
to prepare for next year. She talked me out of it and I had to stay and
focus to get my mind back on track for the next race.
For the next two weeks the focus was just on
recovery and enjoying the city. My brother and I one day went to Everland just
to clear the mind a bit and have some fun. It was also good to bond with my
brother for 3 weeks, some quality time together.
The second race was in Gurye in the south, a
beautiful little town in the mountains, luckily we didn’t have to climb the
mountains in the cycle leg. I went into the race with a little bit less stress
knowing that whether it a good or bad race, the whole mission of this trip was
to gain experience and learn how my body reacts to what I’m putting it through.
The cycle is still my main problem with the longer distance races, I know I
need to pick it up quite a lot. During the race there was a group of about 6
athletes cycling together. I told myself, you can crawl the run but you have to
push and stick with the group. And I managed to do just that, sticking with
them was very hard but mentally it was a huge boost. Surprisingly the run was
quite good until the last 5km. I was sitting comfortably in 6th
position and was only overtaken in the last km to finish in 7th.
I have some off time now and in a few weeks I will
begin to prepare for the 2016 season.
Cheers
Rudolf
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