Stockholm, a new city, a new race! Always exciting and not only that it was to boast the World team sprint champs aswell. An exciting new format of a team of 2 girls, 2 boys racing in relay format over a short super sprint. Ridiculously painful, true, but a lot of fun and great for spectators.
My trip started off with my bike taking a voyage of its own, and the FELT decided that Stockholm was not to be its original destination, as did my Brooks runners. So for pre race prep I was kind of obliged to take to the swimming pool, not so bad if it wasnt costing me about $15 a swim! My god there better be some hot boys in there to look at, at least for $15 bucks a pop!
The bike course to me essential looked suicidal. With about 40% of the course cobblestone, the worst being a downhill run over cobbles into a 180 deg corner, flavoured with white painted zebra crossing at the turn, just to spruce things up if it was wet. (Highly likely as it rained all Summer in Sweden), and it was about now i was maybe wishing I had a chamois in my togz!,A corner or 180 deg turn which looke like every 30sec, would make sure if ur private areas went going to hurt, your legs dam well would! Add to this transition set up on a steep hill, and leading up to the finish, you know it was going to be an ouchy race.
So the sun stayed out race day for our late start, which was a big sigh of relief, but thhe course did hurt all as much as anticipated. A classic Sheedy-Ryan swim, seeming to be going fine until I hit the turning buoys, where a new stroke emerged which seemed to have me go backwards as I swam forwards??? left me handicapped for the rest of the race. As usual I set about catching on to the group. In an all time best swift transition onto my bike, (very convienient to have a foot in my shoe straight up over the cobbly descent) I set about trying to minimise damage in the water and chase down the pack. Difficult with others not sharing the same passion, and some girls a bit timid I believe after the crashes in the Olympic games in London, no one really wanted to be agressive enough to catch the main pack, only realing in small groups and stragglers.
Funny story though, I got stung by a bee on the bike!!! Haha I rode into him, or he flew into me it's debateable, but the little thing got me fair and square. So there was a slightly comical situation of me flailing my arms around frantically swatting, what I'm sure would have looked like nothing to spectators, haha trying to get this bee and his sting out!
Feeling rather rubbish on the run, actually make that extremly rubbish, I battled to run to potential, I think the end of being sick a week and a half in the lead up to this race, took it's toll, and the final run up that bloody hill to the finish in 25th, definately sorted me out....but not enough to want to come back and do it all again. :)
My trip started off with my bike taking a voyage of its own, and the FELT decided that Stockholm was not to be its original destination, as did my Brooks runners. So for pre race prep I was kind of obliged to take to the swimming pool, not so bad if it wasnt costing me about $15 a swim! My god there better be some hot boys in there to look at, at least for $15 bucks a pop!
The bike course to me essential looked suicidal. With about 40% of the course cobblestone, the worst being a downhill run over cobbles into a 180 deg corner, flavoured with white painted zebra crossing at the turn, just to spruce things up if it was wet. (Highly likely as it rained all Summer in Sweden), and it was about now i was maybe wishing I had a chamois in my togz!,A corner or 180 deg turn which looke like every 30sec, would make sure if ur private areas went going to hurt, your legs dam well would! Add to this transition set up on a steep hill, and leading up to the finish, you know it was going to be an ouchy race.
So the sun stayed out race day for our late start, which was a big sigh of relief, but thhe course did hurt all as much as anticipated. A classic Sheedy-Ryan swim, seeming to be going fine until I hit the turning buoys, where a new stroke emerged which seemed to have me go backwards as I swam forwards??? left me handicapped for the rest of the race. As usual I set about catching on to the group. In an all time best swift transition onto my bike, (very convienient to have a foot in my shoe straight up over the cobbly descent) I set about trying to minimise damage in the water and chase down the pack. Difficult with others not sharing the same passion, and some girls a bit timid I believe after the crashes in the Olympic games in London, no one really wanted to be agressive enough to catch the main pack, only realing in small groups and stragglers.
Funny story though, I got stung by a bee on the bike!!! Haha I rode into him, or he flew into me it's debateable, but the little thing got me fair and square. So there was a slightly comical situation of me flailing my arms around frantically swatting, what I'm sure would have looked like nothing to spectators, haha trying to get this bee and his sting out!
Feeling rather rubbish on the run, actually make that extremly rubbish, I battled to run to potential, I think the end of being sick a week and a half in the lead up to this race, took it's toll, and the final run up that bloody hill to the finish in 25th, definately sorted me out....but not enough to want to come back and do it all again. :)
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