Race Report – Bali International Triathlon 24 June 2012 By Stef I had a near-perfect preparation for this race, and felt like I really wanted to race, but after arriving in Jimbaran Bay, Bali, a few minor mishaps left me feeling less than confident of finishing this race, a feeling that didn’t go away until I reached T2. I had been interstate the previous week for work, so packing had been a bit rushed. I brought way more food than I could ever consume, but forgot a few essential things. I managed to puncture a tube while putting my bike back together. Foolishly, I only brought one spare – a lesson learned! A visit to an internet café revealed a bike shop just around the corner that was open ‘til late – seemed hard to believe, but it was there… but didn’t stock tubes in my size. The bike course tour the next day left me feeling even less confident, revealing hazardous traffic conditions as well as some small, steep hills. To make matters worse, on a training swim in the hotel pool my goggles started to leak and lose their anti-fog. I planned to buy a new pair at the expo before the race, but the stall holders had decided to wait until after the race to set up. However, the Balinese bike blessing ceremony, for the non-religious amongst us, at least calmed the nerves and provided a moment to reflect and gain some perspective. The pre-race pasta party was a fun social affair, not exactly a vegetarian’s delight, but a good chance to catch up and relax before the big day. I tried not to stress out too much about nutrition.

Race morning and the excitement was building, setting up in transition, meeting up with training buddies and checking each other’s gear out. I warmed up as usual, with everything going to schedule, until it was almost time to head to the start line and I realized I’d forgotten my pre-race gel and panic started to set in… funny how little things like that before a race can set you off. A quick dash back to transition before it closed and all was good! The water was clear, calm and the perfect temperature, but the buoys seemed to take forever to reach – the consensus opinion was that the swim course was a little on the long side. The swim went well, and I felt like I was swimming with my arms and not just legs for once, but I was definitely relieved to reach land! As I ran out of the water, someone yelled out, second girl… something I was not expecting to hear! Headed off with my blessed bike, with the decorated leaf offering still attached to my aero bars. Must have worked!

Onto the bike and I was giving it my all, trying to chase down first place without knowing how far ahead she was. As we headed into Nusa Dua on the first lap I overtook her, moving into 1st place, and she seemed resigned to her fate. I rode without seeing any other competitors ahead of me for a while, with a few guys drafting behind – in spite of the measly 3m drafting zone. My concentration was temporarily broken by a monkey that chased me for a short distance and then ran across the course!

The hills weren’t so bad, but at each turn, other women seemed to be catching me – including the cycling Wonderwoman, Ms Kylie. Ms Wonderwoman eventually passed me on the bike as per usual and I played tag with 3rd place towards the end of the bike. Once I slipped from the lead, I lost the police escort who zoomed off into the distance with Kylie, and I realised what the bike must have been like for everyone else – getting stuck behind slow-moving vehicles and dodging kamikaze motorbike riders despite the so-called road closure. At least they weren’t abusing cyclists like in Darwin! Kylie and I managed to pull into T2 first and third respectively, but my legs had taken a fair hit by this point. The run was hot but flat and I powered on, but nowhere near the speed I was aiming for. Fortunately, it was good enough, and around the 3km mark I caught up to 2nd place and then Kylie, who urged me on, yelling out, she’s hot on your heels! I summoned what was left of my legs and tried to pick up the pace. Saw Ronnie on the first turnaround and was relieved he wasn’t hitting our target speed either – no bragging rights! By this point I was getting pretty thirsty, but each time I reached a drinks station, all that was available was sickly sweet isotonic. The final turnaround and last 4km were tough, and made worse by the traffic. I ended up on the wrong (non-closed) side of the road, then the footpath, and then running in the middle of the road between moving traffic. I started hallucinating about cold drinks and swimming pools, not even thinking about winning, just finishing. It didn’t really dawn on me that I was about to win until I entered the hotel grounds and headed for the finishing chute. Relief! – But no time to relax. A medal was placed around my neck, my hand shook, a showbag and the finishing ribbon were handed to me and cameras snapped in the space of a few seconds as I stumbled over to the drinks table.

I had my five minutes of fame with the Indonesian media and soaked up the post-race euphoria with the Darwin group. I’m not sure whether I was more surprised that I won, or that people were actually pronouncing my name correctly – thanks to some handy behind-the-scenes work by Robyn! Off for some down-time, a short visit to the post-race party and then on to our next adventure to Ubud the next day with Billy, Tim and Nok for some good food. Big thanks to Daryl for getting me race-ready and for constant advice (not to mention a loaned race belt!), to Robyn for all your knowledge and work behind the scenes, to Billy for being a great companion and source of support and sanity, and thanks to Kylie for being a great sportswoman and spurring me on when things got tough. Lessons learned: make sure you pack enough gear and that it works next time!