Gan Shmuel Triathlon – 3rd Place!!
I was a bit worried about this triathlon. There was only a week to prepare since my return from Egypt so I tried to exercise as much as possible but I sort of felt a bit unsure. There were only several weeks between competitions. The Nike triathlon was on the 8th of September so it’s been 21 days since then and 11 of them were in Egypt.
Every part of the triathlon has it’s moments. The day before, I always wake up really early so that by the time it’s 9PM, my eyelids are like two small guillotines. This is the only way I can assure the adequate amount of sleep needed for sufficient morning perkiness on race day. Also, it’s fun to get everything ready – Bike, helmet, towels, sunglasses, giant black marker (to write my number on my body), etc. The only thoughts that pop into your head the whole day are ‘what did I forget?’ and ‘what should I eat?’ and ‘how can I stay tired?’ and ‘where have all the windmills gone?’ (but that’s always a concern)…. Ah , and the best part. Finally, you are prepared to sleep at around nine and your in bed and on the verge of REM when all of the sudden a long lost friend decides that this is a good time to wish you ‘good luck’ in a text message. Super! For a few minutes you contemplate why Nokia hasn’t created a feature that leaves the alarm on and the phone on silent but quickly you fall asleep again.
Another great part of the day before is the eating. Every sports website has plenty of articles about carb overloading but my greatest fear is actually carb overdoingit. Luckily, my friend Rakefet and I, went to a pasta restaurant which was sufficiently portioned and I had a wicked bowl of pasta which did the trick. Set alarm to 4:30AM and sleep! 4:30AM because I like to have my morning coffee and bread with honey (classic race day b-fast) in a relaxed fashion and maybe even some quality, thumb twiddling time…
So arriving at the race, I met up with Rakefet and Roi from school, along with some other familiar faces. We prepared ourselves and made our way to the sea with our snazzy green bathing caps that represent the sprint race. 10, 9, 8 … (you see where this is going)… we were off. I can’t begin to explain to you how many kicks and punches you suffer while you enter the ‘washing machine’ (the nickname for the swimming part of the competition), especially from the annoying breast stroke crowd. There is a country song (Sugarland – Down in Mississippi ) that describes a party in a way that reminds me of the swimming part -
Hammer down, here we go
Runnin’ for the riverboat
All you’re gonna see is asses and elbows
Asses and elbows! Well, maybe not asses but it’s close enough 
Once the swimming was over, I quickly put my sunglasses, number, helmet and shoes on, took my bike and rode off. 20km cycling and this time I had my spanking new polar CS200. So I’m feeling pretty cool right about then and the camera crew even came on their motorcycle and were shooting me. With a quick, practiced movement, I grab my water bottle and sip my Gatorade… Then I guess the fame got to me because the bottle slipped from my hand and the bottle remains on the newly paved addition to the coastal highway. I had to say something to the paparazzi so I said something like ‘I hope you got all that on tape’. Then again, whats is a triathlon without at least one embarrassing moment?
After the cycling, I quickly changed my shoes, took of my helmet, returned my bike and set off for 5km running. The route was part road and part hard sand which was good and they gave out energy drinks which I desperately needed after my ‘incident’. The run went well and I saw both of my friends (Yaron and Roi) on the way back.
Finish time : 01:22:00.40
Swimming : 00:15:41
Cycling : 00:39:35
Running : 00:26:43
Place in category : 3 out of 14
Total place in sprint : 94 out of 171
After that we all went out to eat! We went to an awesome restaurant in Cesarea, came home, took nap and reporting back to you. That’s basically it in Anatshell!
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September 29, 2007 5:11 pm 
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