On Sunday 24.04 Swiss Triathlon organised a squad race in Sursee. This race was meant to be a selection for the sprint european championships in Olsztyn. Having had only two weeks of proper training since covid I didn’t really know what performance I would be able to produce.
The Race format was a super sprint (300m pool swim 5km bike and 1.5km run). My swim was decent and I managed to get out of the water to make the first pack but, to my biggest surprise, the referee stopped me in T1 ( transition from swim to bike) and I had to serve a 10 second penalty. I was confused as I didn’t see what I could have done wrong… After serving my penalty, I jumped on my bike. I tried my hardest to catch up but my muscles felt stiff due to the temperature difference between the pool and outside and my legs felt weak for the first two laps of four. On the second half of the bike, I was able to catch a few girls, having warmed up a little, my muscles felt better. The run was ok, although I was kind of in a no man’s land which makes it difficult to compare especially since there were no timings. After the race the referee claimed my penalty was due to drafting in the water, which I didn’t think I was doing as I was right next to the person in my lane and to draft you have to sit on their hip… Moreover, the race briefing didn’t mention anything about this and the rules applied being world triathlon rules, don’t forbid drafting in the water anyway. This penalty was therefore obsolete. It is difficult to accept such unfair treatment.
The second race we had was in a relay format where we were paired with a male athlete. I was paired with Ben Faeh. Ben had to do the first leg and I the second. He handed me over in first position but I felt weak from the moment I set off. I felt I had nothing left in the tank and battled my way through this second triathlon. Three girls caught up with me and I had no chance to keep up on the run, my legs were destroyed and hamstrings were cramping up. I feel like this lack of stamina is probably after effects of covid.
The squad race was a good fitness test. I can see that my fitness is getting better although still not at 100% and my body takes longer to recover. This kind of confirms what I had been feeling in training. I will get there but I’ll need to put in the good work before my next race in Caorle.
After this squad race Swiss Triathlon decided not to qualify me for Europeans.
