Mitch’s Races:
ITU
Shizuishan Premium Asian Cup, China (June 7th)
French
Grand Prix- La Rochelle, France (June 15th)
ITU
Larache African Cup, Morocco (June 21st)
My international
triathlon season is well underway and after the most demanding travel schedule
I’ve encountered, I’m sitting in my small, yet stylish one bedroom apartment in
Morzine. I share this cottage in the centre of town with Sean Jefferson (USA)
who likes peanut butter oatmeal (porridge) and always falls asleep before I do!
I’m happy here now that I’ve settled in and I finally feel like good things are
on the horizon, which is nice.
Since
flying out of Melbourne on June 3rd, I’ve been to China, France, Switzerland,
Portugal (only a stop over, but it’s a stamp none the less) and Morocco. I’ve
been to three races, but only raced twice and it has been a real learning
curve. The places I’ve seen have only reiterated the fact that Australia is the
lucky country and I’m glad to call it home. For those in France, you should be
glad as well, but my experience tells me that those in China and Morocco would
enjoy a holiday!
I
had a pretty consistent training block leading up to my trip and was happy with
my progression since the start of the year. I’d like to thank Bayside Swim Club
for putting up with my 5am face each morning and Andrew at Reap PT for keeping
me in one piece. Triathlon throws up some challenges, but nothing is as hard as
being injured, so I’m always thankful to be able to compete even when the
outcomes aren’t desirable. Having said that, it is still difficult to deal with the
stress of poor performances/decisions as they happen. One can only hope as time
passes and lessons are learnt, that these incidences become few and far
between.
The
first race destination was Shizuishan located in Northern China. In 2007 the
city was awarded the most polluted in the world, which is certainly an
achievement. Despite this, I was actually quite impressed with the air quality
and the local hospitality. The travel was tiring and after leaving Melbourne
over-stressed and run down, I was never in the mix on race day. I managed to
trick myself in the day’s prior thinking I would be okay, but there was no
hiding in the heat and I had to settle for a disappointing 20th in a
race I had high hopes for a breakthrough result. I spent the next three days in
the airport system on route to France. The first shower after arriving was
memorable.
My
French GP team had organized for me to stay with Christine in Fouras (just
outside La Rochelle) before the GP race that weekend. Christine is part of the
extended STP family and was extremely generous to host me so well for the days
I spent with her. Fouras (on the West Coast of France) is surrounded by Forts, which
were used to protect the Charente River during the war. The river runs into
Rochefort where the French built their warships, making it a pretty historic
area. At present a remake of a famous warship called Hermione is being
assembled in Rochefort and is due to set sail in March next year. And I’ve seen
it!
By
the time the race came around that weekend, I had done enough to get energized
again and was excited to take on another French GP with my teammates from last
year. The race went smoothly from start to finish and I came away with 3rd
place. I was left scratching my head after this wondering why the week before
had been so different. I swam well to make the front group and was able to
conserve on the bike to save my carrots for the run. A podium finish was some
reward for effort and helped keep my team 2nd on the ladder. The city of La Rochelle is beautiful, and well
worth a visit if you find yourself in the area. Save some room for ice cream as
you peruse the city streets at night…
After
another long day/night of travel I arrived in Morzine to rejoin Coach Daz and the
Squad. It was not a second too soon (just ask Darren). Before I had the chance
to get comfortable, I was off to Morocco with Sean for the ITU race in Larache.
Again the travel was tough, but Lisbon Airport was lovely for our four-hour
stopover. Eurosport was playing on the big screen and there were several classy
shops for the fashionable. So I just watched Eurosport! We boarded the toy plane
and flew across to Africa where I was sure that I’d be able to run fast, just
like the locals.
Reality
hit me soon after landing. The landscapes and villages looked very similar to
China and once again, safe food/drink options were limited. Unfortunately, I had
exhausted most of my Dextro Energy stocks on the way over and was forced to
brave the local cuisine. It wasn’t too bad for the first meal, but cold rice and
chicken wraps were soon to be unsatisfactory. For the third week in a row, my
old faithful travel buddy James Chronis (AUS/GRE/ITU) joined me at the races.
He brought a bunch of fellow Australian’s from their base in Spain, which made
for an enjoyable pre race atmosphere. I liked the look of the unique, urban
course and was stickered up ready to go! I woke up early on Saturday (race day)
feeling slightly off colour. I put it down to some nerves and set about completing
my usual pre race routine. After a few shuffle steps down the hallway I realised
I’d been poisoned (unintentionally of course) and was in a spot of bother. I
withdrew two hours before the race and was completely devastated. For the
remainder of my time in Africa I assumed the fetal position, hugging a bottle
of Sprite. Special thanks to Sean and Joel TW (AUS) for taking trips to the
shop on my behalf.
So
after four weeks on the road, I’m back in Morzine and a couple of days into
rebuilding my immunity. The calendar looks busy from here until September so
I’ll be trying my best to listen when I’m told and to do well with what I do! I have
great people around me and look forward to capitalising my opportunities ASAP.
Mitch’s Next Race:
ITU
Holten Premium European Cup, Netherlands (July 5th).
Mitch’s Pictures:
First swim in the new Blueseventy (Thanks Aqua Shop)
Christine, Argos & Mitch in Fouras
Found a replica of Little Mags in La Rochelle
Mitch on the little step
On the ground in Africa
Tri Jimmy with the Mayor of Morocco
Porridge on the Balcony in Morzine
Thats the Supermarket, and thats our place on top :)
Back to work with the good stuff #DrinkDextro
No comments:
Post a Comment