Hi Everyone
On the 8th June I took part in the opening race of
the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series series which I won for six times in
my career. Being the Defending champion of this series, I wanted to start a
series on a good note. However I got sick two weeks before the race. The day
after I returned from Avola, I got sick. I had gastro enteritis and it took me
around two weeks to get back to normal. I not only lost a lot of training but I
had to miss the Glasgow Test Race of the Commonwealth Games as I was not fit to
compete.
I knew that it was going to be a difficult race from the
start as I was not 100% of my form. The race was held near the Freeport at
B’bugia. At the beginning of the week of the race, my legs were still tired and
I was not feeling the usual strength. I started the race at a very fast pace in
the swim. I pushed a lot in order to open a good gap. I was feeling strong at
the moment and fast. In fact I covered the 750m swim in 10mins which is a very
good time and setting the fastest swim of the day.
The cycle route was very different from the usual coast road
route. The 20km bike segment was an up and down hill to repeat for 4 times. I
was feeling strong still but I did not started all out as we had to repeat the
hill 4 times and wanted to save the legs. I started really pushing from the
second lap and was increasing my advantage after every lap. I covered the 20km
in 32.27.
The 5km running route was completely flat. I was looking for
a fast time especially after a good swim and bike. I started well but by time
my energy levels were decreasing. The 2 weeks of sickness were taking their toll.
I tried to hang on and tried to increase my lead. Still managed to set the
fastest run of the day and went on to win the race in 1.02.25, with 90sec
advantage from 2nd placed athlete and 2mins in front of 3rd
placed athlete.
I am pleased with my performance, especially the swim and the
bike. Not so happy with the run but considering I was coming from 2 weeks of
sickness, and my body was still in his recovery period I think it was a good
race. I would like to thank my brother coach Dermot Galea, my swimming
coach Catalin Stan, my parents and my wife’s parents for their support. Thanks
so much to my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB bike Parts Malta, Jaycee Malta, Malta
Challenge Marathon, and Starbene Shop of Mosta for their support, my club
Birkirkara St Joseph for their support.
Last but not least,
big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth for being by my side all the time leading
up to such an important event for me. Here support is fundamental for me and
without her I cannot produce such a great performance as I did. Here presence
during races gives me so much comfort and strength that I will be able to express
myself to the best of my abilities in races.
That’s all for now
Yours in Sport
Keith
No comments:
Post a Comment