Hi Everyone
On Sunday 19th July the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Sprint Distance Series
kicked off. The weather was very
difficult as it was very hot and humid and it was going to be difficult
to perform especially after coming from a week sick with antibiotics. However 2
days before the race I was feeling better so I was confident to do a good
performance.
I did not have a good start in
the swim as I wished. Had a pretty slow one but I got my speed immediately and
went behind the relay swimmers in order to push myself. I was feeling great and
was feeling light and I was sure that I was going for a good time. Although the
relay swimmers were sprinting in the end I tried to stay as close as possible
bearing in mind that I still had the bike and run to do. I went out of the
water first covering the 750m swim 10mins which is a very good time
After a reasonable good
transition I started the bike at a steady pace. I was feeling the heat a lot so
I settled into a good pace. I was caught by my team mate Graham Borg on the
bike. I just kept focused on my own pace and not get distracted. In such
moments one has to think about his own race. I knew the weather was hot so I did
not pushed a lot on the bike and save energy for the run. After all it is a
triathlon race not an individual time trial. We both lead the race keeping a very
fast pace. In fact I covered the 20km hilly bike in a personal best time of
31.49 which was the second best bike split of the day.
We went in together in T2 and I just
concentrated to do a fast transition as I can. In fact I went out of T2
again in first place and was getting faster and faster in the run, thus my lead
was increasing. Although it was hard to keep on pushing due to the heat I did
my best as I was on for a course record. In fact thanks to the best run of
the day of 18.10 I won the race in a course record time of 1.01.21, more than a
minute faster than my previous course record of last year
2 days later I took part in the 2nd
race of the Birkirakara St Joseph 5km Series. I felt that I recovered well from
the triathlon and was targeting a new personal best however I ruined everything
right from the start. I went out too fast covering the first 1km in 2.59. 2nd
kilometre was 3.09 but in the third kilometre I slowed down. My Legs just stopped
and was overtaken by Portuguese runner Bruno Lima. I did not had the legs to counter attack and just
focused to keep the 2nd place and increase my lead in the series. In
the end I finished 2nd in 16.45 and managed to increase my lead in
the series with 9seconds.
I am very pleased with my course
record. It means that I am stronger and faster than last year but I know I can
lower my time in the coming races with good weather and with a much sharper
form. I am not happy with my time in the 5km but I know it was my mistake and I
know I can do much better. At least I managed to increase slightly my lead in
the overall standings
I would like to thanks my
brother/coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan. My parents, my
brother in law Neil and his wife Alin, my nutritionist Johanna Callaja, my
masseur Owen Attard, my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB Bike Parts Malta, Jaycee
Malta, Lucida Laundry, Mochika Outdoor Life, Starbene 24/7 and Challenge Malta
Marathon, my club Birkirkara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation and the
Kunsill Malti Gll-isport and the Maltese Olympic Committee for the constant support. Most of all a big thanks to
my wife Elizabeth for her great patience and for her fundamental backing and
support
That’s all for know
Yours in Sports
Keith
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