Hi Everyone
Recently i took part in the 5th Race of the Sicily Triathlon Series. The Race was a duathlon which consisited of a 4.5km Trail run starting from Belpasso, a 16.5km cycle climbing through to Etna and finishing with another trail run of 1.5km through the lava to finish on to the top of the mountain near the Crateri Silvestri
My previous race in Ali Terme in June was a bit disappointing as I suffered a puncture on the bike segment and this caused me to lose my place in the leading group. Although I managed to finish 9th overall I lost precious points thus moving down to 2nd place in the overall Series Classification
With the possibility of claiming the title at stake, I had to give the race my best shot. With little familiarity in trail running and rough mountain terrains it was my determination and controlling the pressure and different emotions I was going though rather than experience that was the determining factor for this race.
I started the race with the leading group and surprisingly i quickly settled into the environment and steadily climbed to third position after changing to the bike segment, where I starting to gain ground on the other athletes. Ikept this momentum until the very end and secured a valuble third place which enabled me to regain the lead in the series classification
I am very satisfied with my performance in this race, especially since this was my real first experience on this kind of terrain My expertise in the hilly terrain definately was an asset and contributed towards regaining the lead after my inluckt and disappointing last race. After such a great performance I am rally looking forward to the next races and finsh the season on a high note. September and October are month packed with important races and my season will come to an end with the Sicily's Series Final in Catania
I would like to thanks the support of SportMalta, the Maltese Olympic Commitee the Malta Triathlon Federation, my club Birkirkara St Joseph, my coach Ivan Rozhnov and my brother Dermot Galea, my family, my masseur Owen Attard and my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB Cycling Malya, Jaycee Malta , Mochika Outdoor Life, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon and Starbene 24/7
Most of all I would like to thank my wife Elizabeth for he support and the believe she has in my abilities. Her support is fundamental for me and am so lucky to have her by my side
That's all for now
Yours in Sports
Keith
