Last Sunday the 2016 Multisport Season came to an end with the most important race of the the seasion - the big one - the National Triathlon Championships. The most important race of the season as it's a special race for me and all of my family. A week before the race I won the last race of the Birkirkara st Joseph Triathlon Sprint Series in a time of 1.00.49 just 18 seconds away from the own course record done in June.
In the 750m Swim I came out of the water in 3rd place but on the bike i managed to get the lead of the race. I was feeling really good on the bike, however I knew that i had to leave everything for the run in order to win the race and the other athletes were hot on my heels. In fact I started the 5km run at a very hard pace and i managed to open a good gap and went on to win the race with a minute lead. I was pleased with my performance and everything was looking good for the championship a week later.
On the day of the big race the weather was very humid. It was very hot and that meant that the run was going to be very hard. The week of the race was full of emotions and tension as my wife gave birth to our daughter Elise on Wednesday 28th September, coincidentally it was also my mum's birthday. From that day the sleepless night's started. Physically I was feeling strong but was feeling tired and did not had much time to rest. However mentally I was feeling great. I was feeling confident and i knew what i had to do.
Had a very bad transition as i did not had time to practice transitions on my new bike and lost a lot of time. I was third and had to catch up the time lost but i stayed calm. From the first pedal i noticed that i was going to do a great bike segment. I was feeling great on the bike. I could use all my strength and i was reducing their lead immediately. In fact after only two laps i took the lead of the race and from then on there was no looking back. I was feeling so confident and strong on my new bike that this time no one managed to keep up with my pace like the previous races. I was increasing my advantage in every single lap and came into T2 with more than 1.30 lead
I was really happy with performance on my bike and in fact I registered the best bike split of the day of 1.02.30. Seems that my new scott tt bike and I are going to have a lot of satisfying results and that we are going to enjoy the races alot. I started the 10km at a good pace. My legs were not tired and that was another good sign. They were still fresh. Although i pushed a lot on the bike, I still reserved energy for the run. It was very hot but I hydrated myself well. I was happy that i still kept on increasing my advantage in that heat and went on to win my 6th title of my career in a time of 2.05.26
I am very happy with my performance. It was a very difficult week but it turned out that I had the best race of the season. Was strong and confident all the way. It was a great day for all my family as my brother Dermot won the sprint Triathlon as well and with this victory we have a total of 16 national titles together. I would like to thank all my family, my wife's family and of course my wife for the gift of MY new bike scott plasma TT. I was going through a very hard period. I was not enjoying the sport anymore and even more racing and i was seriously considering to retire at the end of the season and just focus on my wife and on my daughter. But my family did not accept my decision as now triathlon is part of my life and that there is still more for me so they gave me my new bike to boost my moral and it worked. Thanks a lot. Now I am really looking forward for next season
I would like to tank my coach Ivan Rozhnov, my brother Dermot, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard, my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, my Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support.
Most of all a big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth who is the most important person of my life as her support is fundamental for me. Her help and believe in my abilities even during the tough moments helps me to keep going and believe in my talent in order to achieve my targets. Also a big thanks for giving birth to our daughter Elise
(Photo courtesy Angie conti and Mark Borg)
That's all for know
Yours in sports
Keith
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