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Meerhout (.75-20-5) SP Back on the right track. When I started training again, preparing for Nice, I started under a new trainer, Paul Van den Bosch. He is very well known here in Belgium, having trained quite a few of the national top triathletes (and also in other sports). For starters we did some tests to figure out the level I was at... bad, real bad, I think it was worse than the shape I normally have when I start training in November, and only two months to prepare for Nice... We did some tests again a week before this race, and while the results were still not good, the certainly showed a lot of improvement already. So he decided it would be a good idea to do this sprint race as part of the preparation. It is a very intense training, not too long so doesn't incur too much fatigue, and it is always good to get back to the racing feeling. As I love racing and being at races, I was only too happy to compete. Then again, this is a short race, and it is not a race that I have good memories of. The course contains a lot of turns, and accelerating after each turn... it just blows my legs. So, although it is a very bad idea if you go for the win, I decided to not start swimming as a madman. It didn't help, there were so many waves at the start, so my goggles immediately filled with water. Not wanting to loose my lenses, it quickly emptied them and started again. I did pass a lot of guys in that swim but... So I exited the water around 50th position, which is bad, but on the bike I could catch up with the group in front of me and led them after that. We entered the second bike park in group, and we started running together. Unfortunately by the first turn I had lost about 10m. Tried not to let go, though, and after about 3.5km I finally got back with the group and tried to lead the group, two of the group started a very long sprint, too long for me, but I did manage to keep the other behind me. All in all, with an 18th place and a good run (for my standards that is), I was very happy. I hadn't expected to be this good. Apparently the preparations for Nice are going better than expected. This still doesn't mean that I will be in top shape in Nice, but I am getting a bit more hopeful. |
