Australian Junior Series Race # 3 - Adelaide

Race Report - By Ryan Marsh

GOAL:
My goal for the AYTS Race 3 was to try and finish in the top 5 and race relaxed.
 
The Format:
The original race format consisted of a 400m swim in Lake Patawalonga, 14 km draft legal cycle leg along the road adjacent to the lake finishing off with a 3.5 km run around the path of the Lake over the bridge to the finish line. Due to some issues with swimming in the Lake it was later changed to an ocean swim which meant we had a run-in beach start up the ramp to our shoes. All items, goggles, cap etc. had to taken back on the run leg, back over the bridge and placed into tub at transition. The run was approx. 500m +. Due to the swim/run/bike/run the final run leg was 3 km.
 
Race Details:
Day/Date: 4th February, 2017 - Saturday
Distance: 400m/500m/14km/3km
Race Start: 10:20am
Race Number: 71
Race Result: 3rd ITU Youth B
 
Warm up:
Consisted of a light jog for 10 minutes, followed by some run drills and explosive sprints before, doing a swim warm up before the race start.
 
Swim:
Like the AYTS Race 2 held at Robina, the race start was going to be hectic as both youth A & B were starting together. Again, I knew I would have to position myself well for the swim start, however we were made to stand in number order which positioned me at the furthest point in the line very wide for the buoy. The race started, arms and legs were everywhere, luckily, I had a pretty good start and knew I would just have to try and stay with the faster swimmers to ensure a fast swim.
 
After watching the girls start, I knew I had to position myself towards the inside of the buoy turning tight back to the beach, as there was a strong current pulling swimmers off course if they went to wide. Coming into the exit of the swim, I ran from the water, up the ramp and put my shoes on. I was extra careful not to drop my goggles and cap as they needed to be placed in the transition box. My run from the swim to transition felt good, I was able to make up some ground and found myself in a pretty good position; unfortunately I just missed getting onto the pack in front on the bike.
 
Bike:
Once on the bike, I tried to reach the pack just in front, I was riding as hard as I could to get onto the pack and my speed was starting to drop out as I just rode one and a half laps by myself trying to catch the pack in front. Leading into the second lap I was caught by another lone rider like myself so, until the last lap I worked with the this rider, until I started dropping off the back and once, again had to go hard to try and catch back up. Jumping off the bike and running into transition my body was hurting a bit as I led a majority of the cycle leg.
 
Run:
I was currently in 4th place and had the top 3 in my sights. As I started running my legs felt cooked and were in pain. A quarter of the way into the run, I knew I had to go as hard as I could to try and catch the competitors in front.  Three quarters into the run I moved into 3rd place and could see 2nd and 1st ahead. Coming into the finishes I sprinted to try and beat 2nd but he just crossed the line in front of me by 2 seconds. I finished in 3rd place and was happy with the result.
 
Post-Race:
After the race, I congratulated my fellow competitors, hydrated with fluids and then went for a light 10-minute cool down followed by some stretching ready to stand on the podium.

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