Think of your very favourite mountain biking and running trails, throw in some paddling and a few swims on a serene lake. Now imagine racing over that course.
I find it absolutely uplifting and inspiring to be out there and doing what I love to do in that environment. This was the Sri Chinmoy - Jindabyne Multisport Classic. This race defined the reason why I chose to take up multisport racing; a challenging course set in a beautiful natural environment, Lake Jindabyne and the surrounding area.I first saw the Jindabyne race in January and thought that it would have to be the most exciting race of its kind in Australia. A four-discipline, 12 stage race. The four disciplines were; swimming, mountain biking, running and paddling.
I rang my best mate, Jeremy Ross who, like me, had begun serious training for multisport races. We decided that we would put this race into the calendar and do some specific training for it. It would also be good to have a race to help prepare and keep the motivation up for the Mars Challenge in late April which we had been focusing on since we started multisport training 10 months ago.
I began training with Jindabyne in mind in the first week of January. My weekly training program consisted roughly of the following sessions.
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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AM
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Rest
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Swim
Squad
4km
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Rest
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Swim
Squad
4km
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Run Through Hills
1:20
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Multisport Day
(All 4 disciplines).
I started with 4hr days and built up to an 8hr two weeks before the race
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Ride
Easy
2hrs
or
Race Day
of some kind eg paddle, MTB, road, fun run etc.
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PM
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Paddle
Easy
1:30hr
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Ride
Club race
6okm
Run
Easy/med.
40-60min
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Paddle
Solid
1:30-2hr.
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Ride
Club race
50km
Run
Easy/med.
40min
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Paddle
Time trial
40min
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Jeremy and I went to Jindabyne a month before the race to go over the course. This is always an advantage in an off-road event, especially for the mountain bike stages. The course was spectacular. The swimming and paddling stages were in the pristine and surprisingly warm Lake Jindabyne. The rides and runs traversed their way around the lakeside and up into the hills on farmer's tracks, fire trails and single track. The only exception was a 15km bitumen section during one of the rides. The run stage through Kosciuszko National park was particularly tough and enjoyable.
Race registration was on the Saturday before the race. I had my usual pre race nerves and everybody looked to be super fit and well prepared. Jason Chalker's name stood out. He is a renowned X-terra (off road triathlon) athlete who at one stage was ranked fourth in the world. I was hoping that he wasn't also an accomplished kayaker. I also knew that Jeremy would be hard to beat. He still has the record for the fastest age grouper ever at the Noosa International triathlon. We went to preschool together and have been best mates ever since. He is an extremely tough and talented athlete who is strong in all four disciplines. On his day I think he would be nearly impossible to beat. We had done a lot of training together and I expected to battle it out with him over the eight or so hours that we predicted it would take. My race plan was to do the first four stages solidly and be in the lead or with the leaders. By this stage it would be apparent who the competition was and what their respective strengths were. This would allow me to calculate what I would need to do to win. I planned to ease off and enjoy four stages before putting in the big ones and pumping some time into my competitors during the longest run and ride, stages 8 and 9, in the later part of the race. This would allow me to finish the race off with a comfortable lead. I love a close finish but it's also nice to be able to relax in the final stages of a race.
At this time of year the weather in the mountains is unpredictable and can be extremely cold or even snow. The course and the endurance demands of the event didn't worry me but the weather did. Two weeks earlier in the Sri Chinmoy Canberra Long-Course Triathlon, which I was using as race practice, I had suffered from the early stages of hypothermia on the bike leg. I pulled out and warmed up for an hour before continuing with the race. It was a true learning experience. Cold weather is my Achilles Heal. All week I had been constantly checking the BOM website for the forecast and fine weather was predicted. Fortunately, the weatherman got it right. Conditions on race day were perfect. An early fog cleared to reveal beautiful blue skies and a temperature in the low twenties. Optimal for competing.
The race started with a 1.5 km swim. The sun was just rising and we swum off into a heavy fog following a boat. This was a bit eerie. I came out of the water leading Jason Chalker with a minutes lead on the field. Paranoid about getting cold I started rugging up with thermal wear and a beanie. This cost me a bit of time and I got onto the paddle in 6th place.
Kayaking is a skill that takes a long time to master and it is obvious if somebody has put the time in to develop this skill. I could see Jason Chalker on the water struggling away in what looked to be a bath tub and my concerns about his kayaking ability were immediately relieved. It turned out that Jason had only got into a boat for the first time the week before the race and was therefore paddling a stable and slow boat. Despite Jason's ride and run times being exceptional this was the last I saw him. The fog lifted during the first paddle and it was possible to see the entire field strung out along the lake. I finished the paddle with a small lead on Jeremy and Andrew Peterson from Western Australia.
The three of us started the first run. Jeremy, whose strongest leg is running, was keen to get some time on the field. I went with him for a while before deciding that it was too long a day to be going at my 10km race pace. I asked him how he felt and reminded him that it was going to be a very long day. He told me he felt"so good it's scary" but this is also the man that has a history of attaining tearaway leads only to fade in the later stages of race. I let him go. He tore aware.
I started the first mountain bike leg one minute thirty seconds down. It was the most technical and this is Jeremy's weakness. When on a MTB he accurately refers to himself as Mulga Bill. I caught Jeremy after only a couple of kilometers. We rode together for a while before having a hilarious low speed pile up. It reminded me of riding our BMX's around as young friends.
I steadily pulled away and entered the water with a two minute lead. My race plan was in tact. I tried to relax and enjoy the 2.5km swim as much as possible. My Father, Tony, paddled along side me during this leg. It was nice to have some company but I still think that his idea of heading straight for buoy is suspect. He subtly barged into me every time he thought I was going of course. This started some interesting father-son dialogue.
The next stage was a 6km paddle across the lake. I felt great and was enjoying the scenery. I couldn't see Jeremy behind me."I am out of sight already" I thought. I later discovered that you can't see as far as you think you can on a shimmering lake. As I paddled toward the next transition I couldn't see my support crew, my dad and my girlfriend Kate, there to meet me with my MTB. I immediately knew what had happened. It was always going to be tight for the support crews to make it around the lake by car and the additional 700m on foot from the car park to the transition. I paddled back out of the bay and around the corner towards the car park to find them casually strolling along the lakes edge. We raced to meet each other.
I only lost a few minutes but it was enough to let Jeremy back into the race. As I rode back around the waterfront and into the transition bay I saw Jeremy's kayak on the beach and him mounting his MTB. He later said that he felt like the ice skater who won gold because the others crashed out. I couldn't believe it. Somehow he had arrived already. I felt like one of those contestants on ‘the race around the world' when they discover somebody has beaten them to a destination. I yelled out some encouragement and left the area with a slight lead. This leg was only 15km on FWD tracks.
I built up a short lead before the run. This was the leg that I planned to start pushing hard. I set off into the Kosciuszko National Park on a flowing single track. I felt great and concentrated on bouncing along and keeping a good rhythm. As I charged through the bush I put my foot down next to a decent size black snake. I took a few more strides contemplating whether or not the anxiety of sacrificing a few seconds to move the snake would be outweighed by the guilt of having my best mate or somebody else bitten by a snake. I went back and shuffled the unimpressed and sleepy snake from the track."Jeremy owes me" I thought. My good deed was not repaid as soon after on a tight sloping corner I rolled my ankle and tumbled down a hillside. I was in agony and it seemed that my race was over. I was incredibly disappointed and angry that all my training and a good lead was gone. I had planned to strap my ankles and didn't. I sat thinking of something memorable and funny that I could yell out to Jeremy when he came past me and wondered how I would get back to the transition. At that point, I think the endorphins or adrenaline must have kicked in because my ankle started to feel warm and tingly. I scrambled back up to the hill and started hobbling along the track."I can do this" I thought. Even if I have to struggle through this run and then really lay it down in the final ride, swim and paddle I can still win this. It kinda pumped me up and I gave myself a big Leighton Hewitt"C'mon" minus the hand in forehead business (it actually works when you mean it). Pretty soon I was back into a rhythm and in reality I had probably only lost 2 or 3 minutes.
The next stage was the longest MTB which started with a steady 8km climb. I had done a lot of training rides up Mt Buffalo and I knew that I could push hard all the way. After an 83 kph decent it was another 15km over undulating FWD track. I started to feel tired at this stage. The race had been going for nearly 6hrs and I was looking forward to stopping. It wasn't hurting and I wasn't hungry. I just felt like stopping and doing something else. I was happy when I completed this stage.
Into the final swim and again I just concentrated on rolling my arms over. I saw Jeremy entering the water as I was exiting. This meant that I had about fifteen minute lead. I was happy with that and I was now confident that I would win the race. The pressure was off and it was then simply a matter of finishing AKA my race plan.
The wind picked up and was howling head on for the final paddle. For a period the waves were massive and came pounding and crashing over the deck. Luckily, I had chosen to use a specific multisport kayak. They are long for speed, have a high deck and offer good stability. I enjoyed crashing through the rough water. Many other competitors weren't so happy about the conditions and found the going tough. Some, including Jeremy capsized, and had to make their way to the shore losing time.
The race was nearly over now and all that was left was a 5km slog on footpaths around to the finish at Strzelecki Park. I was very tired and my ankle was painful. My dad rode along beside me and kept me company. I asked him to keep talking to distract me. As I ran towards the finish line I was surprised by how few people were there. This was because I was at the front of the entire field, all land crews and the team members were still behind me. I realised that everybody associated with the race must be spread out over a couple hours. I was feeling rather self important and subconsciously expected a large and cheering crowd. That wasn't the case but my father and girlfriend were there to share the victory with me and that was important. The two people who had given me the most support over the past 6months. It was our victory. In my final steps towards the line somebody scored a goal in a social game of soccer in the same park and the cheers went up. Although it wasn't for me I still appreciated it.
Jeremy came in second followed by Jason Chalker.
It had been a long day for all. For the support crews it was hectic and non stop all day. From one transition to the next. Unloading and loading boats, mountain bikes, food, drinks and gear. In a race like this a patient and supportive support crew is essential. It would be wrong if I didn't acknowledge the efforts of all the support crews. Well done and thankyou from all the competitors.
I was very happy with my race. It gave me a lot of confidence to continue with my dream of becoming an elite level multisport athlete and to win some of the big races in New Zealand over the coming years.
The Sri Chinmoy Multisport Classic is a great event. For those of you that are looking for something different to the urban triathlon or for those that already enjoy the off road events I urge you to give multisport racing a go. Hopefully, I'll see you around the tracks.
Jody Zerbst
Albury.
