Transition One - 6m06s

As I headed up the ramp towards transition I was worried about how the cramping would affect my race. I've cramped many times in swim sessions, but never before in a race, so I had no idea how I would feel once on the bike.

There was a massive crowd as I exited the swim and I heard my name being cheered on from several directions.  It is hard to pick out individuals in such a packed crowd, but I did see my swim coach John Van Wisse and he gave me heaps of encouragement.

The first section of the transition tent contains the bike transition bags all lined up on numbered hooks. Once you have grabbed your bag you continue through to the changing rooms, different sections for males and females. In flat conditions, a 1h15m is probably a fraction on the slow side of average. This meant I was entering a very congested changing room and it took a while to find a vacant seat.

There are heaps of helpers in the changing room and they treat the triathletes like residents in a nursing home. There is nothing the helpers won't assist with. Not used to this level of assistance I declined help removing my wetsuit and quickly regretted the decision. If there is one thing that will trigger more cramping, it is getting a wetsuit off.

With the weather forecast predicting cooler temperatures and possible early morning rain, I had included a cycling top and arm warmers in my bike transition bag. However the weather had seemed quite good up to this point (although difficult to judge whilst swimming) and I decided to leave the extra clothes behind. After applying liberal amounts of chamois anti-chafing cream I stuffed my wetsuit, goggles, swim cap and extra clothes back into the transition bag and headed out of the changing rooms. A fellow club member Stuart who was volunteering as a marshall for the day directed me to where I drop off the bag and then I headed out to grab my bike.

It was full daylight now, so very easy to locate my bike.  Helmet and sunnies on and then a casual jog out of transition towards the bike mount line. My calf was starting to loosen up and I was slowly regaining feeling in my face. Again there were heaps of people lined along the outside of the transition, but I did pick out my friend Alan who videoed me as I strolled past.

A transition time of 6m06s was slower than I expected, but I lost time trying to find a seat and also took things very easy as a result of my cramping.