Mel Rollison wins Aust Long Course Champs
- Wednesday, 15 February 2012
- By Melissa Rollison
- Share This
Mel's race report:
1st 4:14:39
Swim 31:42 2nd
Bike 2:22:28 1st
Run 1:18:10 1st
It's less than 10min till race start and no-one is in the water. I'm still pulling on my Blue Seventy wetty and neoprene cap. It's freezing. The race organizers highly recommend we stay out of the water until just before the gun goes. The air temp is about 5deg and it's windy. We are 1600m above sea level and the water temp is under 15deg.
1min till race start. I paddle up to the start line with Madeline Oldfield. Seconds after the gun fires, my arms and legs don't feel like they're working properly - not sure if they are lactic or just frozen but they're not working. My hands and feet feel like numb bricks. After a few hundred metres my arms start working and I eventually catch Maddy and we swim side by side the majority of the 2km swim. She pulls away just as we come into the shallow, emerging from the water 2seconds ahead of me. Running up the hill to T1 my feet are still numb and sore. Maddy somehow has a quick transition and is on her way. Me on the other hand, I struggle to get my wetsuit off with my frozen fingers. Finally I get there but then take some more time to throw on a jersey to try and keep warm on the bike. Coming from Queensland, I don't function well in the cold.
The bike course is 3 laps. Three hilly, cold and windy laps. I jump onto 'Shivy' - my new, bright red Specialized Shiv - and I catch Maddy not too far into the first lap. My quads are screaming. My fingers are only just working and I'm not sure if I still have toes in my bike shoes. Thanks to my newest sponsor Specialized, I have toe warmers on my shoes to block the wind. I have about a 30sec lead after the first lap. I head off for my second lap. I try to drink but the water is freezing. And with the altitude I find it hard to control my breathing enough to get a big gulp. The second lap I hold my lead but don't extend it. Not many bike courses do you have to go down into your small chain but this is definitely one. The course is very tough with long hill climbs. I hardly even look at my Garmin, it doesn't mean a thing on this course.
Lap three... I'm hurting but I finally feel like my legs have warmed up. I push a little harder and manage to extend my lead to about 1 and a half minutes. I dismount and jump onto the bitumen. Ouch! My feet still haven't thawed out. It's a painful jog back into transition. I put my socks on then try to quickly get my frozen feet into my runners. It's not happening. I can't even feel if I am putting my feet in my shoes. And my fingers aren't working to pull them on. It feels like I'm there for minutes. I relax and shake my hands out and try again... Ok, I'm on my way.
I grab my SiS visor and gel and run out while clipping on my Scody race belt. We head straight up hill as soon as we leave T2 then wind back down to jump on the beautiful Aquaduct trail. A couple of km's in we head up another long steep hill. I can really feel the altitude now, puffing all the way up the hill. We run back down and back onto the flat trail right out to the Falls Creek wishing well where we u-turn and head back
along the same trail. The run is two laps so there are plenty of spectators out and about as well as many friendly competitors on the course. I had so many other competitors yelling out my name, it really made me realize how much I love this sport. I felt really good on the run and got into a nice rhythm. And after about 6 or 7 km my feet defrosted and I began to warm up.
I'm on the home run, I pass my parents, my aunty and relatives and give them a little wave. I then head up the last hill where my running mates (all Olympians) are standing and cheering. Thanks Vicko, Elzy & Craig! I run down the finish chute to an ever enthusiastic David Hansen (Race organizer) and break the tape in a new course record of 4:14:39 and the title of AUS long course champion :-)
I loved my Falls Creek experience. Although the bike course was probably the hardest I've ever done and the coldest it is such a beautiful place. The swim was in the clean, refreshing dam and the run was a trail run which is a nice change to the normal bitumen courses. The race was fantastically organized and I owe a big thanks to David from SuperSprint for the invitation to compete in this amazingly unique race. Definitely a race to put on your 'to do' list!
