Unlike triathlon where you transition from swim to bike to run, biathlon consists of two, timed, sprint distance events: run (track) and swim (pool).
For most age groups - with the exception of the very young and the very old - the run distance is 800m and the swim distance is 100m (half this for young ones and over 70s). You run first, with age groups taking to the track every few minutes. Then, the event moves to the nearest pool where the swimmers are set off eight lanes at a time.
This event took place in Oudtshoorn on a tartan track and a 50m pool. My feet haven't been on a tartan track for decades, literally, and I haven't swum a length in a 50m pool for many, many years (the one I go to with the swim club is 25m). I enjoyed the 50m length.
Oudtshoorn is a 50-minute drive from George. We left George in cool temperatures and drizzle with cloud on top of the Outeniqua Pass and arrived in Oudtshoorn to 30-odd degree, dry-and-sunny weather. It is another world on the other side of the mountains.
It was super to see the number of children and teens taking part. For the run, us adult age groupers set off with the U19s as we were very much in the numbers minority.
A couple of weeks ago, I joined in with a weekly track training session and made it three weeks in a row. I haven't done speed work in years and I thoroughly enjoyed being stretched. I also realised how slllooowww I am on a sprint. So much work to be done here. I need to make this a regular part of my training.
As for swimming, I've done a few sessions this year and to improve I need to put in some work.
My run went well. I knew that I wouldn't be close to most of the runners so ran my own pace - my main concern here was misjudging pace for the second lap. I felt good after lap 1 and went into lap 2 with enough to catch the two girls in front of me - although the one out-sprinted me at the finish.
I was very much at the back of the group. Those front girls are quick! Could I have gone faster? Maybe a bit. Now I have a benchmark to improve on.
We drove to the Oudtshoorn pool, a nice 50m pool not far from the track. We had a bit of waiting and hanging out until it was out turn.
My concerns for the swim were about the start (false start or being delayed), losing my goggles or having them fill up with water, and misjudging the wall for the tumble turn.
My dive could have been stronger, but it was fine. A few weeks ago. I did one practice session from the blocks to test diving in with goggles on. At the event, I didn't lose my goggles but they were filled with water so I couldn't see much. Thankfully, I could see the black line on the bottom and I nailed my tumble perfectly. My turns are generally fairly solid but I have misjudged the distance to the wall more than a few times.
The whole swim was a bit surreal. There were 7 of us in the water. I was in Lane 2. The girl in Lane 1 was slower than me so she was behind me and there was no-one in Lane 3. I felt like I was in the pool on my own, which was disconcerting because I don't want to be THAT one - in a race with a false start - who swims the whole length before realising that they were meant to stop and the crowd (ok, we didn't have a crowd left there) looking on.
I touched in 4th place. Definitely can improve but is a good benchmark.
In my age category, there were three of us. I was slower than both on the run but piggy-in-the-middle for the swim. Overall, I was 3rd.
Biathlon has an interesting points handicap system to accommodate for age.
Everyone starts off with 1000 points for each discipline. The goal is to get the most points. I'm in the 40 to 50 age category. 5 points are added for every year that you are older than 40 according to the age you turn in the year. I turn 47 so I got an extra 35 points.
Then, each discipline has a benchmark time for your age category. You win or lose points according to whether you beat the time or are slower. I'll need to check on the allocation but you lose x-number of points for every second that you are slower than the allocated time and you gain points for every second that you are faster. The objective is to get the most points overall.
This way, older athletes can compete with Open age groups and even beat them overall on points.
This experience was a good one and I will definitely do another. I've got some speedwork to put in on both the run and swim.
1 comment:
Congratulations. You are right - we are never too old to learn and to try. But it is brave to put oneself in the fishbowl of a small field, competing with youngsters, and on top of that a sprint event where every second counts and muscles are strained to their limits. Admiration.
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