Stealth visit to the Nepean Tri

I think I only decided on the Thursday morning prior to the race to venture down to the Nepean Tri. I didn't have any major plans for the weekend and couldn't see how it would hurt my schedule. I initially investigated an entry and once I could secure that I looked into accommodation.

I found a nights stay at the Chifley Penrith Panthers and was able to lock in Virgin flights for $6 after using some velocity points. So there you have it I was headed to Western Sydney. I hadn't been out to Penrith before, but was confident that I could wing it out to the race.

When I landed I had a call from the fabulous Tash who was able to advise me on catching the correct train. FYI it is very easy. I caught a train from the airport to central and then straight out to the race. The journey was only 90 minutes and $18. When I got out there I used a cab to get to the Panthers and then checked in before cabbing over to rego and back.

I rode down to the race on race morning and was really happy to see the other girls. Spring racing in Australia is fabulous because everyone is back in town and its a great opportunity to catch up with some old training buddies. Emma Jackson and I swam down to the start line from a pontoon further up, it took a bit of convincing to get in the water as it looked a little green. No one was stressed on the start line it had a very relaxed feel. The buzzer sounded and we sort of just eased into the swim. A small gap formed at around the 500m mark which turned into around 45 seconds by swim exit. There was a group of 4 then our group. The swim is in the Sydney Regatta so its a very easy swim with only one turn buoy.

Race venue

For some reason I didn't feel myself on the bike. Despite having a fast bike it was not as quick as I would have liked and so I didn't make up any ground from the swim. The Nepean race is pretty flat so there is no opportunity to make up much ground.

Onto the run and I just started chipping away at the girls. I caught 2 by the first lap and had Felicity in sight but she took off on the second lap and I was left with a comfortable fifth.

 

Results summary

 



Well worth it, lovely race. I was in good company at the presentations.

Top 10 men and women

 



Thanks to Trent from Reddog Triathlon Training for helping with the logistics, Endura, CompressSport, Brooks Running, Scott Bikes, Avanti Plus the Valley, No More Knots and Rudy Project Auz