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Published: April 29th 2009
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Upon arriving in Brisbane in early January, Sidd had a rather lengthy “To Do List” to complete before I arrived - among them: (1) find place to live, (2) obtain medical license in order to be able to work, (3) set up bank account in order to get paid, (4) clean new apartment until sparkling, etc. After about one week, however, he soon found himself with some spare time, having duly checked off all items on his list. At this time, Sidd was working at the Pediatric ICU at the Mater Hospital and his colleagues were avid triathletes. Seeking fellow companions, they told Sidd, “sign up for the triathlon at the end of March, it’ll be good fun.” Ever up for a challenge (even after going through the thought process of
hmm... haven’t been to the gym in months, don’t have a bike, and for some reason I can’t float...), Sidd’s obvious reply was, “sure... it’ll be good fun.”
The Mooloolaba Triathlon (“Moo Tri”) is an Olympic Distance Triathlon (1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run) and is one of the biggest in the Sunshine Coast, with over 2300 individual competitors and 600 teams. Fortunately for Sidd, he managed to
Swim Bike Run
The sport of triathlon is huge in Queensland, probably because it's possible to go for a run outside on almost every day of the year! find a colleague (Rick) who was willing to do the swim and Team “Wack and Thak” (a play on their last names) was born. Focusing on the bike and run, Sidd soon became familiar with the large network of cycling/running paths around the city and would arrive home both extremely sweaty and fragrant. Needless to say, the Brisbane summer (highs of 30 and lows of 22 every day) is not conducive to intense training, but it is quite lovely for lounging poolside. As a side note, you may have guessed by now that I was not persuaded by Sidd’s attempts to convince me to sign up for any part of the triathlon - my thought process of
hmm... have clunky mountain bike that changes gears at whim and can’t run because busted my knee resulted in my obvious reply of “no, it won’t be good fun... but being a spectator will be!”
As the date of the tri drew nearer, Sidd did not appear to be fazed and even took a break from his training to go to Sydney the week before - pretty impressive for a guy with only 3 months to train for the event! However, the
day before the race he did confess that he was nervous, especially given that he had yet to do a back-to-back 40km bike and 10km run and in fact wasn’t entirely positive that he had even trained these distances as he had no odometer. Also compounding the situation was PICU’s unfortunate work schedule that had both him and Rick working a graveyard shift the day before the race. Despite all these factors, we crammed his borrowed pink-striped bike into the back of our rental car and headed up to Mooloolabah, about 100 km north of Brisbane. Sidd slept the whole way there...and then went to bed at 6pm after some carb-loading.
We had been to Mooloolabah several times before and it is a laid back coastal town with beautiful views of the ocean and trendy cafes and shops on the beach. On this weekend, however, Mooloolabah was transformed, teeming with masses of people carting around high-tech bikes and other assorted gear. After surveying the other participants while in the registration area, Sidd noted that everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, was sporting some form of spandex. While Sidd is not unfamiliar with this material, having been a member
Race Pinney
The team name referenced their last names. of the rowing team and track and field team in University (he may have even been known to shave his legs!), it did take quite a bit of encouragement to convince him to purchase a lovely pair of bright blue spandex shorts. Paired with the free Mooloolabah race singlet, he now had a very colourful, aerodynamic outfit! In his defence, it should be admitted that there really was absolutely no one wearing surf shorts and most of the participants were in fact crammed into flattering spandex one-pieces.
On the actual day of the race, we woke up at the crack of dawn to set up his gear in the transition zone. Unlike other participants, Sidd’s set up was pretty basic - “bike, check... shoes, check... helmet, check.” Other participants, not satisfied with the upcoming strenuous effort, were busy doing warm up bikes/runs. It should be noted that coordinating a triathlon is a feat of organization, requiring many volunteers to ensure that the timing goes smoothly. All competitors are grouped into categories and commence the race in waves, with the Elite men and women leading the way. These are amazing athletes who are generally able to complete the entire race
Registration
The esplanade in Mooloolabah was crawling with participants with all their gear. in under 2hrs (men) or 2hr 15min (women). And these aren’t even the World Cup athletes, who competed later in the day!
Finally, after watching the other participants and battling the crowds for about 2 hours, ''Wack and Thak'' was ready to roll... just as it started to rain heavily. Luckily, there were some breaks in the rain throughout the day, but it did make for a very soggy morning. Being the ever dutiful wife, despite not having an umbrella or rain jacket, I did not move from my watching post on the race route, waiting for that perfect photograph. Unfortunately, while I never missed snapping a photo of Sidd, he always seemed to be on the opposite side! I would be a terrible sports photographer.
At any rate, Sidd did an amazing job, completing the bike in just over 1hr 15min and the run in 50min (times include transitions so shave a few minutes off to change shoes). The overall time for ''Wack and Thak'' was 2hr 43min, a great result! After he crossed the finish line, Sidd confessed that his motivation to get through the run was a tall cold beer, preferably a Guinness... which he
The third team player
He he - for some reason, when Sidd registered he got an extra registration package, complete with a wristband to get into the transition zone. got in short order, after he took a long shower and demolished some Thai food. I think he deserved it! Plans were in the works for Sidd to complete an entire triathlon himself but I think he may wait until he can swim more horizontally in the water...
All in all, Sidd's PICU colleagues were right - it was good fun.
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Tot: 0.349s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 13; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0872s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Arvind Thakore
non-member comment
Great Feat
Hi Suidd and Melissa: Always nice to read your blog and especially when they are good narrative meking us experience the emotions and fellings. Good show and take care. Love you both Dad and mom