2018/19 – WORDS bid in Switzerland……..

For the third year, I set out to qualify for the Australian Team racing at the World Championships – this time in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2019.

Knowing a little more about the process, this time I intended to race less, across both distances – Sprint and Standard – and try for both teams.  This year is was also likely possible to race both events as they were on separate days.

Qualification races:

Sprint – Moana

Standard – Yarrawonga and Canberra

Yarrawonga was the first of the season, where I had an average swim and bike, but pulled off my best 10km run time.   Racing in Fusion_Team kit.  Woohoo!

Moana wa, well, Moana.   Sprint race, had a swim this year (was a duathlon last year due to poor water quality).

Canberra OD was another story.  I’d started having additional crippling pain in my left knee in January.  Had an MRI, which showed massive loss of cartilage and meniscus – but more important, insufficiency fractures in the end of my femur.  So no running!  But, I could get through a 10km shuffle/walk ok, and finish, with enough points if I had a good swim and bike.

Sadly, the water quality in Canberra was poor as well, so it was turned into a duathlon – 5/40/10. The first 5km was fine.   The bike was fine.   The first 5 of the 10km was ok.  The last 5km was very very sad.   But, I finished, and cracked some good points.

I saw my surgeon again, and we went for a trial of PRP shots.   I had 3, and confined myself to powerhiking, as I still had dibs on doing UTA100 in May.

PRP worked!  UTA100 was completed!

And now I’ve started running again.   5-10km max, once or twice (5km) a week only – and giving Parkrun a go.  Mostly bike.

Long and the short of it, I’m on the team for both Sprint and Standard distance at Lausanne, Switzerland!!  End Aug/Sept.  It might be a bit hilly……….