MOK TRI 2017

Post date: Aug 23, 2017 12:14:45 PM

By Robert Semple

The fourth MOK TRI took place on Sunday May 6th 2017 . A fresh southerly breeze and later heavy rain added to the challenge . Thirty two individual entrants and 13 teams gave the event it’s highest turn out yet . Competing as an individual for the first time this year I thought it was time to do or die !!....and before the event the latter was a distinct possibility !

A first time Triathlon is a real unknown quantity as it is hard to know how each discipline will effect the other and if there would be an accumulation of pain and tiredness . I did not do any back to back training of any discipline due to other commitments .training was limited to a brief pool session the day before and the club 5k handicap the previous Tuesday which were to see if a rib injury would stand up to the exertion .

Sunday morning came and it was time to rack the bikes sort out the shoes, towels, goggles and all the parrots and monkeys that go with Triathlon races. The pool swim went a lot better than expected though I was passed several times by Pippa K who went on to be fastest female swimmer which was an amazing achievement as she must have been held back a fair bit due to being in a lane for the slower swimmers .

I was last out of my lane in the pool and by then the roads were awash with rain and starting off on the bike felt strange , I would say it took me the first 2 miles to get a feel for cycling due to the wet roads and change in muscle use. I was lucky as I had driven the route the night before and knew there were no real pot holes on the route but it took a few miles to workout how much grip there was on the corners , often opting to stay behind slower riders until on the straight rather than risk sliding out while trying to pass them on corners or hills . Overall the cycle was good and even Peninver brae was conquered with out walking any of it !

The run was easy enough too and I was happy enough with a time of 26 mins considering I had swam and cycled as it is difficult to pace yourself for the unknown , beast the swim ….then struggle with the rest,,No Thanks .

MOK TRI was again a great event and this year had an official from Triathlon Scotland there to check that everything was 100 % inline with the rules . The official rated the event as a cracking course for the well organised event. I would recommend anyone to have a tri ,,get it! As it was not as hard as I thought and I loved it . There were loads of great performances on the day from club members and for Dom Sharkey he managed to go one better than previous years to win out right.