The Noosa Multisport Festival is always
such a great weekend, with races and events to cater for everyone. It is a
personal favourite of mine and I always look forward to competing in the Noosa
triathlon each year.
This year was no different, and after
experiencing unfortunate circumstances at Worlds two weeks earlier, I was
looking forward to going out and producing a solid day. It would be my first Olympic
distance race since March and the first time I would run 10km since my stress
fracture. Naturally, this added a bit of pressure and nerves to the situation,
but mostly excitement and anticipation. I had my bike kitted out with brand new
Zipp 404’s from Bicycle Riders Morningside in preparation for the race. They
looked great and felt even better to ride! Thanks Bicycle Riders Morningside
for looking after me and supporting me unconditionally.
The day before the race, I was lucky enough
to visit the Adidas Eyewear tent in the expo and have a chat to them about
their eyewear. They have been supporting me for two years now so it is always
nice to pop in and thank them for everything they do. I also had a great chat
to Glenn from Cannibal, who in partnership with my long-term sponsors Vorgee,
provided me with my race suit. I always love racing in my custom designed kit
and know it stands out amongst the other race suits.
Race day was a very early 4am wake up for
me. Race start was 6.15am, which is extremely early compared to most other races. I
can tell you, not much is happening at 4 o’clock in the morning, so I would
suggest staying in bed.
The swim leg of the race was held in the
Noosa River and was a 1500m loop around an island. I knew there were some good
swimmers in the field, with a number of girls having raced on the ITU circuit,
so I found some feet early and was desperate to stick on them. 1500m is a long
way if you are isolated so I had to make certain I stayed on the feet in front and
didn’t let them get a gap on me. I had a great swim, coming out in third
position, and right with the girls I needed to be with.
The ride was an out and back course of 40km
with a 3km hill climb in the middle. It was a non-drafting race so I was at a
slight disadvantage having a road bike, as opposed to a time trial bike, but I
rode well considering. Unfortunately I didn’t have the run I was hoping for
though, and finished in 12th position. It is the bad days you learn
from though so I will take my frustration into next season to make myself bigger and better as an athlete.
I am going to have some time off now to
relax and catch up with some friends, before getting back to training in
preparation for next season.
Remember to keep up to date with my
endeavours by 'liking' my Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellie-Salthouse/387421924634161.
Ellie xx
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