Luisa started training with Tri Alliance last year, and since then she hasn’t stopped racing. She is an adrenalin junkie, passionate in what she does and loves all sports. On the weekend she completed her second Lorne Adventure Race, and compares her race this year her race last year before she had started training. And what a massive improvement she has seen – achieving a massive 1hour 23min Personal Best!
Four off-road disciplines are featured:
- 600m Swim
- 7km Paddle
- 7.7km Trail Run
- 9km Mountain Bike
- 1.2km Beach Run
By Luisa Orta
2012: 4 hr 23min
2013: 3hr 0min
The Swim: 15min v 21min last year – For second time I could turn my voices off, I felt relaxed, enjoying the blue water and for first time ‘drafting’ in the swim. When I got to T1 and I saw most of the kayaks of my age group there, so I thought ‘something good is happening’.. I came out 10th… Unbelievable…
Kayaking: 47 min v 1hr 09min last year – I had a clean entrance into the waves, leaving behind people who got stuck in the waves… paddling as fast as I could I started to pass people, from my age group, and individual male categories as well 🙂 until I found myself paddling for 5 min without spotting. No-one from my category passed me except the eventual winner – who I found out was a strong paddler! Never could catch her, so I thought ‘I should be racing for the second place’. By the time I finished the kayak, I was clocking 1hr 02min and I thought ‘omg everything is going according to the plan!’ I ran into T2, took all my nutrition and started the run. I started the ‘fight’ for what I thought was the second place with other two girls. 5th best time on the run… awesome!!!
Run: 49min v 1hr 08min last year – running the first 2k in a mix of sand, rocks, and river crossing, I couldn’t expect to have a fast speed, only look after each step and dont get injured… I completely forgot the hell climb of approx 1.5km, all of us were walking… until we got to the top. Back on the road, my legs somehow were fresh and I started to increase my speed. I could see other athletes were looking at me and I was just flying! 🙂 I was feeling as strong as I did in my first leg, after 1hr 30min I was still feeling fresh and loving it. In the end I had 7th best run time. I checked all the bikes at T3 and again ‘something good is happening’ most of my age group bikes were there….
MTB: 55min v 1hr 32min – The track isn’t a very skilled track, it is more about endurance and who can push the bike up hill quicker… as soon as we started the climb, everyone was walking again. Shows you how tough it was. I was keeping close to the other two girls and waiting for the downhill…. until…. I came off my bike! While I was flying over my handle bars I was thinking ‘please, no broken bones’. Lucky for me I got a big cramp which knock me down for 5 min… Girls in my age group started to pass me as I was trying to decide whether to get up and continue or call the marshall for help. I checked my time – 2hr 30min. I was well above my race target so I decided not to waste this moment. My goal right then was to get up and finish the race in 3hrs. Me v’s the race now…
So I dragged myself off the ground, got myself back on my bike and continued riding. I was thinking it was easy until I saw the beach, the last part of the ride… Damn how hard it is riding bikes on sand! Finally I got into T4, shoes off and run the last km on the sand. 14th on the mtb and my best to date.
Run: As soon I started running I could feel pain in my calf so, I decided to go close to the water where the sand should be harder and easier to run on… I crossed the finished line and one of my kayaking friends was there… she said ‘where were you? We were looking out for you at the end of the paddle’. In the middle of my pain, I was thinking ‘mmmm I must have done well, I paddled faster than the rest of the kayaking club…’ 🙂
The verdict: I learnt afterwards that I wasn’t running for the second place, I was running for the fourth place – either way it was amazing! I was holding fourth until I came off my bike… I ended up 9th but the best wasnt the final position, the best was what I got out of the race that day…
1. I could turn off the voices in my head – I know how to do it now
2. See the happiness of my kayaking coach who is a pro athlete was priceless… he was all confused because I was faster than what he was expecting…
3. How strong I was feeling, never have I felt that strength and all focused in a race.
4. This race kicked my ass last year, and I thought I wasn’t going to be good at a sport for the first time. This year, I kicked the race’s ass!!!! No-race is allowed to put me down!!! Feeling stronger and so happy!!!! 🙂 🙂
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