Holly Khan’s Race at Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour Olympic Distance Triathlon had all the thrills and spills for me of a forever memorable triathlon. Hence thinking it’s a fitting event to write up my first ever race report. It never ceases to amaze me how incredible our bodies are and that we may never know just how far we can push them.
This triathlon was my 3rd event in 3 weeks, racing a community ran sprint triathlon at South West Rocks, followed by my first professional race and first cross triathlon at the Australian National Cross Triathlon Championships in Jindabyne. I entered Coffs with one goal in mind; to win it. The coach and I planned to achieve this by swimming a solid pace and implementing a new rhythm and breathing technique, riding 220-230 watts on the bike to achieve around 1 hour 6 minutes and then push hard on the 10km run with the goal of holding 4:10-4:20 pace which would give me a PB of sub 43 minutes off the bike.
The Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons are relatively new for me, coming from a background of competing in half ironman distances. So these races have been setting a benchmark for me to base my future training and racing on and provide performance indications.
My Feet were planted in the sand, eager to start racing. Coffs Jetty beach pulled off perfect conditions making for my best ever swim. I felt smooth and relaxed in the open water and enjoyed having the big jetty for easy sighting. I always look forward to the bike as this is my strength and where I make up time. I was 15 minutes into the bike leg, about to turn left into the industrial centre, when I saw the lead girl lying on the side of the road, realizing she must have fallen off I immediately thought be cautious. But suddenly, my back wheel had slid out and my body was sliding uncontrollably along the tar road, shredding my skin up. I could feel burning pain all down the left side of my body, but the shock of how could this have possibly happed blew me away! I must have hit an oil patch, that mixed with super skinny race tyres, speed and approaching a turn ended up bad. It reminded me of watching those YouTube clips where you see cyclists crashing and wonder how did they possibly manage to stack it just then? I was in shock, unable to talk properly and unable to work out how to put my chain back on as I tried to jam it on the big chain ring. I was frustrated not knowing why the marshals around were just staring and asking if I was ok, but wouldn’t help me (at the time not realizing they were not allowed to). But all that I could think about was the win. I shut out the pain and resumed race mode!
As I jumped back on the bike I could hear the other girl, who looked very hurt and was taken away in the ambulance due to more serious injuries, cheer me on. I had bitumen stuck to my thigh, a bloody elbow which I had to dig into the aero bars, a very painful nipple (I was so thankful the suit did not wear out completely through this spot!), and a painful and bloody outer side of the left leg. I knew though, that I could push on without putting myself at risk of further injury. I was overly cautious for the rest of the ride on this technical course.
On went the Cloudracers, I was ready to push hard on the run and stoked for the first time to get to follow behind the female leader’s bike. I wanted to hold on to my lead and was thankfully feeling very comfortable on the run. I had a strong mindset, reminding myself that this is what I love, this is what I work so hard for, this is the moment that matters, relax and give it all you have. This run was one of the most “comfortably hard” runs I have ever experienced. The feet were enjoying the ride in style and comfort. I was continuously surprised looking at my Garmin and seeing a much faster pace than expected; 4:00 minute pace. I felt like I could maintain this pace. I felt amazing and so happy to be there racing along the beautiful coast line and also seeing my husband and coach racing alongside me.
Coffs was my first overall female win in an Olympic Distance triathlon but despite my win I was blown away by my results. Swim: 21:29, Bike: 1:05:58, Run: 40:34. My run time absolutely shocked me, whilst it may not be a super-fast time this was my personal best 10km time off the bike and unreal for me. Wind back to 2011 and I was running 5 minute pace for a 10km race.
My battle wounds scored me my first ever stiches, 7 in total, to mend the 8cm long laceration on the outside of my hip, 1 week of rest and a course of antibiotics due to my ankle wound blowing up with infection. And I won’t forget to mention the grazes forever imprinted into my handle bars and cycling shoes. But I was thankful I got off lightly.
I have come a long way since starting my triathlon journey in 2012 and I have a long way to go. It’s an awesome feeling being so comfortable and feeling fluid whilst running.
My three keys to achieving continued successes in performance improvements:
- Consistency with training
- Specific program from my coach and ticking off all the boxes
- Support and belief from those around me, including my sponsors.
Thanks On Australia, its great being part of your team and representing a brand of top high performance running shoes, I believe in!
By Holly Khan.
