After months of training the ExpaTRIés were ready to hit the road running (or the lake swimming) in the first real race of Challenge ExpaTRIés.
Charlotte, Kristine, Kristina and Caitlin were ready to roll until the announcement that the swim portion had been cancelled and it was now a run bike run. Because of recent marathon injuries (most of the girls only came for the swim) this left only Charlotte in a position to compete.
Charlotte does triathlon like a homeless person, a borrowed pair of leggings and no real bike shoes made her stand out from the field for all the wrong reasons. That was until the race started and she carved out an impressive 5km run. She followed this up with a steady (windy) bike ride before sailing home in a respectable 1hr24mins – 20th female across the line.
It may have been cold but the ExpaTRIés picnic was in full force. David and Richard ignored all pre-race nutrition guidelines and decided to drink a bottle of wine to wash down the pizzas, hot dogs and potato salad that had been lovingly prepared the night before. Jamie, Dan and Paul appeared to be taking things more seriously, sipping powerade with a peanut butter sandwich. Rabi meanwhile thought duathlon would be too easy and quietly set about the last minute touches to his bike which looked remarkably like a velib.
The race started and the wine tactic seemed to pay off as Richard and David stormed to sub 20minute 5ks. Jamie took second place heading into transition while Dan, Paul and Rabi streaked in closely behind.
The bike course was rolling with only one notable hill but lots and lots of wind, this was where Davids experience showed as he extended his lead. Richard caught sight of Jamie in transition but Jamie would soon look back and up his stride as his powerful / madman running style created a 27second gap between him and his semi drunk team mate.
It was all smiles at the finish as David finished with perfect hair, Jamie with less hair. Richard followed them in then 7minutes later followed by Paul who did a great job recovering from his marathon misery. Dan crossed the line and then Rabi rounded the final corner. Tired but happy, the question remains will he take the same bike for his next race….. and will Velib let him ?!
Thanks go to the girls Caitlin, Kristina and Kristine who nevertheless stayed to watch, cheer and ultimately receive celebratory sweaty hugs. The season has only just started but with this team spirit (and copious amounts of pre-race drinking) we could be onto something special indeed
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