Altufulla Spain 27 June – 2 July

After a somewhat disappointing race in Yokohama, I was determined to set things straight in Spain. The para triathlon would be held in Altafulla, Spain. Along the coast, the weather was predicted to be hot and dry.
Travelling for an International sport is always a draining activity as we most often have to utilise the cheapest airfare which often means multiple lay overs with a definite stop at Dubai International. Luckily for me, this is also one of the few airports that have a separate ‘disabled’ lounge.

Arriving in Spain alongside my teammates, we opted to stay in an Airbnb option which proved to be the right choice as it was conveniently located close to the Triathlon start/finish.
With a beautiful view and an everlasting coastline, we built our bikes and got onto the road for a test ride followed by a gentle run to loosen up the traveled muscles.

The race itself would take place on the Saturday. The 750 meter swim would be an ocean swim in what seemed to be quite a flat part of the sea. Short stretch to transition and then onto the flat, fast, out and back cycle course. The tough part would be the run due to the high temperatures.
All went as planned. Had a great swim, solid bike and my second fastest 5km run which was thank to the Italian that was constantly on my tail. Coming into the last kilometer of the run I threw down the hammer and accelerated with everything that I had left in me to secure a solid 5th place, five seconds ahead of the Italian.

Overall – really happy with my performance. Was great to be pushed a little out of my comfort zone. Next up – Iseo Italy next weekend.