I can't say there were too many positives to take away from my Auckland 70.3 race besides the x-rays being clear of any significant bone damage. That part was good news I guess. For this reason I didn't have much intention of writing a race report. That was until I came accross more and more 'interesting/creative' stories others had come up with for how my race unfolded. Some that I found were; she crashed out and didn't make it to the run leg, made it to 5k from the finish then pulled out, had cramps, strained a muscle, pulled out from head/neck pain, fell over on the run and hit her head. A popular one seemed to include a bike crash rounding a slippery corner. I even had one person confidently let me know how I'd blown up on the run leg from going out too fast.
Pre-crash. Start of bike leg
So what happened?? I came out of the swim about 3.30 down on the super-fish swimmers up front, jumped on my Shiv and headed out onto the roads. The bike course was technical, windy and wet with a few speed bumps thrown in for good measure. Heading out along the water I couldn’t stay on my bars, the wind was almost picking me right up and tossing me off the road. I survived the first 50k loop of the course, over the Auckland harbor bridge, through some roundabouts, over some hills and back over the birdge. The next section of the course was a straight, smooth (well, almost smooth) stretch of pitch-black bitumen. The mist was beeding on my clear-lense Rudy Project sunnies from the drizzling rain. "2 minutes down" Michelle Wu's mum yells out. I'm down on my aeros pushing hard above 40kph when it happened...in slow motion from my angle.
My front wheel dropped into the pothole, I instictively gripped harder onto my aero bars as my back wheel lifted into the air. As the front end dropped away, the right side of my handlebars smashed into the pavement and slid along the road. My elbows were first to make contact, just before my right hip and ankle smacked the ground. Finally my head flung back and hit (thank god for helmets) and then Shivy somehow flipped back over and landed on me giving me one massive cork in my left quad. I was in pain. Usually it doesn't really hurt when I crash while the adrenaline's pumping like in a race but this one hurt me in a few places. The cork in my quad made my leg collapse when I tried to stand. I felt like I’d broken my ankle. My forearm was dead and useless for a little while and I had a splitting headache. It seemed like I was down for a little while before I could get my senses and check over my body making sure everything was still attached. Once I could focus I climbed back on my bike. If the guys that helped me get back on are reading this - thank you so much. Before I was even ready my bike was back up standing, my bottles were back in and it was all ready to go.
My front wheel dropped into the pothole, I instictively gripped harder onto my aero bars as my back wheel lifted into the air. As the front end dropped away, the right side of my handlebars smashed into the pavement and slid along the road. My elbows were first to make contact, just before my right hip and ankle smacked the ground. Finally my head flung back and hit (thank god for helmets) and then Shivy somehow flipped back over and landed on me giving me one massive cork in my left quad. I was in pain. Usually it doesn't really hurt when I crash while the adrenaline's pumping like in a race but this one hurt me in a few places. The cork in my quad made my leg collapse when I tried to stand. I felt like I’d broken my ankle. My forearm was dead and useless for a little while and I had a splitting headache. It seemed like I was down for a little while before I could get my senses and check over my body making sure everything was still attached. Once I could focus I climbed back on my bike. If the guys that helped me get back on are reading this - thank you so much. Before I was even ready my bike was back up standing, my bottles were back in and it was all ready to go.
Post-crash.
The next few km’s were slow. Once I started pedaling other places started hurting. My right gluteus medius in particular and I my elbow was too tender to put on the aero bar pad. I thought about it for a bit and convinced myself it's just like ripping a band aid off...you've gotta go all in and do it real quick, so I gritted my teeth and pushed my elbow down hard and got racing again. “6 minutes down” was the next call I heard. “Damn!” I thought. “All that hard work…down the drain”. 40km to go.
I racked my bike back in T2 in 4th place and the pains through my body didn't seem as bad as an hour ago. I just had a killer headache still. Soon after I started running, my head pain went away (maybe as other pains started to move their way up the priority list in my brain). I got some confidence and thought maybe I can get through this. I moved into 3rd after a few km’s and 2nd was only about 2minutes ahead. I got to about 6km when my body started playing up. It started with stabbing pains in my right glut med, then progressed to shooting pain across my sacrum. It didn't take long for the pain to started radiating down my right leg. At this point it was painful but I could still run. It was when the pain changed to weakness that things became very difficult, my ankle had gone weak, and it felt like it was going to give way with each step. I tried doing running drills, high knees, butt kicks, quick feet to try 'wake things up' again. It was kind of helping. I looked like an idot but I was moving forward. If I could just get back to transition I thought, maybe I can get one of the medical staff to manipulate my back, trigger point my glut med, something, anything.
I racked my bike back in T2 in 4th place and the pains through my body didn't seem as bad as an hour ago. I just had a killer headache still. Soon after I started running, my head pain went away (maybe as other pains started to move their way up the priority list in my brain). I got some confidence and thought maybe I can get through this. I moved into 3rd after a few km’s and 2nd was only about 2minutes ahead. I got to about 6km when my body started playing up. It started with stabbing pains in my right glut med, then progressed to shooting pain across my sacrum. It didn't take long for the pain to started radiating down my right leg. At this point it was painful but I could still run. It was when the pain changed to weakness that things became very difficult, my ankle had gone weak, and it felt like it was going to give way with each step. I tried doing running drills, high knees, butt kicks, quick feet to try 'wake things up' again. It was kind of helping. I looked like an idot but I was moving forward. If I could just get back to transition I thought, maybe I can get one of the medical staff to manipulate my back, trigger point my glut med, something, anything.
By the time I got back to transition for the end of the first lap I could barely feel my right leg. At some stages it was completely numb, others it was tingling. I’m asking every official/volunteer I pass “where’s the medical?”. They all just told me to carry on. I kept looking and asking but was funnelled through the course turn-around and back out for lap 2, now about 11km down. I stopped at one of the barriers and hung my head over it in disappointment. The friendly spectators asked me what was wrong and I quickly told them and before I knew it one of them - Andrew Mackay - took off to find medical while his mate was helping me out with some stretches. At this point I was still in 3rd place. As much as Andrew tried, he had no luck with finding medical either so I tried to carry on … few more running drills, stop… stretch… run… stop… game over!
An hour later I was laying in the medical tent getting some treatment on my hip when I started to get really drowsy. I mentioned it and the sore head when asked and before I knew it I was in a neck brace staring at the cieling of the ambulance. I spent the next few hours at the Auckland hospital. I was released back out to the fresh air again at 3:30 in the afternoon, back to the hotel, got cleaned up, went to the awards ceremony, then had dinner because I was starving! So that’s how my race went down (so to speak)!
I’d really like to thank everyone who helped me out throughout my race. Unfortunatley I didn't make it to the finish, as much as I tried, the body was shutting-up-shop piece by piece. In a day like this it really shows as competitors, just how much we are all in this together. And how much others (while still competing themselves) are willing to lend a helping hand however they can to fellow competitor in distress. For this I'm so grateful to all those who helped along the way. Firstly the guys that helped me get back on my bike (and they eventually put out a cone at the pothole after a couple others crashed after me). Then there were all the friendly and generous participants who offered me salt tablets thinking I was cramping. The competitors that stopped to walk with me. Andrew and his mates for trying to get me some medical attention. And then the medical staff and the ambulance crew that helped me at the end. Tim from Compressport who picked me up from the hospital. And thank you Liz Blatchford for patching up the wounds all over my body the following day. Also, I’d like to send out a special thanks to the ‘Dream Team’, A youth tri squad in Georgia who made up this small 'get well Mel' clip (below) within minutes of hearing I was lying in hospital! These guys rock!
An hour later I was laying in the medical tent getting some treatment on my hip when I started to get really drowsy. I mentioned it and the sore head when asked and before I knew it I was in a neck brace staring at the cieling of the ambulance. I spent the next few hours at the Auckland hospital. I was released back out to the fresh air again at 3:30 in the afternoon, back to the hotel, got cleaned up, went to the awards ceremony, then had dinner because I was starving! So that’s how my race went down (so to speak)!
I’d really like to thank everyone who helped me out throughout my race. Unfortunatley I didn't make it to the finish, as much as I tried, the body was shutting-up-shop piece by piece. In a day like this it really shows as competitors, just how much we are all in this together. And how much others (while still competing themselves) are willing to lend a helping hand however they can to fellow competitor in distress. For this I'm so grateful to all those who helped along the way. Firstly the guys that helped me get back on my bike (and they eventually put out a cone at the pothole after a couple others crashed after me). Then there were all the friendly and generous participants who offered me salt tablets thinking I was cramping. The competitors that stopped to walk with me. Andrew and his mates for trying to get me some medical attention. And then the medical staff and the ambulance crew that helped me at the end. Tim from Compressport who picked me up from the hospital. And thank you Liz Blatchford for patching up the wounds all over my body the following day. Also, I’d like to send out a special thanks to the ‘Dream Team’, A youth tri squad in Georgia who made up this small 'get well Mel' clip (below) within minutes of hearing I was lying in hospital! These guys rock!
| get_well.mov |
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