Back to Beijing

Well I am back in Beijing for my first attempt at the World Triathlon Championships.

Funny how things go in circles. While riding around in a circuit of the Ming Tombs Reservoir I remembered the Paralympic road race here in the same venue nearly three years ago. It is nice to be able to remember what I did here last time and in particular the road race.

This time though there are many changes. Firstly my bike race will start with a swim and finish with a run...??? But the differences don't end there. The Australian triathlon team is a bit more relaxed than the Paralympic team.

For me the pressure always comes from the inside. My own expectations are what really makes me nervous. Although my preparations for this event have been quite disrupted, as a rookie, I'm not really expecting that much and don't seem to be suffering as much from nerves. I'm pretty confident that I can follow my race plan, push myself to the limit and cause some pain and I'll be happy with that effort at the finish line.

I arrived late on Tuesday night and missed breakfast the next day. Luckily I had plenty of food from home. Then I was off to get classified (basically listen to someone confirm that I have one leg!). Then registration and shopping for food at Wal-Mart. I hung out with my teammate Matt Brumby for the morning and we got to know each other. Then it was out for a bike ride in the warm temps, rush back to the hotel and off to the pool for a quick swim, then back for a team meeting, team dinner and time for bed. A busy but fun day.

Today (Thursday) it's ride, run, haircut and some meetings before lots of sleep ahead of tomorrow's (Friday) race.