Schalkenmehren...

… or how I wasn´t able to repeat my victory of last year, or I never got to know a field oc athletes so close together. Maybe one or the other of you remember himself, about my first triathlon overall victory, of course for my surprise from last year at the cross-triathlon in Schalkenmehren?!? Without a question, I had to start their again this year. One thing graded up the event this year, that the contest was also the race for the Rhineland-Palaninate national championships, so lots of people wanted to compete here this year and so, my hopes for the repeat of my last year victory were dwindling low or already digged. We started with 500m of swim in the 19degrees warm or cold lake of Schalkenmehren. I got my wet suit with me, but I thought, the time you win by swimming with wet suit on the 500m, you loose again by getting it off, and so after 10:55min I entered the transition area with a new personnal best time for me, by open water swim.It could go on like this… It already rained before and it started again, when we entered the bike course, and the course became muddy, slippery and more, with each minute it rained, mainly on the meadows. All was wet and dirty, but this belong together with a cross-race. After 1:08h I changed my bike shoes to my my running shoes, and I was happy about the fact, that I packed my running shoes in a plastic bag before the start. The course were longer and harder than last year, it was a real cross-run, with some very steep passages, running on the hillside and over holes. Sadly, I haven´t seen one of this holes and found myself with my feet in the hole and my hands in the mud, again a crash on the running course, it took me 32min for the 6km. I was really satisfied with my result, and when I crossed the finish line, they wanted an interview from the winner of last year. This year winner was a former German Champion in cross.triathlon, she finished 9min ahead of me and so I ended up on the 8th place, because the women crossed the finish line in a minute cycle, it was a whole new experince for me, normally the gaps are larger, for example, last year I finished 7minutes ahead of the 2nd woman. Lucky about reaching the finish, afterwards under the shower, sadly only cold water, but no matter, I wanted to look good for the winner ceremony, because I won the 1st place in my age-group, it was quiet easy, we were just two in my age-group. Doro

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