Once home she put fingers to keyboard and wrote out some race reports which I've cheekily copied and pasted below.
At the same time Peggy was enjoying the Southern Hemisphere Andy and Maria Hindle were completing their John O'Groats to Lands End bike ride. You can read about how their attempt went at their blog.
Back to the World Champs write ups then. In Peggy's words:
World Championship Aquathlon: 2.5k run 1000k swim 2.5k run.
I entered this to get a feel for the water and to prepare for the triathlon which was 4 days later. With a mass start it is difficult to know how many are in the same age group, although I did notice some skinny, lean, mean running machines from the USA at the start. I managed to get ahead of the couple of USA ladies that I had spotted and to my surprise they did not come back at me. After completing the 2.5k run it was straight into the water where it is often difficult to see because of goggles fogging up after the run. After sighting the first buoy I put my goggles on at the last minute and tried to stay relaxed and concentrated on good technique. Toasty’s advise was running through my head, ‘. . . don’t move your left arm until your head is looking down and you are breathing out . . .’ I wondered whether swim coaches realised what an effect they have on us and their words of wisdom running through our heads even though we might be on the other side of the world! The swim was difficult to negotiate because it was almost a boomerang shape and there were buoys floating around which had nothing to do with the aquathlon course. There were also a number of motorboats that created waves and only served to confuse sighting. At one point I heard a lot of shouting from someone who had become ‘lost’ and disorientated. This was probably the lady in my age group who had a DNF. After the 1000m swim it was into transition and straight into the second run. I maintained a good effort knowing that no one in my age group had overtaken me, (age groups were written on the back of our legs) I had timed myself and made my total time, with transitions, about 56 mins.
Later in the afternoon were the presentations. These were done in reverse order and when the bronze and silver were announced no times were given for them but then he said “And in a time of 56 mins ….I knew I had won it before he announced my name – I couldn’t believe it! I was so pleased and proudly collected my gold medal. Jasmine Flatters took a few photos but she is still out there and I have not yet received them. So a good race and with a gold medal under my belt I was well prepared for the triathlon.
World Championship Sprint Triathlon: 750m swim 20k bike 5k run.
I had to enter this instead of the standard distance because this was the distance I won gold in last year and I was given a free entry to defend last year’s title. Also, £148.00 is not to be sneezed at!
As with the aquathlon, I was not sure how many were in my group because names were listed by country and then in alphabetical order in the programme. This was of no importance because I knew I just had to get in there and push it all the way. About three quarters of the way round the swim, the youngest male group started to catch us and it suddenly became very crowded but they were, on the whole, very gentlemanly and did not try to drown us. The swim was long but much easier to negotiate than the aquathlon because it was an open box shape. It was generally agreed that the swim was long but I was out of the water ahead of a lot of the red caps i.e. the over 50 ladies. As I ran up the beach, I heard the commentator say ‘ . . . and next it’s Peggy Crome from Great Britain, the first 65+ lady . . . ‘ I didn’t hear any more I was then on a real mission to stay in front of anyone in my age group. There was a long transition as there has to be to with the volume of competitors in these big events. The transitions area was very well organised and I ran it a couple of times before the start to make sure I knew the route. A reasonably quick transition time, then off on the bike.
Bike route was pretty boring; two laps of a flat straight motorway (closed!). There was blatant drafting with large groups of about 20 chaps (90% of them being Australians). I think that a lot of them were ‘two-footed’ and even more given penalties. Nothing interesting happened on the bike leg, I managed to negotiate the360degree turns neatly without tipping up. There were a number of accidents at the turns but it was just a matter of taking a wide sweep, concentrating and looking where I was going. I made sure that none of the people who overtook me had 65+ on their calves! I was also surprised to be overtaking quite a few myself. So I kept my head down and did my best to concentrate.
Into transition and I heard one of my friends names being called by the commentator and my concentration was interrupted and I ran right past my number alley. Bugger! After all the practising to get it right, what would Tim say? Quickly back tracked and found my bike. Didn’t stop to put on clowns kit but did a smooth and speedy change. As I ran up the hill to start the run, I realised I had not put my number belt on. I took a chance and did not go back for it. No one stopped me and I guess I was all right because the timing chip kept me on the map. By this time the heat was a problem, even though it was early in the morning. I kept the run easy and relaxed and knowing that I only had to keep going at that speed as long as no one from my age group overtook. If they did my plan was to stay with them to the last 50m and then do a sprint finish which I have practising through the winter. Luckily no one bothered me and I finished in 1:34:36 which was not a bad time with the long swim and long transitions. The commentator did not say that I had won so I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until Jasmine Flatters, Team Manager, told me that I had won. I really couldn’t believe it. Two gold medals! She also told me that I was the only one to get a gold in the sprint distance. Eventually when the results were up I realised there was only one other in my group, Pauline Wiltshire, who I knew about because she had won ‘Triathlete of the Year’ in Western Australia for her personal achievements and for her input to triathlon. Since returning, I have done a bit of number crunching and out of all the ladies I finished ahead of 27 of them – so I was well pleased with the results.
The medal ceremony was in the evening at the Great Australian Barbecue – a brilliant evening but the live music was a bit too loud and I found it difficult to hear. Is that a sign of old age?
Now, if anyone had read all this epistle you deserve a gold medal!!
