Triathlon
Rolling with Rich – The Murray Diaries 2019 #2
Richard Murray talks of battling back from injury to scrape some crucial points, rubbing shoulders with the iconic Harlem Globetrotters in Singapore and visiting the world’s tallest building in Dubai.
Having spent 10 days in Cape Town, which I really enjoyed, Rachel and I made our way to Singapore to compete in the Super League Triathlon grand finale. It was bitter-sweet to have left South Africa, which I will only see again in October, but we were both very excited to head to the east to compete.
We had a good week leading into the race staying on Sentosa Island. No sooner had I landed, my day was made when I played basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters. It was pretty cool shooting some hoops and learning new tricks from the famed exhibition team. We also visited the Gardens by the Bay and, as a wild African triathlete, I enjoy the greenery and the natural elements within Singapore.
In terms of the race itself, I knew that I would definitely arrive in Singapore under prepared from the running side of things. I had barely done any running due to a lingering tendon issue in my ankle, coupled with gastro. However, I did my best with what I had in terms of a weeks’ running and finished fifth on the final standings. All weekend, my ankle wasn’t good, but I achieved my goal by scraping points and remaining in the top five. I was happy to see overall series winner Vincent Luis from France get what he deserved and ultimately prevail, having battled with a flat tyre on day one.
From Singapore, we headed to Dubai for a week. Red Bull UAE managed to hook us up with passes – so we could avoid the massive crowds of people and skip the queues – to visit the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world at 829 metres. It was pretty crazy to see how the whole place has developed over the last 15 years and it was bucket list stuff. Everything seems to be pretty much moving on up, and I was looking to do the same during my first WTS race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
When we went through to Abu Dhabi, I was in an interesting headspace. I wasn’t feeling any pressure or stress because I knew my running wasn’t in a great place at all. I had been limping the day after the weekend’s exertions in Singapore. The plan was to swim and bike to the best of my ability and see what was possible on the run. In Singapore, my swimming was pretty bad and the trend continued in Abu Dhabi. Ironically, I actually felt like I was having a good swim and didn’t know that I was third last out of the water, as I never look back while I’m racing. My swim – in a time of 9 minutes and 15 seconds – was terrible and I’m chasing consistency in the water. In terms of the bike, I felt strong and my cycling is in a good space. I completed the 18.6km in a time of 27 minutes and 18 seconds. Overall, I managed a 24th place finish, which may not look amazing, but I was pleased in terms of the bigger picture. Having run against the top dogs and, having done no speed work, it was a win. However, looking ahead I need to get back into a rhythm, so I can regain the speed on my run.
Rachel and I have now swapped the heat and humidity of the United Arab Emirates for rainy days in Europe. After a train ride from Utrecht we reached Beuningen, our base in the east of Netherlands.
I’m spending some time in front of the fireplace and, when the rain isn’t teaming down too heavily, I’ll brave the elements. I suppose it’s all relative because when I spoke to some of the Russian triathletes they said their cut-off limit for outdoor training is minus 25 degrees Celsius. For me, if it’s raining and the temperature is less than five degrees, it’s a no-go on the bike because it gets absolutely annihilated when there is mud or grit on the road. However, in terms of running, as long as it’s not so cold that my lungs almost freeze up, I can run in the dark or even in minus two degrees!
Over the next few weeks, the plan is to get some running miles down and get strength and stability going in my lower legs. It might seem crazy that I competed when I could hardly run, but the important thing is I was listening to my body the whole time and not running into pain. Had I been an idiot and flogged myself on the run and pretended there was nothing wrong, I would probably have been out for the rest of the season. It’s a long year and it’s about not forcing things too soon.