750 meters swimming, 25 kilometers cycling, 5 kilometers running.
My first sprint-distance triathlon is officially in the books – and what an emotional rollercoaster it’s been. It all happened at the Aloha Tri Traun Triathlon. But to be honest, the lead-up to this day wasn’t promising. Just a few days earlier, during my final bike ride along the Danube Island, I was taken out by a woman in a blind curve near the Reichsbrücke. We both hit the ground. Luckily, nothing major happened – some scratches on the handlebar, and a sore right hip that’s still aching today. Oh, and I still can’t reach my shoes without lower back pain. Great.
And then came the weather. Saturday afternoon, a heavy downpour hit, along with a severe storm warning. Driving back from Linz to the hotel was borderline terrifying – hydroplaning on the autobahn. I went to bed frustrated, mourning into every weather app I opened.
Wake-up call: 06:30.
My first instinct: open the curtain. And yep – light rain, everything soaked from the night before. “OMG…” I muttered. Still, I prepped my race nutrition: the legendary endurance fuel from Robert Schmelz, and a solid load of gels to keep the throat nice and smooth.
After breakfast, we (Karin, Daniel, Philip, and I) headed to the Oedtsee. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders when I saw the first few athletes – wearing wetsuits! I grabbed a technical official to ask: “Wetsuit allowed?” The answer: “Yes – it’s freezing out there after last night.” Relief washed over me.
At 09:00 I squeezed myself into the wetsuit. 09:15: warm-up swim. And man – the water was cold. I quickly said goodbye to my family (survival chances were at 100% today thanks to the wetsuit, unlike last year’s Seestadt Triathlon…), and at exactly 09:30, I was the last one into the water. And it began.
Just a few minutes in, I overtook my first breaststroker – no wetsuit, no goggles – and it felt amazing. My first official triathlon overtake. First buoy – done. Second buoy – closer this time. More breaststrokers swallowed up. Motivation climbed.
But halfway between the second buoy and the exit, both my hamstrings suddenly cramped during a few breaststroke kicks I used for orientation. Panic. A glance around for the nearest safety boat. But then I remembered the golden words from a friend:
“Back float. Stay calm. Ease the cramps.”
Floating on my back in a wetsuit? Easy. I stared up at the miserably black sky. The cramps didn’t vanish, but they eased. I tried a few crawl strokes – and YES – the cramps were gone!
After about 22 minutes, I staggered out of the water like a drunk man, up the steps to where my family was cheering.
Quick words, then off to the transition zone. And yes – I spent some time struggling out of my wetsuit. As someone would’ve said:
“Drying off? Make-up? Why’s he taking so long in transition?”
Next up: the bike – my current favourite discipline. I rode the course alone for the first few kilometers. I had previewed the route on Friday, and there were marshals at every roundabout and intersection – no way to get lost. Eventually, I started passing faster swimmers on expensive time-trial bikes with disc wheels. One after the other – overtaken. That’s my kind of fun.
I stayed in aero position for the entire 25K ride – except for a few hundred meters where it wasn’t allowed – even on the uphill sections (about 210 meters of elevation). Time: 43:27 minutes, averaging 34.5 km/h. I ranked 22nd out of 68 male participants on the bike split. Styrians know how to ride – we grow up with mountains!
I eased off on the final kilometer of the bike to avoid the usual run cramps – following a tip from my running and cycling coach. My normalized power was 212 watts. Dismounted carefully, jogged the bike into transition, and after the obligatory styling (T2, you know), it was time for the run.
But not so fast.
A few minutes into the run, I had to stop – my ankle timing band was cutting into my skin. The organizers used these paper bands in Traun that barely hold unless tied super tight – and they have razor-sharp edges! So I had to fix that – somehow…
Once that drama was over, the run went smoothly. I increased my pace every kilometer – from 5:00 down to 4:40. Final time for the run: 24:10 minutes, averaging 4:50/km – my fastest triathlon run pace yet.
Overall time: 1:37:31.
63rd out of 109 men.
Second to last in my age group (16th out of 17).
And you know what? Who cares.
I did it. And I’m grateful.
A huge shout-out to my swim coach, who somehow transformed a non-swimming concrete block into a slow-moving fishing trawler. THANK YOU. Or as we say: “11:00, and off to Nappa!”
Also, a massive congrats to my son Daniel, who completed his own triathlon (300m swim, 8K bike, 2K run) the day before! Despite two athletes crashing at the entrance to the transition zone and forcing him to reroute (two full 180° turns!), he delivered a perfect race.
And the weather? Despite all odds, we were lucky. Neither of our bikes got wet – not even while driving to and from the event. A dry triathlon (aside from the swim, of course). What a win.
Next stop: Bike & Run (40K/10K) next Sunday in Gerasdorf. Let’s go! 🚴♂️🏃♂️💪
Thanks for your time,
-Klaus
