The day I finished Jailbreak together with Dan Hugo
December 18th, 2007 by Nikola Tosic
I was quite looking forward to competing in the Jailbreak Max – last year I had a strong finish and after recently having competed the Double century with a team of men my cycling has really improved. I also hoped that an additional year of racing would add to my advantage. Having done both Ironman 2006 and concentrated on the shorter events this year I was looking forward to this distance as I am experienced in both the short and endurance races and this is a great race to put these skills to the test. My aim was to race…
Last year was incredibly hot and there was a shortage of water – this year was quite the opposite. It was overcast and the heavens had opened – there was an abundance of water falling from the sky and on the roads. This usually stresses me out as I know how dangerous wet roads can be after taking a tumble in wet conditions. However, I surprised myself with my good humour and confidence.
I started the race with a very comfortable swim – I am not sure what my time was but was happy to be exiting the water with some strong athletes. The cycle started off incredibly uncomfortable. Visibility was incredibly difficult with raindrops blowing into our eyes. However I managed to find a comfortable pace and soldiered on.
Early into the race I saw some friends with tubbies punctured on the side of the road and then my friend Andre – who has punctured at the last three triathlons! I shouted words of sympathy and continued with my race. I felt a familiar feeling where the road suddenly felt incredibly bumpy and convinced myself that the surface had changed and continued for a while…..
I could not ignore the inevitable – I had indeed punctured. I pulled over and assessed the damage. Fortunately I had recently changed my tyres to sexy red numbers with my friends advising me so was able to change my back tyre without much trouble.
I was quite flattered when Grant Fillmore seemingly pulled over to help just to find that he was also punctured. Once my tyre was back on my bike I pumped it to the maximum and removed my pump from the valve….. the end of the valve sprung off into space and my tyre deflated… I tried to re-inflate it only to have it go totally flat again! I had already lost quite some time now and friends were passing and sympathizing with my situation.
I called a friend and asked that he fetch me another tube… time continued passing forty minutes had now lapsed from my puncture stop and the rain was getting harder. Michael was on his way when a very generous athlete Mark kindly donated me a tyre. I started changing my tyre again shivering and wet and heard the rumbling of thunder above me – I am embarrassed to admit that I have a fear of thunder storms and this was the last straw in addition to this I had sustained a rather serious injury whilst changing the tyre – I broke a nail!
I have never quit in a race – however, I realized that I was out of the competition and could continue the race as a training session. Cold, wet and scared I decided that I would never chose to train in these conditions and decided to abandon my race (yes, I quit – I hate to admit it)
Michael arrived shortly and I got into his warm vehicle – he was ill so missed the race too – We cracked open a beer and admitted defeat – I never realized that failure would feel so good! Whilst driving back we were trying to spot Michaels nephew Dan Hugo – who was in the lead and a favourite to win. We could not see him and when we returned heard that he had also pulled out of his race due to a puncture and not having a replacement tubby – he was on a loaned bike.
I was reassured and was proud to say Dan and I finished at the same time.
Some other strong riders pulled out due to the weather conditions – I would like to send out a big congratulation to all the athletes that completed the race – the conditions were extreme and doing the distance alone is a huge achievement – I consider all race finishers heroes! A personal well done to Jailbreak virgins Carla Loureiro and Andre Spies two friends of mine that conquered this distance!
I have mixed feeling about my actions – but at the time it felt like it was the only option and I went with my gut feeling! I hope I am able to race the 70.3 and race this distance… I have since made peace with myself by doing a 100km cycle and a 10km run with a social swim in between. I cycled with friends on a beautifull day over Chapmans Peak we stopped for a coffee in Noordhoek and then went on to visit friends in Tableview. On our arrival we were presented with coffee and pancakes and I was invited to have a swim with the kids. I returned home and was invited to join a friend who had returned from Ironman Western Australia for a run to Camps bay. This was far more enjoyable than completing Jailbreak in the miserable rain for training purposes.
