2008 Reports

Last updated: Sunday, 7 September, 2008

My Beijing Experience

Event: Olympic Triathlon
Time: 08:00am
Date: Monday, 18 August, 2008
Venue: Beijing

Beijing logo I just got back home from the Beijing Olympic games – what an experience! I left 3 weeks ago and it seems like months since I’ve been at home (which it has really if you count up all the training camps and other preparatory stuff). There was really 2 periods to my stay over there – the before and after... Before the race the French team, along with our coaches and medical staff were lodged in a villa in a hotel complex very near the triathlon race site, which we stayed at from our arrival in China on the 7th of August until the day after the guy’s race on the 19th. The Federation decided to take this option – rather than doing an acclimatistion camp in South Korea like a lot of the other countries – for simplicity’s sake and it really was a good option as it was the same hotel that we were used to from previous year’s world cups and it meant that we were well away from the stress of the Olympic village and it felt a lot like being at a world cup.

I did my last month and a half’s training cycle at home in Montpellier with a few select training partners – I really treated it as if I was away at a training camp elsewhere and did not much else except eat, sleep and train! With my coach (Stephanie Gros) we decided on this option to allow me to get used to the heat (it was actually hotter in Montpellier in July than in Beijing!) and it was humid enough for a certain parallel to be drawn with the conditions in Beijing. I managed to get in a really good work load and some great quality sessions which meant that I left in a very positive state of mind for China.

The 10 days at the villa were spent getting over the jet lag (I upgraded to business on the way out to help with this by getting some good sleep on the plane) and adjusting to the conditions in Changping (40km to the North of Beijing where the triathlon was being held). The atmosphere in the team was really good and we did a couple of trips into the Olympic Village and to the "Water cube" to feel like we were actually at the Games! But in all I felt good, relaxed and fit (the usual problem of reputting on weight leading up to the race as the training load goes down didn’t arise as the food at the hotel was exceptionally bland! Luckily as the restaurant in the village was the opposite!)

Everything really went to plan leading into the race and on race morning I felt pretty calm – which surprised me as I thought that I would be much more nervous than usual. I had a really good start and was one of the first to the first buoy. I then slipped in behind the lead girls and cruised to the end of the swim. The first transition went fine too and I got off to a good start on the bike. I was a bit nervous of the first hill imagining that there would be attacks straight out of the swim – and there were but I felt really good and was upfront with no problems. I felt good and strong all through the bike and tries to attck a couple of time and make it hard going up the hill but unfortunately it didn’t break up the pack much and I knew that going into T2 with 19 other strong runners was not ideal for me. I had a solid run and given the heat and hilly course I’m happy enough with my 12th place. Obviously I would have liked better but I know I gave it my all and I’ll try and be back to get a better result in 4 years time – this time in front of my family and friends.

After the race we moved into the Village and made the most of the rest of the Games. It is a really special experience – seeing stars in the restaurant (Nadal, Usain Bolt, Yao Ming), going to watch the athletics, meeting people from loads of different countries, seeing a little of Beijing and (of course) making the most of the nightlife! Getting back home is cool though – even though it’s not for long, just the time to wash my clothes and I’m off again for the last races of the season.

For the full results you can click on the link: Full 2008 Olympic Women’s Triathlon Results ».

Jess Harrison