Tomorrow Morning, I'll Stand on a Start Line Again
Tomorrow morning I'll stand on a triathlon start line for the first time since Ironman Cairns in June.
It's only been a little over three months, but quite a lot has happened in that time.
Tomorrow is Round 1 of the Queensland Tri Series and also the Redcliffe Tri Club Championship. It's a sprint-distance race — 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
On paper, it's simply the first race of my 2026/27 season.
But this weekend was originally supposed to look very different.
Instead of preparing to race here in Queensland, I was supposed to be in Pontevedra, Spain, as part of the Australian Age Group Team.
So perhaps tomorrow isn't simply the beginning of another season.
It feels more like the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another.
This Weekend Was Supposed to Be Spain
Being selected for the Australian Age Group Team was something I was incredibly proud of.
After returning seriously to triathlon racing in recent seasons, earning the opportunity to represent Australia again was another reminder of why I still love this sport more than four decades after doing my first triathlon.
The World Championships in Pontevedra were going to be one of the major highlights of 2026.
But sport doesn't always follow the plan.
Ironman Cairns changed mine.
After months of preparation for Cairns, my race ended around 60km into the bike following an injury that had started while running through transition after the swim. The eventual diagnosis was a Grade 2 tear in my right calf.
It was also my first DNF since 1986.
Forty years between DNFs isn't a bad record, but that didn't make Cairns any easier to accept.
More importantly, the injury changed what was realistic for the second half of the season. The focus moved away from racing and towards recovery.
Spain gradually went from being a major goal to something that simply wasn't going to happen this year.
And now that the World Championships are actually taking place, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some disappointment. When you've earned the opportunity to wear the Australian uniform and represent your country, you want to be there.
But I'm also realistic enough to understand that sometimes the best decision isn't necessarily the one you wanted to make.
So instead of Pontevedra this weekend, it's back to where much of my racing happens — the local Queensland triathlon scene.
And I'm genuinely excited about it.
Rebuilding After Cairns
The weeks immediately following Cairns were deliberately quiet. There wasn't any point trying to rush the calf.
Swimming returned first, initially with the pull buoy doing plenty of the work. Cycling gradually followed, and eventually we started introducing some very short runs.
The early milestones weren't particularly impressive on paper:
- A kilometre off the bike
- Then 2.5km
- Then 30 minutes of easy running
But when you're coming back from an injury, those small sessions become significant.
Gradually the distances increased and normal training began returning. By August I was back swimming, riding and running consistently, and we were able to start putting some intensity into the programme again.
The fitness started returning surprisingly well. More importantly, I was enjoying training again.
Tomorrow's race gradually became the target — not because it was the most important race of the season, but because it represented something very simple: getting back on a start line.
Then the Hamstring Had Other Ideas
Just as everything seemed to be coming together, I had another small complication.
My right hamstring began tightening during running. Interestingly, it was the same leg as the calf tear.
It wasn't a major injury and there wasn't significant pain, but it was enough to get my attention.
With less than two weeks until the race, there was an obvious temptation to keep training. After all, when you've spent months rebuilding fitness, the last thing you want to do is back off just as race day approaches.
But there's an important lesson here for any age-group athlete:
Fitness isn't built in the final week before a race. At that point, the work has largely been done. You can certainly sharpen things, but you're not suddenly going to create a new level of fitness seven or ten days before race day. What you can do is turn a minor problem into an injury.
So the plan changed again.
Running was reduced. The hamstring was given time to settle, and when we reintroduced running, it was done progressively.
The first test run went reasonably well. The next was better. And this week I've been able to complete my planned short runs without the hamstring tightening.
That's a win.
The Final Tune-Up
This morning was the last bike session before tomorrow's race.
Thirty minutes. Nothing complicated. Nothing heroic.
It was simply a final opportunity to turn the legs over and test the race setup. Race wheels, aero position, gearing and equipment all checked.
Everything worked. Session finished. Bike ready.
And that's where it stays until tomorrow morning.
One of the things I've learned after more than 40 years in this sport is that the day before a race isn't the time to prove how fit you are. You don't get fitter the day before a race. The objective now is simply to make sure nothing gets in the way of the fitness you've already built.
So What's the Plan Tomorrow?
Despite everything that's happened, I'm not turning up simply to participate. I still love racing. And once that starting horn goes, I'll race.
The swim is about getting away well, establishing a good position and finding clean water.
The bike — cycling has been going particularly well recently, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the race setup and current fitness produce over 20km. I'll be looking for a strong, controlled ride in the aero position rather than constantly chasing speed and surging the power.
The run — this is where the biggest question mark sits. Without the recent hamstring issue, the approach to a sprint-distance 5km would be pretty straightforward: get out of transition and race.
Tomorrow I'll give it a little more respect. I'll allow the hamstring to settle during the opening section and assess what's happening. If it feels good, I'll progressively open things up. And if everything is still good heading into the final kilometre, then there won't be much reason to hold back.
That's racing.
One Small Race-Kit Problem
There has also been one slightly amusing complication heading into tomorrow.
I've recently joined the SCODY Ambassador Team for the 2026/27 season, but unfortunately my new race kit hasn't arrived in time for Round 1.
Fortunately, I still have the SCODY tri suit I bought and raced in when I returned to the sport a few seasons ago. So that's one possibility.
The other option is racing in my Redcliffe Tri Club suit. Given tomorrow is also the Redcliffe Tri Club Championship, wearing the club colours would certainly make sense.
I'll make that decision before race morning.
Either way, it's hardly the biggest problem I've had to deal with this season. The important equipment is ready.
And so am I.
More Than Just Another Sprint Triathlon
I've raced plenty of triathlons over the years — from local sprint races through to World Championships and Ironman.
Tomorrow isn't the biggest race I've ever entered.
But sometimes the importance of a race has very little to do with its distance or status.
Three months ago, I was walking away from Ironman Cairns with a torn calf and my first DNF in 40 years. This weekend, I was supposed to be thousands of kilometres away representing Australia in Spain.
Neither of those stories unfolded the way I wanted.
But tomorrow morning I'll still get to do something I've loved doing since I was a teenager.
I'll stand on a beach. I'll look out over the swim course. There'll be a bike waiting in transition and running shoes sitting beside it.
And when the starting horn sounds, I'll be racing a triathlon again.
That's something worth appreciating.
There are bigger objectives ahead this season. There will be longer races, championship events and plenty of training between now and then.
But they can wait.
Tomorrow is about getting back out there and seeing where I am.
Cairns happened. Spain didn't happen. Tomorrow begins whatever comes next.
See you on the start line.
Follow my 2026/27 season here at Trindall TriFit as I share the training, racing, setbacks and lessons from more than four decades in triathlon.