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 Swim
Comments: This is possibly the most carnage I've ever had in a swim. And when we were discussing it afterwards everyone said the same thing. The swim started and I found it very difficult to get any space to swim in. I'm not a great open water swimmer, but this was HARD. I really struggled to find enough space to get a full swim stroke going until about half way through at the first bouy. Once we got round the buoy things spread out rather more, and I found it easier to get into a flow. After the 2nd buoy I managed a reasonable performance, but I had to stop a couple of times because of issues: 1) I lost my swim hat - the ones they provided were really cheap and I hadn't thought to wear another one underneath. It came off with about 200m to go and I got a REALLY cold head. I guess I hadn't realised quite how much difference it makes. 2) I got a little confused by the rowing markers in the lake. It wasn't anything serious, but at one stage I thought someone with a red swim hat was floating face down next to me. It really freaked me out until I realised it was just a buoy... This swim was slightly slower than last year, but I think that can be accounted for by the general carnage and my little issues, and I think a lot of people struggled in this swim. I was relieved to see there were still a lot of bikes in T1 when I got there. What would you do differently?: I should probably start further to one side. I pretty much just put myself in the middle and then stayed there for a long time. Kevin's video of the start looks like everyone moves as one big mass. There's very little spreading out, and of course being in the middle of that will have an impact.  Transition 1
Comments: I felt incredibly disorientated when I got out of the swim. More than I think I ever have before. No idea why. I ran through transition and managed to get out of my wetsuit with no disasters. I got my race belt and helmet on and was about to grab my bike when I realised I'd forgotten to put my shoes on. So then I had to sort that out. Considering I was such a mess, mentally, I'm actually pleasantly surprised with my T1 time. What would you do differently?: I'm generally ok with T1 under 2 minutes when it's a wetsuit swim. I don't think I could have done much differently, and my head was all over the place. Maybe a little bit more T1 practice would come in handy, so I don't forget my bike shoes!  Bike
Comments: I could hear Kevin shouting "keep going further out" as I was running out of transition because the mount area was really narrow. My head was still all over the place, so I just go on the bike and started pedalling fast. I tried to keep a high cadence while I got my legs warmed up, and was amazed to find I was passing people on the bike. This is the point where I generally get passed by all the slower swimmers who are much faster on the bike. I'd never ridden the bike with either the carbon wheels or the aero helmet, and it was a bit strange, especially the helmet which had a bit of whistling from the wind. But it felt wonderful. I finally figured out why people love carbon so much. I felt like I was flying past so many people who were struggling into a wind I just wasn't feeling. It probably wasn't making as much difference as I thought, but it really FELT like it helped. On the section with the wind behind, the guys with the giant legs would go past me, but after we turned back into the headwind it seemed like they would all slow down, but I just kept going, and I was often able to pass them again. All in all the bike felt great. I was working as hard as I could without killing myself, and gradually getting braver on the turns each lap as well. As I develop my confidence on the tri bike I love it more and more. I could hear Kevin shouting for me every time I went past transition, which was great. He's a fantastic supporter because he has a really loud voice! What would you do differently?: Not much. This is the fastest pace I've ever managed in a triathlon bike section. I took a good couple of minutes off last year, which over 20km is pretty good. The only thing I could have improved was remembering my drinks as I got VERY thirsty, and I think that affected my concentration a little towards the end, as I had to keep reminding myself to keep pushing as I was getting a little tired. Transition 2
Comments: As I ran into T2 I realised that my team mate had given me a description of where my running shoes were, and I had completely zoned out when he told me, so I had no idea where I was going. I tried to look at the number stickers, but they were tiny. In the end I looked out for my running shoes, and as it was a single row and no one else has black running shoes with red laces they were actually pretty easy to spot! After that it went pretty smoothly. I stopped for some water on the way out of T2, which may have increased my time in transition slightly, but increased my comfort level considerably. What would you do differently?: Set up my own T2 so that know where I'm heading for!  Run
Comments: As I was running the first section out of transition I saw several of my team mates coming in on their bikes. That confirmed to me that I had done much better than expected on the bike, as I wasn't expecting them to be behind me! The run goes round past transition and then up a little grassy hill, where I turned my foot ever so slightly. It hurt for a minute or so and then I think the endorphins kicked in. I felt like I was really struggling on the run, but I usually do at sprints because I'm just not a fast runner. I was really surprised when my Garmin lapped the first mile and it said 8:22. I started feeling better then, and so just kept pushing away. I got really hot and thirsty on mile 2, but towards the end there was a water station, where I took two cups, drank most of the first one and then dumped the rest over my head. I felt a lot better after that. Mile 2 was a little slower, at 8:34, but once I realised that I'd come to a complete stop at the water station (briefly) I figured that probably accounted for the extra few seconds. After that I just pushed through towards the end. There was another little loop out from the lake, which had a short sharp uphill section, but was under some trees and the shade was welcome. The marshal at the end of that section was cheering everyone on, and encouraged me not to "let him past", at which point I got passed by one of my team mates. With about 200m to go until the finish I got passed by another team mate. But I was running as hard as I could, so I had to let them go. As I ran into the finish I heard the announcer say my name, followed by "3rd in her category", so the first thing I said after I finished was "did I hear that right?" What would you do differently?: I think more hydration on the bike would have helped. I also wished I'd worn my running cap, which I don't usually wear for sprints. I lost a few seconds stopping for water, but by then I was absolutely parched. The run itself went about as well as it could, and I was really pleased with the overall pace. Post race
Warm down: I stood and drank loads of water at the finish and then went to collect my stuff from (both) transitions. Other than walking a really long way round, the only way to get everything from transition to the car park is up a big flight of stairs, so I was really pleased my bike is so light. There is a free BBQ included for racers, but the veggie option wasn't great, so I got pasta from the cafe and Kevin had my BBQ. Then we went and checked into our hotel and I did a strength and core circuit session... What limited your ability to perform faster: I think, considering the type of training that I do (which is aimed at long distance) I performed about as well as I could have in this race. I certainly felt like I'd given it my all. And I took over 3 minutes off last year's time. I also got my best ever category position by far. I've never even been near the podium! So all in all I'm really happy with this. Event comments: This is run by the same people, at the same venue, as the iron-distance race (Outlaw) that I'm doing in 5 weeks time. This was a good chance to become more familiar with the venue, and we stayed overnight and drove the Outlaw bike route. The organisers seem friendly and capable, which is a good sign for the bigger event. Profile Album Last updated: 2013-03-27 12:00 AM
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United Kingdom
One Step Beyond
19C / 66F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 135/204
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 3/11
I did everything about this race wrong. Although I'd been planning the purchases for ages, I landed up rushing round the day before (after night shift) buying an aero helmet, deep section carbon wheels and a roof bar-mounted bike rack. We did as much packing as possible the night before, but still found ourselves at 5am trying to figure out how to fit the new roof rack to the car.
We drove to Nottingham (about 3 hours) and arrived in time for registration. I've never done a triathlon that started at noon before (other than this one last year), so my usual pre-race nutrition strategy didn't apply. Somehow I got through this one on McDonalds breakfast and diet coke...
Because we'd got the new wheels, I needed to change the brake blocks to be compatible with the carbon braking surface. In the end I went to registration while Kevin started sorting out the bike stuff. For future reference, doing this stuff 90 minutes before the race start time really isn't a great idea. Especially when you've never done it before, so you're slightly fumbling around!
I found myself, half an hour before the start, still standing by the car getting very stressed about getting things ready. I rushed to transition to get set up, and completely forgot to take my drinks bottles. It was a 10 minute walk to transition, so having got there I didn't have time to go back for them. A team mate gave me his left over drink, which I poured into my aero bottle, but it meant I did the entire swim/bike on about 150ml fluids.
And I'd completely forgotten that this race has a split transition, so the same team mate who gave me the drink took my running shoes to T2 while I set up T1.
I remembered to apply some sun cream (it was quite hot and sunny) - about the only thing I got right - and then just about had time to get into my wetsuit before the race briefing.
This pretty much consisted of getting into my wetsuit, which is always likely to build up a sweat. The water was fairly cold (14C), but manageable. It was a deep water start, so I had chance to adjust to the temperature and tread water for a couple of minutes before they counted down to the start.