After what felt like a long break from racing punctuated by endless hours of training, it was time to toe the start line again. This was my second warm up / practice triathlon before Edinburgh 70.3, chosen primarily for its open water swim and proximity to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, registration was the day before and the start was horrifically early, so it was still a weekend trip!

Glen and I headed over to Loch Lomond and sussed out the swim area, the start of the run and the start and finish of the bike. The transition from swim to bike looked much longer than stated in the manual. I checked it with my watch. 750m, not 300m! I hastily formed alternative transition plans in my head.

It wasn’t so bad to be out west overnight, as we stayed with my pal Douglas and dined at a fine Italian place (burrata with roasted peaches and caramelised almonds with sage, don’t mind if I do). After really not enough sleep (about 5h) I roused myself, got kitted up and off we stumbled, slightly later than planned.

Race information about timings between emails and website was inconsistent. We needn’t have worried though, since we had plenty of time to park, get set up, queue for the toilet and get to briefing on time. Well, Izzy and I did. Glen followed later but still was on time, as it happened.

There had been some delay for the middle distance racers in front of us. They started late, but even then, after a while I was beginning to wonder why no-one had got out. Turns out one of the buoys was slowly drifting, drifting … They moved it as half the people on the last lap were still aiming towards it .. Hilarious to watch from the shore, though perhaps confusing when racing. I heard people say they had done 1000m extra!

Next it was our turn and I was rather hoping for 1000m extra, it might play to my favour. The water was warm-ish and the threatened compulsion to wear gloves, booties and neoprene hat did not materialise. This suited me as I prefer to swim without when I can. It also meant I could change quickly into shoes that I had waiting ready to pull on over my Gococo socks as I left the water.

As we started, my breathing felt laboured and I had to work hard to get in a rhythm. The swim played out as it often does. A front group got away, there was a gap, then there was me passing people on lap 2 until the gaps got too big. Apparently I was 13th out the water, but I was disappointed with my time. I’ve been working a lot on my stroke and being more consistent in training but it doesn’t seem to be paying off yet.

On the other hand, I had a storming transition. 5th overall. Message me if you want tips for next year!!

Fast T1!

Out on the bike and after some kerfuffle with my watch settings (it now thought I was running, but I couldn’t change that), I was off. The course was hilly and I felt like a snail, but not many guys were passing me. I knew at least two girls were in front as I had seen them in transition. I was right not to worry about my gears for the climbs, I got up them all without too much trauma. However, I bottled some of the descents, and Strava plainly shows where the girl behind rapidly made up time on me …

As the bike went on, I remembered to admire the scenery and to practice eating and drinking. But then it started raining. I had not realised that my handlebars became like slippery snakes when wet and not wearing gloves. I could either be safely on the tribars but with no ability to brake, or clinging to the outside bars (bull horns) with a death grip, as my hands slithered and slid. Lesson learnt.

Two girls flew past but I tried to stay calm even as I trundled along behind a tractor. We re-joined the main road and the traffic had got heavier since the morning. After a couple of close passes I made myself ride further out in the lane, trying to hold my nerve.

Overall this was a frustrating ride as my time was well down on my target. This despite a lot of extra biking since the race in Tranent taught me I needed to do some work in this area. I’m still unclear whether this is just technical (in)competence on the TT bike or also fitness coming into play. I lost a 6 minute lead to one of the girls behind me!

Bike to run

Anyway, it was time to run. I left transition just after one of the girls who overtook me. She was in sight for a few km, but was gradually pulling away. Another obviously did not intend to finish and had turned earlier. It was an out and back course, so it was easy to check positions. Emma Lamont, leading lady, was about 3km ahead of me! Then the next two girls fairly close to each other, but with a good gap to me. Round I turned, who was behind me? No-one for a long way, so it was a matter of pride and personal satisfaction to keep pushing on.

My watch beeped every km and although my shins were screaming (why? Another thing to sort out before the big day) and my legs and lungs were bursting, the clock does not lie and my splits were holding up nicely. Only dipped on the first and last km, as the route did a few twists and turns to slow us down. I even had enough energy to grunt some encouragement at Izzy and Glen as they passed going the other way,

Final position .. 4th female, 23rd overall. Results here. If there had been veteran prizes I’d have been first in that class, but there weren’t!! It was a good race, decent course and well organised. I wish my swim and bike had been better, but I still learnt useful things for July. My body was also telling me I had had a good workout as my legs seemed reluctant to hold me up for the rest of the day, even after administering macaroni cheese and chips!!

There’s not much time until Edinburgh 70.3, but somehow we’re squeezing not one, but two, swimrun races on back-to-back weekends before then! Bring on the sunshine, swimming and running.