Category Archives: Adventure Racing
Snowman Triathlon 2013
The new incarnation of this race in Snowdonia is not to be underestimated. By the time I finished, I was exhausted and craving sweets, Pepsi and baked beans.
The water for the 750m swim was on the cold side, but not unbearable. I couldn’t decide where to position myself though. The shoreline on our left jutted out and we had to swim between that and a buoy on our right, before angling left to the next buoy, where we turned right. To the left, and I would get trapped in shallow water against the shore. To the right, and I might get squeezed as we passed the buoys.
I opted for the middle, which was a mistake! The hooter went, we sprinted, I got mangled, shoved, and pushed under water. I nearly panicked but had to hold my nerve. It was all made harder by the fact we were swimming into a strong headwind. There were lots of white horses making the water even rougher than it already was with the flailing arms and legs. As we turned right I was being physically pushed and elbowed. I got a bit fed up and started fighting back, giving a few elbow shoves of my own. It finally got easier after this and I worked on swimming harder.
Get me out of here!
Compared to last year, the bike course had been more than doubled in length to 69km and included some significant hills. We had driven round it the day before, but it didn’t give the same sense of steepness that the legs felt during the race!
The first section was uphill into a headwind. A group of guys came past drafting, but I just tried to ignore them. We were soon on a fast, twisting, almost single lane descent. I was very pleased that no cars tried to come past and I got down safely. The next section was slightly downhill and very fast.
Suddenly two girls came past together, working hard. My competitive urge kicked in and I picked up the pace to stay near them. We turned to go up something described as ‘the wall’ in the briefing notes. I hoped here that my standard road bike compared to their TT bikes might help … but they were strong bikers and halfway up we were still together. I changed gears and heard a funny noise. I glanced down and saw a tough little stick wedged around my rear derailleur. The timing couldn’t be worse! I had to stop, get off, yank it out – and by then they were gone and out of sight. From chatting later to some of the other competitors who also saw them pass, they stayed close for a lot of the ride. In some ways I was glad I wasn’t tempted to tag along and risk falling foul of drafting rules (7m is a big gap). I might also have been too tired to run! On the other hand, I was on my own again and mentally battling to keep my pace.
Hills and high speed!
After a bit of a ‘wobble’ I made sure I ate and drank everything I had on me and it had a good effect. I got up the big long hill past the slate caverns, overtaking a couple of men on the way. Some lovely people in the middle of nowhere were clapping. When I waved I got a fabulous cheer. Most welcome! The descent on the other side was amazingly awesome. I glanced down at my gps a couple of times and saw I was going at over 80km/h! Wowee. A record. 😀
I was feeling good now and fired up the final hill to transition, keeping my average speed well above target.
Setting off on the run I saw Andy, who shouted encouragement at me. We had to run to the top of Moel Siabod and back down again. Climbing the mountain was much harder than last year. I think this was due to the longer, hillier bike. Every time I attempted something faster than a shuffle, my lower back screamed at me to stand up straight – which isn’t helpful when you need to lean into the hill to run! Eventually things got better. The top of the mountain was shrouded in fog and it was blowing a gale. I was cold but didn’t stop to put my jacket on. It did illustrate why there were rules to take full windproof body cover though – which I’m sure many didn’t from what I saw them carrying (or not!).
Just starting the final section
Turning at the top I descended quite well – for me. The killer of this run is the final section. You’re almost back where you started, when you have to take a detour through the forest on a fireroad that demands you run fast. My legs were burning but I was determined to finish hard! In the end, my run time was slower than last year, which I was disappointed about. However, I really had nothing left at the end and felt I couldn’t have done much more. I was 5th female (though funnily, first in my age group as I was beaten by 4 veteran ladies!).
Jane Hansom took a well deserved win with a flying run. A natural fell runner in the making?! Rhian, who was in contention for the series had tummy problems on the bike and decided not to run up a mountain. It must have been a tough decision for her. The two fast cyclists, Rebecca Slack and Suzetta Guerrini took the other podium spots. Results.
I’m tired…
My confidence took a bit of a knock knowing there were a few girls way ahead on the bike. It is usually my best leg of the race. I also thought I might do better with the longer distances. In fact, reviewing the results in context compared to the full field, my bike was good and it was the run which really let me down – as is often the case! I also finished 31st overall, out of 175 (27th fastest bike), which is alright.
Sometimes I find it hard to judge my performance as there are so many variables. I can race and perform well but not place as high because of stronger competition or more depth in the field. Or maybe sometimes I just don’t perform as well as I could. This time, factors could include end of season accumulated fatigue or low motivation.
But in the end, I know I definitely feel ready for a break. Time for a week off work and 4 weeks off racing. 🙂
Post-race relaxation – making marzipan Chelsea buns!
Thanks Andy Kirkland for the photos!
Anglesey Sandman 2013
A strong performance from me, but only good enough for 4th place. I have to remind myself that this still counts as a ‘short’ race! Plus, a little discourse on the importance of how the women’s race is managed in a high profile, televised event …
So I was down in Wales at my dad’s house to do the Sandman race again. Last year I had a terrible time; I was fatigued after 5 days of non-stop racing in the Terrex, I had a sore knee, it was wet, windy and cold, and I got a puncture.
Mostly my aim this year was to have a better time of it :-).
Andy was also racing, and I had promised him that this course truly did suit him. He was targeting it, but managing to stay relatively calm beforehand.
After I had set up transition, the TV crew wanted to do an interview. I duly obliged, and then took the opportunity to speak to them about parity of coverage with the men’s race (it had been almost non-existent for the Slateman earlier in the year). They were sympathetic, but said it was hard to get film of everyone on a limited budget.
Hmm, I’m sure I left my bike here somewhere …
Into the race, and there were two waves. I have no idea how they were split, but there were a mix of men and women in both. We had a long walk down the beach to the start and I almost left it too late. Just a scrambled dip in the sea to get wet and check my goggles before I had to run out to get onto the start line. It was absolute mayhem swimming out to the first buoy and turning left along the shore, but I survived then concentrated on overtaking people. I would need to be much more aggressive to get a good start!
The transition went well and I was soon out biking. It was lovely and warm this year – so no need for an extra top. It was also much less windy, which meant there were far fewer problems with people drafting (cheating). I got mildly annoyed with a couple of men who kept overtaking me after I had overtaken them … but this is fairly normal.
I worked consistently hard, alternating drinking from my two bottles, one with water and one with Torq solution. I got a bit of a shock when the lid flew off one of them! Miraculously, I somehow kept the bottle in my hand, the lid in my teeth and only some of the drink sloshed all over me. I was also regularly chomping on a Clif bar. I had experimented with opening the wrapper, breaking it into bits and putting it in my trisuit pocket under my wetsuit. This would save hassle later in the race. It worked OK, apart from being slightly soggy on the outside!
No girls overtook me, but I didn’t pass any either. I was very pleased to see that the film crew might have taken on board some of what I said earlier. They came past filming me for a bit, then went up the road, presumably to the two women up ahead and the men. They also filmed me as I did my transition to the run, so I tried hard to play it cool 😎 .
The run started off with some fun on a new boardwalk. I was pleased that only a few men overtook me. But it was very hot, and the sun was scorching. How could we be running through woods but not have any shade?! I remembered from last year that it was flat for a while then climbed uphill to cross a road. That’s where the drinks station would be at 7km. I felt quite slow but kept plugging away. I had eaten two gels and was ready for a cup of water at the drinks zone. Only 3km to go, downhill, but this is where it got all sandy!
Finishing off the run
In the end, my run time was much better than last year, but slower than I had hoped. I knew I had worked hard though, as I remember telling one of the marshals that the run was ‘like torture’ and I collapsed onto the floor at the end for a breather. The cameras were there again and the interviewer was pleased with my dramatic finish! The announcer shouted that I was 3rd female. Time for another interview.
But I was keeping my eye on my watch. I knew the second wave had set off 10 minutes behind, and were wearing different coloured numbers. After a few minutes another girl came in with a green number. I was fairly sure that meant she was 3rd and I was 4th. A bit later, they announced that this was the case (at least they didn’t leave it until prize giving this time).
I bumped into the camera crew again and they were disappointed for me. “You were demoted!” they exclaimed. I think now they understood why I was frustrated that the women had been split into two waves.
I was beaten fairly by over 3 minutes. I had a better bike leg and on paper was ahead at the start of the run. Personally, I like the excitement of head-head racing, of knowing where I am in relation to the rest of the field and racing tactically. The psychology of competition helps me produce more than I am ever capable of in training. The best example of this in racing this year was at the Trident Tri in Ripon. I could see the leading and chasing women at every out and back point and remember riding like a crazy woman with fear, thinking I had to get as much of a cushion as I could for the run! It worked.
The organisers here put on a race with a great route and do a good job of attracting all sorts of people from beginners to elite. They are making the sport accessible and many competitors were taking it on as a serious challenge. It is just my opinion that the racing at the front end would be better if they put all the women into one wave. It would also make it much easier for the TV crew to create fair coverage. They now have lots of footage and finishing interviews of places 1, 2, and … 4. This makes it hard for them to put together a good story for the women.
Jane Hansom won, finishing 10th overall and miles ahead of me. Rhian Roxburgh (clear winner at Slateman) was 2nd, and Helen Talbot 3rd. Results. All three will be racing at the Snowman, so I’ll have my work cut out to break my Always Aim High podium duck for the year!
Me before the race. See how sunny it is?!
I didn’t expect Andy to be much slower than me. He started in wave two, so I ran back out along the beach and eventually saw him coming in. I enthusiastically made a loud noise with a clacking hand and cheered him on. He didn’t seem too happy though … oops. I refrained from running next to him and instead let him get ahead a bit, nipped up the sand dunes and met him at the end. He was a wreck. He hadn’t eaten or drunk nearly enough and seemed to have mild heat exhaustion. I sat him down and got him drinks and bits of orange and biscuits. But he was also bitterly disappointed with his race so it took a while for him to recover his usual buoyant mood. Here’s his report. I think I do deserve several gold stars though. I managed to refrain from saying ‘well, I did try to tell you that one bottle of water on the bike and two gels would not be enough’ …. at least, until a few days later! 😀
If your host is on a water meter and has a septic tank, then you can improvise with post-race wetsuit washing!
Thanks to Andy Kirkland for most of the photos.
Gullane Beach Triathlon
A bonus race with a bonus result!
After Craggy Island I had three weeks in my plan to get my calf sorted and get well before the next race. It seemed feasible. At the race, Marie had mentioned she was doing the Gullane Beach Tri, which is almost my most local event, and asked if I was too. I wasn’t, but it made me think maybe I could, and I checked the website. Sold out and too late for the entry list.
I mentioned it to my coach, Scott, then forgot about it. A few days later I got an email.
Turn up on the day early – organiser says you will race.
Sure enough, this is also what the website suggested. Suddenly I was interested again! There was a risk to my calf though … so I waited until my first interval training since the half marathon, to see how it went. I was ‘controlled’ with my efforts, and all was well.
Ten perfectly paced intervals, with a special effort on number 9, just to see if I still could!
Next mission – getting a lift to the start early enough to get on-the-line entry. Marie offered to pick me up at 7 … too late I thought. I could camp the night before – but left work far too late on Friday to get sorted and get the train over. Scott was going the night before to set up the swim course. Friday evening I texted Glen … and got the reply … we can pick you up at 6:30!!
I was (hopefully) going to race!
This coincided with my first full week of feeling well, so on race day I was high as a kite and bouncing off the walls.
A beautiful beach
After a high speed dash along the coast, we got there very early, I got a spot no problem, and a great position in transition at the end of a row. It was chilly, but I was confident it would warm up when the sun came out.
Hey! They’re all following me!
The swim was really tough! I think I always say that, but this time I really mean it :-D. The waves looked tiny from the beach and there was only a bit of a breeze. This was my first ever beach start – we ran into the sea and it was wall to wall bodies. Then we headed into the wind toward the first buoy and I realised how wavy it really was. It made sighting tricky as it was luck whether I got a view of the orange marker, or the side of a wave. It was even harder on the way back as it was quite a long way between the buoys. I was drinking far too much sea water and completely failing to draft, as always! The course was two laps, and we had to run out, round a flagpole and back in again. I was shocked that I could hardly breathe when I launched myself into lap two.
Heading in for more
Blackberry-lined transition run
Still, it was soon done and I was running up the sand dune and along a path back to transition. I was tempted to stop for a few juicy blackberries, but resisted.
The bike course takes in some of the country lanes of East Lothian. I passed teammate Louise, who was the fastest female swimmer. Then I was riding up the hill. I concentrated on keeping my speed up and trying to chase down someone in blue up ahead. He turned out to be a great carrot for me – as he’d get away a bit, I’d re-focus, pull him back a bit – until I finally caught him with just a few km to go.
My favourite bit was overtaking a man on a proper time trial bike with a big disc wheel on lap 2. You can have a fancy bike, but you’ve still got to pedal fast and no free wheeling!!
Transition carnage!
I hadn’t seen any other girls, but didn’t know what my position was until I started the run. This is when some of the marshals told me I was leading! Yay! My plan had been to have a hard swim and bike, and keep it steady on the run, if I could. This would be a good test of my calf without pushing it too hard. So I kept a decent pace, but took time to thank all the very friendly marshals. I was too out of breath to say much though, so little hand waves had to do.
The course was two laps, with an out and back at one end. I saw the other girls behind. Only one looked close enough to catch me. I kept going and was still in the lead as I set off on the out and back again. There was a little loop in some trees at the far end and as I emerged I couldn’t see ‘the girl in black’ going the other way. Uh-oh, I thought, she’s probably closing in and already on that loop! As I approached the last few hundred metres I looked over my shoulder and could see two people in black approaching. Things were no more defined than that! So I picked the pace up and pushed hard to the end. Good job I did, as Megan Mowbray had a storming run and flew in just 7 seconds behind!
You’ve been chicked!
A very exciting finish and a fantastic race for me. Fellow Celtman competitor, Laura Sarkis was third. Full results here. The prize was more than I expected – a £100 voucher for the Tri Centre. The free post race food even included a decent veggie option and I picked up another bottle of speciality beer for Andy.
Lots of the club were out racing and supporting and there was a great atmosphere. Thanks for all the cheers! Whilst we’re on the thanks, Lesley Marshall took some great pictures, Scott always gives good advice, whilst Kirsty works her magic on my legs when I keep abusing them. Finally a special word for Glen and Heili for picking me up so early. Couldn’t have done it without you guys :-).
Craggy Island Off-Road Tri
This triathlon has the best setting and concept of any I’ve done!
When I first planned to do this race, I intended it as a bit of post-Aberfeldy fun, a chance to get back out on my mountain bike and, if I was lucky, maybe my fitness would be enough to carry me through to a championship (Scottish off-road tri) podium.
It turns out I only got two out of three, but I had a great time anyway!
If you’ve seen my Aberfeldy report you’ll know I got ill the week before. Somehow this one just wasn’t letting go and it was still lingering for this race. And no, I don’t really think the racing made it much worse as plenty of people in the office toiled with it for an extended period too!
Coming up in the car from Glasgow, Elizabeth didn’t sound too good either, but she’s a stalwart and brushed it off.
Here’s an idea of what the race is like. You actually swim to an island with no roads, mountain bike around for a while on some proper single track paths as well as wider gravel tracks. Then you have to ‘run’ to the top of the island. I say ‘run’ because I was using my hands to help me up at one point!
I was determined to have a good swim, because Aberfeldy had been so bad. In training the week before we had done a drill where we sprinted in a pack for 50m before easing into race pace. That’s what I did in this race – really went for it for a minute or so then settled down. I had to breathe to the right the whole time because the chop was quite bad. Three quarters of the way over I had a minor panic as I couldn’t see anyone, but it turns out I was 7th out of the water (with 6 men in front), which explains the lack of company! Really pleased with this bit of the race.
Thanks to Bob Millar for the photo
Onto the bike and my friend Caroline was chasing me down right out of transition. When she came past I tried to keep up, but she edged away gradually and then took big leaps away on every technical section. I was actually now in third as the eventual winner had nipped past when I was messing about in transition. My legs weren’t responding enthusiastically to the little uphill digs. I reminded myself that this race wasn’t a target and I was supposed to be here for fun. Then I relaxed and enjoyed the riding a whole lot more! After a while off, I was reminded how mountain biking can really put a smile on my face. The support of the spectators and marshals was great – they cheered and yelled a lot! Even when Marie sped past me on the hardest bit halfway round lap 2 I couldn’t respond, but I didn’t stress.
Thanks to Bob Millar for the photo
The run was not only a test of fitness but also of my dodgy calf, playing up since the half marathon. Luckily it held up fine. I could see Marie as we climbed and I thought I was gaining ground … that is, until the ground went downwards and she ran away! 😀 I just stuck at a good pace, though it was hard to get past slower people from the shorter race, who were now in front.
A reminder of my day
In the end I came 4th. I was a teensy bit disappointed and had all my excuses ready. But to be honest, I was just well and truly beaten and it was great to see friends in positions 2 and 3! Kerry MacPhee was the deserved winner. Results.
We headed to Fort William to stay with Marie for the night, and the next day went mountain biking at the Nevis Range in the drizzle. Marie raced around like an over-excited rabbit, while we tried to keep up. Elizabeth fell out of love with her bike (turned out the frame / suspension was bust!). We enjoyed the company and I headed home satisfied with the weekend :-).
Marie gave me these amazing socks to say thank you for lending her a wetsuit a few weeks ago. Thanks Marie, I love them!
Aberfeldy Middle Distance Triathlon
A Scottish Championship event for which I dragged myself to the start and in which I got a surprise.
This was my main target event for the year. In the run up most things had been going well. I got a pb at my club time trial. I was consistently doing harder swim sessions. Even my running was going OK, except when I slightly pulled a calf muscle ‘practising’ a half marathon.
The race was on Saturday. On Friday 9 days before, I noticed a slight sore throat. I thought nothing of it, though it was still there on Saturday when I went up to Aberfeldy to ride round the bike course. By Sunday I was struck down and barely made it out of the house to get food in. Yes, even when ill I thought the most important thing was to get some food so that I could cook and eat healthily for the rest of the week. How else would I get better?!
Unfortunately, this bug was more like something I’d expect in the first week of January. I got headaches, sore throat, a cough, croaky voice, wheezy, gunk in my chest … hmm … lovely. By Thursday I did feel a bit brighter, though on Friday I felt worse again. By now we were up in the area, sightseeing, but had to abandon plans and go back to the B&B for a lie down. Yikes!
I was determined to race anyway, so I registered and got ready to go. There were some advantages to being ill though.
- I was very rested – no training in the previous 7 days!
- I stopped worrying about my calf
- No energy or enthusiasm to get over-stressed about the race the week before or succumb to negative performance pressure
Race morning began very early. Too early. 5:15am is not my kind of time! We drove the length of Loch Tay to the swim start in Kenmore. By the time I had got kit out of the car, walked half a mile to the transition area and racked my bike, I was short of time. But I needed to go to the toilet and the queue was huge. I waited for a bit then gave up in a panic about getting my timing chip and missing the briefing. I got my chip and found Andy. He insisted I went back to the toilet. He was right, I suffered with tummy craps from at Celtman last year from not going when I needed to and it wouldn’t be good to get that again. Slowly the queue diminished, I went as quick as I could and then raced back down to the start. Andy filled me in on the briefing; “go round those buoys anti-clockwise”. And then I was getting in the water.
Swim start
It wasn’t cold, but it was a bit of a swim out to the start line. After waiting a while the hooter went – some people had barely got in and were a long way off the start! Just like some other races I’ve done this year, it was rough and crowded. I was a bit surprised, as the start line was very long and we were heading all the way over to the other side of the loch. I expected to have more space! After the turn west at the first buoy we were going into the wind. It got choppy and harder to breathe, and still it was crowded. My goggles were nearly knocked off and someone else almost pushed me under.
Swim exit: on the right next to the people walking with my head just out of the water!
On a different day in a more combative frame of my mind, I would have done better on this leg. As it was, I just swam and tried to survive. I could feel I was a long way down the field when I got out. Looking at the results later, this was indeed the case. Times aren’t much to go on as course lengths can be so variable from the quoted distance. In this event, it was definitely short, but my relative position told me I hadn’t had a good day in the water.
Later it turned out neither Andy nor Chris (my two supporters!) had seen me get out and they were having a bit of a panic. The organiser even checked the chip times to confirm I was on my way. On close inspection of Andy’s photos when we got home, we found one with me in it!
I had a slightly slower transition than usual as I ate a banana to keep me going on the long bike. This is the first time I’ve done this length of triathlon so it was a bit of an experiment.
I enjoyed the start of the ride and got up the big hill alright. Everyone was sorting out their positions at this stage so about equal numbers overtook me as I overtook. Over the top of the hill and round the back of Schiehallion (a big mountain!) we were suddenly exposed to the wind. Some very strong gusts made me wobble and almost lose control of the bike. Small twigs were flying off the trees and bits of dust were getting my eyes. I slowed down and took the sharp winding descent rather cautiously.
The effort from the climb induced a minor coughing fit, but as soon as we got to the bottom I knew it was time to get my head down and get my average speed up!
Funny shaped course profile
This section of the race is very long and potentially monotonous. It’s a 35km lap of Loch Rannoch. The road is almost flat. The views consist of trees and water. By now I was riding almost alone. I tried to keep anyone who went past in sight for as long as possible. I also kept looking at my speed. I was consciously trying to keep it at about 34-36km/h. This was taking a lot of concentration as I ‘naturally’ seemed to want to go at about 30km/h! But I knew it was a test to see if I could make my legs hurt like this and still run afterwards. I managed to drink and eat well here too – chomping on some bars every half hour. That liquorice allsports Mule bar was the business!
Over the final bridge into town
At the bottom of the return hill my overall average was 30.7km/h. I knew this would drop as I climbed. From my recce I also knew that even though the hill was steep, it was short! Pleasingly, I overtook quite a few people who appeared out of nowhere in front of me on the climb. But it was still blowing a gale and the going was much tougher than the last time I had been this way. At the top I was down to 29.4km/h – I had time to make up!
And so I descended back towards Aberfeldy at speed. The rain was coming down hard now and felt like needles pinging off my face. I scrunched my eyes up and hoped nothing would jump out in front of me! Coming back into town after a fast tailwind assisted run alongside the river, my average was 30.4km/h on a slightly long course. Before I got ill, I had done ‘dream day’, ‘realistic day’ and ‘bad day’ target times. 30km/h was my ‘bad day’ target time so I was pleased to be over that, at least.
And so it was time for the run. I started stiffly, with tight hip muscles and suddenly noticeably cold and numb feet. I tried to keep a rhythm and an eye on my pace. My new watch came in handy here! It bleeped cheerfully after every mile and slowly I could see the distance add up. Lots of things went through my mind on the run. Like: This road is quite dull and I would rather run up a hill. I should keep my arms high and my feet light. Where are the leading women coming the other way? Is it gel time? Where was that drinks station? Hmm, I wouldn’t fancy a marathon like this. Are girls with numbers 600+ in a relay even if their number isn’t red? Ow, my calf is sore again, but it lasted a while. Maybe this distance on a road isn’t so bad after all. Oh, this run suddenly seems so easy (mile 8). I am dying, can I stop yet (mile 9)?…
The finishing straight
Finally I was back at the road junction where we turned towards town and the end was almost in sight. I had looked over my shoulder a few times and was fairly confident no-one was chasing me down from behind. I still worked hard to the finish. As it turned out, the next girl after me was having a blistering run – so I’m glad I never let up!
In the end, I was disappointed with my swim time, thought the bike was OK and was thoroughly relieved to have survived the run in what for me was a respectable time at an untested distance in a race like this (1:40 – though I measured the route a bit short at 20.3km). My overall time of 5:15 was close to my ‘realistic day’ target.
Waiting at prize giving, I thought I was 5th. So I was very surprised to hear my name being called for a Scottish Championship medal for third! This is because one of the girls I thought was ahead was actually in a relay, and another wasn’t eligible for the champs.
Yay! 🙂 It had definitely been worth taking the risk of racing when not 100% well, even though I felt awful the next day!
If I had had a good run up, I am confident I could have gone a bit quicker. However, the result would have been the same as Eleanor Haresign, Allison Stewart and Jen Stewart are all great athletes and finished in times ranging from 4:41-4:51. Something to aspire to – though first I need to work out how to find 5 minutes on the swim, 15 on the bike and 10 on the run! 😀
One question I had for this year was whether this distance would suit me. In my second year of triathlon I am still working out what I am best at. Well, so far I was definitely better at this than the standard distance and I did quite enjoy it. So there’s a good chance I’ll give it another go.
Next up – another championship race – this time the off-road tri, which I have entered for fun. It will be too short, but we get to swim across to an island devoid of roads for the rest of the race – how cool is that?! One thing is for sure, I will be attacking that swim if nothing else!
Knockburn Standard Distance Tri – Scottish Champs
No pictures … I will keep this race report short and to the point!
I entered on a whim, thinking it would be good race training for Aberfeldy. As it was, I went into it with a dodgy calf after my half marathon / St Mary’s Loch exploits. Being a championship race, most of the fast girls in Scotland had also descended. So my expectations weren’t very high!
Getting there
It was much further away than I imagined when I entered! But the time passed quickly as I chattered away to Jo (also from my club and driving us up there). Most exciting incident was that she had mislaid her cards, so I had to pay for the petrol. Being a non-driver without so much as a single lesson in my life, this felt almost illegal!
Swim
We swam to the start as a warm up, in a small man-made loch. We were all in a single wave, everyone fought for position as we headed for the first buoy, which was quite close to the shore. We squeezed through and then it was round and round for 2.5 laps. I was caught between swimmers at times, but didn’t panic. Fronds of weeds wafted beneath me. My time was OK, but not as good as the previous week.
Bike
Despite it being a course of three laps, it was fun. The roads were very quiet and surfaces were good. I enjoyed riding into the headwind on my tri bars (weird), though I saw people pull away from me on the hill. The descent with a tailwind was fast! I was pleased with an improvement in my average speed.
Run
I was scared of this. Faffed in transition putting my training shoes on (with orthotics inside, rather than my normal race shoes). Plodded out, along a rough track and straight up a road hill. Urgh … what hard work, I was fighting not to walk. It was hot. We got to the drinks station and a loop round the forest – it was about here I started enjoying it a bit more.
Jo caught me up but then had to stop to stretch out a cramp in her hamstrings. We were back on the road and downhill all the way to the finish. Soon we could see the loch inviting us down. I overtook a clubmate who I’d been following all run and then there was just one lap of the loch between me and the finish. My calf was actually sore now, but it was nearly over. I could hear footsteps behind me and they sounded suspiciously female – I didn’t look back but thought it must be Jo. It was, but I held her off by 3 secs as we crossed the line smiling 🙂
Results
I was 8th female. Jo was first female veteran. Penny from our club was first super-vet. Full results here. The race was well organised and had an interesting course. I recommend it. I was just relived to have survived with my calf seemingly no worse than when I started.
Just two weeks to go until Aberfeldy! There I’ll be lining up with Alice, who beat me here by 20 minutes, Eleanor, who took 8 minutes out of me at Trident and Catriona, who just came 3rd in the European 70.3 championships. What illustrious company!
St Mary’s Loch Triathlon
So, I’m still doing pretty well at following ‘the plan’. I had chosen this new standard distance race as prep for Aberfeldy middle distance. It’s well-timed at three weeks before the big one. It’s also organised by Paul McGreal at Durty Events, so I knew it would be fun and scenic! 🙂
Saturday had seen the ‘Durty Tri’ – the off road version of our race at the same location, which I had forgone for more specific training. My friend Marie was competing but had all her kit stolen the day before. Somehow, she managed to get a whole set of everything together (my contribution was the loan of a wetsuit), raced and came second. Another friend of mine, Elizabeth, won – so with mates 1, 2 on the podium on Saturday, I felt anticipation at trying to join them on Sunday!
Although Saturday’s weather forecast looked pretty good, Sunday was dire. Heavy rain all day until 4pm?! At least it wasn’t going to be windy. Andy was doing this race as well. I had persuaded him to do it instead of a more local race, informing him that it would be fun (true), there were lots of people from the club going (true), and the course was really flat and fast (erm …).
Looking at the route profiles and descriptions on Saturday night, I found it wasn’t so flat on the bike – especially with roadworks meaning we had to do two laps of the first bit, which was up and down a moderately sized hill and back! The run was definitely flat, so that was something.
Bike course elevation profile – doesn’t look too hilly to me
My good friend Chris picked us up in his “popemobile”, aka a really practical car for going to races in. Both bikes fit in upright without any need to deconstruct, and the back door opens up like a roof for getting changed under in the rain.
At the race HQ, welly boots were a definite advantage. I practised my smug look as I waded right through all the muddy puddles between the car park (a field) and transition (a different bit of field). I wasn’t so smug at forgetting about the possible midge factor.
After the usual nervousness of getting ready, it was time for briefing. I was waving my arms around and practising dry land swimming, whilst everyone else stood stationary. Straight into the water, and some people were oohing and ahhing about how cold it was. I was thinking it was like a warm bath! There wasn’t much time for more warm up before the hooter went and we were off.
I was determined to put in a decent race effort on the swim. I realised a few races back that I’ve just been cruising the swim and losing valuable time. I’ve also been making more of an effort to attend 5:30am swimming sessions with faster people than me, and didn’t want all that hard work / torture to go to waste!
St Mary’s Loch – scene of the swim and run
© Copyright Andy Stephenson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
One of the GREAT things about this race from my point of view, was that all the women and super-vet males went in wave 1, with everyone else about 10 minutes behind in wave 2. This meant I was near the front of the pack for the swim. I was doing some great drafting as we rounded the first buoy. I tapped someone’s feet and they sped up, but not for long and I soon struck out away from my little group. There were 3 or 4 people in front but I couldn’t bridge the gap and swam the remaining 1.5 laps on my own.
I was delighted with my time of 24:25, which included the run up to transition.
I was in and out quickly (11th fastest overall), even with putting socks on. After over-taking one or two people on the road, Paul shouted to me that I was second ‘girlie’ at the turn :D. The one up at the front looked very fast though. Since we turned around three times, I could check where everyone was. I was confident of a top 3 finish.
Because we were set off first, we also had clear road up at the front. A few of the supervets passed me, but not many. I didn’t have to worry about drafting, or getting caught up with middle-of-the-pack men who like overtaking and then slowing down. Really, did I mention how great having our own wave was?!
Coming back into transition a car was coming the other way up the rough drive. I hesitated. They stopped for me to pass just next to a big puddle. I went into it with a BANG! Yep, immediate burst tube and flat tyre as the water was hiding a big pothole! Luckily it was right in front of the dismount line, so I jumped off and bumped my way back in.
This transition was more clumsy. Although my average bike speed was disappointingly slow (I need to sort that out) I did feel a bit weebly wobbly standing on one foot trying to get my running shoe on. So I must have worked moderately hard. Eventually I was on my way again.
Andy’s lent me his race wheels for the next two races. Do wheels which double the value of the bike make you go double the speed?
Looking at the results, I was 4:40 minutes down on the leading lady at this point. I was close to 8 minutes clear of the next person though – I didn’t know I’d got that far away!
What I hadn’t realised about the run was how technical it would be underfoot. Although it was flat, we were soon off camber on narrow paths, sometimes grassy and sometimes stony and uneven. It also twisted this way and that through the trees.
I had been really up for doing this run fast after my half marathon success the week before. But the first thing I was thinking was how heavy my legs were feeling. Then after a couple of kilometres my calf started hurting. Uh-oh! This was the same thing I’d had at the end of the half marathon, but I had thought nothing of it since then. I carried on and it didn’t worsen, but never went away.
A couple of guys overtook and pulled away. Then there was an open gate through a field and what looked like a trodden path across the grass. But we had been following red and white tape markers. I hesitated. There was a stile to the left of the gate. It had tape all over it. There was an orange arrow pointing across it and away from the field. And there was a Southern Upland Way sign (we were told at briefing the route stayed on this path the whole way). I leapt (slid) over the stile and was in woods – still worried, but then I saw more tape and knew I was right. My adventure racing skills extend beyond reading a map and choosing a route – I’m also good at arrow-spotting of all kinds :-D.
People cheered loudly from a boat out on the loch, which was fun!
As the path joined a fire road, the guys who’d overtaken appeared – they knew they’d gone the wrong way but hadn’t lost a lot of time. To my surprise, the lead lady was also just in front. She had also gone the wrong way, but had perhaps spent longer getting back on track. I slowly, slowly started closing and just made contact as we turned at the 5km point. I paused for a cup of water and to eat a gel and she opened the gap back up. All the way back along the fire road, I was making no ground.
Andy (boyfriend) and Tom (clubmate) both passed going the other way and yelled at me to catch up. It was encouraging, but secretly inside I was feeling tired and heavy and my calf was hurting. I couldn’t up the pace. However, Tom told me later that I looked the more comfortable. We got back onto the rougher, uneven section. I suddenly noticed that the girl in front was less at ease on this section and I was doing better on the little downhill slopes. I decided to capitalise on my off-road experience and go for it. I ran past and held my pace.
I was concerned I had seized an opportunity, but too soon. We still had a way to run. I didn’t dare look back until the next stile, but when I did, she had vanished. I couldn’t believe it. I just needed to keep this up until the finish. Another stile, another look. I was on my own, and the finish was in sight about 800m ahead of me! Wow. I made a final effort, Heili (erstwhile support of Glen and I at the Bowhill duathlons) cheered, and I crossed the line.
After the Slateman finishing order debacle, I wouldn’t believe I had won until someone who knew for sure confirmed it. Anne was on finish line duty, taking our timing dibbers off us. “You’re first lady” she said. Woweee!!!
Much excitement, and I loved climbing on the very high finish podium to collect my silver plate. My first Scottish race win of the year! Even Andy had forgiven me for the hills and my course mis-descriptions as he had fun. Full results here.
Car with both bikes and rain cover, me with welly boots and silver plate!
The only tarnish to the day was my calf – which immediately seized up after I stopped. The last few days have been a cycle of it getting sore when I sit down, easing off when I walk and generally being a pain. At my pre-booked sports massage with Kirsty, she confirmed it was fatigued, very stiff, but not torn or knotted. Next race only a week later and Aberfeldy (the important one) two weeks after that. She said I would risk injury if I did the weekend, but it was my call ….
And the call (after consultation with my coach and Andy and a full consideration of many factors) is that I will race the Scottish Standard distance champs near Aberdeen. This race wasn’t on the plan and was a late decision a few weeks ago. The competition is likely to be stiff and I may have to alter my usual approach to account for my calf. So I have set my expectations accordingly. The non-stop summer racing continues … but gingerly!
Uswim Salford and Dundee Half Marathon
July and are August are busy racing months for me this year! So you get two races for the price of one in this report :-).
A few weekends ago my boyfriend was swimming a 10km open water race. Yes, that’s 10km swimming. I don’t know what had taken over his brain when he decided this was a good idea. After having had to drag him into the water literally kicking and screaming, in just a couple of years he has turned into a swimming fanatic.
Nothing wrong with that, but even I thought 10km was mad. Anyway, he needed a supporter and Uswim were running a 1500m race starting at the same time. So I entered that one on the basis that I could swim, get out and be ready at the feed station when Andy first needed me.
It was a bit stressful getting to the start because it was HOT. And I was desperate for the toilet. And there were queues. And Andy was anxious. But it all sorted itself out and soon I was in Dock 9 at Salford Quays ready to go. I was on holiday after the 2 day adventure race and there was no way there was any room for a wetsuit in the packing, so I was ‘doing it skin’. It was so hot I was quite glad!
Andy racing!
The hooter went and I practiced drafting and swimming hard and sighting. In 27 minutes I was finished (think the course might have been a bit long). 8th female, though also only beaten by 5 men! The results didn’t say who was in a wetsuit or not (wetsuits make you faster due to extra buoyancy).
The feeding and lap counting platform
I threw a T-shirt on and ran round to the floating platform to support Andy. The long course swimmers were doing 10 x 1km laps. For the next 3.5 hours I handed out snacks and drinks and took photos. The bits of sticky iced bun were well received! As was the coconut water. I also took to helping some of the other swimmers and the lap counters on the platform with me. Time passed quite quickly – nipping back for the prize giving for my race and watching the race developing at the sharp end.
The leading male almost lapped second and third, who were having a private battle. The leading female only opened a significant gap after about 7 laps. It was great to be cheering and encouraging people.
As time went on the locals started getting in the way, jumping off bridges and generally messing around. Andy was the last finisher not to be stopped before the end. A superb 3h57! He didn’t seem to understand why he was tired when he got out and the next day. Strange.
Here’s his report.
He made it. “I’m not tired” … yeah, right.
The following week I decided on Tuesday to enter a half marathon on Sunday. It was a bit of a scramble to organise a lift with a club mate and get entered before it sold out, but I was sorted. This race was in preparation for the Aberfeldy middle distance triathlon, where I will have to do a half marathon to finish off. The last time I ran this distance was in 1999, in a race in Germany. Back then I was ‘a runner’, but afterwards I didn’t run for 10 years. I hoped this one wouldn’t have the same effect!
I’m just tucked in on the far left about 3 or 4 people back.
I got picked up early, we drove over, were practically first to arrive and had ages to get ready. Running races are funny … no kit to get sorted! After several trips to the toilet I was ready and waiting near the front. I had read that it could get congested on the initial hill through some woods and I didn’t want to get held up. The people near me were all discussing their target times. I subconsciously took a step back, but trod on someone’s toe and had to stay where I was! In the end, it was fine. We started, I ran.
This was sort of it the whole way round! It’s so long since I have done a running race not requiring the use of a map, or watching footing over uneven ground, or with marked changes in speed. I felt like a metronome as my legs turned over and my arms pumped. At first I wondered if my mile splits might be too quick. But I kept maintaining them – my middle 3 miles were identical speeds, to the second! I drank at drinks stations and ate two gels on the way (keeping hold of my wrappers, unlike some people).
Near the start. Testing gel holders on a race belt for the first time.
I kept thinking, is this even real? I was having a sort of out of body experience. The mile markers kept ticking by. Suddenly I was going up a hill at miles 9-10. Then a downhill mile, which was inexplicably my slowest. Then the final run along the shore with a tailwind for the first time all race.
Actually, I was starting to feel tired now, and my calf was sore. But I was nearly there and kept going. I saw the clock as I approached the line: 1:34 and counting – quick! I can get under 1:35! I also tried to outsprint the two guys near me to much cheering from the marshals and crowds :D. The marshalling and local support had been excellent all the way round.
At the end, I took my shoes off and found big blisters on my poor little toes – oops! But the sun had come out (luckily it had been much cooler than recent days in our heatwave) and Peter (who had brought me there) and I relaxed and waited (and waited) for the prize giving. He had come first male supervet in 1h23 – fast!
I was 10th female in 1:34:44, which I was delighted with. 5 minutes quicker than 14 years ago! There were 300 female competitors. I was 75th overall out of about 750. Results.
Next up: two standard distance triathlons two weekends in a row!
Open Adventure 2 day race – Wales
My adventure started on Wednesday evening with The Packing Challenge. Although I was getting a lift down to Wales, I had a 10km ride to my pick up point and I was catching trains later in the week so I couldn’t sprawl too much. Luckily, by Thursday evening after a hectic day at work, I had a wind-assisted cruise along the coast to meet up with Jon and family. My holiday had started!
All of this …
… into this!
Our location was Trawsfynydd, in North Wales. Friday afternoon was spent with my dad investigating old viaducts, coach roads, Roman roads and an amphitheatre on a hill. Then it was time to set up camp and commence battle with the midges :-).
The race started on Saturday with an early morning briefing and handout of the maps for the day. First of all we had to get to the start line – a 45 minute cycle away, over that old coach road my dad had showed me!
The first race stage was a 2h run. I have got used to racing with Lucy, but today I was on my own. I set off confidently, found the path shortcut that most people missed and then took a sort of invisible path to find my first checkpoint. It wasn’t there! I wasted too much time bashing around in dense forest. I could hear voices just the other side of some thick undergrowth, but couldn’t fight my way through. Eventually, covered in scratches, I gave up and came out of the trees the way I had come, set off up a fire road and … found the control. It was later confirmed that it had been misplaced.
Having fun biking on one of the easier trails!
After that I was more cautious, which slowed me down a bit. The going was tough anyway, with lots of footpaths barely visible on the ground and lots of paths on the ground not on the map. I was careful to use all the clues I could; streams, walls, contours. Things were going OK until near the end, when I crossed a river on an unmapped bridge. I lost more time going the wrong way before I was off again. Running hard now – I had rapidly gone from feeling I had loads of time, to knowing I was likely to be late!
Penalties in this race are harsher than an Open 5. 2 points a minute for 5 minutes, then 5 points a minute for another 5 then it’s straight up to 10 points a minute! I squeezed in just over 5 minutes late = 15 penalties. Not too bad, and some people were caught out much worse.
Hot, tired, but not too midgy at the moment!
I was looking forward to biking, though a bit apprehensive about how hard the navigation might be in the woods. We had an hour’s break to eat, drink and plan some sort of route. It went very quickly and soon it was time to go again. I settled down into the 5h stage and was loving riding my bike! My legs were feeling fantastic and I was whizzing up the hills. I was a bit slow with the map, but there was a lot of detail to read.
We had to get back to the campsite to finish, backtracking the way we had come in earlier that morning. I wanted to leave 40 minutes for this. About an hour before the end I got lost in the forest when a bridleway I was happily bouncing down disappeared. I righted myself eventually and was faced with a choice. Go the other side of the main road and pick up at least one control, or head straight back.
I made the wrong choice! And I knew it as I was slogging slowly up another fire road on the other side of the road. When I eventually passed the start area I only had about 30 minutes left. I scoffed a gel and got ready to ride as hard and as fast as I could. The last haul into the campsite was into a headwind and not entirely flat. My legs were on fire and I skidded into the finish over 13 minutes late. Darn! 75 penalties!
Just follow that footpath sign to get lost in the dark.
Next up was the 1.5h night stage on foot, though we had to wait for it to get dark. I got some route tips from Lucy, who was marshalling as she injured her ankle last week. All that was for nothing though, as I made an elementary mistake at the start. We had to run up a footpath flanked with ‘out of bounds’ areas. I didn’t think in advance how to spot when I came out of that into the open land. I was following other people and not keeping an eye on the map. When they all went through a gap in a wall, I blindly followed.
Although it was soon clear we had gone wrong, I couldn’t work out where exactly I was on the map. It was dark, there were lights everywhere, the midges were biting and I panicked a bit. I backtracked and found team FGS who assuredly said they were on the footpath as they zoomed past. I managed to relocate and from then on doggedly did my own thing, actually used my powerful light and did a little safe loop without futher incident.
Although that went well, I had lost a lot of time and second placed female, Sharon McDonald, was catching up fast! Time for a short sleep and ready for the next day.
Ah, kayaking, a stage that mostly went well, somehow!
We had a 1.5h kayak to start with. I haven’t been in a sit on top by myself before, and it was quite hard work! After the first two controls, I had a good idea how fast I was going, and it wasn’t quick enough to go all the way round the lake. I cut across and had another mini panic when I couldn’t work out what the lump of land in front of me was. I had mis-aimed slightly, but once that was sorted I was on my way again.
There were two solo females in front of me and I was trying to catch them up. I also got a little spurt of energy when two teams passed me – first Mountain Hardwear whooping at me to go faster, then FGS suggesting I get in their slipstream. (I tried and failed!). Rounding a point it was all out for the finish. I actually went faster than expected, came back early for the first time all race, and got a really good score compared to the other solos.
Just like last year, I had come into my own on the kayak leg, which just isn’t right, considering I never normally go kayaking!
Final effort was the 17km trail run. I was really looking forward to this. Not much navigating to mess up, no strategy, just go as fast as possible to the end. It would be a good test of my improved running fitness. I started off in a little group with Sharon, the FGS team and a male pair. We kept changing the lead as we worked our way to the top. Despite slipping in bogs I felt good, except when I went over on my ankle. Ow! But the pain was short lived. Phew.
Going downhill another couple of teams came streaking past. When we got to a long road section, myself and Sharon stopped duelling and ran along chatting instead. We steadily made ground on the teams that had overtaken and were all back together again as we turned off road.
Sharon and I on the trail run, before I overheated
As we splashed through a stream some of the others stopped to wet their heads and necks. I thought, nah, why waste time doing that, I’m keeping going … About 5 minutes later I started to feel very bad. I felt sick. Then I started shivering. Hmmm, since it was about 30 degrees C and we were in direct sun, that wasn’t right! I slowed down and Sharon stopped to ask if I was OK. I wasn’t really. She tried to get me to stop, or sit in the shade, or take a tow off her, but I was being stubborn. I wanted to finish, and finish quickly! We had 3km to go.
Still in full race kit. Sent into a lake on medical grounds: there’s a first for everything!
I tried drinking more and it might have helped a little. Sharon gave up arguing with me and ran on ahead to send the medic. I had had a chance to dip in a couple of streams by the time he met me though, and the route had become a little shadier. I had a tiny revival and made it to the finish line, where I collapsed. For the first time ever, I was sent into the lake on medical grounds suffering from heatstroke! Some time later I seemed to have cooled off to something approaching normal temperature and got out to have a picnic lunch with my dad.
I had kept onto my lead in the female solos (results here), but must say a massive thank you to Sharon who looked after me instead of racing away on the final stage. It was a morale boost to have her with me and if things had got worse I’d have needed help.
Overall, the weekend proved that I am fit and fast, but out of practice with strategy and racing solo! That’s what triathlon training does for you.
Many thanks to all the people who helped transport me to and from the tricky-to-get-to race location. Jon, Andrea, dad, Stu, Ian, my brother – epic logistics!! Also to Open Adventure for a great weekend’s racing with plenty of time to catch up with friends in between stages.
Trident Triathlon
Back when I was making my plans for the year, I looked for a race that I could combine with a family visit in the middle of June. The Trident triathlon was chosen. By my standards, this race was as conventional as it gets. Standard distance. Flat. On road. Easy to get to. Even the website described it as ‘probably the easiest and fastest triathlon you’ll ever do’.
Well, the second part of that claim was certainly true; the first part all depended on how you raced the event!
The race was based at Newby Hall near Ripon. We were allowed to camp in the grounds right next to the start, transition and finish areas. So I arrived with my mum the night before, set up the tent and went to drive round the bike course. I’m glad I did, as it was full of turns and the map was confusing. However, on the ground it was impeccably signed and we had no trouble following it. It was designed to be fast, a time trialler’s dream. I was sort of glad I hadn’t had the energy or time to actually ride round, as it wasn’t a scenic bimble 🙂
On to dinner in Ripon, which was more of a navigational challenge. Round and round the one way system looking for a car park space and accidentally-on-purpose crossing a ford on the way back! We had a fabulous meal in a restaurant where the chef had actually put some thought and creativity into the vegetarian options. It was worth the slightly higher prices – check out Lockwood’s if you’re in the area.
I had time to rehearse the last part of the run and the transition before bed. What the race lacked with a utilitarian bike route, it made up for with its self-proclaimed ‘iconic transition’…
Transition route: from the river up to the house!
OK, so it was a pretty cool transition and I made sure to enjoy it now, in case I wasn’t in the mood for enjoying it the next morning :-D.
I slept alright. A woodpecker woke me up in the morning, tapping away in the trees overhead!
The race start was super early for me. You had to be ready to go and at the briefing by 7.30. Then there was a trip upriver to the start line. I was feeling a bit sick with unnecessary nerves, but the walk helped calm them. We were greeted by a piper in a kilt … woah, wasn’t expecting that in Ripon!
This wasn’t a target race for me, but there were things I wanted to try out and improve on from my last race. I have rated my performance against each objective :-).
Pre race, the week before
Eat well, sleep well: B+
Plenty of fruit, veg and home cooking consumed, slept more than last time but could do better at sticking to that fictional bedtime!
Swim (1300m, 17:33 – don’t forget, it was downhill)
Race, don’t just ‘get in and swim’: B+
I was one of the first in and started swimming around. It wasn’t too cold at all, but the water was very cloudy and you couldn’t see anyone until you literally swam into them. I even did some little efforts, until I decided to go and find a space near the front.
This was the roughtiest, toughtiest swim I have ever done! As soon as the piper piped, people were clawing at my legs, hitting me on the head, swimming right over my body and generally being in very close proximity. I tried to keep to one side of the mass, but we had been instructed to swim in the middle, where there were less overhanging trees and a stronger current. With concentrating on all of this, I admit my effort wasn’t entirely consistent. I did work hard when I remembered though, and even did a little bit of drafting. As usual, I was moving through the group as time went on.
Transition 1 (2:36)
After the iconic transition run, I left on my bike as 5th girl, 14th overall.
Bike (39km, 1:06:26 – my highest average race speed ever, over any distance and including our club 10 mile time trial!)
Nothing new here, just to work hard: A
Transition practice in the camping area!
I quickly caught a few people, including two girls, on the estate road. We soon sorted ourselves out. I was mostly riding on my own, with the occasional guy powering past. This was the sort of course where a time trial bike would have been a definite advantage over my road bike. I even caught myself thinking a pointy bottle with a straw would be useful. There were no real moments where coming off my bars to get my bottle seemed not to disrupt my speed! I almost ran out of gears with my compact as well, but remembered some good advice for this situation, which is to just spin faster :-).
The course had three roundabouts where you turned back on yourself. I could see the gap between me and the next girl in front widening, but I wasn’t making any progress on the ones behind me until perhaps the last 10km. Full of fear about the run, it spurred me on to keep pushing and pushing until the very end.
Transition (44s)
Eat a gel: A
Transition passed uneventfully, I ate my third ever gel and set off on the run with the announcer shouting my name over the loudspeaker. He confirmed that I was currently third placed female. 4th place was only 68 seconds behind! I was now 25th overall.
Run (10km, 43:09)
Run fast. No, faster! A+
My goal might sound daft. But I was so disappointed in my last race that all the extra run training and intensity work I’ve been doing wasn’t reflected in the result, especially in the second half. I knew I could do better!
There were km markers on the course and my splits were giving me a good idea that my pace was OK. Every time I heard footsteps behind I was afraid it was a girl coming to overtake me. On the plus side, not many men were passing anyway.
Finishing effort
End of lap one and I still hadn’t been caught. My mouth was sticky and dry but I didn’t stop for water. I just kept going and going … my split times were telling me I was holding my pace and from about 7km I actually felt quite good. I was duelling with another guy and we kept each other going. A km from the end, I looked over my shoulder and couldn’t see anyone who might catch up. I was able to run the last part fast, but without panic in my stomach!
Chilling in the cool-down pool!
Into the finish chute, happy to have executed my plan, and most of all to have had a respectable run. The next girl was nearly two minutes behind, and I had actually held my position and time over the second half. My pace was very consistent – in fact, I was 30 seconds faster on lap two, which I think some people would say I could have gone faster?!
Years ago, running was my main sport and in the few triathlons I did, was where I excelled. This run gave me encouragement that soon I might race with some confidence again in my ability for the final leg.
Time to jump in ‘the pool’ to relax and cool down :-D.
Post Race
The winner was Eleanor Haresign, racing for Torq Tri Team. She was 8 minutes ahead of me. Wow. We had a chat afterwards and she cheerfully told me she’d be racing Aberfeldy this year (my next target race), so I know who I’ll be seeing disappear into the distance then! Emma Wolff was second. I was 27th overall, out of 141. Full results here.
Podium
The prizes at this race were very generous. Actual cash in an envelope! Even for third, I got £75 and an inner tube :-).
Trying out kit from The Pink Jersey
There was also a £10 voucher for a new ladies run, bike and triathlon gear specialist. They had a stand at the event. They’re called ‘The Pink Jersey‘. I promptly went over and spent my voucher and most of the prize money on shorts (which I needed) and a jersey (which I didn’t, but it looked nice). They had a really good selection and the women running it were friendly and helpful.
This race is very family friendly. As well as everything else, you get free family entry to the hall and gardens with your race number. The advantage of such an early start is that you’ve finished with plenty of the day left.
So my number 1 supporter (mum) and I went and got a good lunch in the café and spent a couple of hours enjoying the extensive gardens. My legs were then ready to give up (so tired, after such a short race!), so we fortified ourselves with tea and cake before heading home.
Oh, I forgot to say, is this the food of champions?!
Planet Byde 