OK. I did it. My first, let’s just go and do a triathlon.
I had sent my entry in on the weekend before. Then on the day of the race I grabbed a rucksack, put some goggles, shoes and a race belt in and rode to Andover. The plan was to arrive an hour before but a few things happened to change that and I only arrived 20 minutes before.
Anyway, the swim: I worked hard but not too hard. I eased off on the last two laps when I caught the guy ahead of me. Time was 6:53, so 2 seconds slower than last year.
Bike: I worked really hard on the bike and was pleased how I did. It wasn’t particularly windy or anything. I lost time to people on the up-hills but gained on the flat and downhills. I caught someone just before the finish and decided not to overtake them for the last 500m or so. I was 5 second slower than last year.
T1/T2 were fine: In aggregate, I was 4 seconds slower than last year.
Run: I pushed hard almost all the way around. There was one bit where I felt like being sick and eased off a fraction. I thought I did really well but was 56 seconds slower than last year. Part of it will be that I a bit weigh more than last year. The main bit though is that I have done relatively little running since we moved house in March.
Some after said that she was mesmerised by the pitter-patter of my red shoes on the run – it didn’t stop her overtaking me 4k into the run though.
Any way, I had a great day and it was a very well organised and marshalled race. Riding back was hard work though and I will admit to stopping for an ice lolly on the way home.
Definitely a race I will do again.
OK. So I have just entered that Andover Triathlon. I’ve got a slot at 9:50. They say to be there an hour before. And it’s about 36k away as the bike rides. So that’ll take less than 80 minutes to get there if I take it easy. So I need to leave by 7:30 or so. A lie in then!
So, what do I need to bring with me? Obviously my bike and I’ll ride over in a tri suit.
I also need to bring: goggles, trainers, socks, a number belt, a few gels/bars and my Triathlon England membership. Anything else? The forecast is for cloud in the morning so I will probably bring a jacket to keep me warm and then some money just in case. Easy.
Then I’ll do the race. Not Easy. The plan is:
- go quite hard in the swim
- go hard on the bike
- go very hard on the run
I expect to be slower this year on the bike because I have been doing it a bit less this year.
And for once I might actually see how I do afterwards. Last year, I was 1 minute 32 seconds behind the winner in my age group. If I forget to bring my socks then I might get close to that…
Then it’s 36k back at a nice leisurely pace.
I did the Andover Triathlon today and came third in my age group! Only 5 seconds down on the second placed person.
Not sure of the overall time yet, I think that they said 1:41 when I went to pick up my prize (a free swim at the local lake, which is actually useful to me).
In overview:
- I swam hard but not all out. My left goggle leaked after a bit. I didn’t get any sense of speed because of my hat but I think I slowed a little in the middle bit.
- T1: fine – if only I could get the shoes-on-the-bike business sorted.
- Bike: very windy, with what felt like a headwind for most of the first half of the course. I over took one person at T1 and two people overtook me just before half way. I stayed in sight of them all of the way around, and gained on them in the last 5k (up a steep hill). I think I took it a bit “less hard” (not “too easy”) in a few places. I was also scared sometimes with the wind and having deep rims – I got pushed around quite a lot.
- T2: fine
- Run: very hard, overtook someone in the first 200m. Then a long drag up a hill where I overtook someone else. I felt like I was going to be sick at this stage. Then the next 3k were pretty flat and I think I eased up a fraction because I felt sick again. Then a right turn up a long hill and I saw two people way in the distance. I overtook one who started walking after a bit and gained on the other. A quick downhill, another uphill, turn right and then another hill. I overtook the person I’d been chasing and then another two people. Then it was a sprint to the finish.
I’ve no idea of the splits – hopefully the results will be out tomorrow.
As I was one of the last ones to go, I waited for the prize giving, having never ever been to one before. I wasn’t expecting anything (I’d been talking to someone who did 1:31 and I thought I was closer to 1:50) and I didn’t know what age group I was in. So it was incredible to hear that I got third place in “Veterans 1″.
Even better was for someone to tell me that it looked “effortless” when I ran past her. She obviously didn’t see the pain etched on my face!
… for the start of the Andover Tri. I’ve got a late start, 9:40 and I got here with 1:10 to spare so I have been walking around looking at the pool and stuff.
I woke up aching in lots of unusual places because of yesterday’s wakeboarding. I also felt like I was a bit warmer than usual and that feeling’s not gone away.
Anyway, I guess I’d better get my transition stuff together and get changed.
… so I thought I’d better pay attention to it as I’ve been ignoring it for a while. I had to look up the Andover Tri Club’s website to find out what distance it is. Turns out it is a 440m pool swim, a 30k bike and an 8k run. Hmmmm, I thought the run was shorter when I entered!
So the plan is to get there early-ish, ride around the run course to see what it is like and then get myself ready. The plan then is to swim hard, bike hard and run hard. Pretty simple really. I am not sure how hilly it is – there is a elevation profile on the map but it isn’t hugely helpful for me. I get the impression that it is rolling, with the hilliest stuff coming in at 14k, 21k and 24k.
The run seems to have a bit of a hill after the 1st km, then pretty much downhill/flat until the 4th km before being pretty much uphill after. Who knows though!
So far today I did a 67 min cross-country run with the dogs. They enjoyed it a lot. Oh, I also went wakeboarding. I did a lovely face plant!
Well this week I have been a little poorly. In one night I managed to lose 4lbs! A lot of it has come back now but I was pretty ill. As a result, I did very little training this week. A ride to work and back on Monday before I was ill (it takes longer than I remember!), a 10 minute run on Friday.
Yesterday I did a 4 mile run with Sparkie but he is not as fit as I remember so we walked the last mile or so. Then I took Tango out for a short run and he was fine.
Today is going to be interesting. There should be a family run and two family bike rides – a short one in the morning and a longer one this afternoon. I don’t know what exercise I will do today. I’ll probably take the dogs for a run again, with Tango doing the longer one and Sparkie the shorter one.
I’ve also gone and entered the Andover Triathlon on the 19 July 2009. This is a pool based, 440m swim, 30k bike and 7k run.