Race day……wind and rain…perfect

I arrived at the venue in good time to see a friend Austin and his family before he set off for his Olympic distance race. The weather was wet and cold. And the long run from the lake to the first transition area looked to me like a pain rather than a difficulty.

I was joined by Mark and after registration we set about kitting up and getting the bikes and gear into the transition area. After a brief briefing we climbed into wetsuits and made our way to the swim start. The swim went off in waves and being older I set off in the last wave.

The Swim

It was carnage. The lake was full of silt and within the first few yards my goggles had been dislodged by another competitor and were filling with foul water. It took at least 20 minutes for the filed to arrange themselves into some kind of order and even then the turns ware a real bun fight. The depth of the lake was another issue, in places it is hardly 2 feet deep and so keeping a decent stroke was a real challenge. At every turn the water was churned up to the point where the water went black. Finally after swallowing several mouthfuls I was helped out and made my way up the hill to the transition area. My time was just over 35 mins.

The bike

The weather was still wet with waves of heavier then light rain. In light of this I decided to wear a waterproof top. I cannot stand cycling in the cold. The bike section had been reduced to 50 miles and consisted of 4 loops of the same circuit I wanted to crack this in 3 hours which suggested 45 mins per loop. The circuit was fairly straightforward and comprised of three sections: undulating for the first third but not too bad, a down hill with a head on wind which meant you needed to peddle hard to get anywhere followed by a real bugger of a climb. The remaining section was mostly down hill with some great fast elements a completed in just over the 3 hour mark. I was amazed at how fast some people were going, they seemed to be passing me at 10 mph faster. I have some real work to do in this section.

The run

Oh dear. The run was published at 12 miles but made up of three circuits in and around the gardens of Beaver castle, (however there are various Garmin reports of 13-14 miles). This is where it al went a bit Pete Tong. I wasn’t wearing my Garmin so it is difficult to be clear about my pace but I think that on the final circuit I lost a great deal of energy and speed. The course was fairly hilly and this was draining. According to the results it took me 2:15 which is pretty slow. My total time was just over six hours and I have no idea how long the transitions took.

I finished knackered but proud that I had finished without absolutely crashhing. Mark kindly stayed to see me finish and for that I was very grateful. Plenty of lessons to reflect upon and tomorrow I will make a list of my learning.