After a night of torrential rain, I woke up at the crack of dawn to beautiful sunshine. A bowl of porridge and a bottle of lucozade later, I felt ready to go!I arrived at Chasewater Resevoir and racked my bike in the transition area, and lay everything out ready for the ch
ange from swim to bike and bike to run! I put on my wet suit and swim hat and headed over to the lake with the rest of the competitors! I was a little nervous as I stepped into the lake...this would be my first race with an open water swim. The pool seemed so much more appealing as I stepped into the cold, murky water. After a bit of a warm up though I soon got used to it. There was a fair bit of hanging around as the marshals got into place and the automatic chip timing system was prepared, but after 5 minutes or so the horn sounded and we were off!
ange from swim to bike and bike to run! I put on my wet suit and swim hat and headed over to the lake with the rest of the competitors! I was a little nervous as I stepped into the lake...this would be my first race with an open water swim. The pool seemed so much more appealing as I stepped into the cold, murky water. After a bit of a warm up though I soon got used to it. There was a fair bit of hanging around as the marshals got into place and the automatic chip timing system was prepared, but after 5 minutes or so the horn sounded and we were off! As I predicted, the first few minutes were quite hectic. People swimming into eachother, hitting eachother over the head etc.. as we headed out to the first buoy. But as the field spread out a bit I was able to get into a rhythm. I finished the swim in 29:28 which I was very pleased with, quicker than the times I had done in training. The adrenaline of the competition must have been kicking in. Then straight into transition, a bit of a battle getting the wetsuit off and then off out onto the 40km bike ride. 
The route was an out and back course, with two loops. Some of the top guys lapped me on the bike course. They looked pretty impressive in their streamlined helmets and very expensive bikes!! I felt good on the bike, and my training around Edinburgh's Holyrood Park came in handy, as most of the 'hills' seemed ok!?! I came through the bike course in 1:36:29.
Then onto the run! During my last triathlon I really felt my legs wobble as I transferred from the bike to the run, but this time they felt much better. It took me a couple of kilometres to get into my stride, but thereafter, I felt strong on the run. It was a flat course, twice around the lake. I could see the girl who'd gone past me on the cycle about 100m a
head of me, so I made it my mission to catch her up. I managed to claw past her with a couple of kilometres to go, which spurred me on for the last part of the race.
head of me, so I made it my mission to catch her up. I managed to claw past her with a couple of kilometres to go, which spurred me on for the last part of the race.I finished the run in 54:25, giving me an overall time of 3:04:08, which I was very pleased with. I really enjoyed my first Olympic distance triathlon, was such a buzz! Was great having my family there watching and cheering me on too, made it so much better! I reckon a sub 3 hours is in me for next time!!
2 comments:
I am SO impressed! You look very professional in your suit. It looks like you had a good time.
Congratulations! It sounds like you ran your own race and did what you set out to do. It is so impressive to see people do this. I bet you had a good sleep after this one :).
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