Rugby Open Triathlon

This was my second sprint distance Triathlon and I was hoping to see some improvements in my performance since my first Triathlon in Leeds some three weeks ago…

 

Today I was going solo as the official race photographer/manager/chauffer/nutritionist/girlfriend had decided it was high time she didnt get up at 4am and enjoyed a lay in as I slept on the sofa and set the alarm for 3.50. Last time the excitement was such that I couldnt sleep at all – obviously this time I was less excited cos I managed a good two hours sleep.

 

Feeling refreshed after such a long nights sleep and not at all considering going back to bed, I double checked the gear I would need for both transitions, stacked the bike on the back of the car, slotted the Kasabian CD in the stereo and off I went to Rugby !

 

Thankfully the google map this time wasnt overly complicated and even with my terrible sense of direction managed to turn up 45 mins before my allotted swim time of 7.50am which gave me lots of time to find registration , and set up my transition space. I pitched up at the registration desk, paid my £2 for being non -btf and received my race number for the day (22). This was then written on my right arm and left leg for good measure. I attached my race number to my race belt and tried to catch some of the race briefing that was helpfully being given out. From the hall, it was time to get the bike to the transition area, rack it up, and then lay out my kit next to it in the order that I would need it as I changed during the race.  I was ready and made my way to the pool ready to start the race and this is how it went…..

 

Swim  11.54 (PB)

 

Wow ! This is much faster than Leeds even taking the longer run to transition into account, and even more impressive as the the first four lengths were very slow as there were earlier competitors in the pool and one who failed to let me overtake even after me tapping him on the foot as per the rules ( this is you Mr Blue Cap !!) I was Mr Grey Cap ( you are given different colour caps to help the lane counters) and the other chap was Mr Yellow Cap – who apolgised later for holding me up when he clearly didnt too much. The race takes place in an indoor non chlorinated pool which I thought was very warm. I started to get into a good swim groove and thanked my stars that I went swim training yesterday because I think it really paid off. I had the feeling it was a decent time as I gracefully (not) heaved myself out of the pool by my belly at the end of my sixteen lengths and made my way to transition.

 

T1

 

OK – I decided not to put socks on and to bike in bare feet and this saved me a couple of seconds. I think I fiddled about a bit, but all in all a decent enough transition.

 

Cycling 48.55 (PB)

 

Great improvement – the hill training has really paid off and as a result my time was a good 25 minutes faster than Leeds ( albeit today was 3k shorter) and I rode up each of the hills with a little bit more confidence each time. There is so much more I can get from the bike leg and will look to improve with each race. This bike legs heads out onto a flat main road until you turn left and initially hit a bit of a dual carriageway before settling into the A45. If you think of doing this race next year take a look at the course gps on the Rugby triathlon club homepage http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=imaloowrepyuqzlh I hope this will be useful !!

I knew there was a long hill which took you to Barby and this was the challenge I had been looking forward to. As it turns out it was not that brutal and I managed to drop through the gears and negotiate it better than I thought I would. It was literally downhill from Barby and I managed to get some good speed up and even had a slight regret about taking my Tri bars off the bike a few weeks ago ! There is a wicked right bend which is marshalled and I swear without the marshalls I would have gone straight on. Another hill approaches about half the size of the Barby Hill, and this needs some leg work as it is longer and sweeping, however when you reach the brow that is it and you can crack on with the rest of the race knowing that the only inclines are the speed humps you go over ! I unclipped my feet from the Tri shoes far too early and my entry to T2 was slower than I would have liked it to be ! However my name rang out over the tannoy again as I came in from the bike and I though how cool is that !

 

T2 –

I had to put the socks on and had a slight delay getting the shoes on , but T2 was unspectacular…

 

Run – 33.42 (PB)

 

Pre race I had a plan to pace myself against my Garmin watch and run at my faster 10k pace of around 11km per hour hoping to complete the run course in a sub 30 minute time. I dutifully kept my half of the bargain keeping that steady pace going – pity the course didn’t as I am convinced it is nearer 6k than 5k and would be interested to see someones GPS results to confirm or dispense it. the run felt a lot better than Leeds and I was certainly moving quicker. When I got to the end of the first lap I thought I had finished and was shocked to find I had to go again ! The marshalls were brilliant today and we had a few words as I passed them on each lap. I was overtaken and like on the bike leg I overtook someone – crikey that is a first ! I came home in a very good time for me and basked in glory lol ! as again I was namechecked as I crossed the finishing line. I grabbed a banana from the table at the finishing line and headed for the results van !!!! Total time 1.34.31

 

Post race – seeing as Heidi had stayed in bed , I treated myself to a massage for a fiver and had my hamstrings really worked on ! I then took a few pictures and chatted with marshalls and other competitors. The results than confirmed I had done a lot better than Leeds with PB’s in all three disciplines .

 

What a day, and I hope for further improvements on Sep 20th at the Esendex Last Minute Triathlon at Southwell….