Posts Tagged ‘triathlon’

Last year, the Evolve Quarter Triathlon was my first of the year due to COVID cancelling or postponing everyone else. This year, it was race 14 in the 2021 WTS (Worfolk Triathlon Series). It’s so good to be racing again!

The swim

Mass starts are back. As mass starts have not been a thing for the past two years, this was the first swim that I was competitive enough to be in the pack on a mass start. It’s annoying. Bodies flying everywhere. An endless stream of athletes unable to sight. No serious incidents, though.

The bike

Pleased with this. Last year, I really struggled to stay down on my aero bars due to back pain that I was hoping I had eliminated with four months of daily stretching. I had not. But after twelve months of daily stretching, things are looking more hopeful.

Also, I was highly incentivised to stay on them as a tailwind helped us on the first half of the circuit and a headwind slowed us down on the second.

The run

Another happy performance. I wanted to take it easy on the run to save my legs for last week. And thanks to a solid bike split, I saw I had 59 minutes to run it in in under three hours. Even so, I took plenty of scalps and nobody overtook me.

The result

Nearly 13 minutes faster than last year and comfortable under three hours. The course was the same as last year: 1,000-metre swim, 47 km bike and 10 km run.

2:48:14

Here are my splits:

The event was very well organised. There was no real queue to get in as all the volunteers kept the whole process moving with check-in, registration, parking, and checking of details and bikes all split into separate sections. We did have to wait until all of the half competitors finished the bike leg to retrieve our biles, but at least we could get our bags and car keys before then.

The Evolve Mixed Team Relay is probably my favourite event of the year. They held the first one in 2019 as a test event to stage one to line up with the Olympics. It was September, getting colder, and it rained all day. But we still loved it. And HPH took ten teams.

COVID delayed both the Olympics and 2020 event but when this year rolled around we were back on. And, as with the 2019 event, we woke up to heavy rain. Luckily it gradually eased off throughout the day and we finished the event in the sunshine.

The effect COVID has had on participation is evident. We only took five teams this year and were still the best-represented club. Despite this, it felt like a small piece of normality: catching up with everyone, racing with the club and having fun.

Our team consisted of TeeJay, myself, Laura and Paul and we named ourselves Paddling Peddling Plodders. The more competitive HPH teams were storming it for most of the race but alas, Wakefield came through in the final run leg to take the victory, leaving us with a still very respectable 2nd and 4th place.

The swim and the bike course remained the same but the run course has switched to the trail loop around the lake. All of these times were taken from my watch so transition times are not going to be mega-accurate as it was when I remembered to press the button. Still, a general trend of getting faster.

Most importantly, I finally made it into the club group photo! The previous two were taken at Castle Howard and World Triathlon Leeds. I was at both of these events but missed out of the photo, so I was not about to let this one happen without me!

Congratulations to Rosie, JP, Leigh and Alison who were the first HPH team home. And to Cara and Sam who were completing their first triathlon.

I’m already looking forward to the mixed team relay next year. It’s a brilliant event for both hardcore triathletes to those who have never done one before, or anyone who like interacting with other human beings.

Outlaw is a full distance triathlon that takes place at the National Water Sports Centre. A 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre cycle and 42.2-kilometre run around the scenic Holme Pierrepont country park and wider Nottingham region. What better way to spend a Sunday?

The swim

The swim takes place in the regatta lake which seems to be some kind of water-based plant nursery. I was swimming quite far out and I was still grabbing handfuls of the stuff at points.

It was long and hard. I had a wee panic attack on the out lap and had to switch to breaststroke to get my breathing under control. Having dealt with that, I allowed myself a quick look at my watch only to discover I was only 36 minutes in! Thankfully, I managed to settle down and the return leg was a little easier.

My intention was to speed T1 up a little (by my standards). I had gone with my tri shorts so that I could wear them for the entire race (previously I had done a full costume change). Somehow, I took longer. It did not help that transition was over 600 metres long: 1,300 athletes were mostly on two rows of racking that stretched along the lakeside. Wrestling with my top, applying sun cream, taking care of my feet and snacking on non-portable foods added up quickly. I did avoid sunburn, though, so probably worth it in the end.

The bike

The bike starts with a beautiful lap of the lake before heading out onto the roads. These were great. They’re not fully closed World Triathlon Leeds. But we did sometimes have a lane coned off, or the roads were quiet, and at almost all of the junctions, they had traffic management stopping cars and giving us priority. I think I only had to stop once at a roundabout and then only for a few seconds. There were a couple of roads where cars were holding me up but it usually kept moving as side roads were closed to stop them from turning.

I was religious with my nutrition and made my way through OTE, Clif, Haribo, Torq gels and several bottles of Lucozade.

The course was fast and flat. Technically, there was one hill in it which briefly maxed out at 11%. But nobody from Yorkshire would describe it as a climb. I spent a lot of time on my aero bars simply because it was more comfortable: the lack of elevation meant I could spin at a reasonably high cadence and protect my lower back.

The discomfort was mostly in my bottom from being sat in the saddle for so long. That and a kind of low-level-pain boredom. Only in full distance can you get to the two-thirds point, 120 kilometres in, and think “only the last little bit to do now” and yet still have two hours of cycling ahead of you. I might need to look at my cleat position, too. It was stressing my plantar fascia and for a nine-kilometre stretch, I unclipped and rode on the flat side of my pedals so I could move more onto the ball of my foot.

I stopped at aid station four just to try and kill the loneliness and take a minute to just not be on the bike anymore before taking on the final leg back to transition. T2 was a much-welcome sight. I took almost as long in T2 as I did in T1 and I have literally no idea how because I can’t really remember it. I didn’t eat anything or change my outfit (other than my shoes) but the time just disappeared.

The run

I walked the first few hundred metres as I ate some crisps and then set off in earnest. Some on-the-run maths suggested that if I ran a 4:17 marathon I could finish in under 13 hours. I had no idea how possible that was. I ran a 4:40 marathon at Yorkshireman but I was on for around 3:40 at Evolve Trio when better rested. I thought if I kept myself roughly in the game we would just see what happened.

What happened was it hurt. A lot. I was somewhere in the 5:30-6:00 range, plus walking the aid stations. I grabbed a High5 energy drink and a slice of orange at each one. My plan was to make it to 20 kilometres before moving onto coke (sweet caffeine) and for once I made it. By that point, I was doing High5 and coke at most of the aid stations as I could feel my calves tightening up.

Around 12 kilometres in my stomach started churning. I found a portapotty but I was so dosed up on Imodium that it didn’t help. I kept running. With it being a two-lap course, I was expecting to spend the first lap being overtaken by faster runners on their way to finishing their second lap. But almost nobody did. Most people were walking. A few were running at a much slower pace than me.

Despite a constant feeling that I was slowing down and that there was no point trying because I would never manage a 4:17 marathon, I kept trying to accept the pain and keep moving in the hope that it would pass. It did not pass but my watch kept saying 6:00 per kilometre and I reached the 32-kilometre mark I at least gained the comfort of “only one more hour of this”.

By this point, I could have potentially done some run-walking. But not much of it and I wanted to allow some time for emergency toilet breaks, the course measuring as longer than 42.2 or any cramp that would force me to slow down. So, I kept pushing knowing that if I got to 40 or 41, the adrenaline would push me through the final 10 minutes.

The finish

They should make the finish chute a kilometre long. A whole day of suffering for a finish that lasts 30 seconds. There were 30 great seconds, though. There was a big crowd cheering me down the line. It is impossible to take it all in. I wish I could freeze that moment in time, or at least remember to pause and walk it, but I was so fatigued, caffeinated and excited that it was difficult to think straight.

You might expect that crossing the finish line is the end of the suffering. But (in my experience) that is not the case in long format racing. If anything, it gets worse. my body stiffens up and it is hard to get up and down. And I just feel ill. It took me two hours to stomach anything and that is a surprisingly quick time frame compared with previous races.

My final time was:

12:50:05

My splits are below. While I am counting this as my fourth full distance triathlon, I compare it to my first in the table below. Both Woolenman and Evolve Trio are more recent but their event format was slightly different so Yorkshireman is the most compatible.

That was good enough for a top-half finish: 502 out of 1053. My run split was the 136th fastest. And nearly 200 athletes took even longer than I did in transition 😂.

What’s next? I’m not sure. I have IRONMAN Copenhagen booked but I have also got everything I wanted out of full distance triathlon so not particularly inclined to do another. Time will tell.

Another excellent COVID-secure event from the Blue Lagooners team. Only myself and Jay racing from Hyde Park Harriers but that is company enough. This was a warm-up for Jay before doing a middle distance aqua bike the day after and a nice relaxed race for me too as we move ever closer to Outlaw.

The swim

It was a staggered start in any order meaning there was a mixture of abilities. I usually avoid the packs but now I’m a more confident faster swimmer I tried to swim into the pack a little more and get involved. This did mean some other swimmers were groping me but nothing serious. and a speedy 16:17.

The bike

I thought this went quite well although the results suggest a lot of people were going faster. I spent plenty of time on the aero bars. and was pretty happy with how I judged my pace. I kept my average moving speed above 31 kph.

The run

I gout of T2 in around 2 minutes despite going for socks and regular laces. I went out too hard on the run but somehow managed to keep it rolling. The sun came out and I began to regret not putting sunscreen on. I finished the run in 20:39, which would have been a 5k PB but the course measured 4.91 km on my watch.

The result

My total time was:

1:19:11

Which was good enough for 41 out of 112 athletes. I am not sure the course was exactly the same the 2019 event but I have put it up for comparison.

I have deliberately sacrificed my T2 to put my faster shoes on but clearly, I have let my T1 slide as well! Everything else looks good, though.

This was a weird race for me. For many people, World Triathlon Leeds is all they think about, and maybe the one triathlon they do that year. For me, coming just a week after my third full distance at Evolve Trio, all I was thinking about was how to survive my first 4-kilometre open water swim. Evolve Trio was mercifully split over the bank holiday weekend but that meant finishing on Monday, recovering on Tuesday, and only thinking about Leeds on Wednesday.

Saturday races

Even though I wasn’t racing on Saturday I braved a 6am start to get down to the mark and cheer people on. My dad and Tim and Andy were in the sprint race from 8 am onwards and my mum and sister were in the GoTri at 10 o’clock. This made for a tough day trying to run around the park to see everyone at various points. Especially when you are pushing a 4-year-old in a buggy!

It was awesome to see everyone finish. We might have to rename it Worfolk Triathlon Leeds after this.

I had been so busy with Evolve Trio and work that I didn’t even have a nutrition plan for the next day but luckily OTE had a stall in the event village that allowed me to stock up on goodies. After that we headed to a friend’s leaving do (he’s moving to Japan) and then a family BBQ, meaning I only got to pack my bags at 8 pm, just before I needed to be in bed for a 5 am start.

The swim

The new COVID arrival times made for a bit of a rush setting up in transition. But I managed to get everything done and down to the swim start in time. This was my first 1,500 metres that I was planning to do entirely in front crawl and for the first time I found myself getting jostled by the pack. I leaned away from but in future, I might try leaning into the maelstrom.

The swim went really well. I clocked in at 33:34, and I would usually be around the 40-minute mark, so around 6 minutes saved there.

The bike

I forgot how much the hills in Leeds get into my back. The first lap saw me put some power down but it was an absolute killer on my lower back. In some ways, it was worse than the 189 kilometres of last weekend. By the second lap, I managed to settle down a little, keep my cadence higher and get down on the aero bars a little more. And, to be honest, just eased off a little as I reminded myself this was technically a “recovery” race. I saved around another six minutes compared to my 2019 time.

The run

Even though I have done Roundhay parkrun a bunch of times, I thought the hill was more of a gentle drag. Then you hit it and it turns out it is a hill. Some gentle pacing help me below 5:00 per kilometre which I was pleased with for a run I didn’t go 100% on. Although the run route a slight elevation gain, compared to the usual drop into the city centre, it clocked in at only 9.5 kilometres, and so I was a couple of minutes ahead of 2019 here, too. Plus I had half the tri club to cheer me on down the finish straight.

The result

It is impossible to do a direct comparison between this year and 2019 but I have included the figures here. Obviously big improvements moving from breaststroke to front crawl. I think my running has come along more than my cycling. My 2019 run was my 10k PB until the Abbey Dash so beating that without going 100% felt like a pretty good result.

All in all, 2:42:52 is a sizable improvement even adjusting for the course being potentially easier. That was good enough for 32 out of 72 athletes, but being in the M35-39 age group, only 5 out of 6. What a stupid age group to be in.

The aftermath

Perhaps the best part of the day was being able to have a sit-down, each as much junk food as I could fit in my stomach and spend time with my fellow tri club members. It has been a lonely 14 months since lockdown came in and so the return of racing as a club is a much welcome addition back into my life.

Keeping the pros in the park was also great for spectating.

Overall, a very enjoyable but tiring weekend. I was pleased to put my feet up on Monday and watch the triathlon on iPlayer.

Evolve Trio is a new event for 2021 run by the Blue Lagooners team. It is designed to be an accessible form of triathlon with the swim, cycle and run split over the bank holiday weekend with one on each day. Additionally, the course is split into four laps and athletes can choose how many laps they do, making the distance standard to full.

The swim

22 of us were on the start line on Saturday for 1-4 laps of the one-kilometre swim course. The swim is not my strong point: I did a four-kilometre swim in the pool before Yorkshireman, as well as a 3.5-kilometre open water swim in which I got cramp, then I did the Yorkshireman itself, which I also cramped and found pretty traumatic.

After that, I decided I would get in the pool and swim four kilometres every week. Then COVID happened and no lake or pool opened for more than an hour. So, my preparation was not where I wanted it to be. However, since the pools opened last month, I have managed to fit in 23 swims including a 10.5-kilometre week as part of the 7in7 challenge.

As a result, I was sure how it was going to go. But it went well! I got around in 1:35:58. That was good enough to pick up the lanterne rouge by 15 seconds. Potentially, I could go faster at Outlaw given the course is 200 metres shorter and there may be less stopping for snacking (may!). 12 of us completed the maximum four laps.

The bike

Sunday brought the bike course. It should have been 1-4 laps of a 45-kilometre loop. However, roadworks added an extra 47.2 kilometres, making it 178.8 kilometres in total. Officially it was sportive rules so it wasn’t cheating when a bunch of us were drafting a tractor. But tractors also go slower than we can cycle. There were other riders for the first hour but after that it was lonely. Thankfully, there were race vehicles on the course and the marshals cheering us on.

Womersley is flat so I was able to get plenty of speed. I went through the first 30 kilometres in under an hour and averaged 29 kph. Part of it was also increased power: at Yorkshireman, I output 153 Watts and averaged 25.3 kph and 156 Watts with an average of 24.4 kph at Woolenman. This time I output 188 Watts so I like to think that had something to do with going an hour faster and finishing in 6:37:46. Seven us of completed the maximum four laps.

The last lap was hard. Despite constant eating, I was still hungry and probably quite dehydrated by then. Or maybe the sunburn was kicking in on the few areas of skin that I missed, despite sun creaming three times. The final time I did while cycling: new skill!

The run

Finally, the run. Getting up at 6am was not my ideal bank holiday but it comes with the territory. The other days started at noon and 11am which gave my stomach time to settle. The early start was harder, though, and my stomach felt uneasy the whole way around. I still managed to eat enough, though and kept a good pace the whole way around.

Because of my sunburn, I decided to run in my Under Armour HeatGear base layers. Luckily, it wasn’t too warm and went between sun and shade most of the morning. I started feeling good in the final two kilometres when my mind settled down and focused on how close the finish was.

I finished the run in 3:38:30, more than an hour ahead of my Yorkshireman time and even further ahead of my Woolenman time. Six of us completed the maximum four laps.

The result

My total time was:

11:52:13

Officially, it was a personal challenge and there were no prizes. But unofficially, that was good enough for third place out of the six of us that completed all four laps of all four disciplines. Which meets my fifth place at Hubble Bubble.

Although it puts me over two-and-a-half hours ahead of previous full distance triathlons they do not directly compare as I was able to rest between each discipline. Also, the swim course was 200 metres longer, the bike course was nine kilometres longer but had much less climbing, and the run course was shorter. Still, it has been a big confidence boost for Outlaw.

I got a different medal for each event and they fit together like a jigsaw.

A big thank you to Bev, Morg and the whole team down at Blue Lagoon for keeping us safe and looking after us for the entire weekend.

Triathlon is back! Tadcaster was the first race of the season for many of us coming just after things started to open up. It was so good to get back to triathlon racing as it feels like 2021 is going to be a full season, albeit with plenty of COVID adjustments in place.

Eight of us from Hyde Park Harriers were racing: Naomi, Graeme, Leigh, JP, Paul, Aron, Carlos and myself. It is a pool-based sprint race with some odd distances: 400-metre swim, 14 km bike and then usually a 7 km trail run. However, due to flooding, it was changed to a road-based run of 5.5 km.

I was very pleased with my performance at every point. I have included my 2019 results but they do not directly compare: transition has moved to further away and te run route was totally different.

The “swim+” time includes the swim plus running to transition. My swim was faster than previous years, and I think under 9 minutes, which is probably a PB. The bike splits can be compared and I was faster there. While the run splits cannot be compared I was dumbstruck to find I had the fastest run split of the eight of us. I think everyone else was having a bad day!

Still, if I can continue to reduce my swim times I could be right in the mix as only Naomi and Carlos set faster bike splits. Now I know people were having bad days there as JP’s FTP is literally nearly 100 Watts higher than mine. In any case, it was just awesome to see everyone and race with them again.

The 7in7 challenge may be over, but you can relive the adventure vis the video below.

When I started this challenge, nobody told me I would have to get up at 6:30 am on a Sunday to go swimming. Is there any higher form of suffering? My arms were heavy and I think this affected my swim stroke was I started to feel pain in my right shoulder towards the end. Luckily, it was the final swim.

Bogdan joined me for the bike course and we headed up into the hills of Wharfedale to take in Harewood, Almscliffe Crag, Stainburn and Leatherley before a cafe stop in Otley to miss some of the rain. The climb back to Leeds was still wet but the sun came back out as we descended back into the city centre.

Finally, Danni joined me for a tour of Meanwood Valley and Headingley to finish the challenge!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the challenge through donating and running and cycling with me. We have now raised over £700 to help Unseen combat modern slavery via the JustGiving page.

Stats

Total time: 23 hours 24 minutes
Distance: 10,650 metres swam, 302 km cycled, 70 kilometres run
Average calories consumed per day: 4,687 kcals

Back in the lake this morning. The temperature had dropped another one and a half degrees and was now down to 11.8. My socks and gloves helped but this time I couldn’t even keep my core body warm. I made it through the first five of six laps but then started to struggle and the water safety team politely but firmly hinted it might be time to get out. I was shivering a lot when I came out and had to stuff my towel in my mouth to stop biting myself.

Under BTF rules, when the water temperature is 11 degrees the maximum swim length is 500 metres. But this is a challenge, not a race, so I decided to use the backup pool swim I had booked for the evening to do another 250 metres, topping the 1,350 metres from the lake up to more than the 1,500-metre target. Tomorrow I am planning to swim in the pool but I have the lake as a backup and if I do end up in the lake, I will be sticking to 500 metres!

The bike was uneventful; an out-and-back to Castleford with a stop for shortbread and brownies on the way. As if that route wasn’t lovely enough already, the little cafe van seems to be there every day.

The run took in several laps of Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve. I ran a strong first three kilometres before running out of energy and dropping down to a walk. This happens a lot when I am fatigued and was a regular feature of GVRAT. Eventually, the blood gets flowing and I can pick the pace up again: I finished with a strong final few kilometres including a 4:18 km at the end.

Swim: Blue Lagoon, 44:57 (plus The Edge, 7:09)
Bike: Castleford out-and-back, 1:30:00
Run: Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, 53:42