TL;DR
Two triathlons on the same day, it was hot.
First round qualifier missed out on final place by 27 seconds.
Quite happy with that, as it was very hot.
| Swim 350m | T1 | Bike 9km | T2 | Run 2.5km | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 | 08:19 | 2:13 | 19:02 | 1:21 | 15:25 | 46:22 |
| Race 2 | 07:42 | 2:36 | 19:03 | 1:06 | 16:05 | 46:34 |
There is still time to sponsor me, if you haven’t already…
Pre race
Wetsuits should have been banned, but they were made optional, as it wasn’t an official BTF race. Not being the strongest swimmer, I opted to swim with a wetsuit, and roughly 20% of the other competitors did as well.
Race One
Got caught well and truly in the washing machine and by the first buoy (~100m) was hypoxic and had to slow. Still managed to hang roughly in the pack of the slower swimmers but didn’t enjoy the swim, very glad to have chosen a wetsuit.
T1
Think I hit stop on my watch instead of the lap button when exiting the water, but realised and corrected.
Not a bad transition, but forgot to put on my race number, which was hanging from my bike, more on that in a minute.
The exit from T1 to the bike had two lines on the tarmac, and not having had time to checkout the exit beforehand almost mounted the bike too soon, along with most of the other competitors!
Bike
Started with a hill, the only hill on the course, but you ride up and over twice on the out and back course, it’s steeper and shorter out of transition. This made mounting the bike… interesting and congested.
Definitely still need practice at clipping in at speed. Or tri shoes 😉
I had not put on my race number at T1 and at the top of the climb out of T1, it tangled in my spokes and I had to stop to unwrap it and put it on properly. Consider wearing under wetsuit?
Rest of the bike went well, need more climbing practice!
T2
Good transition, got a quick word of encouragement from Jenson, who was walking up the transition area as I came in. Straight out onto the run.
Run
The run was hot, really hot. No particular issues with fatigue, but needed the water stations. No heel issues, which had been worrying me.
Got to high-five Lindsey just before the finishing chute.
Job done in 46:22
Post Race
Time for some lunch and a chance to wander around the exhibitions and chat to fellow competitors.
Plenty of freebies, especially the Chobani yoghurts, Alex must have been in heaven!
Only really annoying part of the day was trying to get back into transition to get my wetsuit and equipment ready for the next race, they wouldn’t allow us into transition, for no apparent reason.
When they did actually allow us in, the women we then coming through transition for their final after coming from the bike.
Race Two
Swim
Kept back a bit more at the start, didn’t go hypoxic but still managed to stay within a bit of a group and even overtook a few people in the last 100m.
T1
Double tapped the lap button on my watch this time coming across the timing mat.
Got my right arm stuck in my wetsuit and lost a handful of seconds whilst I had to free it from the elbow.
Bike
A lot hotter this time out on the bike. Got a better start on the mount out of transition, but took a while to get clipped into the cleats. More practice!
T2
Good quick transition, no problems at all, switched watch from bike to wrist strap after dismount and before racking bike. Worked quite well.
Run
Really, getting very hot. On the outbound section of the run, a slight side stitch which went after about half way. Threw the water at the station over my head, and was very thankful for it.
Managed to pick up the tempo for the final 500m or so and had a good strong finish.
Finished only 12 seconds slow than the first attempt at 46:34. Very happy.
One of the competitors who crossed the line shortly after me, passed out on crossing the finishing line.
Data and Graphs
Race 1 TrainingPeaks analysis
Race 2 TrainingPeaks analysis
Race 1 Strava Reports
Race 2 Strava Reports