Southam sprint triathlon - the final one of the season. A local one to me, which is always well organised by local volunteers and just generally fun to do. It consisted of a 400m pool swim in the newly refurbished leisure centre, then one big 20k loop out into the countryside on the bike - a new route this year with slightly less hills but still testing, and then 5 1k laps on a grassed route around the edges of 2 fields. The week before, having been diagnosed with sinusitis and given a 5 day course of antibiotics, I almost withdrew my entry and even messaged the organisers to see if that would be possible. However, having not had the best performances at my last two races it did really upset me that I might not be able to race the final one in my calendar and try and finish the season with a good all round consistent performance, and ultimately just enjoy myself! Sounds quite petty, but having put so many hours into training, you just want a race to go well! So I thought, a lot can change in 7 days, and so that week I just took it day by day to see how I was then feeling on Saturday. Having then done a successful cycle outside and a pool swim on the Saturday, I made the decision to give Southam a go, with the aim of racing to feel and generally just going out to have fun! I am so pleased that I did... From the word go I felt really good. My tight chest and general fatigue had gone and my legs actually wanted to go! A new PB in the pool, just 2w off a sprint distance bike power PB, and then a course PB on the run! Resulting in the overall ladies win! I had a smile all the way around - even on the run (I usually can find laps a bit boring, but not this time - it seemed to help me break it down into chunks and keep me pushing through). To top the day off, my mum got her first triathlon trophy winning her age group! So proud of her! After Valencia I told myself I never wanted to do a triathlon again... I can safely say this has rekindled my love for them 💖 Triathlon season complete - now for some muddy canicross, cross country fun and maybe some adventure cycles over winter! Hels x
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The European Triathlon Championships – Completed it!!! (Standard distance: 1500m - 38k - 10.2km) One of my all-time goals since starting in multi-sport racing 4 years ago, was to qualify for an international triathlon race. I managed to do that unexpectedly at Box End last year just as they started lifting Covid restrictions and letting social distanced races start back up again. It has then been a bit of a roller coaster to get to the champs race itself! Combined with the uncertainty of it even going ahead due to Covid with my multiple silly injuries it was a gamble as to whether I would even be on the start line! Frustratingly, even with the sacrifices I have made over the last year and hours spent training, I wasn't heading into the race as fit as I would have liked to be due to my inconsistent build up, trying to juggle my social life, injuries, and other commitments (including my wedding!). But I knew I had given it my all and I was just so excited to go out and soak in the atmosphere of an international race and actually get to be abroad surrounded by friends and family for the first time in what feels like ages! Race morning started off fairly normal. Waking up at silly o clock and forcing down premade rice pudding and then heading down to transition in the dark. Arriving at transition we weren't actually allowed to start setting up until half an hour later than we were supposed to as it was flooded! This happened in Ibiza too but fortunately this time they didn't have to completely move transition to another location! What it did mean though was that the flood water had left patches of really slimey slippy residue, so me being me slipped over whilst setting up and bashed my bum (my good bum, not the haematoma side) - so I was then super cautious tip toeing around. After spending what felt like a good half an hour just staring at my stuff thinking I had forgotten something (is it just me who does this!?), we were then called over to the holding pens at the side of the marina and grouped ourselves in our age groups. Due to covid it was a staggered start, so we were set off individually every 3 seconds with a running jump / dive from a 1-2m pontoon. I'm pleased I got to practice jumping off at Eastbourne as otherwise it would have really made me nervous! We jumped in just as the sun was coming up so it was really beautiful, but at the same time quite annoying as you could barely see where you were swimming with the sun so low. It also didn't help that my goggles steamed up and we also didn't have chance to recce the course, so I didn't entirely know where I was meant to be going so I tried to follow the feet in front of me – hoping they were swimming the right way. Despite all of that, it was actually a really enjoyable swim as the water was really warm and the staggered start meant we were all nicely spaced out so didn’t get kicked at all. The run out to transition wasn’t too far, and I had walked through the route when I set up pre-race so thought I knew where I was going… well I was wrong… in my head I was halfway down the second row so in the heat of the moment headed down what I thought was my row. Turns out, this was actually the third row and I had mistaken the first rack as the fence as it had no bikes left on it as it was the speedy earlier men’s wave rack. I then got shouted at by the race official to go back up the row I was in and then come back down mine, rather than ducking under… eugh! As I went to quickly turnaround on the spot, my feet completely slipped from underneath me on the residue of the flood waters (you would have thought I had learnt my lesson from earlier!) and I went straight down onto the concrete floor on my hip and ribs, ending up flat out on my tummy, completed winded. I could have burst into tears. Even the official apologised as I peeled myself off the floor. All I could hear was my mum shouting at me to get up. I was so angry, yet so upset at the same time - why do these things always happen to me! From the official results, I came out of the swim 11th and dropped to 15th with my silly slow transition – grr! Anyway, I managed to get out onto my bike and just reminded myself that this was the fun part and to make the most of being out in the awesome sunshine with the constant cheer of ‘Go GB’ – it is honestly such an amazing experience! My legs felt good so pushed to try and make up the time I lost on the floor in transition and use my anger as a motivator! It was a fairly technical but flat course made up of lots of out and backs along the Valencian roads, so I really tried to corner well and push hard out of the corners and get aero on the straights. It seemed to have worked as I managed to climb back up to 9th position after the bike and get a power PB for Olympic distance bike. Maybe I need to be angry for future races! Out onto the run, which was 3 out and backs alongside the marina, I set off with intent and at my planned pace, but this slowly dwindled. My ribs were sore, so breathing was difficult, and my hip was tight. I tried to run through it, but my pace just got slower and slower. All I could think about was the jug of Sangria I would be enjoying when I finished! The crowds as always though were amazing which really did keep my spirits up – hearing your name being shouted is just so cool! Sadly due to Covid, the finish line didn’t have any crowds so it was slightly surreal being almost silent, but I was soon reunited with my friends and family who had come out to support me when I walked around the corner – sweaty hugs! Overall I finished 16th (15th if you discount a lady who apparently cut the run route short right in-front of where my friends and family were supporting from) – which I guess in an International race against the rest of Europe isn’t too shabby! I am frustrated that I trained so hard to then not be able to perform at my best on the day due to my fall, but to even be at the event was my original goal so to me that’s an achievement in itself – a lifelong dream ticked off! So finally, big shout outs to firstly Clive the most patient husband putting up with the many hours I have spent training in the build up to this race and supporting me throughout; also to my mum, Amy and Marcus who came out to Valencia to support me – I couldn’t have done it without your cheers; all the others from Team GB who shouted my name on course – it really did give me a massive boost; and also Fran my coach who has helped me get me to some sort of race fitness despite my numerous injuries!
Next for me are a couple of local triathlons, then off season to enjoy some downtime and prioritise fun runs with my furry run buddy Ellie 😊 Hels x |
AuthorAn everyday girl with a love of competition (and nut butter) Archives
October 2021
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