Windsor Triathlon 2010 Results

A few months ago Windsor was just a date in the training plan. On the day the race turned into something special. A top 100 result has surprised and inspired me.

I can’t remember when it was that Loz messaged me and persuaded me to enter the Windsor Triathlon 2010 but I do remember thinking I’d treat it purely as a final training session before the Ironman.

This was still only my third triathlon and my first at Olympic distance. I had confidence from the Belvoir middle distance that I could last the course but had unknowns about speed and nutrition.

The one element of Ironman Nice that I’ve not considered as a factor is the early start. This combined with my lack of experience let to me thinking I’d forgotten my bike and run drink. I later found them inside my day bag but at the time I felt panicked. Luckily Loz had a spare bottle for the bike and I could take on water from feed stations during the run.

Tip: Like exams – leave time to double check everything!

At 07:10 I found myself jumping into the Thames and sculling against the current to keep my place on the start line. A competitor entering the water late swam to the start right in front of me and turned just as the horn sounded. I set off quickly but found myself feeling flustered trying to fight the pack and the current. My head just wasn’t in it so I breast stroked for a while to calm myself. For a second I debated swimming to the side and calling it a day but told myself that I must tough it out if I’m to complete the Ironman. By the turn I had settled into the swim and started catching people. The return leg flew by as the current helped me on my way.

Swim time – 1500m – 28.20

Speed in transition was my pre race aim. The day before I bought a tri suit and on the day wore my race number under my wetsuit. I still put on socks and had to content with normal bike shoes but was happy with the time of 2:17 for T1.

I headed out on the bike not quite knowing how I felt after the swim. From the moment I clipped in I made up placed. Within a minute I had overtaken a couple of people who came through T1 quicker than me. This and the sight of more people to overtake spurred me on.

The night before Loz had driven us round the bike course. This proved invaluable as I new where I should push and where I should take on gels. By the time of the first major turn I had overtaken a few nice time trial bikes and the legs felt good. I opted to push as hard as I could on the bike and worry about the run when I got to it.

Entering drift road I heard the distinctive noise of a time trial bike with carbon wheels approaching from behind. A guy in all the kit proceeded to slide past me. I looked up and saw he wasn’t getting away so opted to see if I could get my place back. I kicked and flew past him. He then took me on a downhill but I took him again on the rolling straight. All the time trial riders I’ve seen so far can’t take hills and on the final rise to the dead turn I dropped the guy. On the return leg I had the mental boost of knowing I was nearly home and floored it. I barely looked up and concentrated on the next bike ahead as I leapfrogged my way up the road.

I met my match funnily enough with a guy on a bike I recognised on the back of the car we followed in off the motorway on Saturday. Coming off drift road I saw him in the distance and made him my target. Eventually I caught and overtook him but on the last major rise he took me back. There was a good sprint back but I couldn’t quite reach the top speed he could on the downhill and straights. Think I need a time trial bike myself!

Bike – 1:04:22

I flew through transition 2 in 01:17 and started the run feeling a bit uneasy. The adrenaline from the race in on the bike wore off and my feet didn’t feel like carrying my weight. I took the first lap easy, planning to recover and then build over the next two laps. The hill up to the castle was short and nasty but I think it was the 4 dead turns that made the run difficult. I gradually picked up pace and managed a sprint to the finish.

Run – 42:49

Overall time: 2:19:05

Position: 95/1443

Age group position: 15th/84