European Championships, Eilat

European Sprint Triathlon Championships, Eilat, Israel
21st April 2012

Racing in the European Championships in Eilat, Israel was a fantastic event and one I will never forget.  I had qualified for both the standard and sprint event so chose the one I thought I had the best chance of medalling in - in hindsight I think I made the wrong choice but there's nothing like a bit of healthy competition to up your game!  A few weeks before the race Eilat made the local headlines as a rocket had been propelled from Egypt causing a panic-wave.  I had no idea how much conflict Israel had been in and part of the race course was actually so close to the Kingdom of Jordan that our run section had a sign stating‘Danger Mines’.

My race was on Saturday morning and I had opted (after much debate) to wear a wetsuit - a new one that I had only practiced swimming in at the local pool just a few days before!  Standing in a line across the beach we all stared out to the red buoys that marked half way and some loud drum music was played (that really got your heart racing), the hooter was sounded and I sprinted into the sea as if my life depended on it.

I got into a good rhythm pretty early on and was waiting to be hit or kicked or swum over....but I wasn't.  I was drafting off the hip of the girl next to me and was waiting to drop onto her feet and then eventually lose her.....but I didn't.  I couldn't believe it.  I kept breathing to my right and could only really see the girl next to me; then when we reached the buoys and merged with a group that had been to my left I realised I was right up there in the mix.  The way back to shore was hard to sight and I eventually did just lose the girl I was drafting off but I kept telling myself how well I was doing. 

                                                 

When I got out the water and saw my Mum nearly collapse in disbelief I knew I had swum well. I could see a GB girl in my age group just 2 positions ahead, shortly behind the french girl that had beaten me in Pontevedra the year before.  I tried really hard to attack the long run to T1 to make every second count.

I started the bike in 13th overall and couldn't believe how high up I was.  The support on the bike leg was amazing as you left T1 and I put my head down and just did what I do best....pedalled.  It was an out and back course along a dual carriage way.  The way out was into a fierce headwind with a few uphills and long drags....and I loved it.  By the time I got to the half-way turn around point I had caught 7 girls and was closing on the others.  The way back in was much easier with a wind-assisted gradual downhill but for some reason the girls I was closing on were now nowhere in sight.  Unfortunately, the last 10k of the bike leg proved a bit of a leveller and as someone who relishes difficult bike courses this didn't play to my strengths.  I didn't catch anyone on the way back in; if anything I think I lost concentration because I sort of knew if I didn't catch them on the bike, I wouldn't catch them on the run.  That said, I was pleased with a solid ride and started the run in 4th in my age group and 6th place overall.

I ran so hard out of T1 that anyone would have thought it was a 100m dash! I was determined to go all out and not leave anything at the line.  A 2 lap course with a few twists and turns over sand, paths and trails meant you could see the girls who were ahead of you coming back, and those who were behind you who you wanted to make sure didn't catch you.  At this time I didn't realise there was a Cypriot girl ahead of me and thought I was coming third in my age group.  My thoughts altered between "oh my god, I'm going to get a medal, I'm going to get a medal" to "oww, my feet are hot, they need to stop running, they're so hot!" Half way into the first lap another girl in my age group overtook me.  And then another girl in the next age group up.  Losing 2 places in quick succession really made me think I was going backwards.  I knew now for sure that the medal I had wanted so much wasn't meant to be this time, but unlike other races, I found a strength to push on telling myself that every place counted and I wanted to finish as high up as I could.

It wasn't a particularly good run split for me but considering I had really attacked the swim and bike, I guess something had to give (well, for now anyway!).  Crossing the line I knew I had tried my absolute best.....and that is really, all you can do.  I finished 5th in my age group, but (and more impressively) 8th overall out of all the women's age groups.  My category was in fact so strong that I would have come higher up if I was a man!!! It was such an honour to be racing against the very best in Europe and slowly but surely, I'm creeping my way up the international age group rankings with an 11th, 9th, 7th and now a 5th.  Could it be that elusive podium place next???

After the race it was all about celebrations! There was lots of partying, lots of exploring and lots of putting my feet up and doing absolutely nothing at all (which made a nice change!).  I dived with dolphins, floated on the dead sea and met some incredibly lovely people.  Now it's all over it feels really surreal....especially as it's only April and so still the very start of the season.  What am I going to do now? I thought initially.  Simple....train for the next one!

Mum and I (she's my number one fan!)

Tapering

With less than 2 weeks to the European Sprint Championships in Eilat, I've pretty much done the last of my hard training sessions and am now tapering towards the big event.  The funny thing about training is that often I think of a million and one reasons not do to it....but I always do.....but now that I'm not supposed to be over-doing it, I keep thinking "ooh wouldn't it be lovely to go out for a run!"

I'm not one for sitting round twiddling my thumbs so I've rekindled my love of card-making (does that make me sound really old?!) Funnily enough, a few bikes ended up appearing on some of the cards....

Sportive Cycling Time Trials

March & April 2012

I've been really enjoying the cycling sportive time trials recently.  After selling all my clothes on Ebay I am now the proud owner of a Cervelo P2 and feeling much more confident at the TTs.  My position's not perfect and I've still got a lot to learn: I'm always smiling or yapping away at the finish whilst other riders are collapsing around me so it's obvious I'm not pushing myself hard enough.  I've got 3 hilly TTs under my belt this year with a win, a fourth place and a third place.  I'll be looking to build on that next weekend at the Wyre Forest 28.

The Apollo Triathlon

1st April 2012

I had got fixated on doing a warm-up tri before the Europeans at the end of the month but like usual, left everything to the last minute and all the local tris got booked up.  This meant a 3 hour drive to Hull to race in the Apollo Triathlon organised by Toro CSC: a tri with a distance of 400m/24k/5k.  It was to take place in the pictureqsque East Yorkshire Village of Welton.

After the previous two weeks which gave the UK the hottest March in many years, it was something of a shock to the system when we were scraping frost from our windscreens on the morning of the race.  I had one of the later start times so it warmed up a little by then.  The crystal clear blue skies made the scenery of the bike route even more spectacular than usual, not that I took too much notice as I battled it out across the rolling countryside.

The swim was OK, not great.  I was out in around 6:30 although chip timing has me as over 7 minutes including the run into transition.  The bike was hard work, I battled into a strong headwind for most of it.  I was determined not to get caught by the men behind me but I seemed to struggle up the climbs and not be getting anywhere.  I put my head down and was determined not to go in a granny ring and just push my way through.  After the last 2 hard duathlons, the last 5k seemed like a breeze.  My legs felt fresh and I felt strong.  I overtook loads of men which made me think I was running a lot quicker than I actually was.  I crossed the line with too much left and made a mental note for the next race to leave nothing at the line.

Still, it was a good enough performance to win the women's category with over a 9 minute lead on the girl in second place and I finished 14th overall with the men too.  The prizes were a really nice touch; with a commemorative coin for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  A great event and a solid result but it's back to the drawing board now for more training.

The next race organised by Toro Csc is the Athena Triathlon @ David Lloyd, Hull on June 24^th.

Oulton Park Duathlon

25th March 2012

Having just missed out 2 weeks before on a qualifying slot for the GB TEAM to go to the World Championships in Nancy, I rocked up at Oulton Park duathlon ready to show everyone what I was made of.  I felt like I needed to prove a point that I deserved my place in the GB team, and so the expectation I put on myself made me really nervous.  When the gun went off for the start of the race I was that nervous that I bombed it off and clocked 5:30 for the first mile and 5:40 for the second. When the fast pace hit me and I struggled to maintain any sort of pace at all, a whole new wave of panic set in that I had completely ruined my race. My legs were dead! That's when I saw my Mum cheering for me and it reminded me that it didn't matter about position, and it didn't matter what anyone else did, it was my race and I was going to enjoy it. I let the other girls go and did my own thing....and it worked. Coming in off the first run in 3rd in my category, I managed to catch them on the first lap of the bike (with my Cervelo in fully working order after the rear cable snapping the night before!!!), then ran my second run at a quicker pace than my first to win my category by over 4 minutes! I was really chuffed with that.

Dambuster Duathlon

12th March 2012

The Dambuster Duathlon was both The British Championships and a World Qualifier this year so it was no wonder it attracted over 800 athletes!  The standard was phenomenal! I was really nervous for this race as with it being the first one of the season I wasn’t really sure what form I was in.  My aims of the race were to run the first 10k steady, “rip it up” on the bike, finish in the top 4 of my Age Group to make the GB Team, and enjoy it.  I was pleased with my performance in the race and although I just missed out on qualifying, I stuck to my race plan and gave it everything on the day.  Despite being 3 minutes faster than last year (and that was with both runs being made longer & the bike course being very windy), I still missed out on a qualifying slot by 90 seconds but I will have another chance to claim my place in 2 weeks time at the Oulton Park Duathlon.....onwards & upwards!

Wyre Forest 8

12th February 2012


I had entered this race last minute because I was losing heart with my running and needed something to get my mojo back.  I thought a nice 8 mile run around a forest, with beautiful scenery and against a bunch of people I’d never really raced before would do the trick.  But it wasn’t quite the race I was expecting! It was nice to be off road for a change but I probably would have enjoyed it more had I had off road shoes....the yellow racing flats didn’t quite cut it!  The paths that I thought would be nice to run on were either covered by thick snow or black ice and there were also hills! Killer hills!  I’m not exaggerating when I say so many runners were not running up them!

Over 250 people gathered on the start line which was at the bottom of a steep climb.  After the safety warnings, the hooter went and we were off.  I stuck to the side to try and run in the snow rather than on the ice and got into a rhythm quite early on.  It turns out that by the top of the hill, 300m or so from the start, I was third lady, and that’s where I was to stay the whole way round!  I felt brilliant for the first 2 miles going through in 11 minutes!! Now I’ve seen the elevation chart below I know why! After that, I had to work hard.  I struggled to stay on my feet in parts and my left hip, which had hurt ever since a fall in training 2 weeks before started to get aggravated by the twisting and turning.  The ground I lost going up the hills, I made back on the downhill and flats and, at times, was running pretty well.

At the fourth mile marker I dropped back into fourth place, but not for long.  I promised myself I was going to finish in a podium position so within minutes of being overtaken, I got myself back into third place and stayed there.  The finish was a bit exciting.  My legs had gone on the final climb and with multiple girls fighting for the third spot it was a case of who wanted it most.  I managed to hang on!  My time of 61:58 was respectable given the terrain, toughness of the course and the conditions we faced and is a good solid start to the 2012 season.

http://www.rugbyadvertiser.co.uk/sport/latest-sport-video/triathlon_sam_third_in_first_run_of_year_1_3516848