Coventry Sprint

26th May 2013

It's always nice to support local events and it was great to be able to compete in the Coventry Sprint Tri this year.  I lived in Coventry for 10 years and so it was nice to go back (if not a little odd bombing along on the TT bike down Charter Avenue!!!)   I used to swim with Cov Tri a couple of years ago and run with some of them at Northbrook Running Club so it was nice to see them too, and also my friends from Rugby Tri who were out in their masses as they were using this race as their club sprint championships (it was great to see Christa & Ann Marie back competing since popping out the kids too).  On top of that my new team mate Emma from TriKS (also the defending champion), my team mates from MI Racing Greg & Sophie and my other half Chris were all racing!

My old club ~ never forget your roots :-)

The venue was where I always used to do my swim training before work so it was a bit surreal seeing it with such a buzzing atmosphere for the race! Transition seemed a little complicated to me (but that's not saying much as I am easily confused) but on the whole it seemed a good course.  We got there early to cheer the Rugby Triathletes as they were all off together earlier on and there was some really close racing! 

My team mate Sophie racing - she clocked the fastest swim of the day

I hadn't been very well at all in the week after picking up a bug last weekend so training had been none existent and I still wasn't feeling 100% so the aim of the day was just to enjoy it, go hard but not all out, use the opportunity to practice transition, oh.....and chick Captain Keith!  I wasn't off until 10:30am so this gave me plenty of time to chat away (so much so that I almost missed the start) and it also gave me time to cheer Emma and Chris on.  By the time I was off the sun was blazing and the day was gorgeous! The swim was pretty uneventful and I clocked it at 6:03 but chip time says 6:33 by the time I had run out into transition which was 3rd fastest for the girls.  I got loads of cheers in transition which was nice and I was off on the bike fairly smoothly.  

Cycling in Sunny Coventry

The bike was terrible! This is probably because I have no bike handling skills whatsoever.  Jacqui has correctly informed me that I am a 'tester' ie a time triallist that likes out and backs or straight roads where no movement (or thinking) is needed.  This course had a fair few turns (including three right turns!!) and some pretty dodgy road surfaces (including pot holes and drains) so you needed your wits about you to attack this course at speed.  I hit a pothole pretty hard which caused me to get a proper little speed wobble on (I thought I was a gonner), and my left tri bar and pad to drop and a shift in my wheel causing it to rub on the frame. A quick stop to adjust this and try to recompose myself and I was off again (albeit at a steadier pace!).  I didn't feel that good on the bike but that's not surprising given how I've felt this week (and I can't have felt as bad as Greg who stopped for a poo) so it was a nice surprise to see I had clocked the fastest bike split for the women (but only just!)

Me and Emma ~ Team mate & defending Champ

The run was ace! I have run round Coventry for a decade and didn't even know these paths were there! It was also nice to do one big lap instead of smaller laps. The run must have definitely been long as all my 5ks have been sub 20 this year and this went over the 21 minute marker (eeek!) but I felt like I was running well and recorded the fastest female run split by over a minute.  So I was lucky enough to take the win here in 1:06:28, with Emma second and Sophie third....a great result for us all (and the prizes were ace!).   Chris made his debut in his TRiKS trisuit to record a very respectable 1:10:16, I hope he doesn't ever start training or he'll beat me easily!!! I didn't quite manage to beat Captain Keith who was 57 seconds ahead of me so he may have to wait until 2014 to be chicked by me....but one year it will happen :-) !  A big pub lunch with Christa & Ann Marie afterwards followed by tea and biscuits with Boss and Boss's Boss rounded up the perfect Bank Holiday Sunday.  Well done to everyone who raced today and thank you to everyone who marshaled and supported (including our MI Racing team mates who came out to take photos!), it was a great day.

A triathlete in the making!

Nice Tri {St Neots} Sprint Triathlon

750m / 25k bike / 5k run

19th May 2013

Wow! What a great race this was! I got a free entry into this for winning the Grafham Olympic Race last year and was really excited to race some really good competition.  Firstly there was Michelle who won in 2011 and was the course record holder, secondly there was Louise who won it last year and is also racing in Turkey next month and then of course Kerry, Kat & Andrea who are all strong GB Age Group athletes plus any other girls that I hadn't raced before!

The weather was perfect and I was really looking forward to getting underway! I must confess that my enthusiasm quickly faded when I got in the freezing river (it was never 12 degrees!) and it was so muddy and dark that the minute your head was under water you couldn't see a thing! My new goggles were just as useless and were so tight that I couldn't actually open my left eye. Anyway, I knew if I was going to be up there in the race that I needed a good swim. In previous years the 750m swim has taken me 13-14 minutes and has always been a major weakness (and where I have always lost so much time to Michelle in previous races) but I was over the moon to swim a sub 12 and get out of the water in 6th place. Swimming down and then back up the river actually made for a lovely swim and was a lot easier than the 1500m swim in the race last fortnight!

Out of the swim in 6th

T2 was a bit of a nightmare as transition was literally a few strides away from the waters edge so I suddenly found myself next to my bike and hadn't even started taking my wetsuit off. I had a bit of a fight with it before doing quite possibly the slowest mount ever! Out of transition there was a left hand turn to go round the roundabout before coming back on yourself. As I was turning left out of transition I saw Michelle & Louise on the other side of the road so reckoned I was about 40 seconds down. I quickly overtook 2 girls and then worked really hard. I could see Louise in the distance and slowly but surely made more and more ground on her. When I eventually overtook her I must have had that "great you can relax now" sort of moment as she came straight back past me! I didn't let her stay ahead of me for long before closing her down again and then she came back at me. It was really great fun as every time I thought I had dropped her she appeared from nowhere! As we picked off the men one by one, one of the guys went absolutely mad cheering for us that we were 2nd and 3rd female.  It was all rather exciting!

Back into T2 in 3rd

Louise and I came back into transition about 3 seconds apart.  The chip times are slightly inaccurate as I had the fastest bike split of the day ~ not that I'm complaining as it makes my T2 time look awesome (which it wasn't!) As Louise shouted a "well done" to me and ran off into the distance I was still faffing about with the tongue in my trainer trying to pull it up. My feet were like blocks of ice so I couldn't really slam my foot into my trainer and I was still messing about with it when the commentator announced that the second female had  left transition so I gave up on rearranging my shoe and just got on with it. 

I ran really hard out of T2 and someone shouted to me "don't blow up" but I think I was on a mission to make up for lost ground before settling into a rhythm.  Louise was running really well but not quite as possessed as me (and it's always easier chasing someone down) so I caught her quite quickly. I planned to get into a rhythm at that stage but 2 things happened, first of all she slipped on a rock or pothole or seemed to lose her balance and I shouted if she was OK and assumed she would continue behind. Second of all I could now for the first time in a long time see Michelle and wanted to push on for first. 

It is worth pointing out here that after all the disappointment of Holland and all the hospital trips and scans that I was finally running pain free. I was waiting for the cramps or a stitch or something to come....but it never came, and I think I was just so happy to be running like normal that that also spurred me on. I caught Michelle before the end of the first lap which meant I could just enjoy the final lap....which is what I did! The cheering and crowd were amazing. Chris was cheering like it was the Olympic final! The course over bridges and footpaths and by the river was brilliant! I relaxed and carried on picking off the men (and actually enjoyed the run!) to cross the line with a 19:51 5k, finishing 1st female (14th with the men) in 1:13:48, over a minute clear of 2nd place.  All the races I have won before have involved a good swim and bike and hanging on in the run - so there was a great feeling about working on the run to take the win in this race.  Unfortunately Louise didn't actually finish the race which was such a shame as she deserved to be on the podium and was running really well but I spoke to her at the presentations and hopefully with some ice and rest she can get it sorted ready for the Europeans (if you read this Louise it was lovely to meet you!)

Happy happy happy

As soon as I crossed the line Chris and I had to dash back to our B&B to pack and check out but ended up having egg on toast cooked by the lovely Fleur so didn't actually see everyone else finish (If you are ever vising St Neots this place is well worth a stay www.thewhitehouseguesthouse.com). We made it back in time for the presentation and to see some of the final women coming in, by which point it was really quite hot and they had to work pretty hard!  Well done to everyone who raced, including all my tri friends and people who's first triathlon it was.  I have probably raced close to 50 triathlons and duathlons now, both in the UK and abroad and I can honestly hand on heart say, that the Nice Tri Events are some of the best events I have ever taken part in.  I would recommend their races to anyone - whatever ability, the marshals, courses and atmospheres are always fab! To find out more you can go to www.nicetri.co.uk

Luckily for me I won a voucher to another race so I'm sure I'll be back to my third Nice Tri Event soon to see if I can make it 3 wins in a row. Chris and I spent the afternoon exploring Cambridge in the sun, quite possibly my perfect weekend!

Mallorca Olympic

Wow! What a fantastic week we had in Majorca! From riding in the mountains, to a day at the Water Park and a race thrown in for good measure, it was one of the best holidays I have ever been on! It came at just a good time for me after the disappointment of Holland and a real decrease in my training mojo. So off we went with the bikes, trainers and wetsuit for a week (well 6 days) of sun, fun and training.  We went with our lovely (it not slightly mad) friends Caroline, Mark and Jacqui and Mark and also adopted a black and white cat Tom whilst we were there :-)

Our adopted pet for the week ~ Tom

Day 1

I got burnt to a crisp! I had no idea how hot it was! We cycled 55 miles and had an emergency stop off for donuts as we bonked in the heat! A quick 4 mile run off the bike and a dip in the sea before going out for cocktails! Exhausted already!

Emergency donuts

Ready for cocktails

The lovely Caz & Mark

Day 2

Caroline & Mark our lovely friends (or should I say surrogate Mum and Dad!) dropped us off in the mountains somewhere near Pollenca and Chris and I cycled round there. I think this was part of the Mallorca 70.3 race the week after as there were signs everywhere and hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of cyclists. We reckon we overtook 250 riders. What a fantastic day! Later that night I did a run set with Mark just to make sure the legs were officially dead! Jacqui & Mark arrived that afternoon so we all went out for dinner and a catch up.

Cycling in the mountains

I persuaded Caroline to warm up with me for my run set

Day 3

My legs were really feeling it on day 3 but I was determined to get the most out of my week so it was a lovely ride over to Portochristo for the day.  I had to wear arm warmers because my arms were so burnt! In the afternoon Jacqui, Caroline and I went over to the race briefing but got completely lost (they thought it would be a good idea to put me in charge of the information!? Of course I hadn't read it, printed it or brought it with me!) We eventually found it and got out numbers. I was lucky 149. Mark P cooked for us that night as he is a demon of a chef.....I opted for the meatballs!

Exploring the island

Day 4 - RACE DAY!!!

Up at 7am for brekky and race preps. We were virtually staying on the run course of the race so only had to tootle round to the start. I wasn't really nervous for this which was odd. We had all decided that we weren't racing but 'going through the motions' and using it as a practice for Turkey later in the season. It's strange to think at this stage I hadn't done a triathlon for 7 months!! When we turned up to rack our bikes it was all a bit of chaos, the transition wasn't even open, they were still setting up and queues of athletes were rocking up  to wait their turn.  We opted to find a small cafe and set up base whilst the rest of us held our place in the queue.  When transition eventually opened there was carnage as apparently you needed your passport I.D to prove who you were! We had already done this at registration so of course hadn't taken any I.D with us. Everyone was shouting to others and arguing with the organisers. I saw this as a perfect chance for the guys to get some extra run training in so off they sprinted back to the hotel!! It was all rather exciting! This of course had a knock on effect on the start time of the race so we found ourselves sat at the cafe eating cake with no idea what time we were starting. If only all races were this chilled out!

Moments before the race! Go girls!

Sussing out transition

It wasn't long before we were good to go (in fact I think we were still stuffing our faces with cake when we realised we were about to start!) So off we went to the beach for the beach start.  The men were set off for about 5 minutes before us and then it was our turn......nervous!!!! The hooter went, I dived in, someone dived on top of me, I swam, somebody swam on top of me....so there was a bit of argy bargy to say the least! The sea was a little choppy but not too bad, and the course was clearly marked with large buoys so it was just a case of getting the job done.  With all the duathlons swimming had taken a real back seat in training and the 1500m felt like a long way (note to self....get swim fit!) But I was out the water in 24:08 (according to Chris' watch) and 25:09 officially included the run along the beach into T1. I was about 12th female out the water which I was pretty pleased with and I had a sleek T1 to get me out on the bike in the top 10.

On my way to T1

I can honestly say on the bike I have never worked so hard as I did in this race! I knew that there were bound to be some better cyclists up ahead and I was so keen to get in a pack with them as this race was a drafting race with many elites from all over the world. Unfortunately I seemed to be out of T1 completely on my own and battled an uphill and a strong headwind for most of the first part of the bike. The occasional man went past me but the rules had stated women could only draft women so I let them go and carried on plugging away until I eventually caught a German girl called Kris. I sat on her wheel for a bit to recover (I could have hugged her!) and we started working together quite well. Then from out of nowhere an Irish girl zoomed past us and I jumped onto her wheel too feeling quite excited because she seemed super speedy.  She started shouting at Kris and I about through and off but basically saying we should have a 1 second stint at the front and roll off immediately. For anyone who has ever ridden at this intensity it makes your legs BURN!!! But being so inexperienced, and being desperate to keep ahead of any chasing groups, I did as I was told.  She continued to shout at us (I have no idea why) until she told us we were going to bring someone off and rode off in the distance (I was so relieved as my quads were screaming at me!). Kris and I got back into our own system and caught the Irish girl back up anyway so I'm not quite sure what her game plan was!


At the turn around point I saw a large group of about 10-15 closing on us and spotted my team mate Jacqui in that group. I wanted to wave but anyone who knows what my bike handling skills are like would know it's not safe for me to take a hand off the bars! It wasn't long before that group caught us up and Jacqui and another lady in pink from that group formed with us to make a girls group of 5. Although it was lovely to see Jacqui (who started to chat away to me, although I was gasping for air!) I was disappointed that we had got caught and also that we hadn't managed to catch a bigger group ahead to pull us round. That said the way back into transition with Jacqui was fantastic. Drafting racing is so tactical and in hindsight I did far too much work on the front in the beginning but you live and learn!  It's also great for those who love to talk as you can natter away till the cows come home! Back to T2 and I had no idea that we were actually the 2nd pack of girls in off the bike, the 5 of us returning in 5th-9th place!!! Our final positions all came down to the run!

Right in the mix - second pack into T2

Needless to say my legs were shot on the run, both from the cycling effort and from the days leading up to the race but I wanted to race on tired legs and prove that I could still do it. I ran quite well out of T2 and for the first lap but struggled with a stitch (there's always something!)....but I'd take a stitch over my previous stomach pains any day! Jacqui came to run alongside me part way through lap 2 when I was having a real lull. She has been suffering with an injury and wasn't even sure if she would finish the race so it was quite emotional to have the 2 of us battle on together (we were later termed Peg Leg and Stitch!) When Jacqui caught me she could have pushed on and left me but she didn't and I was so incredibly thankful to her for that.  Later on when I felt a bit stronger I think I helped her round too. I think it was that team work that led to us both running a 38:54! We crossed the line hand in hand cheering to the crowds and feeling absolutely elated. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a race so much (well apart from the bike!)! We finished joint 8th place (2nd Brits behind elite Heather Jackson) in a PB of 2:13:03. The race was won by Canadian and Olympian Lauren Groves. Our friend and team mate Caroline had an equally impressive run and finished so strongly to also record a PB of 2:23:18.

Peg Leg & Stitch - on our way to joint 8th place and a 38:54 run

The atmosphere of the whole race was fantastic! Paella dishes, sandwiches, pasties, cakes etc were brought out in their masses at the finishing area. Competitors were still finishing long after us and the crowds stayed to support each and every athlete through!

Day 5

No rest for the wicked! Today we were all up and out to swim in the luxurious 50m outdoor pool before heading off on a 50 mile ride and then Chris and I ran off the bikes too.  Tonight was our last evening with Jacqui and Mark as they were to fly back in the morning. Our friends had made the holiday brilliant!


Day 6

AT LAST!!! We hit the Water Park! And Magalluf! It was worth the wait! Chris and Mark were like little kids on the water slides. Caroline even dared herself to go on the bigger ones! By the time we got back we were absolutely shattered. Although I think Caroline and I still managed to squeeze in a 50 minute run?


Day 7 - Home Time

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun! And what a difference a bit of sun makes! A great week, tons of fun and loads of happy memories!