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!

European Duathlon

European Duathlon Championships, Holland

21^st April 2013

It’s funny how quickly things turned around for me in March, going from 2 great qualifying races to hospitalisation!  Preparations for this had easily been the worst preparations I’ve ever had (and that’s saying something as the European Duathlon 2011 was 4 weeks after having my tonsils out and the European Triathlon 2012 came off the back of a kidney infection!). 

Without going into all the boring details the 5 weeks leading up to this race went something like this: Sunday 17^th March, won the final qualifier, felt great, loved life. Trained on the Monday. Swam on the Tuesday morning. Felt on top of the world. 4 hours later felt sick. Then felt sicker. Was doubled over in agony with stomach cramps.  Tried to sleep it off.  Chris came home and I couldn’t get up off the floor.  Rushed into hospital.  Admitted for a few nights, on a drip with lots drugs.  Lots of tests.  Came out of hospital on strong antibiotics, 6 a day for 14 days.  Felt sick for the whole 14 days.  Antibiotics finished so tried a run.  Felt weak.  Hurt my calf but was panicking about lack of training so ran through it.  Next day couldn’t walk – calf was agony.  The day after tried another run (silly really!).  Completed the run session but had awful stomach cramps (not to mention the calf).  Went out for dinner with Chris to cheer myself up.  Started crying into my dinner because my stomach was so painful.  Went back into hospital.  Was told by the consultant not to run because it was causing a shift of fluid around my stomach that caused severe cramps.  Obviously wasn’t happy with this answer and thought I would give it a bit of time to settle and try again.  The following week before the race was spent trying to fix my calf and feel strong again. “Mind over matter” I thought!

Me and my number one fan!

Chris had told me to go to the race with no expectations but despite everything I still had the memories of feeling so strong at the qualifiers and the thought that if my body behaved on race day there was no reason why I couldn’t pull a good performance out of the bag.  So off we went! Chris, Mum, my team mate Jacqui, her husband Mark and I, 4 bikes and hundreds of bags into the van and off we went to Horst – and what a lovely place it was! We stayed in Centre Parcs just a few miles from the town centre and it was fab! We had a great time jogging around the paths, cycling on the straightest and flattest roads in the world and whizzing down the water slides and round the splash pool!!!  

Enjoying a drink or two in Horst

We only had a day to enjoy before it was race day.  Unfortunately on race day things just didn’t go my way.  The first 5 minutes of the run were great, it was flat it was fast and it was exciting.  I closed down the German who got a good start and knew some of the others were stronger runners but planned to race my own race....but just past half way of the first lap the most painful stomach cramps came and I had to ease back slightly.  My team mate Jacqui ran alongside me and I thought it would be good to let her drag me round but I quickly slipped further and further behind and felt my eyes welling up because of the pain.  The thought of dropping out has never crossed my mind in a major championship and I hoped the pain would subside but it didn’t.  The bike and second run was just as bad and when I crossed the line in fourth place I felt sick and dizzy and everything around me seemed a blur.  I sat on the bench at the finish feeling very sorry for myself and although I was surrounded by a huge hustle and bustle of excited athletes, it seemed a very lonely place.  At the time I couldn’t see any positives in what I had just done but now on reflection I realise it was a great achievement to battle through. 

Running pain free in the beginning

As I made my way out of the finishing tent I did manage to speak to some lovely athletes afterwards, particularly a girl called Charlotte who told me she had seen some of my previous results and felt inspired and I could have hugged her at that moment for reminding me that I had done well to get to where I am.  I saw Mum and Chris and burst out crying, so silly really – it’s only a race – but it is also accompanied with the frustration of not quite knowing what is wrong and how long it will take to be fixed.  At the finish I also saw Jacqui who had done amazingly to win her Age Group convincingly and added yet another title to her many achievements.  I hope one day to achieve the kind of things that Jacqui has.  I was lucky to have Mark and Jacqui and Chris and Mum at that point to cheer me up and remind me that I hadn’t let anyone down and I hadn’t let myself down.

Proud of Jacqui - European Duathlon Champion

So many people had helped me to prepare for this race – Paul for his no nonsense approach to everything, Russell for taping my calf up in some rather swanky GB tape, Stu and Mark for helping with my running, not to mention my family and friends for all their support.  Thank you to everyone for actually getting me on the start line!

I am glad that I gave it my best shot and I would have rather have gone and not succeeded than stayed at home and wondered “what if”?   So it’s back to the docs tomorrow in search of a proper diagnosis and back to researching and reading up on what I may be suffering from.  My stubbornness maintains that there is a good athlete in me somewhere and when I get to the bottom of these stomach problems I will be a force to be reckoned with......although I’m not entirely sure when that will be!!!

Set backs

Nearly all of my blogs are long winded race reports that analyse data and reflect upon the highs and lows of the race and it's just dawned on me that as I've withdrawn from my first tri of 2013 next week due to illness, it'll be a while before the next blog!  I thought I'd write this little snippet of what goes on in an athlete's mind behind the race scene, particularly my approach to training.

Training is easy when you feel strong.  It's easy when you feel fast.  Motivation is high when you're winning races and when you're hitting targets.  When progression is evident and personal bests are rolling in thick and fast, it's easy to jump onto the bike to clock in the miles that will lead to your next win. Or to jump into your trainers to pound the pavements time and time again.  Confidence breeds confidence. 

But it's not so easy when you're losing.  Or when your form or fitness has gone.  Or when you've had a crash on your bike or an illness or injury.  Clocking up the miles again can seem painstakingly slow.  Paces that you used to do with your eyes closed seem all of a sudden tough again.  Strength has gone, enthusiasm has gone, motivation has gone......

........But that's what makes an athlete.  Not just achieving goals, but achieving them in the face of adversity.  Not just doing well when it feels easy, but doing well when it's not pretty, when it hurts, when it takes something you never thought you had to drag yourself over the finish line or through a training session.  It takes guts and determination to keep going, especially when athletes around you seem effortless.

Everyone suffers set backs, it's how you embrace them and fight back stronger that defines who you are.....and I'm hoping I bounce back stronger than before :-) 

Oulton Park Duathlon

Well what a mad two weeks the last few have been! I was on a real high after Althorp Duathlon but began to feel very ill very quickly and so took some time out to rest and recover. I was absolutely gutted to miss out on the British Duathlon Championships but forfitted my entry in the hope to shake off whatever mystery illness I had.  By the end of the middle of the week I felt 100% better and was back to normal training so entered Oulton Park Duathlon last minute in an attempt to cheer myself up.  I loved the race and was over the moon to win but then 2 days later collapsed in pain and was rushed into hospital.  Never a dull moment here! The doctors and nurses were great and ended up diagnosing an infection that has been spreading  for some time since an old kidney infection so hopefully now I'm properly on the mend.

So where to start over the last 10 days? Well first of all a big well done to everyone who braved the  elements at the British Championships, the weather was horrific.....maybe it wasn't such a bad weekend for me to miss after all? I promised my friend Emily I would big her up in my next blog (Paul B it's your turn next time!). She had a storming performance to be crowned AG 20-24 British Champion! Well done Em! Very well deserved & really proud of you! See more here:

I went to race at Oulton Park the week after.  I had done the race last year and had many fond memories of it; there's no traffic to worry about, no pot holes, it's great for spectators, the road surface is lovely, there's laps (and lots of them) and I love laps (especially for the geeky stats afterwards!), and with it being the final GB Qualification race for the Europeans it was bound to attract another strong field.

My lovely team mate Caroline picked me up at 5:45am and we hit the road to Cheshire (looking a bit like zombies) but were excited by the day ahead.  Chris was coming over later with his cousin Phil who was competing in the standard distance event.  I have got into good habits of setting 3 goals per race (it gives you more chance to meet a goal if you have 3!) The 3 for the day were:

1. To enjoy it
2. To establish a good warm up routine and improve preparations for the race
3. To cycle harder than at Althorp and push myself more on the bike

So about 40 mins before the race Caroline and I started a warm up,  I put my ipod in (Caroline does talk a lot) so that I could switch off a bit and get ready for the race.  Nothing like a bit of Planet Pitbull and Snoop Dogg! We listened to the race briefing and were then good to go!

Early birds setting up in transition

When the gun went off, the speed of some of the men was ridiculous! I've never seen people charge off so fast! I was conscious not to get too caught up in the fast pace too early on so settled into my own rhythm.  Although I was settled in about 25th place overall I was aware that I was the first woman which in one respect is a good thing, but in another you almost feel like a sitting duck waiting to be caught!  The course was only 4.5k but nevertheless I was really pleased with my time of 16:43 and felt strong.

Onto the bike and it was time to execute goal 3.  Chris had told me that just because I feel good and feel like I am going fast, doesn't mean everyone else isn't feeling good and going fast so I tried to concentrate a bit more this week and replicate a bit better that feeling of Time Trialling.  It was really windy in parts, much tougher conditions than last year.  My front wheel kept catching the wind at times and I felt a bit blown about but dug in and tried to stay powerful.  The laps seemed to go really quickly and I was pleased with my bike leg of 35:40 which was almost 3 minutes quicker than the next fastest bike.

Thanks to www.eventphotos.co.uk for this action shot!

I didn't feel quite so fresh on my second run as I did at Althorp; maybe a sign that I had pushed harder on the bike?  I quickly closed down 2 guys that started about 100m ahead of me, they seemed to speed up when I caught them but that was nice to run in a group of 3, each one of us trying to drop the other.  I knew I had a big lead but wanted to keep pushing to the line, like you would in any other race.  The climb on the last bend seemed to massively increase in gradient on the second run and my legs did feel pretty sapped of energy so I was chuffed to run the second run in 16:55, only 12 seconds slower than my first.

A very dramatic newspaper write up!

Winning the race by nearly 5 minutes was a massive bonus.  I had achieved everything I had set out to do and had thoroughly enjoyed the day.  Caroline was not far behind in 4th place which is a great start to her 2013 season especially as she has been plagued with injury this winter. Well done Caz!!!

		RUN	T1	BIKE	T2	RUN	TOTAL
Sam	Anderson	16:43	1:01	35:40	0:50	16:55	1:11:07
Holly	Ferrar	17:21	1:12	38:35	1:03	17:49	1:16:00
Jenni	Muston	17:36	1:38	40:46	1:08	18:21	1:19:27
Caroline	Cresswell	18:33	1:20	40:21	1:12	18:53	1:20:17
Katherine	Bancroft	18:20	1:00	42:11	1:11	19:06	1:21:47

We stayed to watch the standard distance event afterward with some great performances from the girls (Sam, Flic, Christine, Kate).  Phil finished 11th which considering he only took up running at the end of last year was fantastic! Thanks to Extra Mile Events for a fantastic race and for the Timex that I won (what a great prize!!!) - you can enter their events here, also to Event Photos for my free high resolution pic (check out their great pics here) and to all the other spectators, supporters and marshalls.  I even celebrated with a glass of prosseco!  

What's next? Well after spending the last few days in hospital on a drip, first and foremost is rest and recovery!  I may even have some time for none related triathlon things (there are actually quite a lot of hours in the day when you're not training!) Its 4 weeks to Holland so I'll just have to see what I can do between now and then but at least we have booked into Centre Parcs in Holland so if the race is a disaster or my fitness has deserted me we can make the most of the splash pool and slides!  

Althorp Duathlon

This early season duathlon was the perfect way to blast the winter cobwebs away and see where I was at following recent training.  I chose to do the Sprint distance race which consisted of a 5k run, 20k bike and 5k run, all in the beautiful grounds of Althorp.  The race had  initially been scheduled for the 16th February and then postponed due to water logging so it felt like it had been on my mind since forever!!!  It was also an ITU and ETU qualifying race so the standard was pretty high to say the least!!  There were lots of names I didn't recognise on the start list so I had no idea what the strengths of the other girls were but I went into the race planning to stick to my own tactics with 3 goals to meet:

1. To break the course record of 1:21:37

2. To come in the top 3 overall

3. To run strong off the bike with a time as close to my first run as possible

My team mate Jacqui and I were so busy yapping before the race that we almost missed the start (typical) as we were running the opposite way still warming up! With 10 seconds to go we pushed our way to the front and the hooter went and some of the girls just flew off! There are some super speedy runners in duathlon! I stuck to my own plan and let them go.  I felt really strong on the first run.  I knew I was running quick and wanted to push on but also wanted to hold back to keep energy for the rest of the race.  I came in 9th off the first run in 19:14 and tried to get my breath back in T1! 

I was off out on the bike in no time and felt great.  I was whizzing past everyone and quickly caught a few girls back up.  I was overtaking men with their disc wheels (girl power!) and felt pretty smooth.  I think the problem in hindsight is I felt too good.  When I do 10 mile TTs I can really dig in and hurt myself but I never seem to replicate this feeling in triathlons or duathlons, definitely something to work on! More time out on the roads is needed I think! That said I had joint third fastest bike split.  My team mate Jacqui had a great ride with the 2nd fastest bike split and flew past me on the dismount line.  I entered T2 just behind her and was now in sixth place, not sure how far behind the other girls I was.

I was definitely on track to break the 1:21:37 course record; it was now time to try and execute goal 3.  I ran so hard out of T2 that I thought my legs might give up on me part way round the course but they didn't.  I still felt pretty strong and pushed hard right to the end, catching another girl in the final 1k to complete the second 5k in 19:38.  To run within 25 seconds of my first run and to run both 5ks at sub 20 pace was really pleasing.  I finished 4th overall in 1:17:02 and with lots of positives to take away from the race.

Thanks to Chris goes without say, but also to Mark (Jacqui's husband) for all his support and all the Rugby Tri crew for their encouragement and cheering.  What a lovely way to spend a sunny Saturday morning.  So it's back to the drawing board now to get that cycling back on track and to keep working on areas that need improving.  Well done to everyone else who raced at Althorp and further afield.  

Wyre Forest Multi Terrain

I can't believe February is upon us already! This makes me so happy as it means 
a) the days will soon start getting longer
b) it should (possibly, maybe) start warming up and 
c) race season will soon be here! 

Lots of my friends were racing this weekend and enjoyed successes at the Wokingham Half Marathon, Cross Country Leagues, Park Runs etc which were all great to hear!  I too ventured out for a run at the Wyre Forest 8 hoping to improve on last year's 3rd place.

It really isn't my type of race. Hills, mud, swamps and more hills is a long way away from the flat tarmac runs I prefer! But nevertheless it's all good training.  The first 2 miles are fab (because they are down hill!) and I clocked a 6:11 and a 5:52 feeling like a 'real runner' before dramatically slowing!  It was interesting trying to curl your toes up to keep your trainers on so as not to lose them in the mud and after a while of carefully picking my path through the swamps I gave up and just ran hell for leather through the most direct route (isn't it funny when you run through a puddle though and it's much deeper than you think - anyone know that feeling?)

The last climb (as you can see from the above elevation chart) is a killer! Of course this is where my lovely boyfriend and friends chose to stand to cheer me on, I was practically stationary!  It makes such a difference having that support though and my efforts were rewarded with finishing 2nd female, top 20 overall and nearly 3 minutes quicker than last year (despite tougher conditions).  A nice shiny medal, trophy, bottle of bubbly and £30 vouchers were also thrown in for good measure!  My friend Paul also had a fantastic run and Chris's cousin Phil came an impressive 8th in what was his first cross country run in 18 years!

Still smiling? This must be a grimace!

This race comes on the back of a hard block of training.  I've really found my mojo for training again and feel like I'm training with a real purpose this year.  There's things I'd love to achieve this season and I'm working on developing the right mindset to achieve them.  On top of that I'm surrounded by fantastic people and have recently started working and training with other local athletes who too have their own personal goals that with hard work and commitment, are well within reach.  Training is fun and varied but I've come to learn that the only real way to achieve my goals is not through magic pills, secret tips or some mysterious science....it's through consistent training.  So that's what I plan to do through the rest of February....oh except for Althorp Duathlon next Saturday, I might actually taper for that one?

Happy Training & Happy Racing Everyone....