Whitford Point Run


The weather was beautiful for the evening Whitford Point multi-terrain race on Wednesday. Multi-terrain is right. We had soft sand, firm sand, hard sand, flat sand, wavy sand, muddy sand, rocky sand, mussel bed-y sand, dunes, soft mud, hard mud, stone, Tarmac, grass, and gravel. The wind was strong on the beach too so it was an interesting race, as always. Which route to take? Who to run with?

The soreness in my left tibialis posterior muscle was generally just more pain on top of lots of other pain, but it slowed me a bit on some of the downhill sections. I think I paced it quite well, and ran the windy section like a cyclist. The placings were decided by the end of the beach and I almost held the back of the vest ahead of me except for some poor line choices. The beach was fun but hard, and the wooded section was great. I’m still poor on soft sand. Mud I can move through.

The final climb to the finish was a crazy, full on effort and fight with runners at my back and legs weakening and fading by the top of the steep section. A massive effort. I’m sure that hill gets longer. Great fun.

Second V40 and 6th overall. Good running.

1st triathlon over 40

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We had some fantastic weather for the start of the triathlon season here in Wales, so I was glad that I’d entered the Llanelli Sprint Triathlon. It’s only 5 minutes down the road from my house, and on routes that I train on, so it makes a good end to my build phase of training. Hopefully it’ll help get some race speed into my legs, along with the Whitford Point off road race on Wednesday evening and the Gloucester Triathlon on the following Sunday.
The family got up at 5:30 am with me and we were at the race by 6:15. A new family record? Although I’d been spectating at the paratriathlon the day before I’d missed the packet pick up, so registered quickly, put my bike together, tested the gearing and adjusted the brakes (damned fiddly aero tolerances) and got set up in transition. I started in the second wave, which I think was mostly veteran athletes of 40-years-old and older (that’s me this year too). I had plenty of time for a warm up. Getting in the water before the start and moving and feeling the water is crucial for me.

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