A couple of weeks ago I raced as an age grouper in the Euro champs in Alanya, Turkey. Since coming back I’ve been busy catching up after taking only a handful of days away from work. I’ve also been mulling over what happened, how I’m performing and what to change.
The venue was pretty good. Warm, hot during the day, with clear Mediterranean to swim in and a fairly flat course. The bike course was pan flat on a poor surface, and the run had a short hill on each of its 4 laps (a good thing). The travelling wasn’t great, but I managed to chill out a bit before racing. It’s a busy time when you’re away racing internationally. There’s a lot to be done with kit, registering, briefings, supporting team mates, watching juniors & elites. It’s great, and it’s a bit like a working triathlon conference. It’s almost all anyone talks about.
On Friday morning the race itself started well. I was pretty relaxed with a plan to follow. Training had gone well, I was faster than last year and I trust in my preparation. I’d even practiced for a diving pontoon start but us age groupers were bunted in and then started from the ropes in the deep water. Fast start, and a group formed to my right, and I had feet nearby to get on to. I held those on the way out, and although I’m a bit in between strokes right now I was moving ok. Unfortunately the guy I was following had a tendency to drift left, and I have a tendency to drift right. I lost his feet a little short of the turn buoy and tried to catch them again as we crossed to the next buoy. I failed, and had some swimmers behind me but settled into my own space heading hard back to shore. Pacing was probably quite good but I haven’t developed the strength endurance to hold this new stroke for a full 1500m yet and my swim time was a little poor. It was a nice swim though. The blue of the water changed as we swam out around 700m away from the shore. Lovely.
Out of the water and another quick, clean transition, and onto the bike. I settled into a rhythm and my pacing plan and felt fine. On the way out the road surface was modern, smooth cobbles followed by crappy tarmac. Turn, turn, repeat times 4. Lapping makes pacing a bit easier, and my pace was fast enough that I didn’t get caught in any groups but spent the hour overtaking (different age group races start at different times and overlap, so there are multiple age group races on the course at any one time). I was overtaken twice I think, and the data showed that I got out of the water in 9th place and had something like the 10th fastest bike. I picked up a couple of places and lost a couple of places, coming off the bike in 9th I think. With the numbering used on the day it was impossible to tell.
A clean exit and another quick transition and I ran out hard with another GB athlete. We started a little too hard so I settled back into my pace, caught him when he tired, and like the bike I spent most of the time overtaking people. I was caught by some really fast guys once or twice, but it was difficult to tell what age group they were in, and what lap they were on. The run was good and hard, and the hill was really tough; a great place to push and drop people. There was water at the top of the hill and after the end of lap turn and 2 bottles per lap over my head kept my heart rate where it was supposed to be. I saw one of the scandinavian pros double bottling every station. Not a bad idea that.
Push, push, push as ever, and I finished in 10th place. I dropped a place in the run somewhere. My finishing effort suggested that my pacing had been good, and the lap timings were really consistent even with increasing effort. A race with both my head and my heart, I think. It was all pretty straightforward, much like this report.
There was a great field racing but 10th is disappointing. I’m really chuffed to get another result logged on the ITU pages but I felt I was lacking a little sparkle. Training had been good, but something is missing. I’m trying a few things but maybe I just need more racing. I broke my clavicle in July last year, and that’s a long time to go without racing.
I’m off to sunny Pembrokeshire this weekend to do one of the toughest “standard” distance triathlons on the circuit. It’s a real mix of pleasure and pain in a beautiful location, but every year I say I’ll skip it next time. It’s a bit too addictive, and I’m very glad that Pembrokeshire Triathlon Club are running it again this year. Zipping up the man suit and pulling up my mojo socks!
The photos were taken by Claire & James Manson. Thanks guys! As always, thanks also to my sponsors for helping me get there. My custom Sunwise Waterloo’s are fantastic in those conditions (bright sun & shade, chucking water on your head, lightweight for running), and Gareth at Swansea Health Solutions has put me in a great position this year to reliably and consistently log hours swimming, cycling and running along with my strength and conditioning work at the Swansea University Sports Village. This triathlon lark is hard enough as it is, so all the support I get from sponsors and family is a huge help. Thanks!
Links:
More photos on Flickr.
ITU results.
