London Tri (one hell of an experience - I want more!)

It's over, it's done and I feel on top of the world ... there are a couple of storm clouds in the sky but I'm above them at the moment, riding high in the full glow.

Yesterday I completed my first full sprint triathlon i.e. a 750m swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run. Those of you who have been following my blog know that this was my third ever race (the other two were shorter sprint tris, so the added length of this race and the pressure of the world largest triathlon event made the run up to this one quite a daunting prospect). As it turned out, the race was even longer than expected ... 750m swim, 21km on the bike and 5.2k on the run.

Needless to say I was nervous, I had a restless nght, woke up at 7:30 and helped myself to some brekkie. I spent the rest of the morning trying to relax and then had an early pasta lunch (at 11:15) and set off to the race. A traffic jam and parking issues later I walked up to Excel to find a mass of ppl (both competitors and their families/supporters) and bikes milling around what is quite a huge area. I headed over to pick up my chip timer and then moved on to transition. Transition was a shock ... I kid you not, the place was huge! I obviously haven't seen that many transitions but this was incredible. Line upon line of rails for bike racking. Bear in mind, I was scheduled to start off at 3pm and I was racking in row K1 ... when you consider that each row racked in excess of 150 bikes, that's one hell of a transition area (which by the way, went up all the way to row Z). It was intimidating to say the least (more on that later).

I got into my wetsuit nice and early (had a chat with a few ppl who had racked next to me) checked out the various transition entries and exits (different entry and exit for each T) and headed towards swim assembly ... a full 300-400m from my transition layout. My wave gathered, all 400 of us and after some race prep we headed down (2 stories) to the dockside (picking up our pink (yes pink) swimcaps on the way) and got into the water. My goggles immediately started leaking and fogged up. I must admit I panicked a bit at this stage. My other pair of goggles were way too far away to go and get so I tightened the pair I was wearing, tried to defog them as best I could and headed towards the start line (about 50-100m away) using it as a bit of a warm-up. The dock was choppy (over 100 canoes there making sure we were all safe, hundreds of swimmers and a touch of wind) and the water was very murky with a 2 foot visibility maximum. I kid you not, I could not see beyond my wrist when stretching during my swim stroke. That made drafting very difficult ... you don't see the arms, or the legs coming.

I placed myself in the middle and towards the back of the group, preferring to pick off slower swimmers rather than getting into the ruck at the beginning. So we set off, I found some space, settled into a rhythm and picked off a few swimmers. All was going well, goggles were fogging up a bit but no particular leakage. The murky water was a bit of a problem as I usually calm myself out by focusing on technique but hey, it could have been much worse. The water was choppy so I tried some bi-lateral breathing but it was the sighting (usually my forte) that ended up being a bit off ... I got to the half way point a bit off so I had to close in on the buoy which meant I had a bit more crowding. I ended up at the very end of the swim area in the return leg ... constantly jostling for position and squeezed against the rope. This is where I lost my rhythm and with that the momentum I had built up. My stroke got choppy and lost form and technique, I had to slow down and I was getting hit (elbows and kicks, one particularly just under the ribs) frequently and hard. The swim ended, I was a bit woozy but I got out of the water and started taking off my wetsuit (it came off this time). My swim time was 18:48 - I was looking for a sub-17 but considering my second half of the swim was a constant struggle I'm satisfied I went under 20 minutes.

London is a bit different, you take off your wetstuit by the dockside, put it in a plastic bag and then go up 2 flights of stairs and a few hundred metres to the bike. I must admit, I walked up the stairs and half jogged, half walked to my bike. Got my bike shorts on, my Unicef Tee short, socks, shoes, sunglasses, number belt and helmet on ... unracked my bike and headed to the mount line ... again, a couple of hundred metres away ... and got on the bike ... T1 was 6 and a half minutes long (an absolute age) ...

The bike has been and continues to be, my weak spot ... the course is generally considered a flat one (not for me), 2 laps of 10k each and while I did pick off a few ppl over the course, the amount of ppl passing me was much greater. Apart from the struggle, an occasional risky moment during the 180 degree turns at the extreme ends of each lap and settling into a (slow) rhythm, the bike ride was fairly uneventful. I got annoyed because someone spent a good 2k drafting me after I had overtaken him (which is supposed to be illegal) and was even more annoyed when he then proceeded to get past me with a burst on the last bit of a small hill. I have no idea what the draft busters along the course were thinking or doing but anyways, the guy did what he had to do, I guess, well done him for getting away with it.

The bike leg ended with a shortish climb up a ramp to the dismount line ... not the greatest of ideas in my opinion but anyways, who am I to say ... I got to the dismount line, fairly winded from the last climb, jogged/walked to transition (again a couple of hundred metres) ... took my helmet off, moved my number belt (on the bike leg the number should be at the back, during the run, at the front) and tore one fastening off in the process and spilt my drink all over my towel. So I moved the towel, moved the bag for it not to get soaked (losing more time in the process) and set off to the run out (again a couple of hundred yards away). T2 ... some 3 and a half minutes (when you consider how little there is to do its a shame it takes so long). So I ran out after consuming quite a bit of liquid in T2 (I am not confident enough to ride the bike one-handed so I don't drink on the bike ride) so the moment I got into my rhythm I got a stitch. The legs were heavy but I was determined .... I had one competitor 20-25m ahead of me so used him as a point man to reel in.

I kept chugging away, kept up with the guy ahead of me, got passed by a few ppl and passed a few myself. The course had a bit of a surprise ... a 2 storey ramp (built so that the viewers could get across (read under) the run path) ... so you went down one ramp (1 flight), up another ramp (1 flight) then down to ground level (2 flights) and the reverse towards the end of each of the 2 laps. It was my fault really, I hadn't trained for hilly runs (I didn't know it was coming) and previous races were all flat (with very little incline) so the ramps chopped my rhythm and my breathing.

By 1km into the run I had found some rhythm, by 2k my legs were screaming to stop, then came the ramps again ... my body was screaming at me to stop and walk ... my head shouted even louder that I wouldn't dare ... I spotted my wife, my parents and a friend who came to support, cheering me on at exactly half way and was even more determined not to stop. By the end of the bike ride I knew that a finish under 1:45 was out of the question ... I had lost too much time between the slow bike and the long transitions to make it up on the run, but I wanted to get there as close to 1:45 as I could. I got to within 1 metre of my target point man when at 4.5km my legs just gave way ... 100m from the ramps ... I just about managed the ramps at a jog and headed in to the finish line, smiled at the wife and family ... and kicked slightly at the finish. I had lost the guy I had all but reeled in but I had finished. It felt fantastic ... I must admit when they gave me my finisher's medal, I was on the verge of tears. My family came to congratulate me ... I felt like crap but I was happy and proud ... I'd done it, finished it ... job done!

So ... what were my goals, and did I achieve them

Goal 1 - Finish (achieved!)
Goal 2 - Finish with a smile on my face (achieved!)
Goal 3 - Finish within 1hr 45 minutes (not quite - 1 hr 48 minutes 6 seconds but see below)
Goal 4 - Finish the swim within 20 minutes (achieved - 18 mins 48 seconds)
Goal 5 - Finish the bike leg within 45 minutes (not close - 51 mins 51 seconds but the distance was in fact 21km not 20km ... had it been 20km I still wouldn't have been under 45 minutes but I could possibly have gone under 1:45, maybe)
Goal 6 - Finish the run leg within 30 minutes (achieved - 27 mins 44 seconds)

I achieved 4 out of 6 ... which I consider to be not bad ... not ideal. but I refuse to beat myself up over it ... I was in transition for 9 minutes and 45 seconds in total (needs working on, but the transition area was huge) ... my bike leg needs a lot of work (to that end I've just bought myself bike shoes and clipless pedals) and I have a target ... I do a full sprint (similar distance - different course) on 30th August ... a new PB would be nice

to that end, I might race again on Saturday (another Saturday morning race - the scene of my second race debacle) depending on how the recovery progresses (at this stage its doing well). It won't be with the new pedals and cleats (I need time to get used to them) but I want to exorcise that demon and get a better time.

So onwards and upwards it is then ... it feels great to look back ... I'm proud of myself ... but this is but the first of many steps on my tri road ... I have another 2 (possibly 1) race(s) left this season ... on 31st August I begin 'Project OD' ... the Olympic Distance triathlon, London, August 2010 (and a season including a mix of Olympic and Sprint races).

but more on that later ...