All the planning, research, training, treatment and stressing finally culminated in a 4 hour drive to the home of British Olympic rowing, well actually a friend's house in Slough for the last supper night. She let me take over the kitchen to make some attempt at "serious athlete" food (brown rice, salmon and broccoli) use her internet for last minute facebook updates, sprawl all over the garden stretching and gave me the coolest room in the house to sleep in while everyone else baked upstairs.
Not that there was an awful lot of sleeping done that night. The nerves were back and so was the lack of self belief. Logically I knew I could do it. It was only a 200m swim - I'd just done an 800m one. It was only a 5km bike on the flat - I'd been regularly training on 12-15km+ with the odd hill repeat and interval session thrown in. It was a 2.5km run, huge for me but I had finally hit a consistent, injury free training period and cleared 3km on the treadmill. I'd also been linking at least 2 disciplines together in training and for the most part gone further than required.
Logically I knew I could do it, logically.... but the human brain has a habit of forgetting logic at times like these. Every athlete knows there are days that with the best will in the world you just can't do it. Hormones, not getting your nutrition right, dehydration, over training or just a bad day at the "office" can affect everyone and it's not always predictable. It's now that being as strong in mind as you are in body makes all the difference. Having a race plan helps, having a check list helps, having things to do helps, having the right people around you and avoiding those who are not helps. Beware of social media - I love Twitter and Facebook as much as the next person but know that it can be your biggest friend or your worst enemy. People can be quick to celebrate your success but just as quick to make jibes and it's usually the latter that sit in the back of your mind and affect your ability to dig deep when it counts. If it's your first event you will have enough to do silencing your own doubts without silencing those of other people. It's OK to maintain a social media silence in the last few days if it helps, it's OK to put yourself first. You have to do what you need to do to remove distractions and quieten your mind.
Just make sure you thank the people who have helped you afterwards and know that those who have not probably have more doubts about their own abilities than they do about yours.
‘The hour cometh, and now is’ John 4:23
Sunday 14th July 2013 dawned and it was already warm by 8am, the sky was clear and it looked like being another scorcher of a day. We had breakfast, packed up and left for the lake. Knowing what a nightmare swim registration had been in May for those who turned up later, we planned to set off early but being in the last wave of the day there's always the dilemma of being too early. The aim of the day was to get there early enough to register, set up, relax, change and race without getting too hot, dehydrated, stressed or end up in a massive queue for registration/toilets/changing and with enough time to sort out any last minute emergencies (......like the tri suit you haven't tried on or the bike pump you haven't taped up etc.). Tip: Black electrical tape and scissors fixes almost anything! Including dodgy timing chips that look like they're going to fall off your skinny ankles! Make sure they're in your transition box.
Registration went without a hitch, timing chip firmly in hand, stickers applied to bike and helmet, transition area set up, a couple of hours relaxing on the grass discussing whether we could get away with just telling people I'd done it so I didn't have to go through with it and it was finally time to get changed.....
The water was a toasty 21.8DegC so effectively a wet suit ban, (Triathlon rules state below 14DegC wetsuits are compulsory 14-22DegC optional and 22DegC+ is a ban) some people did battle into one which I suppose if you're a nervous swimmer they help but they take much longer in transition and in 32DegC sunny conditions they will dehydrate you. It made the swim more interesting though. Wetsuits are often known as "the equaliser" because they allow weaker swimmers to keep up with stronger swimmers and they generally allow everyone to rest their legs a bit due to the floatation. A few people like me chose to switch strokes and do breaststroke rather than doing their weaker free which without the aid of a wetsuit would have left them exhausted starting the bike. I know from two previous swim events that my breaststroke is strong enough to put me in the middle of the pack regardless so it's been my stroke of choice but because this swim was only a quarter of what I'd done previously I had been considering trying out free.
There's no where to hide in a tri suit and it was too hot to wear another top although I did lay my cycling top out over my handle bars in case I changed my mind. People really don't care though, there were all shapes and sizes taking part and at the end of the day it's about achievement, it's not a runway on Britain's next top model. What I love about the three Human Race events I've done so far is that they're really supportive events. This one was women's only and you might expect an element of bitchiness and maybe in the changing rooms there was an element of that or maybe it was just people keeping calm by keeping to themselves. I like to talk to total strangers, especially if I'm nervous so they probably just thought I was some weirdo from the barren wastelands north of the Watford Gap. Out on the field everyone was being cheered over the line and shouting encouragements to each other on the run. One girl saw I was struggling a bit with my breathing coming up to the half way point on the run as we'd had to run out into a fairly significant head wind which was also hot, dry and dusty. I don't have a great lung capacity and was struggling to get any ventolin on board. I'd forgotten the tip about squeezing the edge of the cup and stopping to drink and had choked on the teaspoon of water I'd not managed to pour down my front. She ran with me for a couple of minutes saying out loud her mantra of "just keep it going, nice steady pace" by which point we'd rounded the half way point, the head wind became a tail wind and psychologically the end was now in sight and she ran on. This act of selflessness is something you see often in this sport. We go out to compete, to better our PBs but at the end of the day we're all in it together. The wind and the heat become something we're all competing against and that pulls us all together. We've all been nervous the first time we dived into open water so we can all sympathise with the newbie clutching the wetsuit in 32deg heat. There does seem to be an ethos of wanting to compete on a level playing field that you don't seem to see in other sports. A kind of old fashioned sportsmanship.
This was no better demonstrated than during the elite women's race in Hamburg yesterday (20/7/13) Anne Haug; series leader and under immense pressure to win in front of a home crowd was being hounded by the two Brits Non Stanford and Jodie Stimpson on the run leg. The conditions were not unlike last weekend and the women were suffering in the heat. Stimpson missed her water at the feed stand as the two British girls pushed to stay a breast of Haug. Instead of pushing her advantage in the heat, in an act of huge generosity and sportsmanship Haug drank from her water bottle before passing it back to Stimpson.
Haug went on to win in an epic 800m sprint to the finish with Stanford close behind to take second and Stimpson taking third. With all three women having won races this year and with the pressure to win this one being squarely on Haug it would have been easy for her to see winning as everything but as Stimpson later commented "at the end of the day we're team mates". Haug herself had been on the receiving end of someone else's selflessness earlier in the race with fellow countryman Svenja Bazlen allowing her to draft as she worked her way through the peloton saving her vital energy for the run. A fact she graciously acknowledged at the finish.
The display of sporting ethics that these women displayed yesterday are an example to all of us and maybe we should be encouraging our kids to watch them rather than some of the questionable antics of those who usually grace the sports pages.
Go Girls!!!!
As we waited for our wave to enter the water people were chatting nervously about various fat bits not being conducive to tri suit wearing and how cold the water was going to be. The two waves in front of us were already in the water as they acclimatised and waited for the klaxon.
Seeing what "only 8 lengths" looks like laid out one after the other is a little disconcerting but something I was now used to. Anyone who says to you "it's only eight lengths" should first see what that looks like and then swim it before they repeat it.
The stones were sharp under foot as we entered and I took two steps before deciding to just make a dive for it, the less unnecessary foot contact with anything remotely slimy the better! (TIP: The opposite is true on the exit, try and swim as far in as possible because walking through even calf deep water will be unnecessarily tiring.) The water was not at all cold, I needn't have worried, it turns out that 22deg is a very sensible temperature to get rid of wetsuits. The difference 7degrees makes is huge!
I decided that I was not going to hang around the back on this one, that without wetsuits I was strong enough to be nearer the front. The klaxon sounded and all of a sudden I was in a washing machine of white water that was difficult to get purchase on. I knew this would pass and that after a couple of minutes the field would spread out. I didn't have a great swim leg, I got pinned in between and behind a couple of people doing free that were a little bit slower than me but couldn't get past them. I cornered well and stayed on track. Exiting the water without staggering and falling on my face was also an added bonus. There was also a lot more "lake weed" than in May which seemed to entangle itself round my forearm with every stroke, luckily I am also becoming desensitised to people swimming behind me touching my feet with every stroke, at least there was no ankle grabbing this time! (Tip Vaseline or body glide the OUTSIDE of your lower leg to prevent this if you're feeling very competitive.)
I ran (yes RAN!) into transition, found my bike straight away (..which for someone who regularly struggles to find their car on exiting the supermarket was an achievement!) glasses on, helmet on and fastened, shoes on, (decided I wasn't quite ready for the elastic band thing yet which was a good choice as it was a fairly tight corner out, Marc Jenkins also said this was best for first timers and he should know!) race belt on, number to the back and ran out pushing my bike by the saddle like a pro in 1min44seconds. It surprised me how long it seemed to take some people, people who had exited the swim before me were still in transition as I left.
I had a great bike leg, the heat was not so much of an issue but the head wind going out had me breathing like a freight train by the time I saw the photographer at the half way point. I did clock him early enough to pretend I'd been on my tri bars the whole way round..........
I didn't do it in the sub 12mins I was aiming for but I didn't get overtaken and with the wind was happy with 12mins 35sec.
I skidded to an ungraceful halt in front of the dismount line and ran through transition, I realised I should have worked out how to rack my bike the other way round but as it was still upright crossed my fingers, unclipped my helmet, put it down, swapped it for a sun visor (well worth it last min panic buy from wiggle...) and grabbed my trainers. Nobody tells you that perhaps the most challenging part of a triathlon is standing on one very shaky post bike leg to pull on your close fitting minimalist trainers even if they do have elastic laces..... Would probably have made it out in 30seconds if it hadn't been for the minute it took to do that! T2 cleared in 1.32 it was time to psyche myself up for the run. I grabbed my water bottle, I'd put some carb drink in it, yanked at the never been used valve as I ran out of T2 and the valve came clean off! Sports drink then splashed up my arm as I ran and dried instantly in the blazing sun. Luckily there was a water stand at the start of the run so I ditched the bottle, choked on some water and washed the sports drink off as I ran through the sprinkler system they'd set up to cool us down (....or more likely stop the tarmac melting!) My hamstrings were screaming, my quads felt like jelly, I made a mental note to not disregard bricks as something only pro triathletes do, I got about a quarter of the way out and the wind started to deplete my lungs of moisture. I'd also disregarded the plan to hydrate on the bike leg, in this short race I just about got away with it but this is something I need to practice, as is drinking on the run. I really didn't want to walk at the end and knew that once I turned round on the half way point it would get easier, the wind would be behind me and I would be able to see the finish. I ran/walked the second quarter using lamp posts and marker buoys to run two walk one, I also tucked in behind another girl and focused on her feet to take my mind off my own legs and shield myself from some of the wind. I forgot that coming off the bike it's important to straighten up through the pelvis to compensate for the hunched over hip flexor tightening position on the bike and noticed from some pictures later that my foot position had reverted back to being turned out and rolling in. I know what a lot of my run weaknesses are and I also know that I've not had a long enough consistent training period for good technique to have become embedded yet so that when I am tired it reverts back to it's default pattern. With running more than anything else I know I have to be patient, that I need to keep telling myself it will come. A year ago I couldn't run 1km on the treadmill never mind 3. When moaning to my trainer that running is by far my weakest discipline he just said to me "But how long have you been doing the other two!?" and he's right, I've been swim training for a year and a half, cycling for a year and road biking for 6mths. Because I injured my hip at Christmas pushing too hard too fast I've only really been running for a couple of months and only twice a week to allow enough recovery time and for my body to adapt to new stresses while I adjust my position and strengthen my feet in minimalist shoes. I've come a long way in a short period of time and I need to remember that, not allow myself to compare where I am now to what other people can do or allow others to judge me without knowing what I am trying to achieve.
16mins34 is not fast, I wouldn't pass a military basic fitness test but I finished, I came out of it with no major injuries and I was not last.
One great tip is to take advantage of any on site sports massage/physio afterwards. Even if you don't like massage they can usually help you stretch out without getting naked, especially if you have a 4hr drive back to God's own county. I could feel my TFL starting to spasm and sitting in a car for a long time was not going to help, so for a tenner one of the physio's spent 20mins stretching out my hip which I need and they can take further than you can on your own. Lots of people were getting their calves done but the calf guards had done their job and for me they were ok. I downed a chocolate milk recovery drink, stretched, drank lots of water and ate a slightly warm greek yoghurt with a fork (....because for all I had managed to pack everything but the kitchen sink, a spoon had not made it!) which with the addition of a banana (I draw the line at hot, semi liquid bananas!) is my general recovery plan. Sometimes (if I'd been organised enough) I add a sachet of cherry active to the water because post exercise antioxidants are important (a pack of blueberries would also work - eat them, don't add them to your water obviously!). Although the temptation is to lay on the grass, walking around or even cycling gently back to the car all help to reduce the lactic acid build up. Unless you're balancing your transition box on your handle bars and the car is 2km away in which case walking is fine.
Overall I finished 48th out of 124 with a time of 38.05 I was 10th in my age group and 18th on the bike. I now get to call myself a Triathlete, job done, onwards and upwards.
