We were supposed to be in Lynmouth in Devon this weekend to do the Tri the Goat with 4000ft of climbing on the bike, however, as the race got pulled a few months ago I had to find another race pronto. So, Coach 2 said can we go to Dorney again so that she could collect conkers. Of course I said OK – happy wife, happy life & all that.
Unfortunately this involved an early start with a 4am wake up call & we arrived at Dorney in good time which gave me ample opportunity to register & rack & get prepared for the race. I did my usual reckie of the Ins & Outs, although they hadn’t changed from when we were last there. I was now ready for my 9am swim start. I was in Wave 2 so Wave 1 was well on their way as the waves were an hour apart.
The swim was 2 x 750mtr laps in the lake. I didn’t have any problems in the swim & thought that it went very well. Into T1 for a quick transition & then out onto the 8 lap bike course which is quite simple to describe.
Out of T1 & bear right then head out up to the top of the lake (with a tailwind), have a drink, then at the turn around point you come back down the other side (with a headwind) so this was much slower, at the turnaround point have another drink & then repeat, again & again, & so on.
Into T2 for another quick(ish) transition as I had a small issue with my right shoe. I then headed out on the opposite side of the lake for a 2 lap 10K run which again was one way tailwind & the other headwind. By this time the wind had picked up so the return legs were very difficult. The first lap I was pretty much by myself as there weren’t that many people on the course, but the second lap I had a few more people to chase down, which helped.
My splits are:
Swim – 24:07
T1 – 1:01
Bike – 1:09:48
T2 – 0:58
Run – 41:49
Total time – 2:17:45
Overall position was 15th out of 152 & 2nd in my age group
This year’s Tri season is now over so I’m looking forward to having some quality winter training sessions & planning my races & very much looking forward to next year already.
Finally, I would like to thank my loyal & patient wife Nikki (Coach 2) for always being by myside & giving me 100% of her support. I also want to thank Scott & Di for their very much appreciated advice & continuing support.