Triathlon Season

So the marathons may be over (for now) but triathlon season is just getting started! Can officially call myself a triathlete now as I complete my first one last Sunday which went very well. Plenty of races coming up over the summer - one most weekends! - and a good mixture of tri's, running, cycling and walking.

Me on the bike!

Sunday's triathlon was run by my tri club, and is one of two tri's and an aquathlon (swim + run) that they hold every year for the public.  Most club members marshal but as this was my first one and a new member I chose to race.  It was an pool-based sprint race (400m swim, 20k bike, 5k run).  Very early start on Sunday morning - up at 4am, loading the car up at 5am, to get to the venue for 5.30!  It took place at the Sports Village on campus, which was very handy but also a bit weird being at work at this time on a Sunday morning.

The place was transformed with the transition area in front of the pool, and hundreds of bikes getting ready to be racked.  We picked up our timing chip and tee-shirts and set up our transition areas, got changed then headed to the pool for a briefing and start.  

The swim started with the first person in the water at 6.25am, and then everyone setting off after that in 30 second intervals.  400m was 16 lengths - 2 lengths of each lane, then moving up one lane until you reached the far side of the pool and got out by the exit.

As we lined up by the pool, it was interesting seeing what everyone was wearing for this leg of the race.  It's a popular race for both seasoned triathletes and first timers as it's a good venue, well organised and mainly flat course.  So there was a great mix of experience and skill level.  Many people wore a one-piece trisuit, as did i, but saw an interesting variety of outfits put together to do the job!  For girls - running tights with a sports crop top, swim suits with or without shorts over the top, even crop tops and fashionable bikini briefs!

The swim went very well, good to know all that front crawl training had been worth it.  Some people did breast stroke especially those new to tri.  I never realised how accessible a sprint tri is and wished I'd done one sooner, as I always assumed the only distance available was an Olympic distance, and that open water swimming, road bikes and front crawl were mandatory!  So if you've ever thought about doing a tri, i'd say go for it as it's great fun and like a running race there are all levels taking part.

Transition (T1) was ok, I hadn't practiced swim to bike, but had no problems.  Walk out of the pool, then run to the bike when outside, socks on, shoes on, cycling jersey on, race belt/number on, sunglasses on (smeared with water!), gloves on, take a gel and swig of water, helmet on, then grab bike and run it up to the road.  

Bike also went well.  About half of the route was flat but there was a fairly long slog up hill about half way through.  As it was an out-and-back at least there was a nice downhill later on!  The drawbacks were a couple of sharp 180 turns on roundabouts and the dreaded potholes.  Our county is awful for potholes and the roads can be very dangerous for cyclists who don't watch out.  The marshals were very good and pointed out the bad areas.

Back to transition for T2 - a lot faster this time.  Rack bike, helmet off, gloves off, jersey off, grab water bottle and go!  The 5k was 4 laps around the campus.  Legs felt like lead after the bike ride!!  After the forth lap you turn off into the finish line!!

Finished in 1.37 which i was very happy with for a first tri. Result here!

PICKERING , Jenna 
Swim 0:09:31.65 
T1 0:02:45.50 
Bike 0:53:30.65 
T2 0:01:00.00
Run 0:30:26.20 
TOTAL1:37:14.00