Sorry for the long break between posts - things have been busy at work and with the nice weather we've had recently I've not spend much time sitting at my desk in front of the computer if I can help it!
Lots of races recently though - quick run down:
Marlow olympic distance triathlon - 23rd June
Milton Keynes NSPCC half marathon - 7th July
Jenson Button Trust super sprint triathlon - 14th July
Anniversary Olympic Park Run - 21st July
So I'll start off with the Marlow triathlon. I signed up for this very last minute, just 12 days before hand having just done Blenheim Palace. I was very nervous about it, but was adamant about doing an olympic tri this year and this was one of the only dates I could make. Plus it was fairly local, not too expensive and there were people from my club taking part.
It was a cooler day than usual which was great for the bike and run but the river Thames was cold cold cold! I wasn't really looking forward to the 1500m swim and just wanted to get that bit over and done with. It was an out and back, and because of the river flow, it was harder on the way out swimming upstream and easier coming back. It took me around 35 minutes, which I thought was ok for me - at least i didn't panic too much or have to be rescued!
Nice short distance to the transition where I quickly got on the bike for the 37km ride. It has been described as mostly flat - well anything with "mostly" means take with a pinch of salt. Yes there were some nice long flat bits but also a few sharp uphills - plus a real drag uphill for 2 miles up a dual carriage way. However it was going well and I almost missed the turn around point - couldn't believe I was half way already!
T2 was good except I forgot to take off my bike gloves! Second of panic as I thought I'd have to wear them for the next hour and get sweaty paws! Luckily I remember the back pockets on my tri suit so could stash them there. It's funny how tiny things like that can throw you off concentration!
The run was ok but very tiring by that point - legs felt like lead for the first couple of miles. And a 10k is still a while to go, and when you've been on the go for 2.5 hrs (in my case anyway!) it's not exactly a fast one, feels much more like an endurance run. I took a gel early on to keep me going. The run was nice - two 5k laps of a route that went up the Thames alongside where we swam, then a big loop to the neighbourhood and back down residential roads - and run past the finish to do it again! I followed someone for the first lap (he was on his 2nd) and we had a bit of a chat going round. One my 2nd lap it really felt I was the last person left on the course as I hardly saw anyone
Although the 10k was tough, there's a big plus compared to sprint distance tri's - in a sprint tri my legs never quite recovered from the bike, but in a 10k they were feeling ok by the half way point, so could push on without too much extra effort.
Felt great to finally come into the finish line, to some great cheers as I was clearly one of the final finishers!! Had a nice recovery shake and a snack and admired my new shiny medal! My finish time was 3 hours 33 mins.
Certainly up for another olympic distance tri!
Marlow tri results
Swim 0.34.46
T1 0.3.25
Bike 1.43.34
T2 0.1.01
Run 1.10.37
Total 03 hrs 33 mins
