Finish Line

Saturday saw the wind gusting up to 40 miles an hour with driving rain and waves breaking over the sea wall when I went to pre-register for the event. I did however manage a short swim in the more sheltered bay but all in all it was not looking promising for the morning.

The situation had not much improved by the morning and the event start was pushed back 2 hours.

If anything that only made things worse as at high tide as originally scheduled it may well have been safe to enter and exit the sea from the slipway and the sea itself whilst running a big swell was not over rough. I certainly have swum in more challenging conditions. But the delayed start now meant the waves were breaking wildly on the slipway and so t he swim was replaced by a 5km run.

The first run caught a lull in the conditions and whilst the footpath was muddy it was not slippery, besides I find bad conditions play in my favour as I don’t care about mud, rain and wind whereas it does put some other runners off their stride. Adopting my standard tactic of ‘it’s just a regular morning run’ I set off in the midst of the pack and slowly picked off one runner after another with no-one passing me to complete the circuit in 20 minutes 19 seconds.

Without the need to change shoes I was out of transition quickly but without rushing, getting it right was far more important than saving a few seconds.

The cycle route had also been changed in my favour as it now followed the route I had tried out before and not the small side road with which I was unfamiliar. The downside was the headwind, but that was the same for everyone. Traffic was also a problem as the delayed start meant more cars and some of the drivers were clearly flustered and crowded the cycles. There was no sense in taking the risks that some of the cyclists passing me were prepared to and my 33 year old bicycle was showing its age as was I. My time for 25km was 54:19.

Back through transition and taking on board some advice I had been given I walked the first 50m or so which definitely took the wobble out of my legs. The conditions were now a mix of sunshine and pelting rain but again I was picking off runners one by one though which of the 4 waves of starters they belonged to was anyone’s guess. I finished the run in 22:05 and was overtaken by only one person and he was the overall winner by a clear 3 minute margin so I am not going to lose sleep over that.

In the final results I was 7th out of 42 in my age group and 64th out of 246 overall, but looking at the finishers around my position whilst my run times were quite significantly faster my bicycle time lost me more than I gained. On the up side, vintage bicycles are where it is at and I had several people getting quite enthusiastic about its original look.

And that was how I lost my triathlon virginity.

But damn it, I will have to do another one now with the swim!

Tempting Fate

As I see it the next 6 days are simply about not doing anything stupid and trying to beat the last minute glitches.

I fixed 2 problems on the bicycle, though I am not 100% sure one of them is fixed. I need to get out there and ride it, but the weather is now dead set against that.

I need new swimming goggles. The back up pair I was going to use after my good pair broke last week have turned out to be unsuitable. Bedding in a new set of goggles at this stage is not my first choice but it seems I don’t have a choice.

The new running shoes are just the same as the old running shoes and the knee pain has gone away, so that’s just fine.

Meanwhile just keep ticking over. A 5km run at race pace this morning went very well and 800m sea swim in the swell was enjoyable.

  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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Triathlon Virgin

The Last lap

With just 1 week until the actual event and with a forecast for a gorgeous morning it seemed like an idea to go and check out the course once again.

Aside from the speed restriction ‘humps’ two fresh hazards have been added to the cycle route. On the steep downhill a water leak has sprung up in the road not only making it slippery but offering the potential for a good size pothole or worse a full scale excavation by the water company come next Sunday morning. The other hazard I hope is transient where someone had emptied many, many of the nitrous oxide cylinders along a mile or so of the roadside and what would happen if I hit one of those on the bicycle I don’t want to find out.

It was also an opportunity for devising a strategy for the one nasty corner where the route rises steadily uphill for almost 1 mile, crests the hill and then immediately does a 90 degree left turn into the steepest uphill part of the course. On the third circuit I think I got it. In the cause of fairness does this give me an advantage? No I don’t think so as anyone could have made their own try out of the route and it has been publicized for months.

How it plays out on the day is now simply a case of waiting to find out.

Triathlon Virgin

Three

Setbacks they say come in 3s. My running shoes have given up as previously posted and then on Tuesday evening I put on my favourite Puffin Swim cap and a big chunk tore out of it. I assumed that was the reason my goggles felt squint and were leaking, but no, as I took them off the strap tore apart: shoes, cap, goggles, bin.

I have however solved the shoes problem by a combination of eBay, a credit card and a 10% discount offer. Twice in fact and the second ‘new in box’ pair of direct replacements arrived earlier. Two? It’s a Brexit thing. Shoes like those (Adidas, German, nothing is made in the UK) will be hard to find and much more expensive after any sort of Brexit is my prediction, so stockpile now.

I bought new goggles (see above re Brexit) a couple of weeks ago but I feel they are not triathlon, leave lying on the ground, event goggles (I paid how much! and they were on offer!). But I have turned out 4 old pairs of goggles from my drawer and whilst I am wondering why I have kept 3 of the pairs the 4th pair, whilst not day-to-day ideal, will be just fine to be left behind after the swim as I cycle off into the blue yonder.

As far as I can tell the event comes with a swim cap attached and it is compulsory to wear the cap provided. All I hope is that they are good ones because thin cheap ones do not have room for long hair and it will be split before I start if it is.

Triathlon Virgin

The Deep

Perceived wisdom is that you should not swim in open by yourself. But I have a problem with that.

The problem is, what difference will it make? If I am 100m from the beach and get in to the kind of difficulty that means I need to be rescued, even if someone notices immediately it is going to take several minutes to tow me back to the beach, where it will be game over (unlike TV and films, in real life CPR maybe saves 10% of victims if started at once, though 50% with a defibrillator which most beaches do not have fitted as standard).

Personally I don’t think it is about safety, but is about giving someone the heads up as to where to look for the corpse.

I will quite happily swim miles on my own and in places where no-one else is (both of these are central parts of why I swim in the first place, to go a distance and to be where others have, or are, not). Increasingly though I run up against people who think this is very unusual. “But you’re fine in open water”, one of the people at the Tri Club told me the other day, “most people find the swim the hardest part because they are not comfortable in the water”.

Fair enough, in open water you do not get a second chance. I’m not brave and I don’t think I am foolish, but I do believe however that I am practical and sensible. I will swim at times when it is rough or when the water is fast flowing but only because I know a place inside and out and know where to get out and where not to go. I would not do it without that intimate knowledge. Nevertheless many times I have looked at the water and gone “No, not today”. The sea, lake or river will still be there tomorrow and I plan to be about to take advantage of the fact.

Equally there are times when I don’t feel like it, I’m tired or unfocussed. “Move away from the water!” a little voice tells me. I listen to that little voice, it has not let me down yet.

But that in turn leads me to wonder about all these ventures setting up to give swim guided tours or introductions to outdoor swimming. 1. researching a place, using a paper map or the internet is 50% of the fun (though the fail rate can be high: looked promising but wasn’t). 2. Do people really need to be taught how to swim in open water? Same as in the pool, it is not a mysteriously different sort of water. 3. If someone else does the risk assessing for you how will you ever learn to make that judgement for yourself?

To paraphrase an old saying, “There are old swimmers and there are bold swimmers, but there are no old, bold swimmers.” I plan to still be swimming when I am old (older), but in the meantime I am also grateful for the fact that in the water at least I am intimidated when I am out of my depth.

Triathlon Virgin

Taper

When I was a runner a long, long time ago I had a pre-race system which was to run the distance on the preceding Sunday and then on Tuesday run a 5 mile (ish) loop as fast as I could. Then nothing until the event the following Sunday. It worked for me.

For an event that is as yet 3 weeks away I was not intending to taper anything just yet but circumstances have been thrust upon me in that because it is the most inconvenient time for my running shoes to give up that is exactly what they have done. The tell-tale was a tenderness on the inside of both my knees. I used to get it but then got a very good pair of stability shoes and the problem was instantly solved.

The solution to my problem would seem quite obvious; go and buy some new shoes. And that was exactly what I attempted only to find that the shoes in question have been discontinued and Runners Need could not offer a comparable shoe.

Two issues therefore arise. Firstly of course I still need new shoes and until then my running is officially tapered! The second is that if you buy something from Runners Need they will send you a customer satisfaction survey. That is surely a self-fulfilling exercise because who would buy something they didn’t like in the first place. But more to the point if you are let down by the shop you don’t get a satisfaction survey to fill out! How will they ever know?

Triathlon Virgin

If The Swimsuit Fits.

The loop around the 5 knot buoys and Shag Rock was an option this morning as the water in the bay was flat calm in the shelter of the high cliff. But how many times have I done that this summer? I actually have no idea, but ‘some’ times.

And then, far, far away beyond the middle 5 knot buoy, almost looking like it is on the horizon from the standpoint of the slipway is the yacht racing marker buoy. Against the sunshine the red barrel was a black dot and the orange flag hung limp and indistinguishable. Indeed, if it were not for the fact that I knew it was there I would probably not have been able to pick it out.

The 5 knot buoy is about 1/2 the way there and I passed with it about 30m away to my left meaning that I was keeping a remarkably straight line to my target even though I could not see it. The issue now was that with the 5 knot buoy behind me then other than ‘it’s a bit to the right of Thatcher Rock’ I really have nothing to go on. Ah well, I may as well keep on as I’m half way there now.

  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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I swam on expecting at any moment the lifeboat to turn up having been called by some kind soul who imagined I was lost and/or swimming to France. Or to swim smack into the buoy.

That should just about do it. I paused, treading water, pushing my goggles up and squinting into the sunshine and there it is, another 50m at the very most.

The thing now is that I have left the beach huts far, far away.

Triathlon Virgin

Morning Turnaround

I wouldn’t say I have been pushing too hard, that way injury lies and I am not ready for that right now, so I have been putting in maybe 3 miles swimming, 30 miles cycling and 25 miles running as a weekly average. However maybe it is due to the changing day length or maybe actually that is a bit much, but I was nearly face down asleep in my supper last night. That’s not really acceptable at any time but certainly not when in a restaurant for a 20th birthday meal (not mine obvs.).

This morning I had to lever myself out of bed. The changing daylength does have something to do with it as it is now semi-dark when the alarm goes off and clicking on the light explodes my eyeballs (not literally obvs.). It is chilly too, and as I walked to the car I very much questioned my choice of shorts instead of leggings.

But about a mile into my run I got out of the breeze and into the sunshine and the world changed and my legs took off and in my head was a little imp screaming “Faster, faster!”. But with a half mile to go to the car and I did have the common good sense to reign in the insanity and slow down.

  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
    click for larger size
  • Tri2019 triathlon virgin
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Then I went for a swim and it was now my arms going like windmills and there’s that shouty, potty mouthed little imp again.

I suspect this evening I will once more find my dinner plate looming rapidly towards me, but in the meantime that was magic. Can I do that once more please?

Triathlon Virgin