Good race today!! Felt good the whole way round, as I was well rested in the week, in spite of being bunged up and full of cold!!
My start time was 9.05am, and was in a wave with some quicker swimmers. I got myself set up in transition which was on astroturf pitch, very comfy on the feet! And was very relaxed for this one.
Steady pool swim of 400m, would have been quickest time but for the very high pool walls which made it hard to grab anything for turning, and as I can't tumble turn I was very slow coming off the wall. But for that I felt good in the water, very relaxed. 7 minutes 55 for the swim, not at all quick, but I'm consistent at the moment!
Very quick through T1, which gave me a confidence boost. It was a reasonable run to T1 and then I ran uphill with my bike for 50 yards to mount beyond the mount line, where it was flat and I could get more momentum, a lot better, hopped on and got feet into shoes ok, bit slow to get going, but didn't want to blast off too soon. In hindsight though I should really have hammered it on the bike. A 15 mile ride, I coasted it, and never really put my foot down as hard as I could have. Out was fine, mostly uphill, only a small gradient and with a slight tailwind, more cross than tail, but just enough to help me cruise at a reasonable speed. Back was into a crosswind/headwind which was a bit unsettling at times. But still felt very strong on the bike, last 2 miles were slow though, and I lost focus and the last mile was far too slow, as I took too long having a gel and some energy drink, and it was through a residential area with speed bumps and traffic. Need to make sure I push to the end of the bike.
I was off and into T2 and out in quick time, and pushed hard onto the run. Then came an off-road hill at about a mile and a half, and it got my legs, I found it hard work, very slow going. After that I recovered well and it was downhill to the finish. Short run of approx 3.5 miles.
I finished hard for the last half mile and made myself work harder.
Finished in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 40 seconds. 25th on the day out of 165, 3rd in my age group( 35-39 - the first 35-39 was only 3 minutes infront). So a good result, and even better knowing that I finished feeling very strong and ready to go further, which is just what I need for June 17th. Again, I think if I was to really focus on going hard in these sprint races I could bring my times down by a couple of minutes. But I'm conscious of not overdoing it and staying as fresh as possible in my build up to Ironman UK 70.3.
Well done to James Gilfillan, who finished 2nd, extremely quick in a ll 3 disciplines and a very experienced young triathlete. Makes me feel even older than I am!!!
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