Lets start with me picking the bones out of my Dambuster race. When I arrived on Saturday morning to set up my kit the rain had already started. I don't get fazed by bad weather and quite often thrive on the challenge of it. After the race brief I made my way to the waters edge and was surprised that the water was at a reasonably warm temperature. I swam about for a minute or so before it was time to line up for the start. I set off on the swim trying to focus on a good swim and not do my usual thing which is keep thinking that the sooner this bits over the better. I felt the swim had gone well and I stood up at the end of the swim with 23:47 showing on the watch (24:12 over the timing mat). I was pleased with that and looked forward to the bike. I feel I struggled on the bike and my quads felt tight and heavy from the off. I normally thrive on the bike and its always been my strong point in the race. I definitely eased up on a lot of corners due to the wet roads as I did not know the course and would have benefitted from doing a drive round the day before. By the end of the course my fingers and toes were so cold I could not feel them. I thought I had done well on the bike as I had passed at least 80 riders and not been overtaken myself. On return to transition I had a quick turnaround despite the faff of getting my hat off and shoes on with numb fingers, and set off for the run. I ran a good race and picked off a lot of people and on arrival at the dam soon realised that there were only about 50 people at the most on it so thought I was well up the overall field. It was great to see all the other RAF folk in the very distinctive kit on the dam and boosted my moral even more. I ran hard on the return leg and crossed the line in 2:09:50.
My rankings were as follows - Swim 58th (24:12) - Bike 15th (1:07:56) - Run 10th (35:45)
On the day looking at the times I was disappointed with the bike time. I have put it down to the cold as I nailed the bike the following day at Allerthorpe.
Allerthorpe Sprint (the day after)
I woke on Sunday with no expectations for the Allerthorpe Sprint. I felt despite the previous days race I could still go top 10 and packed the car ready to go. I had managed to wash my kit and dry the wetsuit ready for the event. The weather was in complete contrast to the previous day and was a lot warmer, sunnier, and ohh so windy. The forecast was 30mph winds with gusts of 50 - 60 mph. I took the Ksyriums just in case I didn't want to use the Cosmic Carbon 50's. The transition was packed and I ended up parking the bike leaning against the end of the racking. 9:05 arrived and the women were 5 mins in to their swim it was time for the men to get started. I swam the first 350m fast and then the reality of a 24hr recovery set in and the arms and shoulders were very tired. I focused on finishing and getting on the bike and ended up exiting the 750m with an 11 min something. A good transition and I picked up the bike as it had blown over (luckily it was a grass transition so no damage) ran to the mount line and I was off into the head wind. I quickly started passing people and worked my way through the field. I was furious as most of the first 15k there was 3 guys doing a great job of team time trialling and not a draft buster to be seen. I hovered about 30 - 40 meters behind then found the strength to close the gap and pass them (offering some friendly explicit advice on drafting as I went by). I pulled away but at the left hand turn I made a mistake and took my left foot out of the shoe thinking we were turning into the last bit of the course. I realised my mistake and got my foot back in but one of them passed me again. I got him back and put time in and a mile later I was back at the transition and taking both feet out of the shoes ready for the run back to T2. The bike section had been extremely challenging on deep section wheels in the wind and with recorded gusts of 50mph it had been twitchy to say the least. I was informed by some of the spectators I was in 4th and I did a quick T2 and straight onto the run. I ran hard but by now the legs were feeling the efforts on the bike and yesterdays race. I caught 3rd after about 1.5k and could see 2nd but never thought it was a gap I could close. On the out and back course I saw the leader heading back and new I was never going to get close to him. At the turn I realised I had made good time on 2nd and pushed harder as it was now looking achievable. I caught him with about 1k to go and sped up thinking if I go past him fast he won't try to go with me. It worked and I quickly put a good gap between us. The last 800m was cruised as I had took my first look behind and realised I was well clear of any challenge for my place. I crossed the line 2nd and felt awesome. I spoke to the winner (Tom Room) who turns out to be GB Elite under 23 athlete sponsored by Planet X. Imagine my surprise to find I had done the fastest bike of the day (faster than an elite athlete!!! :-) I am now convinced I was affected by the cold at dambuster. Lets hope for a hot hot hot summer as I definitely race better when I am warm. Next stop Cleveland Steelman (half IM distance) on 5th July.
