I travelled down to Rutland water on the Friday afternoon as I was camping out this weekend with Anthea, Beth and the dog. We had booked for both Friday and Saturday so that I could have a more relaxed race weekend instead of the usual turn up after a mad dash to get there, do the race, pack up and drive home. It was very hot on the Friday and I was dripping with sweat by the time I had put the tent up with Anthea, Beth went off for a paddle in the lake and the dog was panting away until we got him a drink. After setting up the tent I drank 2 x 750ml bottles of high 5 to help re-hydrate, and then we took a slow walk down to the registration area although we were about an hour early. Despite being that early there was a lot of activity going on and a couple of trade stands to have a look at, I managed to escape without spending any money on shiny new toys. I met Marc Preece and Al Hadnett also waiting to register and after a quick catch up chat we managed to get registered. I also met Reg Swallow on my way out of the tent, then headed off to get a nice cup of tea and relax for a bit. After a brew, i popped back down to rack the bike so that I had finished for the night. As is usual with these events you end up running into other friends and what should be a ten minute job took 45 minutes as I popped over to see Sags, Julie and the girls on the way back to my tent.
The Swim,
After a cold night I woke and had 2 cups of tea, 2 toasted tea cakes and 1 tin of rice pudding for breakfast. I drank 1 x 500ml of high 5 4:1 slowly whilst in transition getting ready. The swim was very foggy and you couldn't see the first turn buoy. The first two waves went off and I entered the water ready to start but they announced a delay of 6 minutes. Finally we got away and the first lap despite the fog was uneventful, I didn't feel 100% and felt a little sick. I exited the water at the end of the first lap, ran round the barriers and dived in for the second lap. The next wave had just started and at the first turn I caught the back of that wave, I managed to work my way through and had no problems, I was even feeling better. I exited the water and crossed the timing mat in 32:47, a bit disappointing given my sub 30 swim at Antwerp. I have never had a fast swim at Rutland water, I don't know why?
The Bike,
I decided due to the cold I would put my socks for the run on before starting the bike in some hope it would help keep me slightly warmer on the bike. This would save some time in T2 though and to be honest I was happy with my first transition of 1:35. I ran out and jumped on the bike, quickly got my feet in the shoes and decided to just spin the legs up the short climb to the main road to get the blood flowing. Once on the main road I settled into a good but steady pace with the plan for an even split over the two laps. It was so cold on the bike and the fog was causing visual problems with water gathering on the lenses of my shades. The roads were very busy which surprised me at that time of day. I completed the first lap having passed loads of people yet not being overtaken myself. I decided to push harder on the second lap as I still felt strong and passed lots more people but got overtaken by 1 person. I tried to match him after I had dropped back about 15 meters but couldn't. I didn't let it worry me too much and thought I could maybe catch him on the run. As I entered T2 I knew I would have to stop for a wee but decided I would start running and stop on the course somewhere. I had completed the bike in 2:16:38 and for those who had voted on Sags's poll I had beaten his bike split by 2:30.
The Run,
I set off on the run extremely focused as I had made claims to a lot of people that I was going for a sub 1:25 half marathon. I have always ran 1:26 half's in triathlons but thought I could go faster based on my training and other races this year. I stopped after the first 800 meters at the same bush I had a wee on last year. After about 40 seconds I felt much relief and set off again. The first couple of km I was moving at a good pace but had cramp in both quads and a little bit of back ache. I thought the sub 1:25 was off but I pushed on hoping to either get as far as possible before I blew or that I could run it off. The result was I ran off all the aches and pains. I knew I was running well and it felt great, I was passing loads of people but never got passed by anyone. At the end of the first lap I saw Sags setting off on his run and wanted to catch him. This spurred me on and I kept pushing, just after we crossed the dam I could see Sags and as I caught him I asked him to run with me but he declined. As it turns out I was running an average of 6:15 per mile and after crossing the line found out I had ran a 1:22:16. I was chuffed to bits with my result, I had said I was targeting a sub 4:20 and finished with a 4:14:03 smashing my previous time of 4:22.
It was nice to be able to relax after the race without packing up and rushing home. I went to the Inter-Service presentation where we were told we had come second to the Army, watched Sags get his vets prize, then went to the main presentation to see Sags the trophy hunter collect another vets prize. What a great day for him, so pleased he pulled everything together at the right time.
So what's next? The same as last year, I have a week to recover before racing in the Manx End to End mountain bike enduro. I think I will then look for a sprint to finish off the tri season and possibly do the Dalby forest off road duathlon if I have time.
