Dambuster Triathlon - National Championships

Well Saturday was the Dambuster Triathlon incorporating the National Championships. I am now the very proud owner of a National Championship silver medal!!!

I got up at 04:15 knowing the forecast wasn't promising and when I got down stairs to let the dog out it was tipping it down, needless to say the dog refused to go out and got straight back in bed. I must admit I was tempted to do the same! I had a latte and some toasted fruit loaf for breakfast and set off down to Rutland Water. I probably should have got up slightly earlier really as it was a bit of a rush getting down in time to register and pick up my race numbers etc. I was in transition with just half an hour to go before the start and only saw Brad Goggin out of the 40 or so RAF athletes until I got to the waters edge where I saw a couple of the others. We were called forward into the water and I swam out to the start. I somehow ended up right on the front of the start line with nobody in front of me. I've never started right on the front before and as the whistle was blown I set off and it was great to have clear water, I swam quite hard for the first 200 meters and never got knocked, kicked or punched once. At the first turn buoy I still had clear water and maneuvered into a group of 5 who seemed to be going at a pace I was happy with. The swim was totally uneventful and I stood up and had my goggles and hat off in 22:14 (actual time over the mat was 22:34) and for those that know me will know that's the fastest I've ever swam at Olympic distance (maybe the extra swim work is paying off or it could be the Xterra wetsuit). Anyhow I thought this could be a good day until I got to my bike, I had the suit off except for one leg because my timing chip had rolled down into a big knot and I was struggling to get the suit over it.

Eventually (after 1:29) I got out of transition and set off on the bike. I didn't feel on fire on the bike like normal and the first couple of miles I had a bit of a battle with one athlete but I got the better of him and didn't see him again and started to pass lots of people. It was a strange feeling as it felt slow but I was passing lots of people all the way round as there had been a wave starting 10 minutes before us. This was still within the first week on the new wheels and I didn't enjoy them at all! I was cursing in fact and swore blind I was selling them after the race as I was just getting blown all over on them and was very worried on the fastest descents as I kept having to feather the brakes to keep it under control. I was glad to pick up the A606 for the last few miles as it was a head wind and felt happier with the handling. The bike was done in 1:07:58 which is far from my quickest time round this course. After the race I spoke to others with 80 - 90mm wheels and they all had the same issues so it wasn't just me and I don't feel so concerned anymore. Apparently a couple of riders with deep wheels were blown off the road and crashed into the hedge.

I arrived back at T2 and had a smooth transition at 38 seconds and was off running and it felt fast. I felt strong and was running well passing lots of people but couldn't be sure who was in my wave so just kept the pace as high as I could. I got over the finish line in 2:06:38 giving me a run time of 33:59. I had to wait for a couple of hours as they didn't have the computer up and running to see how I'd done but once the results were available I found out I was second in my age group and a national silver medalist. This is the first time I've had a national medal and as you've probably guessed I'm very happy.

Next race is the Humber Bridge half marathon on Sunday 26th June. I am using this as a training day for my longer races in July and August so I'm cycling the 40 miles up to Hull, running the half then cycling back. Should be a tough day but a quality brick session.