The one with the British Para Triathlon Championship

Well, where do I start? I suppose this entry starts at the beginning of lockdown 2.  I read with interest about an athlete called Alfie Hewitt, who also had Perthes disease. He competes in wheelchair tennis. It got me thinking about my Perthes journey and whether I could classify as a Para Triathlete. It led me to contacting British Triathlon and told them my circumstances and history, which started off this journey. 

Para sport is different in that you need to be assessed as a particular classification of disability based on medical history and assessment. Only then can you enter a classified race. I didn’t have a clue whether my hip history would suffice for a Para classification, and after all Ironman was the final destination. However I was intrigued; ‘what if’! So before Christmas I applied for a para classification. This needed to go through a rigorous process, which culminated in a physical assessment at the Eton Dorney offices the day before the race. So, until Friday afternoon (the day before) I was not 100% certain I would be racing. 

The process involved my medical specialist from the hospital filling a report on my physical limitations and then providing power data taken off a bike. Fortunately during lockdown 3.0 a friend, Luke – offered to let me use his sensors. The data was downloaded and then sent to British Triathlon for interpretation and assessment.  The final stage was an assessment with the classification officers which included a run assessment with data analysis and bike with data analysis. 

When they called me into the room for the conclusion and feedback I was so nervous, because I knew here this represents a crossroads in my triathlon journey.  See, Para triathlon is in the sprint distance, ie. shorter but faster. Whereas, Iron Distance is about going long and slow.  I knew the next 5 minutes could potentially effect my next 5 years of training and goals. So, they called me in….. “you meet the criteria for PTS5 classification and as such would be eligible for the British Championship race”, the assessors said. I was beyond happy!

How did you feel going into the event?

To be honest stressed was the only word I could describe it as. I was not sure if I would receive classification, whether this would effect my Ironman journey and whether or not I could swim that far without a pull buoy. The week before was stressful too as I needed a new wetsuit – and the country is experiencing a wetsuit shortage (big thanks go to Deano and Rich at Huub) for pulling out the stops for a suit for me to wear. The swim was my main concern generally, I know I could run 5k and bike 20k but had big questions on my swim. The week before I swam open water twice and one of the time I received some 121 coaching from Hilary Johnson who is the Team Huub head coach. This really helped me out and gave me more confidence. 

The day of my classification I met up with a friend and para-triathlete Jonty who helped ease some nerves over a cuppa. We were both going to be entering our first para event. 

On the eve of the race I went to bed early, but woke up at 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep. The pre-race nerves were raising their head. In fact the anxiety lasted until I lowered myself off the pontoon and into the lake. 

How did each leg go? (What went well? – to take with you for the next race, what could’ve you done better? – what did you learn?)

Swim. The first part of the swim leg was to lower myself off the pontoon and into the water. The lake was clear and had a lot of pond greenery. The lake was also lovely and warm. I split the race mentally into a buoy-to-buoy race. I told myself I would allow 10 seconds of breaststroke with every buoy reached.  The rest of the PTS5 competitors went off so fast, I could not believe the pace. I always knew for me the swim was an exercise for survival. 

I have been training recently with one sided breathing as bi-lateral breathing was causing me a few issues. This was a huge help for me physically and psychologically. An opportunity for improvement would be to become confident in bi-lateral breathing in the open water. 

The bike leg was next and took us around the roads of the Dorney Lake. Traffic free and pan flat. It could only be described as thoroughly enjoyable. I averaged a respectable 27.7kph for the 20km. I know I have potential to improve here. I am losing weight again coupled with a TT bike would naturally improve my speed. 

One of the biggest problems I had though was my quadriceps were really burning and hurting through pushing myself hard. I am sure I can do some focussed training on these. 

The run leg was very hot. It tipped 29 deg C in London and I felt every degree. Fortunately I had remembered to pack a hat into my transition kit. There were 2 water stations on the run and I used the opportunity to pour water down my back each time. I completed the run in 32 minutes, though a lot slower than some of the field – I was still thoroughly proud. 

Nutrition (pre, during and post-race)

Before the race I had breakfast of overnight oats and mixed berry’s with a side shake of Protein powder. 

During the race I had 2 Bananas

Post-race I had a packet of Colin the Caterpillar sweets 🙂 

Hydration

What did I drink – during the bike leg I had 750ml Hydration sachet and during the run 2 sips of water with the rest going over my back. 

General feeling after the event

It still feels surreal. I cannot believe what I have managed to achieve in the last 18 months. However, I now have a decision to make. Do I train for Ironman or Para-Tri? I’m thinking the latter…..