The one with the second race in a week!

This past week has been far more relaxed to be fair, but I had really stiff and painful legs the beginning of the week.  Mon thru Weds was spent icing and then putting deep heat on my left calf, which was completely knotted.  To be honest it felt like a deep bruise.  On Thursday I went for a swim at Lavender Patch with Ashbourne Tri club.  This has now become a regular training plan, which I really enjoy.  During the swim I did 1.5 laps of the lake and felt really strong.  I was also practicing my bilateral breathing.

On Friday I had two appointments, the first one with a custom bike shoe fitter (more to come on this another day) to be fitted for some triathlon specific shoes.  I realised last week I was losing a lot of time putting my normal road shoes and socks on, so tri shoes are needed.  I’ve been fitted and should get a pair soon.  Then was back in with my bike fitter, Alex, who helped dial in a couple of issues I was having on my Bianchi.  I was getting pressure in my wrists and saddle issues.  A few tweaks later the problem appeared to be fixed.

How did you feel going into the event?

Going into the event I felt fairly relaxed compared to last week, I also was excited to try out my new elastic shoe laces (for quicker transitions).  I managed to get a fairly early night sleep but woke up at 4am again! I think its anxiety about missing the alarm clock and having to rush around for registration.  Getting to Locko Park was really easy and parking was straightforward.  Once I had registered and picked up my numbers and swim hat I went to scope out the swim course.  It looked further than I remembered and had to do 2 laps.  I got a bit nervous here for the first time.  

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 swim start line was in the middle of the lake and was in relatively shallow water.  The first thing I noticed was I was hitting my hands on the floor of the lake.  But after a couple of meters it got deeper.  The water was lovely and clean, but it was a lot more crowded than I was used to.  The start could be described as a washing machine.  So I look a wide line around the whole course, slightly longer – but I was not going to be kicked in the face.  Pretty soon I settled into a rhythm and started bashing the swim out.  I was quickly caught by a lot of the wave 3 swimmers who were a lot faster than me so I kept a wide berth.  I was also incredibly happy as this was the first time I had swam 750m without stopping to breaststroke.  I kept going solidly.  As I exited the water I was greeted by the sight of my swim coach, Chris and his daughter, cheering me on.  I was made up to have him there.

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The bike leg was next, we turned left out of the park and through Spondon.  At each turning there were marshals controlling the traffic, so I could focus on pushing the pedals as fast as I could.  The course was rolling hills and fast sections with good road surfaces.  I knew all of the roads well though so had no issues.  One of the things I struggle with getting used to on the bike is knowing how hard to push so I save something in my legs for the run.  Several times I backed off to save my legs and changed down my gears to spin uphill.  Pretty soon, as it seemed to me, we were back flying past Broomfield college and approaching the Kings Corner pub and back to the park.  When I got into transition 2 I had a chomp of a banana and changed my shoes rapidly.  The new laces made a big difference

The run leg was out and through the driveway following the outside of the lake.  I was really enjoying it and making a good pace.  The first Kilometer was 6:33 but then I hit the first hill.  This was energy sapping and seemed to go on for ever, my speed dropped massively and I kept going though.  One foot in front of the other I eventually hit the top of what I would call a ‘hill’ but in reality was just a moderate slope.  Last weeks run legs were showing.  Back to the water station and a turn right through the fields and up another rolling section.  My legs were shot.  I kept going though and saw Chris and his Daughter who gave me a ‘power-up’ high 5.  This was it, home stretch.  Within 5 minutes I was crossing the line where I saw another mate ‘Ash’ cheering me on.  I was so happy to finish.

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 1/2 Banana

Post-race I had a muffin 😊  

Hydration

What did I drink – during the bike leg I had 750ml Hydration sachet and during the run 1 sips of water from the water station. 

General feeling after the event

Feeling good generally, had a nap in the afternoon.  I have now cemented in my mind that I am going to focus on Sprint Triathlons for a couple of years.  I am going to withdraw from The Outlaw X in September.  I think this is the sensible thing to do.  It is not saying the ironman won’t happen – just putting it on the back-burner.  I’m not sure about Ironman Venice just yet.  I may still train for this.  But we’ll see.  September is all about the British Para Triathlon series.  I want to improve my T1 and T2 times and get quicker at my run and swim.  Lots to go at here.