Well that's that then, an extra 12 strong weeks of training, huge help and support from friends and sponsors. Was it all worth it? Yep you bet it was. This was my first European championships in this age group, I was one of the youngest and up against some very talented older triathletes. To cut to the chase, I finished 5th in my AG with a new pb of 1 hour 1 second! In a non-wetsuit sea swim in incredibly hot conditions, I am chuffed.
We arrived in Alanya 5 days before the race, very excited. As we, Richard Hancock (fellow club member
and training partner) and I settled in to our pre worked out training schedule
- an easy week, just the basics, easy swim, bike and run recces, we both
found ourselves;
1/ realising - this is it,
2/ what a great job our Turkish hosts were doing putting on
the event
3/ it was gonna be a hot one!
All the talk of a wetsuit swim went out the window, and swimming not being my
best thing, I knew I would be up against it when the time came.
Race day loomed it was a 7am wave start for me. We racked our bikes the night
before, so I took the opportunity to check out transition, checked out the ins and
outs and ran them through.
All too soon I found myself standing proud in a queue in my GB
trisuit waiting to be called forward onto the pontoon to start. Slipped into
the water, a hooter sounded and we were off. As expected the swimmers did their thing and
the field spread out - not as much as I thought it would though, after all we
had all earned the right to be there. I worked hard against the incoming waves,
turned left at the turn buoy for a short while, then left again, then it was fun
on the way back in with the tide.
A quick transition on to the bike and off for the first of
the two lap course. The bike was on cobbled
closed roads - quick, but with constant shuddering through the arms. I decided
on slightly lower tyre pressures for two reasons - to get a bit more suspension
and because of the heat, as I didn't fancy coming out of the swim only to find
a tyre had burst!
I settled down into my 'stride' and soon found myself making
up loads of positions. This course was
always going to be tricky for some not to draft, due to the large number of
competitors and it being a lap course (especially for those that do a lot of
draft legal races, I don't). I pulled out a good couple of minutes before the ‘pack’ caught me up just before we entered
transition for T2.
The run route was out in the open along the harbour, then it
turned uphill back on itself, along a short killer of a hill. The route then
worked its way through the barriered streets of the town through the bazaar,
past bars and restaurants (quite a few of which we had 'visited' in the previous
days leading up!). I managed to do OK,
considering the heat and my ‘solo’ effort on the bike!
A pb! 1 hour 1 second - it’s looking good for a sub 60!
So, all in all, a great experience, with some great people and some great racing.
The age groups standard distance was on the day before and many other races
including relays, (so much intensity!) the elites and the para-triathletes,
lots of great watching, excellent inspiration and much to take on board.
Well done Turkey for putting together the event, and what a great
closing ceremony.
A massive thanks to team mate Rich for helping with the build up and well done
to Chris and Emma who were also racing.
My race highlight? Getting the 4th fastest bike split out of the 250 or so competitor's across all the age groups that did the sprint.
Quick mention and thanks to Adam who got me that much closer to the front in the swim... GreenlightPT
More Photos on my Multi-me Face book page
More Photos on my Multi-me Face book page
I am so looking forward to The World Champs in London in September!