Win at Wilmslow

If there's one thing I learnt from this race it's to check my equipment well in advance - not on the day just because my race wasn't till 2:40...

Race morning was a bit of a nightmare due to a bike mechanical that had come on over time. For the more interested of you, my rear brake block had come loose from the frame so was rubbing really badly on the wheel rim, being so far over that releasing the brakes didn't get it off. Due to the design of my bike, fixing it required taking the block off the frame through means I didn't have the time or patience to figure out. 

So after dissembling, lots of fiddling and reassembling I gave up and just swapped my TT wheels onto my Mum's road bike. (Yes my Mum's - it's better than mine). This all happened when we should have been leaving, therefore I ended up arriving about 40 minutes before my start time. You may be thinking well you should've had hours that morning to sort this out but being all too relaxed I didn't start getting my things together until midday. Big lesson learnt there.

Having finally arrived I registered, racked and wandered poolside - trying to keep as calm as possible. I had big expectations for myself ahead of this race since I won the South Manchester edition at the end of the season last year. With my ill-preparedness and bike swapping however I felt unsure about how it would all turn out. 

Starting with a 400 meter pool swim I felt alright, keeping my eye on the person leading and gaining on her in the second half. Coming into T1 in close second and leaving in first I was hoping the different bike and a normal weeks' training wouldn't have a negative effect.

I rode out front on my own for about 19/20km out of the 24km until I was passed. It's hard to stay focused when riding solo but having someone to keep my eye on for the last few kilometers got my head properly back into the race. Coming into transition about 10/15 seconds off the leader, I ran out just behind her most certainly not looking forward to the 6.3 kilometers ahead. 

It was a few hundred meters until I overtook into first and all I knew was that I needed to keep up the pace to try and hold it. It wasn't too warm a day which I always appreciate when it comes to the run leg and having some people from earlier waves to pick off helped keep me pushing. With 400 meters to go and feeling motivated I picked it up and actually smiled when crossing the finish line. Still at this point because this race is done in waves based on swim time I couldn't be sure of my position overall. It was only until the results presentation that I knew I'd taken the win and I was really, really happy to have done so. In addition I got a 10 second course PB which is always nice for comparing results.

The biggest memory from this race however may just be remembering to check my equipment, especially my bike, well in advance to save the panic and stress on race day because I definitely don't want to feel like that again!!

A race report from my first draft-legal triathlon last weekend up in Scotland should appear soon, but I'm racing at Nottingham this Saturday which is a World and European qualifier. So there'll be a little write up from that one as well!

Until next time, stay motivated,

Lucy

News articles:

http://www.tri247.com/article_13962.html

http://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/11569/over-600-finishers-at-wilmslow-triathlon

Bronze at the British Sprint Championships

Waking up at 5am on Sunday 10th, the last thing I wanted to do was get in a 13 degree river. With my mind taken off the magnitude of the race whilst battling my inner demons putting me off it, I didn't feel too nervous. That's until we arrived at the venue when the butterflies hit me and they hit me hard. I definitely was extremely nervous.

Set up and warm up all went smoothly though, despite the ridiculously long toilet queue, and before long I was pulling on my wetsuit kind of listening to the briefing but predominantly freaking out internally. I was in the second wave at 8:05 and getting in the river wasn't nice. But the sooner I got in the more time I could spend paddling around and controlling my hyperventilation. Admittedly this was probably the worst swim I've had for feeling panicky but I found some feet for the last half and tried to relax on the way back for T1.

I'm stood up on the far left

Emerging from T1 and pushing the pedals I felt loads of resistance, initially making me think my legs were shot for some reason. But a glance back at my rear brake reminded me that I'd forgotten to clear it of cut grass after racking and it was running against the wheel. Fortunately it dislodged itself before long and I didn't need to stop. Settling in I began overtaking numbers lower than mine telling me they were in my age group and motivating me to keep pushing. It was quite breezy out on the course but it was nice to pick up the speed with any tailwinds. I came in off the bike clocking the 3rd fastest time in my age group.

T2 was pretty shabby but setting off on the 5km run I felt good. Relaxing somewhat after a couple of hundred meters I started picking off a few people. Unbeknownst to me I was managing to kick my left calf, leaving it slightly bloody and extremely bruised a few days later! Being totally unaware at the time though I kept the pressure on throughout the run and was hanging on for the last lap. With the finish line coming ever closer I kind of picked up the pace and clocked the second fastest run of my age group.

It wasn't till I'd printed off my timing slip and actually waited for the results that I could believe I'd come third. I was and still am totally over the moon with that result, getting on a British Triathlon podium and receiving that medal was really special. And congratulations to Rosie Lindsey and Rosie Weston for coming 2nd and 1st respectively.

In addition to this results I gained a Q2 for the 2015 World Champs in Chicago and a Q3 for the 2016 Europeans in the above age group. So this race had great outcomes in many respects, and this takes the pressure off for Nottingham where I was aiming for Q spots.

Tomorrow I am racing the Xtra Mile Wilmslow sprint, where I placed 3rd last year. My coach and I have just worked this race into a weeks training so I'm not expecting to feel super fresh but it will be good to see what I can do. A race report will follow in the next week.

Until next time, stay motivated,

Lucy

A podium to kick off 2015

With my last post being quite a while ago I thought I better get back on here and write up a little race report from my first triathlon of the 2015 season.

On Sunday 19th April I competed in Chirk triathlon, a pool-based sprint run by Wrecsam Tri Club that my coach dubbed as a 'competitive season opener.' Naturally I pretty nervous but also excited to get back to racing after a reasonably smooth winter's training.

In the third to last wave at 1:48pm and feeling confident with my current swimming form I was looking forward to getting the race underway. Feeling good in the water I could see that I was pulling away from the other guys in my wave, keeping me working and not to mention concentrating really hard on counting out the 16 lengths - something I always manage to struggle with. On poolside my mum timed my swim and was able to tell me later in T2 that I clocked 2 seconds off my PB for 400m, something I was surprised to do in a triathlon but is a good sign for how swim training has been going.

After a smooth T1 it was time for the bike leg which was basically 11.5km uphill into a slight headwind and 11.5km back down. I wasn't bothered about having managed to forget my Garmin for this because it was a good one to go off of feel. I found a good rhythm to get me up to the turn around point then going back down was quite fun and provided a slight rest from the uphill effort. Coming back into transition I managed to get my feet out my shoes successfully given that I practiced this once the day before in the middle of a ride... Bike racked and throwing my helmet and glasses to the ground (which I now regret because my glasses are a bit wrecked) I put on my running shoes and prayed that I'd survive the 5km ahead.

In the couple of weeks leading up the the race my running hadn't been normal because of a calf problem so I was not only hoping that that wouldn't play up but also that my form hadn't deteriorated too much. As I kind of expected I felt horrendous for the whole run but on the plus side my calf didn't hurt, not that I was necessarily thinking on the positive side at that time.

What seemed like an eternity later and with a very welcomed "500 meters to go" from a marshal I sped up a bit and was so grateful to see the finish line get closer and closer. Afterwards my mum and I waited for the results presentation and I really wasn't sure of my overall position with it being my first race of the season and knowing it's a well contested race. I was delighted to place 2nd female and win my age group, a good result to start the season. Looking back over the results with my coach I was very pleased to have the 6th fastest swim and 20th fastest bike splits of the day, showing some good form for the start of the season.

My next race is the St Neots sprint on 10th May, a European and World qualifier and also the British sprint champs. However my main reason for doing this race is to get an open water triathlon in before the end of May as Nottingham is my focus for qualification. So I'll try to keep nerves at a minimum as the field will probably be stacked!

Thank you to Wrecsam Tri Club for hosting such a great event, I can see why it sold out in 25 minutes! And many thanks to Active Cheshire for their support.

Stay motivated,

Lucy