South Manchester Triathlon

Well I managed to find some end of season form for this race, my last triathlon of 2014!

Having done this event twice before and placing 2nd then 3rd, I wondered whether I was going to carry on that pattern and slip off the podium, manage to podium again or dig out a final win. And I'm very happy to say (spoiler alert) that I achieved the latter. 

My start time was 14:05 on the Sunday afternoon, the penultimate wave since we're seeded on swim times. I was going into the race seeded the fastest female swimmer, but you never know how people will perform on the day. I was looking forward to the 400m pool swim since I'd been swimming consistently since Canada, I knew I wouldn't hit a new PB but it shouldn't be a shocker. Feeling strong  in the swim and putting my new-found tumble turns to practise I exited in second, a minute and a half up on the rest of the field. While running to transition my Mum shouted my time, "5.40," I was pleased with that. With just the two of us in transition I did one of my fastest T1's and headed out on the bike in the lead.

I was looking forward to the bike because it's been I've been on form with cycling for the season. For now I just needed to hold the lead. It was a little windy but not as bad as it's been for this race before and some of the roads had some lovely new tarmac. It turned out a rather lonely 24.4km, only passing one person from the previous wave and whenever I looked back there was no one behind me to scare me into working a bit more! On the other hand it did help keep me motivated because if I held this lead I'd be out onto the run with some kind of gap to ease the pressure.

I'd just snapped the elastic band...

Arriving back at the leisure centre I dismounted and managed to clatter my bike up the kerb even though I told myself, "there's a kerb there, pick up your bike." As my bike bounced up one of my shoes fell off so I had to go and fetch that, not the best dismount ever! Rack bike, helmet off, shoes on and run. As I turned from my spot in transition I saw the next woman just pushing her bike in, now it really was a case of keeping the lead. With some pressure on me now I set off at a faster pace to get myself going and to try and make a bigger gap. But as I was climbing the first hill I felt a stitch come on slightly, the last thing I wanted right now. Up and around the housing estate I kept my vision ahead and the stitch subsided somewhat, passing some people from earlier waves kept up my morale and I was feeling really good. However when climbing up the second hill the stitch came on again, and it came on in full-force. Safe-to-say I think it was the worst stitch I've ever had. Unfortunately there were some steps to climb over a main road and I was reduced to walking over the bridge to ease the pain, while shooting wary looks behind myself to check for any opposition. Thankfully there was none near the bridge so I allowed myself to walk down the stairs on the other side too, the finish was so close now. I picked it up into a run and spotted my parents on the turn before the finish chute, "I've got the worst stitch ever!" 

I was totally chuffed to have crossed the line in first place but I couldn't do much until the awful stitch went away, so I stood with my arms in the air, bent to one side for a bit... I really, really enjoyed the race and again I was really pleased to have won, especially as it was my last race of the season! Not to mention the fact that my coach, Hamish, won the men's race too. In addition my club, Knutsford, won the team prize again!

1st place, coach Hamish and myself

From the day I performed the third fastest swim (plus run to T1) overall (men and women), the fifth fastest bike split (women) and the third fastest run split (women). And also technically my race went very smoothly. 

So now it's off-season for triathlon and 'on-season' for cross country. I'm looking forward to training this winter and even more so to the 2015 season.

Stay motivated,

Lucy

Nottingham Triathlon, World Champs Qualifier

Nottingham triathlon, the 'Big Triathlon' and World and Euro qualifier was the largest, most competitive triathlon I've competed in so far. Considering this I felt unusually calm on race day - not a bad thing as I'd have hated nerves to get the better of me. Setting up at transition I couldn't help but observe the girls around me (and their bikes) as they were who I'd be racing for qualifying places. With both transition spots set up it was time to listen to the briefing, put on my wetsuit and accept the army of butterflies in my stomach...

Into the water, which wasn't too cold, for a short warm-up then a jostle for front positions on the line. I took to floating on my front with legs sticking out the back to make some room. The wave was huge and the start a little scary but once we were off I just tried to find some feet to drag me along. I had some feet for a bit, then lost them but found some more for the last half. Feeling a little sluggish in the water I was worried I'd had a rubbish swim but my time and position weren't too bad. As I arrived at my bike there were still bikes left around it, this was a good sign as I'd swum faster than a few girls in my age-group. Transition completed and almost speaking out loud what I had to do, it was time to see how good my bike legs were.

Surprised I didn't lose the hat.......

I was looking forward to the bike course as it was the flattest and closest to 20km of any triathlons I've done. Feeling good up the first straight I was aware I didn't want to push too hard too early, especially since the back straight was into a headwind. Four 5km laps were ahead of me and I was focused on keeping up my average speed and cadence, plus trying to spot any age-group competitors. With more people filling up the bike course from the swim as laps went by I kept pushing on to overtake, mainly to avoid any drafting suspicions. Four laps passed and I was pleased with my performance on the bike,  I probably could have pushed a little more towards the final laps but I've learnt from that and can implement it next time.

Unfortunately from the dismount line my T2 spot was almost at the end of the long stretch, so I was in for a painful 60m or so barefoot run. Bike racked, shoes on, helmet off and run. I felt pretty rough, my legs felt like bricks. However my time was very similar to previous times, therefore, and reinforcing my feelings of the bike, I can bike a bit harder and really feel it on the run but still run a time I'm happy with. This run felt like a long slog round one lap of the lake, it wasn't so motivating looking ahead at the long stretch ahead of you...Instead of focusing on the ground ahead I focused on the people trying to close or maintain gaps. I was pretty certain no one in my age-group overtook me so I just had to hope my position was good enough.

With the finish finally in sight I put in a sort-of sprint, crossed the line with a sort-of smile, had a breather with hands on knees and then hunted down an Erdinger Alkoholfrei beer. After close inspection of the live timings on my Mum's phone we unofficially confirmed I came 5th in age-group, well that's enough for a roll down I thought. Yet with a little more investigation, looking at who was registered for what Championship, I was in for a Q for the Worlds and a roll down for the Euros. When the British Triathlon website was finally updated I was over the moon the see a Q2 by my name for the Worlds. This was followed by a 104.61% for the Euros, the lowest percentage pretty much guaranteeing a spot for the 2015 Europeans.

 I was dead happy with this race, not only since I managed to qualify but also because I had a really smooth race and was pleased with my performance. It was amazing to have eight family members there to support me and it really lifted me on the day. It was superbly organised and I'd love to do it again next year as the course is perfect and the competition very high.

So that was my World qualifier, now for the Worlds themselves....

Until next time, stay motivated,

Lucy

New year, new goals, new challenges

In my last post I looked back on 2013; now it's time to look onto 2014. New year, new goals, new challenges.

One of my biggest goals for this year is to qualify for the Great Britain age group team for the 2014 World Championships (Edmonton, Canada) and the 2015 European Championships (Geneva, Switzerland). If this goal were to be fulfilled the next would be on how I want to perform at both events. But I'll just take matters one at a time. Another goal, or a few little goals, is to beat last years performances in a couple of events I'll be doing again. I find that this will be a great source of not only motivation but evidence showing improvements over a year.

Here is my current 2014 race schedule:

• First of the Summer Tri (27 April)
• Wilmslow sprint (11 May)
• Nottingham sprint - World and Europeans qualifier (31 May)
• Rother Valley - World and Europeans qualifier (14/15 June)
• Boundary Breeze (13 July)
• Chester Deva Divas (27 July)
• ITU World Championship Grand Final, Edmonton - pending qualification (26 Aug - 1 Sept)
• South Manchester sprint (28 September)

The number of triathlons I have planned for this year has been helped by the three free race entries I've picked up allowing me to try out a couple of new events (First of the Summer Tri & Chester Deva Divas) and also have the Wilmslow and South Manchester sprints (same race) at the start and end of the season (aiding a comparison of performance over the winter and the season, indicating improvement).

With the way my training is going at the moment, I'm really looking forward to this season and seeing improvements upon last year. Also, I'm excited about the prospect of trying to qualify for Great Britain and where that can take me.

Working with Starley bikes has given me the opportunity to be in possession of an amazing TT bike which I can't wait to race on this year. Coupled with my bike training at the moment I'm hoping to see vast improvements in my performance from last year on the bike leg.

Swim training with Knutsford tri club is going as good as ever, proved with my new PBs over 400m and 200m from the last time trials. Also I have now been moved into lane 1, swimming with (I use that term loosely) the likes of Paul Hawkins - Pro Ironman and fellow Starley rider. As for running, I think I have shaken off the ankle injury for now. Hopefully it won't hinder this cross-country season, not to mention the triathlon season! I'm currently working to bring myself back up to full run fitness.

So with a lot to look forward to this season and the training going positively I'm excited about kicking off the triathlon season in April and striving for some good performances, especially when it really counts!

I wish you all the best of luck and success for your year ahead and all the goals and challenges you have set out to fulfil.

Until next time, stay motivated,

Lucy

Our greatest glory is not in never falling...

As the title may suggest, I might have had a little slip up. But before bringing the bad news I'll start with something more optimistic.

If you follow me on Twitter (@LoosyScott) then you will have seen my TT bike, if not...

I can't thank the guys ay Starley enough for their support and I look forward to continuing to work with them. I even got my position fine-tuned in store on the day, brilliant service.

Now moving on to the Grafham Water duathlon. Here I reiterate a great quote my coach told me after the 'incident':

        "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising after every time we fall" 

The 'incident'? You ask. Let me begin with a brief race overview. Waiting at the start line I felt nervous, and little chilly on that cold morning. I'd be running with an injury (my ankle) and I knew it was going to hurt. Because of this my run training hadn't been up to scratch in the weeks leading up to the event. Throughout the first 5km run my ankle got progressively worse but I felt quite good, there was nothing I could do about it now so I had to run through the pain. Coming into transition my ankle was really sore but I knew that cycling doesn't aggravate it. My Mum shouted out my run time to me, just over 21 minutes. This gave me a boost because I did not expect that kind of time considering my run fitness and the pain of my ankle. Setting of on the bike I felt relaxed yet excited to be racing on my new Starley TT! I settled in and overtook a couple of people, feeling pretty good. But then at about 2km things suddenly because a lot harder. It felt like my legs had bonked and my speed dropped. The bike was still moving in a straight line and I hadn't felt or heard anything like... a puncture. It was only when I went over a little rough patch of road that the front wheel swerved a bit, this confirmed what I'd been trying not to believe. "I haven't got a puncture, I haven't got a puncture." Pulling over I prodded the front tyre, damn. All I could do was to turn around and get walking. Upon returning (thankfully only a 2km walk away) I found Mum and got a bit emotional.

Unfortunately I just got served a big dose of bad luck on that day. Made worse by the fact that there will be no team GB duathlon for me this time round. Punctures are just one of those things that can happen to anyone in any race, I'm just glad that I don't have a bad performance (i.e. myself) to blame. It's hard to get over missing great opportunities but with some amazing support from my coach, Starley bikes, Knutsford tri club, friends and family it wasn't hard to start feeling okay. Thankfully I have my running club's training camp to now look forward to in April 2014 as well as the qualifiers for the European and World sprint triathlon championships. 

So to finish on a happy note, I won't be dwelling on the duathlon because I have so many exciting events coming up in 2014 and I know that I need to look forward not back. Training, especially on the bike, is going superbly at the moment thanks to my brilliant coach Hamish Shaw (from Oxygen Addict coaching) for scheduling plenty of turbo sessions and getting me on the super weekend rides with the club. 

Also on Saturday 30th November I attended the annual Northwest triathlon series awards dinner to collect a couple of awards I had won this year. They were the Northwest sprint triathlon overall female champion and female junior champion. These were from the Boundary Breeze sprint triathlon in July earlier this year.

So there's a good update for you. If you wish to keep more up-to-date with me (almost day-to-day) then follow me on Twitter- @LoosyScott

I'll leave you with a parting shot of my bike (what else?!) and if I don't post before then, Merry Christmas!

Stay motivated,

Lucy

The first step towards age-group success

Ouch, that 10km run this morning was rather difficult after the Northerns yesterday. Yet it was expected as, in terms of performance, my race went very well - didn't get overtaken once and only overtook others, happy days.

As I said in my first post, I have recently entered a qualifying race to go on to race for team GB in the 16-19 age-group. Here's how it came about...

 

The process, as some readers may know, for registering, entering and qualifying for a slot on the GB age-group teams can be a little confusing. With a lot of guidance from fellow KTC club mate and TORQ team member Hamish Shaw (you can find his blog here: http://hamishshaw.blogspot.co.uk/ ) I managed to get my head round it all. Unfortunately, I got into it a little too late to be able to qualify for the ETU sprint championships in Kitzbuhel 2014. Therefore I've opted to try for a spot on the GB team in the ETU sprint duathlon of 2014 - the date and location of which are still to be confirmed!

 

The qualifying race is the Grafham Water duathlon (around Cambridge area) on 10th November this year. It is the final of the three specified qualifying races and I choose the last one as it gives me the most time to bring my fitness back up. Fitness that I lost due to a knee injury, runner's knee to be precise, which prevented me from running, and cycling at it's worst, for just over a month. And as I mentioned in my first post, this was the month leading up to the South Manchester triathlon!

 

So that's where I'm up to so far on my quest to becoming a successful age-grouper. I have just over a month to get right back into running and pile on the bike training - my downfall in races. Yet I'm really looking forward to the race, especially if I can get my hands on a TT bike beforehand!

 

After a hopefully successful duathlon, I'll get stuck into winter training and the cross country season with my running club. Areas I need to work on this winter are evident to me, such as building bike endurance and strength and I'm very keen to get going. I especially look forward to the 2014 season as I have my sights set on qualifying for the ITU sprint World Championships in Edmonton, Canada plus making qualification for following ETU and ITU championships.

 

Until then you'll find plenty of posts and updates about training and racing, not to mention a report on the Grafham Water duathlon.

 

Stay motivated,

 

Lucy