Cheshire Triathlon - June 2008
This was my fourth running of this race and it proved to me again why it it that I keep going back. I know I must sound like a fun2tri advert at times, but they really do know what they are doing and it makes all the difference. This race has the potential to be quite confusing with split transition areas and the need to collect your stuff in it's numbered bag at the end (which I did without any trouble at all), also with the swimming through the pool. The reality is that it all goes very smoothly because they know exactly what they're doing. Having said all that, we did end up arriving far too early because I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get myself down to the pool and to get myself sorted. We ended up going for a wander down by the river (where the winter swim runs take place) while I was waiting to be allowed into the first transition area.
I was very well endowed with support for this race, Daniel and the kids were there and my Mum and Dad came too. That was brilliant as it's the first time they've ever seen me race. They've come down to meet me at the finish before, but never actually been there for the whole thing. They've always been very supportive of me and it was great to have them there. I really wanted to do well, for myself and for all those cheering me on.
The race begins with a 500m swim in an outdoor brine pool. I quite look forward to swimming in that pool these days, it's even better if the sun is hining! Sadly it wasn't, it had disappeared behind a cloud about half an hour before my race start. Still, the water temperature was fine again, the lanes were nice and wide and provided enough space to overtake when necessary. The water is salty, but too awful if you happen to swallow some, which, of course, I did! You progress across the pool throughout the swim, completing 4 lengths in each of 4 lanes. Mostly I found myself able to swim without any problems. I did need to get past a few people but was able to put on the spurt of speed needed to do so cleanly and not interfere with their race. I was brought up short once by someone who zoomed under a rope from the previous lane and then held me up, but I managed to get by them before the end of the lane. At the top of the pool I could hear the kids yelling and I felt I was swimming well, it seemed like a good start to the race. My time confirmed this as I did the distance in 9:25, my fastest for this event so far. My previous times were as follows: 9:51; 9:39 and 11:34.
So, having whipped the swim hat off and given it back, I ran around the building to reach the transition area. My transition mostly went okay except that I had a fight with my right foot to get it attached to the pedal. Strangely, I had exactly the same problem in this race last year! Still, I managed to clip myself in and set off, deteremined to push hard and to see what I could do with the 20K course. It's an okay course, some quite busy roads, but then that's pretty much unavoidable at lunchtime on a Sunday. I could have done without the few idiot car drivers who thought flying up behind cyclists and then beeping loudly at them was a good idea, but apart from that it was pretty much okay. There were road works on the course, something about a BT cable having come down, and I arrived there just as the light turned to red. However, there was a marshal stationed there taking down numbers and ensuring that we were credited back the time that we lost waiting patiently for things to be safe. I had a nice chat with the friendly marshal while I waited, then, as soon as the light was orange, he allowed me to continue and I gave it my best once again. Soon after that it began to rain, but it wasn't too bad, a slight pain as I'd put my sunglasses on, but nothing to worry about. Looking at my watch as I headed back to transition I felt I was heading for a potentially 'good for me' time and so it proved. The time I was given was 45:07, my best for the course so far. Previously I have completed it in: 46:49; 47:23 and 51:01. I've been getting a little quicker each time, let's see how long I can keep that trend going for!
I racked my bike without any problems and headed out onto the run course. It's a four lap 5K around Barony Park, a good one for the cheering gang as they can see what you're up to at regular intervals. I knew that if I had a reasonable run and kept it going that I'd be able to achieve a PB. The time on my watch declared it and that didn't take into account the time that I'd spent sitting at the traffic lights. I felt good, I felt comfortable and able to run. My ability to run off the bike seems an awful lot better at the moment. Each time I came around I could see Daniel and Dad taking photos of me and hear the kids yelling for me, it was a lovely feeling. I crossed the finish line feeling fantastic, I'd really enjoyed the race and I knew I'd beaten my own previous times. I was a very happy bunny. I did my run in 28:06, having done it in: 30:30; 28:55 and 26:45 on previous runnings.
All of this brought my total race time in at 1:22:38. I had been sure that I'd knocked 2 minutes off my previous personal best, but had thought it could be as much as 3 by the time I'd been given back my stoppage time. So it proved, I'd cut just over 3 minutes from my best time. What a brilliant feeling! Previously I'd done the whole course in 1:27:10; 1:29:20 and 1:25:57. Maybe it was all that extra support! Mind you, my good run of results is keeping going nicely this year, long may it continue!
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