This was the second time that I had attempted the Southwell course as in September 2009 I did the Essendex Last Minute Triathlon which is essentially the same course and same triathlon organised by the same people.
Having lost now somewhere in the region of 13 kilos since I returned from Honeymoon in October, I was quietly hoping to do much better than the 1.22.41 that I managed in the previous Southwell race. To do this I would need to better a 11.54 swim time, a 40.55 ride and a 27.32 run - this then is how it went :
Swim 10.24
I like to wear those calf supports that you occasionally see runners and triathletes wearing but could not for the life of me find out whether you put these on before the pool or in one of the transitions. In the end I had to post on the Lincoln Tri forum to ask the question and the consensus was that it would do no harm to swim in them – so I did in the end, and it was the right thing to do because they were not detrimental to the swim and dried out very quickly. I was very lucky today as my lane was reasonably clear and the poor chap in the lane next to me had a line of four breaststrokers to deal with !! My 16 lengths came and went without any fanfare and I even managed to overtake someone (with another swimmer coming in the opposite direction ! – it was like a very slow version of chicken !!!) I glanced at my watch as I gracelessly flopped out of the pool and saw 9: something, so was really pleased with that. Once I had run out of the pool area and over the timing mat the swim time had increased to 10.24.
T1 – Takes a bit longer nowadays due to the putting on of socks and the bike shoes, but worth it overall because T2 suddenly becomes a lot quicker (or so I thought !!). T1 + T2 time in 2009 = 2.17, today it was 2.22 - so actually a little bit slower - but I'll persevere with is for the time being as I believe that having socks on for the bike gives me a faster bike split.
Having lost now somewhere in the region of 13 kilos since I returned from Honeymoon in October, I was quietly hoping to do much better than the 1.22.41 that I managed in the previous Southwell race. To do this I would need to better a 11.54 swim time, a 40.55 ride and a 27.32 run - this then is how it went :
Swim 10.24
I like to wear those calf supports that you occasionally see runners and triathletes wearing but could not for the life of me find out whether you put these on before the pool or in one of the transitions. In the end I had to post on the Lincoln Tri forum to ask the question and the consensus was that it would do no harm to swim in them – so I did in the end, and it was the right thing to do because they were not detrimental to the swim and dried out very quickly. I was very lucky today as my lane was reasonably clear and the poor chap in the lane next to me had a line of four breaststrokers to deal with !! My 16 lengths came and went without any fanfare and I even managed to overtake someone (with another swimmer coming in the opposite direction ! – it was like a very slow version of chicken !!!) I glanced at my watch as I gracelessly flopped out of the pool and saw 9: something, so was really pleased with that. Once I had run out of the pool area and over the timing mat the swim time had increased to 10.24.
T1 – Takes a bit longer nowadays due to the putting on of socks and the bike shoes, but worth it overall because T2 suddenly becomes a lot quicker (or so I thought !!). T1 + T2 time in 2009 = 2.17, today it was 2.22 - so actually a little bit slower - but I'll persevere with is for the time being as I believe that having socks on for the bike gives me a faster bike split.
Bike 34.14
My bike times have been tumbling nicely this year and this is in part due to being able to use my time trial bike for events where as last year I was saving that bike for Antwerp. I have also bought some carbon wheels for the bike from Planet X, but did not use these today as it was ever so slightly windy and to be honest, having nor ridden with them yet, I am not confident enough to use them yet. So I rode my TT bike with the standard wheels that it came with.
The first part of the Southwell bike course is up and down, which I struggled with until I had got some bike speed into my legs. By the time I got to Thurgarton though, they were nicely warmed up and I set off the roadside speed trap at 30 mph ! – indeed, all the way down to the Lowdham roundabout turnaround point I rode really well, but as soon as I turned back for Southwell I understood why – there was a bloody great headwind which made the return trip extremely difficult. I persevered against the wind and eventually found my way back into transition – a good 6.5 minutes quicker than my last attempt. It is interesting to note that I did had not been overtaken by anyone at this stage of the triathlon – which is unheard off !!
T2 - Not a lot to do here as it was mostly done in T1 !
Run 22.38
There are some things in life so horrible that you completely block them out of your memory ! This would be the ‘Southwell Slope’ which is a 400m incline at the start of the run leg – OK, I admit it, I suppose its not that bad once you are running up it, but when you see it initially and you are still crackered from the bike, it does look a bit of a tall order.
The run leg at Southwell then is two laps of out and back, which is up the slope, round some quiet lanes, turn around a cone, and then back down the slope, then to the finishing arch. My run started far too fast, because of adrenaline no doubt, and by the time I tackled the slope for the first time I was already beginning to blow a bit so sensibly decided to reign my excitement in a bit. Once I had managed to get up to the top of the slope for the first time I felt a lot better and my breathing regulated. From here on in, I ran a steady pace and then gained some time by going back down the slope very quickly. Before I knew it the run was nearly over, and I managed another one of my rare sprint finishes. The aim at the start of the year was to do this event in less than 1.16, so to achieve a 1.09 finish means that I am over the moon. This also meant that I finished in the top half of the field for the first time in Triathlon.
My bike times have been tumbling nicely this year and this is in part due to being able to use my time trial bike for events where as last year I was saving that bike for Antwerp. I have also bought some carbon wheels for the bike from Planet X, but did not use these today as it was ever so slightly windy and to be honest, having nor ridden with them yet, I am not confident enough to use them yet. So I rode my TT bike with the standard wheels that it came with.
The first part of the Southwell bike course is up and down, which I struggled with until I had got some bike speed into my legs. By the time I got to Thurgarton though, they were nicely warmed up and I set off the roadside speed trap at 30 mph ! – indeed, all the way down to the Lowdham roundabout turnaround point I rode really well, but as soon as I turned back for Southwell I understood why – there was a bloody great headwind which made the return trip extremely difficult. I persevered against the wind and eventually found my way back into transition – a good 6.5 minutes quicker than my last attempt. It is interesting to note that I did had not been overtaken by anyone at this stage of the triathlon – which is unheard off !!
T2 - Not a lot to do here as it was mostly done in T1 !
Run 22.38
There are some things in life so horrible that you completely block them out of your memory ! This would be the ‘Southwell Slope’ which is a 400m incline at the start of the run leg – OK, I admit it, I suppose its not that bad once you are running up it, but when you see it initially and you are still crackered from the bike, it does look a bit of a tall order.
The run leg at Southwell then is two laps of out and back, which is up the slope, round some quiet lanes, turn around a cone, and then back down the slope, then to the finishing arch. My run started far too fast, because of adrenaline no doubt, and by the time I tackled the slope for the first time I was already beginning to blow a bit so sensibly decided to reign my excitement in a bit. Once I had managed to get up to the top of the slope for the first time I felt a lot better and my breathing regulated. From here on in, I ran a steady pace and then gained some time by going back down the slope very quickly. Before I knew it the run was nearly over, and I managed another one of my rare sprint finishes. The aim at the start of the year was to do this event in less than 1.16, so to achieve a 1.09 finish means that I am over the moon. This also meant that I finished in the top half of the field for the first time in Triathlon.
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