Today saw me start my fourth season of triathlon with a very short trip to the David Lloyd Health Club at Burton Waters near Lincoln for my very first attempt at my local triathlon.
This event is normally held in July which has meant that I have been unable in previous years to enter it, but alas no excuses this year, and I duly rocked up to registration very early, to make sure that I got the unfamiliar lay out well scouted !
After catching up with friends from Lincoln Tri, I was all set to go, and made my way to poolside for my 9.02 start time - this was my race :
Swim 9.00
This year I've been spending Wednesday evenings at the club sessions in an attempt to finally nail the swim discipline. My swim is very much a work in progress at the moment, but I thought I could maybe sneak under the nine minute mark today - that was until two things happened !! First, I went off like a train for the first two lengths with no technique or breathing, and then as I had completed my 16 lengths, managed to get my footing all wrong on the wet floor and went sprawling ! Apart from the fall, and the first two lengths though, I was pleased with the rest of the swim and delighted to be bang on 9 minutes.
T1 - 1.48
I'm not quite sure what I was doing or thinking in T1, but managed to take an age in T1 putting on socks and kit that I possibly did not need ! As the weather warms, I will be looking to improve on this big time.
Bike - 43.36
My cycling speed has come on leaps and bounds since I've been riding with Lincoln Wheelers and my recent time trial results have looked promising. Todays bike course was 14.78 miles with a bugger of a hill thrown in at Burton, which I had made sure to practice a couple of times recently. Today, I had no problems with it as I attacked it from the off ! I knew that when I got to the top, bar a couple of mild undulations, then the rest of the course was flat. I managed to hold a good pace all the way around, and then benefitted from a good backwind on the A57 to get back into transition with an avarage speed of 20.4mph.
T2 - 1.03 - Bit disappointed to be over the minute, but this will improve when I learn the 'elastic band' trick !
Run 21.58
My PB for 5km stands at 22.25 from Conkers Parkrun in February, and I wanted to be around that time today on what I thought was going to be a slightly short course, however I ran very well and had a 6.56 first mile pace. I kept going with a 7.07 second mile as I slotted myself nicely onto the shoulder of another competitor - we then traded positions in a fast final mile on a true 5k course for an unofficial distance PB of 21.58 - delighted, obviously.
My best triathlon performance to date, and beat my goals into the bargain - a really good day !
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