Bassetlaw Triathlon

This is a running and tri blog after all, so I thought it best after a couple of years to actually do a triathlon, so chose the sprint distance at Bassetlaw as a perfect opportunity to get back on the horse. My time trialling had been going well and I was back at running club for four weeks following a calf tear - I had also been back in the pool for the past four weeks and had managed to get up to 400 metres non stop. This is how my day went :

Swim 8:27 

Mega fast first couple of lengths when I had just told a bloke I wasn't going to do it. Overtook loads but by the fifth length had calmed down and by the fifteenth and sixteenth leg I was hanging a bit. I managed to exit the pool and was near the door when the athletes at 8 mins started, so a good sub 8 swim achieved, by the time I'd legged it across to the transition it was 8.27 - good start.

T1 - 45s 
7th fastest on the day - what's to complain about

Bike - 37:37 
My strong point - started well, struggled halfway into the headwind climb. Frustratingly, someone dared to overtake me on the bike leg (that's cheating and it's not fair), and I had a couple of foot down stops - one at the regulation crossroads and one unscheduled at some traffic lights for which I should get some time back. I rolled back into transition on a very windy day, happy to be a minute better on the bike than 3 years ago !

T2 - 48s - I ran in cycle shoes - big mistake.

Run - 21.26 
No wonder it was hard - it was the fastest honest 5k that I'd run this year. I went out of transition wondering where my legs had gone, but started off reasonably well. Paced myself up the first drag and the never ending first mile clocked in at 6.53 before I felt in any way comfortable. Wound my way down and through the council estate and through the college grounds to start the shorter second lap. I struggled a little up the second drag, but felt good at the top and coasted home for the last mile. My splis for mile 2 & 3 were exactly 6.55 each so bang on pacing wise. Up and over the line in 1.09.03 in total with a bit to be shaved off when the official results come out.

Provisionally 16th/212 on my return, excellent !