For the past few weeks regular readers will have seen
snippets of self doubt regarding my abilities, technique and equipment when it
comes to a triathlon. Well this morning put all those fears into giant knot in
the pit of my stomach which later transferred to uncontrollable shakes before
getting in the pool. It sounds like this may be a terrifying blog, enough to
scare anyone who is thinking of trying a triathlon for the first time. On the
contrary it all fell into place and I got round. Not only did I get round but I
think in pretty respectable fashion for someone with the wrong bike!
A 5am wake up call was not the best preparation especially
as I had struggled to sleep but with my bags and bike packed and by the door,
we loaded up the car and hit the road. Heading to Cranleigh Leisure Centre for
the Cranleigh Tryathon 2015. A
beginner/novice friendly sprint distance triathlon with a great number of
cheering and whoopingingly friendly marshals. We would be meeting my aunty Teresa,
Cairine and Kirsten (all had competed last year) and the other triathlon
virgins like myself; Lexi and the father & son duo Paul and Dan.
Preparation
As we entered the car park, straight away I spotted Lexi’s
car and we went to park up next to her and her husband who had come along to
support (and apparently to ride everyone’s bikes and give his assessment of
them!). I picked up my timing chip and someone write on my arm and leg in black
marker… I got magnummed* and I wasn’t even on tour or asleep!
With Lexi, Teresa and Paul we went to the transition area to
set up our bikes and the kit we would need in transition, trainers, race belt,
towel etc. Now much happier that things seemed to be moving along after such an
early start we made our way to the pool viewing gallery for the race briefing.
A very jovial man named Simon gave us the run down of the event and pointed out
that despite the fact the large banner by the pool said Run we should
definitely swim in the water and likewise when we reached the turn point of the
run, we should not start to swim!!
Swim (300m)
As I approached the start point of the swim, I was very
nervous, my hands started to shake almost uncontrollably, I started to doubt my
predicted time and the field was moving quicker now so I was on the side of the
pool lowering myself in clearly looking like a startled rabbit as Simon (the
swim starter) told me to stay calm and enjoy myself.
The logistics of the swim were very well managed, and no lap
counting was required as we did two lengths per lane and moved over until all 6
lanes and 12 lengths and 300m were completed. My feet were tickled a couple of
times during my swim and I waited for the faster swimmers to pass but I didn't feel pressure from this and after about half of the swim I think I finally
stopped shaking and was able to breathe more efficiently. I exited the pool to
shouts and cheers from my husband and another friend of the group, Carmel.
Bike (16km)
I left the pool area on the marked pathway towards the
transition area and my bike. I spotted Paul – whose swim slot was earlier than
mine – who was readying to depart on his run having whizzed round the bike
section of the course already. I wished him well and stood on my towel as I donned my socks, trainers and t-shirt,
stuffed in some jelly babies, buckled my helmet, race belt and most importantly
got some lip balm on. Gave a quick kiss to my husband over the fencing and
lifted my bike from the racking to depart on the Bike section.
Out of the car park and onto some lovely country lanes I
found my pace and pedalled hard. Kilometers and miles were marked on the road
which made it easier to try and calculate my pace as I cycled along, being
overtaken regularly by the fast swimmers on their fast road bikes!
On a short incline I saw one of the organisers Sean (I
recognised from the event Facebook page) and hollered something of that nature
to him. I reached half way and was surprised at how well I was doing compared to
my usual bike pace but this could be due to the slightly undulating and mostly
flat nature of the course. Then I found one possible advantage to starting so
late in the field was that the road ahead was clear and I probably got more
than my fair share of photos from the official race photographer! The second
half of the route was familiar from our drive to the leisure centre some hours
earlier so I knew what to expect… the toughest part being an incline just after
12km but I made it up and the sun was shining.
On the approach back to the transition area I saw my husband
once again cheering me on and telling me how well I was doing. It’s really very
nice to have your own personal cheerleader particularly as a first timer.
Run (5km)
In the transition area, I put my bike back on the racking,
removed my helmet, gave Mike another quick kiss over the fence, stuffed in a
handful of jelly babies, swigged some water to wash them down and somehow all
this took over a minute before I was exiting the area and heading for the run
route and final section of the event.
More enthusiastic marshals clapped and whooped as I made my
way round the field and onto the trail for the out and back part of the run.
Before long I spotted Lexi coming towards me, we waved and exchanged a few
words. Next up was Teresa and we high-fived as we passed each other, before
long I passed a smiling Cairine and the last of our group Kirsten.
Not being able to wear my Garmin I was unaware of my pace
and had only a stopwatch to go by which by this time did nothing for my pace
calculations. I just hoped I would make it to the turn point by 15 minutes of
the run section and I would be reasonably on track…. I think I did, but by this
point I couldn't make sense of the maths! Due to my late starting swim there
were few runners left on the run section of the course, and most of them were
already on the home straight as I kept on until finally I spotted the large
(incorrectly placed) SWIM banner. On the return journey I felt much better and
stopped trying to work out my pace but focused on running, I overtook one or
two runners. Not soon enough a marshal shouted “nearly there, come on sprint
finish”, I tried to rally everything I had left and push on for the finish
line. People were clapping and I could hear my husband and friends voices
shouting my name, then it was over!
Slightly confuddled, but happy, I was done and I had made it
in under 1 hour 20 minutes. Not bad for a Triathlon Virgin!
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