It's fair to say that my body post Blenheim was feeling rather battered - primarily my left calf after running through the cramp & which wasn't best pleased with me. Over the next few days I didn't train apart from swimming club and went for a sports massage on Thursday. It's fair to say she gave my calves a beasting but unlike the previous week I didn't skip out. However by Saturday things had settled down - I was raring to go!
Windsor Triathlon
I had heard some great reviews about Windsor and was thrilled to get a place when it opened last Autumn. Against a magnificent setting most people talk about the incredible atmpsphere and scenic bike ride through Great Windsor Park. The other point to note was that it would be my first swim with a current - 0.9km upstream against the Thames and then 0.6km back - with the current behind you. In terms of distance it is a slightly long OLY (1.5 / 42km / 10km) and would be my first OLY in several years since London. I was looking forward to see how I would compare to my last time of 2:20:17 - albeit this was in near perfect conditions on a fast, flat course.
Windsor 2011 - Objectioves
I felt that working off 2 objectioves per discipline at Blenheim the previous week has added focus to my race so I chose to stick with the same approach; although tweak a couple based on advice from some of you guys.
Swim1: Keeping head facing down (not ahead) and long reaches
Swim2: Direction - Conserve energy by frequently checking not going off course (Even more important swimming in the potentially strong current of the Thames)
Bike1: Race by feel - i.e. race my own race and not chase anyone (NEW)
Bike2: Ensure I take on adequate liquids / gels to prevent cramp (NEW)
Bike 3: Focus on spinning a high cadence in last few km to prevent cramp (NEW)
Run1: Attack the hill x 3 (NEW)
Run2: Strong finish
In terms of my overall target I used a rather crude calculation to get to this. Basically I took last years Windsors results & assumed I'd come top 15% in my AG - this was 2:25. I sense checked the splits and felt I'd be a couple of mins slower on bike but couple of mins faster on run so used this as my target time.
The Race
Racking up & registration was on Saturday so it was a good opportunity to walk through transition and get a feel for the layout. The sun was shining (see both pics) and the atmosphere was lively; I was really fired up and could have raced there and then if someone had asked me. Racking the day before was great as it dragged out that pre-race excitement over 24 hours - but without the immediate pre race nerves.
On Sunday I was up at 4.45 to get there well in advance of my 8am start - I was in the 32yo wave & the last AG before the Elites woman at 9am. It was a great opportunity to watch the swim & whist warming up went all the way up to the turn point and got some good advice off the lifeguards up there too. Soon enough I was up...
Swim - 1.5km
Having watched the start a few times, I had noticed that the swimmers to the right tended to get squeezed against the island as all others in the middle / to left cut a line to the right thereby cutting them off. I picked a start point in the middle and we were off. I seemed to settle into a rhythm from the off and I seemed to have got a decent line . Quite soon a pack had broken away and I was leading a second pack, soon we were hugging the right bank (ad advised by several people; when swimming against the current, it is weakest at the sides). It was shallow in places and I caught the bottom once cutting my hand - yet the visibility was so poor I couldnt see what I had hit - or my hand. A few swimmers went past as we went under the first bridge, including 1 who despite being a decent swimmer was zig-zagging like a drunkard staggering home! I got on his heels but as he ventured out towards the middle of the Thames I got off and followed the direct line. The turnaround buoy came quickly and on turning round I headed for the middle of the river to use the current to my advantage. Looking up I just saw loads of yellow hats from the previous wave & decided to chase them 1 by 1. Well the no chasing rule was on the bike after all!!! I pased quite a few and want still swimming well, perhaps I lost some time trying to spot the exit point. I thought I was there, and it wasn't, I thought I was there again, and it wasn't. This broke my momentum up abit but was still happy with the swim. I saw the exit and hauled myself up.
T1
As I ran to transition I noticed how wet the path was and thought the rain must have arrived, then I realised it was the water from all the swimmers running along it. Idiot! Anyway I found my bike no probs, but then had same problem as last week with wetsuit - I just couldn't get my feet out. In addition on one quite severe effort to get my right leg out I got a wave of cramp in my right leg. Not again!!! I made a decison to take 1 Powergel instead of 2 and set off. Near the exit my bike hit a lump and my profile bottle straw jumed up and fell back. Split second desision to retrieve it or forget - a simple decision in hindsight but at the time I was 50/50. Fortunately (and in the back of my mind concerms about cramp) common sense prevailed and I ran back the few metres and retrieved it.
Bike (42km)
I quickly settled into a decent rhythm at c22mph. I had read on a website that the bike course is doable on tri bars and it was my intention to do so (obvious exception being the massive descent). I took my gel and was taking on plenty of fluids. Quite soon after I started the rain started to come down., gentle at first and in bursts but slowly getting heavier. This was accompanied by increasing winds. Anyway I was cruising along and overtaking other competitors periodically and felt happy. That changed along the A330 Ascot Road (I believe). I first noticed that ahead was a cattle truck crawling along behind a cyclist on quite a twisty rural road, as I closed in on it I was willing in to overtake but to my frustration it didnt and soon enough I was behind it. Frustration turned to anger; I was dawdling at 17mph and this truck was just sat seemingly draftiung off the bike. It felt like miles until he finally overtook and its fair to say I was pretty p'd off about it. As I got back up to speed I reflected on it, and thought about how I should have taken the opportunity to refuel, spin out my legs and recharge for when he overtook. Happy with my reflection/learning I found my momentum again - varying speeds as by now the wind was partially head wind too. Abit later on I turned a corner and couldn't believe my eyes - the cattle truck was sat behind ANOTHER cyclist with a group of cyclists ahead of that. My previous reflection was a distant memory and as I closed in on him & sat on his tail cursing the situation. I won't go on but this nearly happened a third time - however fortunately just as I was about to reach him the course turned off down winkfield lane & he went straight on. Thank f**k!!! I settled down on my tribars and just hammered it to the best of my ability. The rain was by now very heavy and the roads were starting to collect surface water. I was spinning between 85-100 cadence and felt strong. The drift road came and went quickly and I sat on tri bars for entire stretch (apart from a few climbs when I got out the saddle). Highlights included passing a Argon & Cervelo lol As I approached the roundabout with the A3022 I (thought) I recognised it from riding the course beforehand and flew left at the roundabout. As I exited someone shouted "WRONG WAY" - looking back everyone had turned right. I hammered the brakes, skidded to a halt on the road and came close to falling off. Thats when I realised how trecharous the conditions had become. I turned round and chased after the competitors in the correct direction - promising the guy who shouted to me a pint after the race for that. This was a silly mistake by me but I am sure if the conditions were better I wouldn't have made it - I had my head down in the wind and rain and the steward was cowering under an umbrella marshalling traffic. Soon enough I came to the big descent and all thoughts of hitting 40mph+ went out the window - I am slowly getting my confidence up descending in the DRY - a fast descent in a 2" river was an risk I wasnt willing to take. As I raced through windsor, I spun at a higher cadence to get the lactic shifted from my legs & saw my watch showing 1:48 - I knew a sub-2:30 was a tall order never mind sub-2:25. Anyway soon enough I was at the dismount line.
T2
I mistimed my approach to the dismount line and just had one foot out when I hit the line. I got the other out, jumped off and started running towards the entrance to transition. The marshalls flagged to us that it was quite trecharous and there was thick mud at the entrance point. I raced through and towards my rack, saw the tree and looked for my blue tri-box. No sign. I looked left and right but still no sign. I then remembered I'd put it in a black bin liner to keep my kit dry and I was stood right next to it. I threw my bike up but was getting twinges of cramp so as last week quickly tried to stretch out. As I ran out of transition I was getting twinges in both legs and knew I'd need a sub-40 min run to get a sub 2:30 which I knew I had in me if I could shake off the cramp in my legs.
Run
Psychologically this was the biggest unknown of the race and everyone had been talking about 'the hill'. In actual fact whilst it is relatively steep, it was short so I pushed as hard as my legs could up it. The hardest part of the first lap was knowing how far along the turn was at each of the points (the run was in effect a 4-pointed star returning to the middle after each 'leg'). After the first lap I had got into a rhythm and knew what to expect, by now I knew I didn't have a sub 40 in my legs but was pushing as hard as I could and seemed to be making good progress. The second lap came and went and at the start of the third my left leg cramped severely - I kept pushing through it determined not to waste the numerous hours of training to get me here - 12/3 mins of pain was worth all the hard training I had put into this year so far. Eventually it eased off and the finish was supported with a great turnout of support - fantastic given the weather. I stopped my watch at 2:33:55.
Reflections
I guess my intial reactions was natural disappointment at missing a sub 2:25 & even 2:30 but I reluctantly accepted that given the conditions, a new course, a first time swim with a current and it being my first OLY of the year, my time wasn't too bad. Of course there were the usual what if's. Could I have bettered the time? At the end of the day triathlon isn't about excuses or what if's. I imagine everyone racing had many, many factors affecting their race and what if's can't come into it. The clock stops when the clock stops and thats your time. The cattle truck didn't cost me a sub 2:30; but how I reacted to the situation may have done. A friend often talks about things 'in your control' and things 'beyond your control'. Had I done everything within my control to the best of my ability? I'd say broadly 90% yes - not running a lap of the course before was a basic mistake but probably didn't cost me much time. Suffering cramps at both Blenheim and Windor has raised big questions about what caused this - was it pre race nutrition, during race nutrition or simply not enough 'brick sessions'? I never get it in training however hard my session and have only had it once before in a half merathon where my carb loading had been poor. Finally I also feel that maybe I should be flexible with my targets and adapt them to the conditons?
My next A race is London OLY on July 31st, and I will probably squeeze in the July 220 Evening sprint as part of my build up to that. Outside that I am hoping to race a couple of running 10km's, a cycling time trial or two and an open water swim race - as well as continuing my normal training.
Against my targets:
Swim1: Keeping head facing down (not ahead) and long reaches YES
Swim2: Direction - Conserve energy by frequently checking not going off course YES
Bike1: Race by feel - i.e. race my own race and not chase anyone YES
Bike2: Ensure I take on adequate liquids / gels to prevent cramp NO
Bike 3: Focus on spinning a high cadence in last few km to prevent cramp YES - although still got cramp
Run1: Attack the hill x 3 50/50
Run2: Strong finish NO
Results
Overall Position = 412 / 1,632 = 25%
AG Position = 74/ 225 = 33%
Swim 29:37 (AG rank = 82nd)
T1 2:25 (AG rank = 133rd)
Bike 1:17:12 (AG rank = 111th)
T2 1:41 (AG rank = 111th)
Run 42:59 (AG rank = 38th)
Overall 2:33:54
Positives
- Swim - I seem to have found a rhythm, am picking a decent line and feeling strong on exit
- Bike - Given the conditions, I felt that my bike leg was a positive and I seemed to find a rhythm and spent most of the race on tri bars
- Time - whilst I missed my target it is an ok time to build from
- Nutrition - Both pre-race, and during the race to avoid cramp again
- Transitions - Especially removing wetsuit whenever I swim in OW
- Bike - Participate in a few TT's before London
- Bricks - Build in more 'brick' sessions to my training plan
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