First Triathlon - Tri Nations Triathlon - Windsor

So the Alarm went off at 6am this morning after a pretty horrid nights sleep wondering what today would bring, after checking my kit 8 times last night and 4 times this morning I was good to go, got to the venue (Downey Lake Windsor) around 8am ready to set transition etc.

As Id read so much about the setup etc I seemed to know exactly where I needed things and where things should go ready for the next leg of the race.

Westuited up and ready to go!

The Water was 11 degrees which was nice and chilly! started from the back but soon realised that I was pacing like I used to swim when I was younger, pushing past people being rather ruthless when it came to etiquette. I actually swam over someone at one point because I couldn't go round, I was powering through and did`nt look back came out the water around 6th/7th place

Swim Time - 00:06.33 (not bad for a first open water race)

T1 - Wetsuit off and got cycling top on, found myself wasting time here drying my feet and putting my socks on and made the rookie mistake of throwing my wet wetsuit on my running trainers, Wont be doing that again

T1 Time - 00:02.31

The bike was a 4 lap route of the lake which was super flat, I had saved my legs in the swim to ensure I had some energy for the bike. The headwind was quite tough on the way down the lake but great for the way back, I did feel like I was going well and was keeping up with guys on bikes probably costing well over £5,000.

Bike Time - 00:38.12

T2 - This was a much simpler transition, literally straight in bike shoes off and running trainers on, helmet off for cap and away I went.

T2 Time - 00:00:57

Run - I have always thought of myself as a fairly decent runner and have practised off the bike but did realise that I need more work on this as by the run was legs were shot. The route was a 2 lap straight up and back halfway up the lake, this was horrid as the headwind again was tough to run into and it felt like it was never going to end, a brief sprint for the line finishing the race.

Run Time - 00:23:45

Overall Time 01:11:58

Im very happy with the race today and its taught me alot about ways to speed up areas and places to go abit easier, Wimbleball is now 8 weeks away. Feeling focused and confident that I can finish it.

New Bike - Fail

SO got in from work yesterday to see my shiny new bike sitting there waiting for me to go for a spin on, unfortunately the rear derailler was completely bent out of shape meaning the gears didnt work :(, really gutted about this as ive waited 4 weeks for this bike through various delays out of my control and now it needs to go back to be replaced!.

Although the bike does look pretty sweet

50 mile bike ride

Today I have completed a 50mile bike ride in 3hrs 10mins with some good hills and elevations included. That gives me the world of confidence in being able to cycle 56 miles 8 weeks today....

I also went for a second open water swim yesterday morning, around 40minutes but not sure how far I covered as I only confirmed the markers once out of the lake. They have an accurate 1km course so the next session Ill start at the first bouy and try and do 2 laps and see my time at the end.

Got mega neck chafage from the wetsuit and my neck is now red raw, Body glide to be purchased very soon to stop that ever happening again.

Did 80minutes on the spin bike on Thursday including a class in between and also ran a solid 48.50min 10k on Wednesday evening. Onwards!

Training update!

Been a while since ive blogged but have kept the training going and the miles are slowly creeping up, I have been spinning most weeks and this weekend have done a 38mile cycle with some big hills to replicate wimbleball followed by a 10k brick run @ 55mins which I am very happy with as my legs felt like lead.

Yesterday I did a 11.6 miles run in 1hr43mins which I found quite easy, hopefully that will put me under 2 hour half marathon with some more training.

This morning I went for my first ever open water swim, The water was freezing and it was raining so I must say it was certainly a shock to the system. It was hard to breath and my face ached from the coldness! My wetsuit was very warm but I think I rushed putting it on and it had gaps which let water in quite alot!

managed about 900m, Will go again next week for hopefully an improved performance.