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It's a super sprint. I've done three runs in the last few weeks, not having done more than a few runs in years, but they felt ok. I just went to the pool and swam for the first time since the beach last summer, and managed 400m in 9.30. At least I am enjoying good form on the bike.
Course is completely flat apparently (Dorney Lake) so I'm hoping to survive the swim, put in a respectable time on the bike and try not to lose it all on the run.
My new googles leak.
My wetsuit is quite tight still across the gut, and I'm sure it's going to take me 5 mins to peel myself out of it.
I've only got normal cycling gear, instead of a tri suit, so I hope it goes under my already tight wetsuit (of course I'll practice that part!).
I have done no brick training at all so I might be a total mess on the run which I am shit at anyway.
What could possibly go wrong? 🙂
The Dorney lake (eton super sprints?) are great. It’s been a while since I raced there, but any transition that has people removing baskets and d locks from their bikes whilst racking up is my kind of place! And the swim is lovely, good visibility in the water and not too deep so you can mostly see the bottom.
If it is only a short swim do you need a wetsuit?
Save time peeling yourself out of it
Course is completely flat apparently (Dorney Lake) so I’m hoping to survive the swim,
That made me laugh 😝😉
Dorney is a fairly easy course - even triathletes find it difficult to crash there, Mrs kilo did a fair few there bitd. however there are a lot of weekend closures on the M4 in that area which may affect your journey time.
If it is only a short swim do you need a wetsuit?
A good question - apparently it's mandatory when the water is below 15C and optional up to like 19C or something at which point they're banned. I'm a little concerned if it's around 15 because I do get very hot when swimming - the pool today is a cold pool and I had an overheating headache when finished.
Horseshoe lake is about 11 degrees at the moment, and it’s shallower and smaller than Dorney so probably warms up faster. I’d say you’ll need the wetsuit! Pretty weird year for temperature.
Good luck with the race.
My new googles leak.
Check they're not too tight, slightly counterintuitively if you tighten the band too much (to stop them leaking) it can end up pulling the edge away from your face.
And check the regulations, not sure about triathlons in the UK but in Spain the judges are pretty strict - things like you must have your helmet on when you touch the bike (yes, even when you're dropping it off), having photo ID on you when you set your stuff up (to stop bike theft), etc. Nothing too complicated but would be irritating to get DQed over something trivial!
Can I offer one piece of advice? Make your wetsuit undo pull thing just a bit longer... On my first tri my arms were tired from the swim and I was pretty much unable to reach the damn thing.
Also, wet feet are a nightmare for getting into shoes and socks. Shoe horn. And speed laces (or Boa.)
I actually had fun, even with my normal swimming style being breast stroke to try and avoid the near-drowning of me trying to do crawl.
Well that was.. ok..
Swim was a bit weird, got quite out of breath and didn't feel good at all swimming but somehow equalled my time at the pool last week - 9min for 400m and it felt like it was over really quickly. Water was clear as glass, all water plants and big carp on the bottom, it was great. 13.8 degrees and I didn't fee cold at all. A little warm if anything.
Bike was alright, headwind on the return leg and my arms were killing me because my tri bars were all wrong. Passed loads of people in my wave. Cold, rained a lot, stayed wet.
Run was grim. Just a flat straight out and back along the lake. Plodded along like the second half of a 10k and loads of people passed me back of course. No dramas though, didn't walk and I could have plodded further.
Amazingly came in the top third though. Should have got some lace locks but didn't get round to it. Should have run faster in the transitions. Need to sort goggles out. Strangely not in the least bit sore or tired now, so I should have been able to go faster but couldn't at the time. Not sure why.
Well done! Finishing is always good and finishing well is, well, better! Also, good that you spotted things to learn from!
Also just done my first tri, all due to a drunken night 18 months ago. I wasn't expecting much. I'm a crap swimmer and had hoped to get some tuition and practice in but, you know, Covid. I just breast stroked round the 500m so was almost last out of the water. Passed quite a few on the bike leg and held my own on the run. Finished first in my age category (Vintage!!!) so I guess I should hang up my trisuit now.
I couldn't believe how much time I lost at transition though, despite thinking much of it through beforehand.
Yeah I got about 4 mins at T1 (very spread out due to covid) and my mate spent nearly half that time. I didn't obviously do anything wrong either I just moved slowly.
I am doing the off-road Tri at Pippingford on the 10th July. With actual MTBing. Looking forward to this much more 🙂