Race Reports 2010 (2012 Race Reports) (2011 Race Reports)
September 26th Dave Hughes memorial
Aquathlon, Monmouth
400m pool swim, 5k run
1st (16 & under), time 00:25:26
Monmouth, the last race of the season. My first race
of the season was a triathlon in Monmouth, and my last was an aquathlon in
Monmouth or as the organisers spelt it Aquathon.
The swim was a 400m pool swim, which I completed in 4:58 (would have liked to
have gone sub 4:50). My transition was super quick as there were only my running
shoes and sun glasses to put on, no wetsuit to take off which makes a change.
The run course was flat and fast which I enjoyed. The sun was in my eyes for the
first 1km before the road went under a canopy of trees which lasted for the
remainder of the run. The course was a simple 2.4km out and back with 1 lap of
an Astroturf hockey pitch to finish. On the first part of the run I was glad I
had packed sun glasses, then as soon as the road went under the canopy I
couldn’t see a thing with them on, I only actually needed them for a small part
of the run as on the return leg the sun was at my back and wasn’t in my eyes. My
run went really well and was probably my best run of the season. I didn’t go off
too hard at the start and built up my speed through the run. I won the under 16
category, my Dad had my time as 25min 26secs, but the organisers had me down as
26min 26secs, a minute slower with a swim time of 6mins 9secs (going into
transition). They must have got my start time wrong by a minute, going by my
Dad’s timing I won the race overall (the youth were doing the same distance as
the adults).
After a long season I’m taking a week or two off, then I’ll be starting my winter training schedule.
Next race – next year some time…..
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
September 19th British youth triathlon championships, Parc Bryn Bach
400m lake swim, 11k bike, 3k run
24th (youth male), time 00:41:31
As I didn’t qualify to represent Wales in
the Inter Regional Championships, I would be racing for myself and Team Tri UK.
10 People who hadn’t qualified to represent their regions were allowed to race
as it was not only the Inter Regional Championships but also the British Youth
Championships.
After a spell of bad weather the lake was cold, extremely cold, so cold in fact
that the Tri-star 2 and Tri-star 3 age group races had to be downgraded to a
Duathlon. Luckily for me the youth race was still a triathlon, I’m not a fan of
Duathlons.
My swim went well and I exited the water in the lead group. I got my wetsuit off
pretty quickly, flicking my right leg out, but I struggled slightly with my left
as it caught on the timing chip.
Normally I like the bike course in Parc Bryn Bach as it’s hilly and technical,
today however, it was very windy which made it hard for me. I managed to get
caught in between two groups again, the group ahead of me were just out of reach
and despite my best efforts I couldn’t catch them. I just had to fight the wind
and become as aerodynamic as possible. Typically the wind was behind me on the
descent and in front of me on the ascent. On the last lap I was caught by the
group behind me, after being drained by the wind I sat on the back of the 6
strong group, letting them do all the work, I just hoped I could run with such
tired legs.
As I dismounted and run into transition my legs felt good. After
100m of the run though it all changed, my legs died. I pushed on knowing it was
only 1 lap of the run course and not the two that I had in the Aquathlon series
in Parc Bryn Bach. Despite my best efforts a few people past me and I was the
24th Male across the line. I was pleased with my effort, but disappointed that
I’d spent most of the bike course on my own battling with the wind, if I’d
managed to bridge the gap to the group in front the bike leg would have been a
lot easier and my legs would have been fresher for the run.
Next race – Dave Hughes memorial Aquathlon, Monmouth, September 26th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
August 26th Parc Bryn Bach aquathlon - race 5
750m lake swim, 5k run
5th overall, time 00:30:20
The fifth and final race in the Parc Bryn
Bach aquathlon series had arrived; I couldn’t believe how fast the year and the
series have gone.
I went into the race raring to go as I was leading the series by a small margin.
The temperature of the lake at Parc Bryn Bach had dropped considerably after a
spell of bad weather. My swim went quite well if you don’t include the cold
headache because of the low temperature and the fact my feet were two frozen
blocks.
I exited the water in second place, in front of Welsh Elite triathlete Rhys
Jones by just a metre or two. He’d been constantly tapping my feet on the swim;
surely he could have gone past? (Think he was paying me back for tapping his
toes on race 3 in June!)
My transition went well, but my head started to go dizzy as I exited onto the
run.
I moved into first place quite quickly and held it until about 1.5km when Rhys
finally caught and passed me. I was so cold from the lake that I’d gone out too
hard on the run and the first 1.5km was most probably a sprint as I couldn’t
feel my legs (as Rhys pointed out at the end of the race, when he went passed I
was running anaerobically). On the second lap I finally got the feeling back in
my legs, but by then they were burning after a too quick first lap. I paid the
price as in the last 400m 3 people passed me; I tried to go with them but
couldn’t keep up.
Despite finishing 5th I won the overall series, for my efforts I got a voucher
for a free pair of Mizuno running shoes to the value of £85 from Moti, which I
picked up from their Cardiff branch a few days later – Nice!
I’d just like to say a big thanks to Richard Davies and all the crew from NEWT
(Newport and East Wales Triathlon club) for putting on a great little series in
Parc Bryn Bach, I’ll definitely be back next year, hopefully bigger, stronger
and faster!
Next race – British youth triathlon championships, Parc Bryn Bach, September 19th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
August 15th Welsh IRC team selection
race, Parc Bryn Bach
400m lake swim, 11k bike, 3k run
4th youth male (3rd Welsh male), time 00:40:16
Early start for the IRC Qualifier,
registration opened at 6am, my race started 9am.
The lake at Parc Bryn Bach was cold, 16 degrees to be accurate; I’m used to it
now due the aquathlon series I’ve raced there. Today was supposed to be the
Welsh championships but despite this most of the field were English; they were
over to practice as Parc Bryn Bach will be the venue for the IRC’s this year.
My swim didn’t go well; maybe it was the cold I don’t know. I exited the water
either 4th or 5th, though I made up a place on the way
into transition. My bike went well, I really like the bike course at Parc Bryn
Bach, it starts off with a small technical section then turns left up a long
hill, there’s a short flat section at the top then a long fast decent with a
tricky corner at the bottom which is know as Will Clarke corner as he crashed on
it in a previous race.
I exited T2 in third place (and more crucially for me second Welsh athlete),
with about a 30 second lead over fellow Welsh athlete Owain James in fourth
place.
Once again my run went well for me, but it wasn’t fast enough! I was passed by
Owain James who is a great runner. He deserved his Welsh team place as he caught
and passed me even after going into the run about 30 seconds down on me. He
finished second behind fellow Welsh athlete Liam Lloyd to claim his Welsh IRC
team place (only two places were up for grabs as Morgan Davies who was recently
selected to race for GB in the European championships wasn’t allowed to race). I
was third Welsh athlete home and fourth overall, so I’m first reserve for the
team.
I’ll be racing at the IRC’s as it’s also the British youth Championships and the
organisers have allowed extra people to enter if they didn’t qualify for their
region. I won’t be representing Wales; I’ll be representing Team Tri UK. With a
few weeks left I’ll be training hard and taking advantage of the summer holidays
and hope to do well for Team Tri UK in the British Champs.
Next race – Parc Bryn Bach aquathlon – race 5, August 26th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
August 7th Cymer Afan off road triathlon
300m pool swim, 15k bike, 3k run
1st male overall, time 00:38:33
A week off training and a heavy cold, not
exactly the perfect preparation for a race! Cymer triathlon would be only the
third time back in the pool and the first time cycling and running after my
cold. (The other swims were races in the summer nationals in the Wales National
pool Swansea, so I wanted to compete even though I was still feeling a bit
rough. I surprisingly PB’d in both races, all be it by a couple of hundredths of
a second).
The weather in Cymer wasn’t brilliant; it was cloudy with light showers now and
again.
Youth athletes competed in the adults’ novice race, which was half the distance
of the full event. My swim went ok, but it wasn’t anything special, that said I
was first out of the pool in my wave by a reasonable margin.
Cymer off road tri is different from most in that the pool is a couple of
hundred metres from transition and you need to cross a main road on route
(police are on hand to stop traffic to allow you to cross), running from the
pool to transition barefoot is not an option, so it’s on with your running shoes
on pool side and take them back off in transition before exiting with your bike.
On the bike I felt good, the course for the novice race was a mixture of tarmac
and gravel. Most of it was tarmac so I used my road bike, my training bike that
is, my training bike is strong and can take a battering, I didn’t want to risk
damaging my carbon race bike. Because there had been heavy rain is the days
leading up to the race, the gravel section was more like a shallow lake, not
ideal as I was on 23mm road tyres!
The first half of my run wasn’t that good but I found my legs and had a great
second half to the run. As with all wave or staggered start events you have to
wait to find out your result, I knew I’d done well but had to wait for the
presentation to find out that I’d won the novice race.
For my efforts I received an engraved glass plaque, a voucher for free entry to
next year’s race and a Mizuno backpack worth about £40 – nice!
As always, Cymer Afan off road tri was a well organised and well run event, I’ll
definitely be back next year.
Next race – Welsh IRC team selection race, Parc Bryn Bach, August 15th.
"Grin When You Win”
Kieran
July 28th Parc Bryn Bach aquathlon series race 4
750m lake swim, 2.5k run
3rd overall, time 00:29:49
The lake was warm, the sun was out but it
wasn’t too hot, perfect conditions for once! I was surprised to find that not as
many people as usual had turned up for tonight’s race, the race had been brought
forward from Thursday to Wednesday due to the Eisteddfod using the venue, maybe
some people had forgotten or perhaps Wednesday just wasn’t convenient for them.
My swim went well, helped by the fact I had clear water from the start, fewer
people racing meant we all had plenty of room. After 150 - 200 metres the field
was spread out and I was in second place pulling away from the main field. On
the second turn around buoy, I was a about 20metres behind the lead swimmer, by
the end of the swim his lead was about 30metres. Transition went smoothly
without any hitches and I exited transition before the 3rd place
swimmer had got out of the water.
As it’s not a major event the Parc Bryn Bach series is the ideal time to try out
new equipment or ideas, before the start of this race I’d decided to try out one
of the many free gels that I’d been given at various events this season. About
1km into the run I was sick, the gel obviously hadn’t agreed with me. After
being sick I felt slightly better and began to catch the lead athlete again. I’d
closed the gap to about 20 metres, then with about 1.5km to the finish I had a
stomach cramp and started to develop a stitch. I had to back off as I was in a
lot of pain, not far from the finish line I was caught by the 3rd
place athlete and had to sprint to the line, I couldn’t catch him so I finished
in 3rd.
I was disappointed as this was a race I could and should have won, however it’s
better to find out what works for you (and what doesn’t!) in an event like this
rather than in a crucial event like the IRC qualifier.
Next race – Cymmer Afan off road triathlon, August 7th.
"Grin When You Win”
Kieran
July 24th British Youth Aquathlon championships, Hyde Park
400m lake swim, 2.5k run
22nd male, time 00:16:38
The weather was again warm and humid, the
worst conditions for my asthma, this race would really put my new asthma
medication to the test.
The lake in Hyde Park was warm enough so wetsuits were optional, I decide not to
wear mine as the run to transition was a long one. The swim was a simple 400m
out and back, with a dive start – just like the pro’s.
I didn’t have a very good swim and exited the water middle of the pack. The run
to transition was quite long and I passed two people who were getting the top
half of their wetsuits down, so I was glad I didn’t wear mine.
The run was a fast 2.5km around the lake, it was like Parc Bryn Bach, fast and
flat, this really put my new asthma medication to the test (especially with the
hot temperatures). I must say it worked a treat
and my chest was fine, I was able to run flat out.
The only thing that held me back was my legs, they were burning, and I
just couldn’t go any faster. I passed one person
on the run but a few people past me. For me my run was very good, it was my best
run of the season. Despite this I couldn’t gain back many places.
Overall I enjoyed the race and was pleased about my new asthma medication, hopefully my running will improve as I’ll be able to run harder in training without my chest giving me any problems.
Next race – Parc Bryn Bach Aquathlon series race 4, July 28th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
July 10th Eton 14-17yr old high performance drafting triathlon
400m lake swim, 10k bike, 2.5k
run
39th male, (15th 16yr old), time 00:34:33
We left home on a cloudy damp Friday
afternoon, the temperature reading on the car was showing 17oC, when
we arrived at our hotel in Slough at about 8 o’ clock it had climbed to 29o
C! The forecast for the following morning was much the same – HOT!
We arrived at
Dorney Lake with plenty of time to get set up for the race, it was hard to
believe the difference in weather conditions between South Wales and Eton,
temperatures were already in the mid 20’s and the grass around the lake was
scorched brown from the sun, it was more like the Canaries than the UK!
With the high temperatures the lake had warmed up enough for a non wetsuit race.
The start of the race was delayed slightly as there was a car parked on the bike
course.
I didn’t have a brilliant swim and I exited transition lower down the field than
I wanted to.
The bike hurt, Eton is a very fast course and even with it being a drafting race
I couldn’t keep with the leaders. My asthma started to play up just before going
onto the run. Out on the run my legs were heavy after pushing hard on the bike
but they were the least of my problems as my chest was really tight and wheezy.
The run was a flat fast course, but due to my chest I couldn’t run very fast at
all. (My asthma hasn’t been very helpful lately causing me problems when I’m
running). My throat was very dry due to the high temperatures, it was so hot by
now that lots of athletes were suffering and the organisers were hosing them
down with cold water as they crossed the finish line.
Dorney Lake is a great venue for a fast triathlon, I’ve raced here before and definitely will be back again. I was disappointed with my overall result and know that if my asthma hadn’t been playing up then I would have placed higher, never mind there’s always next year!
Next race – British Youth Aquathlon championships, July 24th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
June 26th
Mumbles Mile Triathlon
750m sea swim, 21k bike, 2.5k run
6th overall, time 01:03:32
I don’t care what anybody
says, on a beautiful cloudless summer evening with the tide right in, Mumbles is
a lovely place to be. That’s how it was when registering on Friday evening and
the same conditions were waiting for us early on Saturday morning for the race.
There were two races taking place, a short sprint (750m swim, 21k bike, 2.5k
run) and a long sprint (750m swim, 32k bike, 5k run), I had entered the short
sprint. Because the swims for both events were the same the organisers set the
two races off at the same time, my swim went well and I entered T1 in 2nd place
with quite a lead over the main bunch (the lead swimmers in the main bunch had
gone off course and the rest had followed them). I did have a slight problem
with my wetsuit, the zip was jammed and I couldn’t undo it properly (must have
caught on the flap when being done up), luckily I got it down before getting to
my bike.
The bike course was pretty hard and had a few stiff hills in it, a few of the
older youth and junior boys past me and I couldn’t re-catch them. The ride was
pretty nice as there was great scenery combined with great weather. On the way
back through Mumbles to transition there was a lot of traffic, luckily the
marshals were doing a great job and I wasn’t hindered by the traffic, I entered
T2 in 6th place.
The run course was a flat fast 2.5km, though by now my legs were tired. The
course was along the coastal path with a great view of the sea. A female junior
athlete passed me and I tucked in behind her, for the second triathlon in a row
I ended up having a sprint to the finish, I just passed her on the line to
regain my 6th place spot.
I was pleased with the result, especially my swim, I enjoyed the event which was helped by the brilliant weather – definitely in my calendar for next year.
Next race – Eton 14-17yr old high performance drafting triathlon, July 10th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
June 23rd Parc Bryn Bach race 3
750 Lake swim, 5km run
2nd place overall, time 00:29:47
After the recent warm weather the lake at Parc Bryn Bach has warmed up considerably, even the water level has dropped due to no rainfall (though this means in the shallower parts you are grabbing at the weeds on the bottom!).
My swim went well, 2 athletes from the Llantrisant sharks were out in front, I was in fourth place close on the heels of Rhys Jones (welsh elite triathlete). I tried my best to stick with him on the swim and he didn’t get away from me. I exited the swim a metre or two behind him as we ran into transition together.
Transition went well without a hitch, I exited transition in 4th place and made up 2 places on the run. The first person I caught in a few hundred meters. The next person I caught and passed after almost a full lap. But Rhys was gone in the distance. I was very pleased with my run and I felt great. Well great isn’t a good word as the effort was painful, but I knew I was running well.
I finished in 2nd place with a new PB, 26 seconds faster than last month. I’m now top of the league table in the series and hope to stay there. Once again brilliant weather for racing the only downside was the midges.
Next race – Mumbles mile triathlon, June 26th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
June 6th
-
400m lake swim, 10k
bike, 2.5k run
27th in
category, time 00:47:21
Last year the weather at Blenheim palace was so bad storm chasers could have filmed there, luckily though this year it was sunny. My race pack hadn’t turned up in the post before the race, so on registering I was given a new set of numbers along with my timing chip. After setting out my kit in transition I made my way down to the lake and got into my wetsuit ready for the race, I opened the envelope containing my timing chip only to find that the Velcro strap to attach it to my leg was missing! My dad ran back up to the transition area and managed to get hold of the race organiser who used a zip tie to attach it to my leg.
The swim was going well until the turn at the 1st buoy. The organisers had laid out a 400m swim and a 750m swim, we were all told in race brief to turn at the 1st buoy and head for the jetty (the lead canoeist obviously hadn’t attended the briefing). The lead swimmers went to turn and he stopped them and said straight on, they stopped to argue with him, then the small group I was in caught up and stopped. The people on the jetty were calling us to them, and the canoeist was telling us to swim straight on. By the time we all turned and swam to the jetty a large group of swimmers had caught up to us and what must have been 20 or more athletes all entered transition within about 10 to 15 seconds of each other. Because of a poor transition (partly because I was nervous about ripping my wetsuit on the zip tie) I missed the lead pack going out onto the bike.
The bike was hard for me as the group I was in were trying to catch the leaders, we were hitting over 60kmh on some parts of the course. On the second lap I got dropped from the group. With about 1k left another group caught me and I came into transition with them. After a hard time trying to keep up and being on my own for almost a lap my legs were shot going out onto the run.
On the run I was sick, but I stuck with it and pushed as
hard as I could. With about 100m to the finish somebody decided to have a
sprint to the line with me. I gritted my teeth and managed to beat him, just.
I finished in 27th place, I was disappointed with
this and know the mess up with the canoeist and my poor transition cost me dearly.
Next race – Parc Bryn Bach aquathlon race 3, June 23rd.
“Grin
When You Win”
May 27th - Parc
Bryn Bach Race2
750 Lake swim, 5km run
3rd place overall, time 00:30:21
After the recent patch of
warm weather, the lake at Parc Bryn Bach had warmed up quite a bit. This time it
was a 750m swim (the April race is always a 400m swim due to the colder lake
temperature) and 5k run.
Lately I’ve been having problems with a stitch during the run section of
Aquathlons, so after a chat with my coaches we’ve modified my warm up routine.
The swim was going really
well (I know I’ve said this before but the Foor Synflex wetsuit really is a
cracker!), but as we swam around the island in the middle of the lake we turned
to face the sun. The sun was pretty low and reflecting off the water, so
spotting the next buoy proved to be pretty difficult. I was 4th out of the
water, transition once again went without a hitch and I gained a place, going
out onto the run in 3rd.
On the run I was feeling really good, no sign of the dreaded stitch, I moved up
to 2nd place within about 500m of the start of the run. With about 1k
to the finish I was caught and passed by another athlete who was running very
strongly. I finished 3rd place overall, which was 2 better than last
month’s aquathlon in Parc Bryn Bach.
Overall a very pleasing result, my open water swimming seems to be improving every time I race and there was no sign of the dreaded stitch on the run – obviously the new warm up routine seems to be working nicely.
Next race – Blenheim Palace Triathlon, Sunday June 6th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
May 23rd
- Llanelli Triathlon
500m dock swim, 17mile bike, 5k run
34th overall, 3rd in cat (male youth), time 01:21:18
I was at the Llanelli north
dock for an open water training session with the Welsh development squad on
Saturday. Registration for the morning’s race was open, so registering then
would mean not such an early start on Sunday. The north dock is quite warm and
only about 6ft at its deepest point, the only drawback, as its name suggests,
it’s a dock, and that means salt water – I just hate the taste of sea water!
As always with an open water start, everybody edges further and further away
from the official start line. The marshals spent about 5min calling everybody
back in line with the buoys. Finally the race started, I couldn’t quite keep up
with the 2 leaders, but managed to pull away from the chasing group. I exited
the swim 3rd in my wave (which comprised youths, juniors and age
group athletes, the open age group were in the second wave).
As I left transition and jumped on my bike I had to avoid another athlete and
toe pegged my shoe, after that slight hitch I was away. The bike course was an
out and back type, fast and flat with a few very short hills along the way. The
first ¾ of the ride I was really going for it but towards the end my legs
started to really hurt. By the time I got back to the north dock I was hanging
on. 17 miles is just over 27km, a distance I’m just not used to racing over –
yet!
My run went surprisingly well, I was expecting to be crawling around the course after the bike but I managed to get into a good rhythm. The run course was a 2 lap out and back circuit along the millennium costal path. There was only one drinks station on the run, considering the heat (blazing sunshine and not a cloud to be seen) I would have thought that there would be one at each end of the course, luckily it was only a 5k run.
After the race I got a
sports massage which the race organisers had laid on free of charge – which was
nice!
All in all I was quite pleased with the race, 4th fastest swim of the
day was pleasing, the bike I struggled with a bit as I’m not yet used to racing
over that distance and the run I was happy with considering how my legs felt
after the bike.
It was a well organised event which I’ll be looking forward to racing again next
year.
Next race – Parc Bryn Bach Aquathlon race 2 Thursday May 27th.
“Grin When You Win”
Kieran
Pembroke
Aquathlon
400m pool swim, 3km run
1st place, time 00:17:41
As I arrived in Pembroke
Dock it started to rain, still it was only light rain and not cold. When I
registered I found out there were only 2 athletes in the male youth category, so
the organisers decided to put us off at the same time as the tri-star 3 boys.
My swim went well but not brilliantly, though I did manage to exit the water a
reasonable distance in front of the other boys. As this was a pool based swim we
weren’t allowed to run until we got out of the building and up the top of the
steps. There was a short hill to climb before turning onto the main run course
which was 6 laps around the playing fields, fast, flat and firm under foot
despite the rain! I got into a good rhythm and was running well until with 3
laps to go I got a stitch, again!
I never get a stitch during triathlons, but this is the second time during
aquathlons this year, annoying!
Despite the stitch I extended my lead and won the race, finishing about 250
meters ahead of the other athletes.
At the presentation instead
of a trophy, I had a golden Asics running shoe, which was something new and made
a nice change from the usual cup type trophy.
Next race, Llanelli waterside Triathlon, Sunday May 23rd.
“Grin When You Win “
Kieran
April 29th – Parc
Bryn Bach Aquathlon Race 1
400m lake swim, 5k run
5th place overall, time 00:28:37
Staring at the water before the start I realised, I had to get in. For those of you who haven’t raced at Parc Bryn Bach during the spring, all I can say is, it’s beyond freezing! (Last April’s race saw a number of athletes pull out before the race due to the water temperature). It was pretty cold in there but once I got my head under I started to acclimatise to the temperature. This would be my first race in my new wetsuit, a top of the range Foor Synflex (part of my sponsorship deal with Tri U.K.
The 1st 200m of
my swim went really well, the wetsuit was brilliant, so flexible and
comfortable, I was really going for it but then at the 200m turn around buoy I
felt what I can only describe as a developing stitch, oh great! I had to back
off, there was no way I was going to go out onto the run with a stitch. I got
out of the water in 3rd place and was out of my wetsuit quickly, I
was amazed at how quick it came off.
The run course at Parc Bryn Bach is a fast 2.5km loop around the lake. My first
1km was fine I managed a reasonable pace without any sign of my stitch, I’ll be
fine I thought, How wrong I was. By the end of the first lap I was in agony!
With the finish line in sight someone over took me, it was a sprint to the line,
but I couldn’t catch him, thinking back that wasn’t such a good idea.
To summarise, I known I could have done better, the stitch cost me 2 places on the run and I was annoyed about this. I was 3rd out the water and my final position was 5th. I wasn’t too pleased about this, but I finished just over 5minutes quicker than last year. I think I can say that’s an improvement!
April 11th - Monmouth sprint Triathlon
400m pool swim, 15k bike, 4k run.
13th place overall, 9th place in
cat (Male open), time 00:50:45
(Swim time not included in overall time – see race
report below!)
The omens were not good when
I went to register on Saturday afternoon and found out I was entered as Gareth
John not Kieran John, being mistaken for my dad can’t be good, especially at my
age! I pointed out the error and was assured that it would be corrected by the
morning.
On the morning of the race
the names hadn’t been changed so I was doomed to race as my dad! I was due to
start my swim at 10:27am, race number 199 out of 200. My wave started about ten
minutes late and things immediately went wrong, as I pushed off the wall my
swim hat moved and broke the seal of my goggles causing them to fill with
water, I tried to sort them out but they kept leaking, my hat had moved so that
my goggles were sitting on the edge of the hat causing them to leak (won’t make
that mistake again!). I eventually threw them off and swam the remaining 12
lengths without them!
T1 went smoothly but before
getting out onto the bike course I had to get through lots of spectators, as the
exit from transition to the mount line was not taped off. The mount line was a
speed bump which caused difficulties for some athletes but luckily not for me.
The bike course started off fast and undulating as it followed the
A sharp left turn followed by
a short sharp climb took the course away from the scenic Wye valley, the road then
became a gradual uphill pull. Just as I got into a good rhythm another short steep
hill, this one with two hairpins thrown in. The descent back into Monmouth was
very fast and winding, my speed rarely dropping below 40km/h.
T2 went without a hitch,
however exiting transition and going onto the run was a bit of a shambles, the
correct route to the playing fields (where the run course was) was not taped
off and there were no marshals to move the spectators out of the way. You had to run across the car park in the
direction of the playing fields, no official route!
When I got onto the playing
fields the route was straight forward, just 3 circuits around the field then
back to transition which also acted as a finish line.
I finished the race feeling
that I’d put in a good performance overall (despite the goggle problems!) only
to find that a time keeping problem on poolside meant that none of the swim
times would be included in the overall time for the event!
As one of the fastest
swimmers there, that meant I would lose out the most from the time keeping
problem and as a result was placed 13th overall and 9th
in cat (male open), a bit disappointing, but never mind, there’s always next
time!