This sprint triathlon was a BIG, BIG EVENT. It was a qualifier for the World Triathlon Championships in September in Hyde Park. I was told I stood a chance in my age group to be one of the chosen because there are not many 0/70 women competing in triathlon. Maybe not in Kent but the competition out there in the UK and the world is very tough indeed. At my transition point before the start I met the other 0/70 woman who the previous week had won the European age group triathlon title. I knew I could not get close to her expected time and I never saw her again!
As I had to register the day before Richard, Helen James and myself travelled on Saturday down the boring M4 and then managed to get frustratingly lost in Bristol town centre. We finally discovered the youth hostel where we stayed overnight and the registration point. My start group was Wave 9 with a white hat and a start time of 11.28am, [usually start time is before sunrise.] The goody bag had virtually nothing in it! Only a few vouchers that I could only use in Bristol.
Transition was huge and my bike position was in Row 4. There were in excess of a 1000 competitors. The previous afternoon it was not clear where various exits were placed and I spent a sleepless night worrying about changeovers, getting my wet suit off and would my knee hold out! However the signing was excellent and it was very clear where the swim, bike and run exits were placed.
The open water swim of 750m was in the Cumberland basin, on old disused dock area. Very clean and calm and not too cold, 17C. Wave 9, about 30 women of various ages, jumped in to a deep water start where we had to tread water for several minutes. The swim was excellent and apart from a sharp bang on the head I really enjoyed the experience. Perhaps I should stick to swimming only! According to Richard and Helen I was about half way down the field and finished in 18.10.
Then it was a fairly long run to my bike pulling off my wetsuit as I go,. I actually managed to strip off my suit in record time for me [thank you Helen for the heel greasing tip!] and was off on the bike very quickly. Now it was 20k on traffic free roads, 2 laps of an out and back course, along beside a river with the Clifton Suspension bridge towering above me. There were no hills apart from one as we entered the second lap. At the top of the hill was a sharp left hand turn and then immediately into a steep downhill which was a bit scary. Also scary were the young men on their noisy, go-faster bikes whizzing past me at a hundred miles an hour! Several male riders were disqualified for drafting in fact two men were disqualified for dangerous riding. All of them desperate to qualify.
I eventually arrived at transition with very wobbly legs. The bike had been a hard ride, against a fierce wind with feet and legs pressing strongly all the time. I thought I had cycled my average of 1hour. 10 minutes. It was the next day reading my results with my glasses on that I saw I had actually cycled the course in 1hour.1 minute! Off on the one lap 5k run into an interesting course through a park and a country lane. I managed to run the whole way without walking and without pain from my dodgy knee. However the finish line was very welcome. I was disappointed with the slow run time of 42.24.
So it was all over. What a relief, I could stop thinking obsessively about my aim to qualify for the world triathlon championships. Although there were only two in the 0/70 age group I had to finish in a time, 115% of the winners time. [a little maths puzzle for you]. I do not think I have qualified. I always knew the competition was outstanding but I believed in miracles then! Bristol triathlon was probably the best I had ever done – excellent swim, improved transitions, good bike and satisfactory run despite being too slow. Thanks to Richard and Helen for their help and support.
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Finish
My time 18.10 5.38 60.01 2.42 42.24 2.10.05
Winner 16.33 4.20 45.40 2.17 28.32 1.37.19