A narrow podium miss and Andover Triathlon race report

 So it is exactly 5 weeks until Ironman Lanzarote. Have the nerves started? No. Has the excitment? YES! I am slightly concerned about the distance as I have to keep reminding myself although I have done one previously it is a bloody long way and as I know an unforgiving course. My recent events having not gone to plan has worried me a little too and this was made slightly worse when during my first UK Triathlon I could not stomach anything. It was only a sprint but I felt like I needed some extra energy to push myself and in hindsight had I have had that I may well have positioned a lot better. This led to some despairing tweets asking for advice to which I got many including one from my biggest competitor in Lanzarote, Becky Hoare. It really humbled me that someone who is going for Kona in the same event as me was kind enough to share their trade secrets even if I am not that much of a threat. 

 On the lead up to the weekend of the Andover triathlon (6th April) I had been feeling rough and still not 100% since coming back home. I was getting horrific migraines that would make an appearance without fail at 4pm everyday whilst at work which got increasingly worse throughout the evening. As I was on the late shift and didn't finish until 9pm I had already done my 3hours of training before work and at lunch so it didn't affect my training. I was due to be going into London to see my friend, Yuliya, on the Friday but wasn't sure how bad I would feel come 4pm and in the morning after waking up feeling bad decided I would bail on going to London. For me to cancel on a friend is a rare occurrence and being the great friend she is understood. I still saw her however and we had a chilled somewhat merry night at my parents house. The headache was still there but I had taken painkillers beforehand as a precaution so that may have helped. On the Saturday morning everyone was feeling rough bar me due to overindulging on wine (she will hate me for this, but I only just stopped the car in time for Yuliya to be sick on the way to the train station!). It was my nephews Tom's birthday on the Tuesday so he was having his birthday meal on the Saturday so I joined my sister and brother-in-law there. The party ended up like a trip to a zoo - boys will be boys! On Saturday night I got to bed ready for an early start. The triathlon started at 8am and I was in the first wave. 

 I was determined when coming into this race to beat last years time of 1h28. This should be easy, I mean look how much I have done and how far I have come in one year. I was aiming for a time of 1h20, maybe somewhat optimistic but that was my goal. I still didn't feel 100% but mentally I was excited which is a huge improvement from the dire state I was in before the Marlow Half Marathon 2 weeks before. The weather was torrential in the morning but thankfully began to die down a little whilst I was sorting my transition out. I was racked and ready by 7.25am - I was getting quicker at preparing transition, either that or I actually have begun understanding time keeping. I also felt like I was missing something as the majority of people had bags trailing around their transition whereas everything I need was on my bike and was only carrying my swim hat and goggles. That morning I had another severe case of dodgy stomach and knew from then on I was going to struggle to stomach anything particularly gels which since Abu Dhabi have been put off. 

The only picture I have of me swimming

 I was in the first wave which indicated the faster swimmers. I was one of the few women in the 24 person wave. I felt pretty small in comparison to the men that surrounded me but that never worried me - in fact it always motivated me more. We started a little late and I was ready to give the swim (400m - 16 lengths) all I had. Within 4 lengths I had caught up with the guy in front of me and it took him a further 2 lengths and annoyingly about 4 taps from my hand on his foot for him to stop for me and let me get in front. Frustratingly this cost me precious seconds but I was surprisingly understanding - I know this is the problem in a pool based triathlon. I finished the swim (and the run down to my bike) in 7m29 which made me 19th overall and in the top 20% of competitors. My transition was a nice 1m40 (as I thought I took ages here this came as a pleasant surprise to me). After that it was onto the bike where it all went downhill and I'm sadly not referring to the terrain. Almost instantly I felt like I was struggling. My legs were burning which I thought could be due to my tough sessions I did on the Wattbike that week but I was actually finding the bike leg tough which at this point wasn't on a hard terrain or gradient. I saw a woman overtake me and that annoyed me. I pushed on through and kept pushing the gears around. When at the top of a 4mile slog I decided to get off and check my bike. That was when I realised I had been cycling with my front brake pad rubbing. This was something I checked when in transition as due to the travelling my bike has gone through recently knew that any little knock could hit this out. I rearranged the problem and carried on. Before long it was a struggle to ride again. I found that every time I even slightly moved the handlebars the brake pad would rest on the wheel. I had to stop a total of 4 times during that ride which in hindsight sacrificed a top three women's finish. I completed the bike in 50m17secs and was not so calm and understanding now as I had been post swim. Transition 2 however in comparison was a pretty speedy 26seconds. My aim on the run was to push it and aim to get a 25 min 5km (something I have never achieved). I ran out of transition for Dan to shout that I had done the bike in 50minutes - my heart dropped and anger and disappointment kicked in. He also told me that I was currently the fourth woman and was not far off the third. That 5km was one of the most uncomfortable runs I have experienced. I felt sick the whole way round and I am still unsure whether that was due to feeling rough or due the effort I was putting in. Either way I could not stomach a gel even though I knew that may have helped me push it that bit more. The terrain was also wet and muddy and some points and it took all my effort to just stay up right let alone try and keep my pace up. Dan began running with me at some points to try and motivate me to gain on the women in front. I also had my parents and my sister to support me (being a local event it was easy for them to spectate). 

Pushing to the finish

I finished the 5km in 26m28secs which is a PB for me and an overall time of 1h25m30s. I was relieved for it to be over, pleased with my run and swim but angry about my bike failure. Although I couldn't quite catch her I had in fact gained 3 minutes on the runner woman in front which to me is something I have never done - gain on people on a run! I must be doing something right! 

 The first woman finished in 1h13, second in 1h21 and third in 1h22. The latter had a slower swim and run than me and I was a mere 3 minutes behind her. Annoyingly had my bike not taken 5 minutes+ off me I could've easily placed third and had I not lost seconds in when stuck behind another swimmer I could've even placed second. There is always an element of luck in triathlon!

The pain

The relief

 However, although there were certain things that were out of my control that ruined where I placed on the day, on reflection it is an improvement and that can only be a good thing. It is the beginning of the season and I have plenty of events to improve this. At the end of the day it is a new PB for a sprint distance tri and for this particular course, even if its not as much as I would've liked. I came first in my age group and was minutes off a podium spot and know that it was only a mechanical failure that stopped me achieving that. Despite feeling sick during the run I enjoyed competing again. My next triathlon is the Good Fri Tri on, you've guessed it, Good Friday - 18th April. I did this particular Tri in 2012 so yet again going for a course PB. If I do not get one here I would hit rock bottom considering that I last did it 2 years ago when I was just entering triathlons with no real focus. My 2012 time was 1h33m which actually isn't too bad considering and as I remember it has a tough run route which to me now I am seeing as an advantage. This is where I plan to make my time up over other faster runners - keep plodding and keep pushing is my mentality. As well as trying to smash my PB here I am of course also chasing the win this time and I mean business. As Dan said to me in the car on the way back from Andover, "You need to be going into these events with the intention you will win". I would never consider myself to be good enough to win anything in my triathlon or sporting adventures but if the Andover Tri taught me anything it is that I can and if I am going to get to Kona better get used to believing in myself. Thank you Try Tri events for another well organised triathlon with lovely volunteers - you have restored the faith and motivation I needed! I'll see you at the Good Fri Tri!