The final race of 7...

This year I entered seven events in seven consecutive weekends, this race was the final one of the seven.

On the 26th of June I headed to Eton Dorney to complete an Olympic distance race known as the Wiggle Steelman. It was a race I had previously done and hoped for an improvement on my 10th place and time of 2:19 from 2015.

Anyone who has ever raced at Eton Dorney will know it is a great venue to race at, a closed arena which means racing can start later in the day, it’s almost pan flat and good visibility for spectators as athletes complete multiple laps. There are two flaws with Eton Dorney though; one being a rowing lake which is very exposed and headwinds on the straights are very common, which can skew discipline splits dramatically, and two, there are very few reference points making running any distance seem like a lifetime of plodding without going anywhere.

Onto the race and having arrived at the venue well too early, because I had failed to read the race brief correctly, I milled about considering my race plan. I knew I had swum well at the course last time and felt the best plan was to get out fast and then see what happens. It was the last race for a while for me and I wanted a hard race.

Into the water at the swim start and I positioned myself at the front of the wave. My wetsuit did its usual trick of filling up from the sizeable hole below my right butt cheek as we waited for the horn, all the time hoping my wetsuit was pulled up high enough not to restrict my arm movements.

The horn went and a couple of minutes of thrashing later a few of us were free of the pack, but the wind was making the seemingly flat rowing lake into a minor sea. The ripples we’d seen from the edge were more like mini waves. I caught my arm on a few of the rowing lane buoys around the top of the course and I was off the back of the mini pack. I tried to catch them back up but after a couple of hundred metres of trying I gave up and tried to settle into a rhythm knowing anytime I lost in the swim would most likely be minimal in comparison to the time on the bike leg. I chose to save my energy and try to play the long game.

Out of the swim and into T1, a short run to my bike and time to get the wetsuit off. I have had plenty of chances to practice this bit over the last couple of weeks of competition but pretty much every time the lower section gets stuck; one of the problems of having a wetsuit that’s too short. Struggle over and I was out on to the bike, I guessed I was in about 8th but it materialises I was 4th at this point.

Instantly, after mounting and riding out of the shelter of the clubhouse and the headwind hit, and hit hard. I struggled getting down on the bars for the first 3 laps as I learnt more and more about the conditions. On the way out I tried to manage my effort, but I was only able to hold 31-32kmh as the wind tore at my upper body. Two riders passed me and I thought this is going to be the same old story of having to make it up on the run. As the bike laps ticked by the number of riders increased as following waves reached that discipline, making the roads busier. I began to feel more confident and started to hold higher speeds on the main straight all the time reeling in slower riders. The two that had passed me early on came back into sight about lap 6 and 7 and I knew I had to take my opportunity. Blasting past behind the clubhouse I put the hammer down back out onto the windiest part. I didn’t look back. I took my chance and knew as long as I got to the run before them I had a chance to hold them off.

Into T2 and it was a relief to only see one bike racked from those who started in my wave. Shoes on and I was out onto the hardest run of all the races I’ve done. It felt endless. Up one side of the lake round the end, then back to the start, repeat a total of two times. This was a tough mental challenge. The wind was still strong at this point and on the way out I could not help but ease off, but mercifully the return sections felt far easier.

I tried to work out who of the many runners on the track were in my wave and I was racing against. In the end I worked out who the lead runner was. It was a young guy from Durham uni who looked strong and ultimately was just too far ahead to catch. I faced a bit of a challenge from those behind as I turned the last switchback and pushed for home. All the time lengthening my stride hoping the line would come soon. I crossed the line and was relieved not only that the hard race was over but that I could get back to training without worrying about competing for a while.

Overall I came 1st in the 25-29 year old age group and 2nd overall. It was my highest finish and I was thrilled. The splits for each discipline were horrendously skewed by the wind and were all a bit irrelevant. In future I think I’ll take a wind reading at Eton Dorney, such is the effect of the weather.