A step closer…

My goal for 2016 had been to breach the 2 hour barrier for the standard or Olympic distance triathlon and whereas I have few races left of the season to do this, I am encouraged that I am continuously progressing towards that goal whilst consistently achieving high placed finishes and making progress across all disciplines.

Overall - 3rd AG/13th overall - 2.04.46

Swim - 18.19

T1 - 1.23

Bike - 1.07.00

T2 - 0.39

Run - 37.22

Automatic Qualification for Europeans 2017

The triathlon calendar is a somewhat confusing one if you intend to qualify at age group level to represent your country at European championships. Due to the European champs being held early every year the qualification races are held the year before, so you have to plan well in advance to make the most of any opportunity. Furthermore if you can only make the final qualification race, as happened this year, you leave yourself with all your eggs in one basket.

So I journeyed to the final qualification race for the 2017 European championships, knowing I had to get it right on the day, there was no plan B race to make amends. Having seen the race start list come out midweek and cross referenced it against those who had registered their interest to qualify with British triathlon I knew it could be a tall order to qualify through the roll down places let alone automatically. Including myself 18, athletes in my age group were vying for 4 automatic spaces.

I have fond memories of Worthing triathlon from 2015, where I subsequently finished high enough to get a roll down place for the 2016 European team. It’s a well-run event that offers a relatively scenic course situated on the south coast of England. 2015 had been a tough race with high waves on the sea swim, strong winds on the bike and torrential rain on the tail end of the run, and with weather predictions not as bad as that I was excited for the race.

7.30am on the Sunday morning and the local mayor started the race. The first wave dived into the uninviting waves and we were off. I previously recall being scared and incredibly disorientated in 2015 as along with the rough conditions, it had been my first real sea swim race. 2016 was a completely different affair, I felt strong, confident and in control. Such was the tide, wind and swell that the group was held closely together as we headed out on the first 200m to the turn buoy, no one willing to go it alone as we were buffeted around. Past the buoy and now swimming parallel to the beach and the group began to splinter, all swimmers trying to take the shortest route along the course whilst combating waves pushing you back into shore. A couple of times I thought I was swimming miles away from anyone only to collide seconds later with a swimmer thrown my way by the sea. An uneventful swim to the 180 degree turn buoy avoiding taking in too much salty water, and then it was back along before the dog leg into the beach. The sea swimming I had done on my family holiday in Newquay the weekend before really helped to utilise the power of the waves to bring me back into contention with the fastest swimmers and conserve energy.

Up and out of the water in about 10th, and feeling surprisingly good. Into transition and I think I need to practice getting my wetsuit off. It stuck round my ankles, I leant on the poles holding up the bikes I pulled my leg up, it was free of the wetsuit but it connected with my handlebars and sent everything crashing down. Helmet, number belt and sunglasses all now obscured by my bike which was lying on the ground, the elastic bands holding my shoes on had also broken free. It felt like my qualification event was unravelling in front of my eyes. A few cursory words and about an extra 30 seconds in T1 and I had managed to unpick the rabble of kit and I was out onto the bike. Worthing triathlon has a bike course I enjoy, it’s an out and back course which includes a number of strong uphill drags and fast dual carriageway sections. After pacing poorly last year I knew I had to leave something for the return section. The wind had picked up by now and the rain was beginning to fall. I had left my sunglasses in transition as they had come apart and now regretted my decision as I rapidly blinked on a fast downhill descent in the rain. I measured my effort and on the return overtook about 5 riders who clearly thought this was a team time trial, they were sitting so close. Returning to T2 I got caught behind a car and subsequently lost all the time I had managed to put into the riders I had passed.

Annoyed that all my good work had been undone in a matter of seconds I set off in pursuit.

The Worthing triathlon run previously had been a 4 lap affair around close residential roads which meant the effect of the strong shore winds played little part in sapping energy, this year they had changed it. It was now out and back along the promenade. On the way out you received wind assistance but on the return you had to fight through the strong howling wind. I set out after a man in a Castelli trisuit and quickly passed him, then a man in an Oxford trisuit, all the time counting the men returning on the other side of the course, trying to work out where I was in my wave and how many could be in my age category.

Having seen about 8/9 men ahead of me and I guessed around half were my age, I resigned myself to pushing as hard as I could to hopefully finish in a good time and get a good roll down percentage. I reached the line and as always was relieved to finish. The wind took its toll and I was really beginning to feel tired towards the end.

I checked my splits on finishing and I was astounded with a brilliant swim PB, a solid bike and run improvement and overall 12 minutes faster than I had previously achieved at Worthing. The total time of 2.04.46 was also a new PB for an Olympic distance race, which considering this hadn’t all been plain sailing I was extremely happy with. I found out later I finished 13th out of some 400 starters and more importantly 3rd overall in the 25-29 year old age category. Automatic spot for Europeans 2017, Kitzbuhel here I come.

I was over the moon to achieve qualification automatically as not only does it allow me to plan 2017 with a little more thought, but it represents a leap forward in my journey. I no longer feel like someone who got lucky because of someone else pulling out but I earnt it by right and delivering on the day.