Shropshire Triathlon

The first standard distance of the year!

The night before the big T, all I could here was rain, rain RAIN.

The day of the race I looked out of my window, and yes, it was still raining. The 1 hr drive, it rained all the way.

Registration and transition set up were all as normal and yes it was still raining.

Watching the first few waves set off, it was slightly disconcerting the green/blue splashes which could be seen. The lake was pretty full of blue/green algae, and I really didn't want to be ill leading up to the World Duathlon Champs next weekend.

Once we were in the water it was freezing, and visibility underwater was 0. the first 200m or so of the swim I had to swim my best face up front crawl as I could see absolutely nothing underwater and the mele of arms and legs was as bad as always.

The cold water temperature and the standing around in the rain meant that I was, yes, cold! I panicked slightly and my chest was really tight, also I had a really bizarre sensation in my quads. It was like my leg muscles had been replaced with concrete. I thought that the only option was 1. swim fast, or 2. sink like a stone.

Since it seems to be a rule I have to forget something on race day, this time I forgot to empty my Garmin, therefore before the swim start, it helpfully told me….Memory Full, and with not enough time to go through the thousand multifunction button presses needed to delete a meesely run, my watch had now become a useless wrist accessory.

So, out of the water I had no idea how the swim had gone, but I knew as always there were a lot of people in front of me. I found my bike with ease thanks to it being next to a giant tree.

The concrete leg sensation didn't subside for a while on the bike (I have no idea how long since my watch was rendered useless thanks to my lack of attention) it rained some more on the bike. Having read the race instructions it said there were some tricky climbs, which I was looking forward to since I am good at climbing. However these monstrous climbs as promised were nowhere to be found.

Eventually I came to a 10km sign, I had no idea what this was in relation to. It couldn't be 10km gone, surely?! Then 9km, how bizarre, they were counting down to transition. This gave me a welcome boost and before I knew it I was back in T2 and off onto the run.

Haha – not so fast Bagshaw, it would seem that my feet had been replaced with blocks of ice and I stumbled my way back to my position on the racking. My fingers were also useless and it took way too long to get my trainers on. After 5km on the run I finally got some feeling back into my feet. Running off the bike, and without the sensation of knowing what your feet are doing is very disconcerting. So the feeling came back, and, uh-oh, problem number 2, the tongue in my trainers was all twisted, in both shoes. This meant that I was now getting blisters on the TOP of my feet!

Woohoo – finish!

Sorry - no pics, so wet I didn't want to get phone soaked! 

Lessons Learned

Make sure watch is charged AND has memory.
A couple of seconds to make sure trainers are straight might be well spent.

Results at Stu Web http://www.stuweb.co.uk/event/1557 

Manchester 10k

I vowed that I was going to blog about this race, weather good or bad.  I hadn't raced a 'proper' race for a while where I knew it was going to really hurt for quite a long time,  this added to my pre-race nerves. 

 

I was feeling a bit down the week before, a combination of returning from Mallorca and returning to 12hr days and nights at work. The lack of quality rest I had enjoyed the previous week was kicking me in the ass and my confidence was suffering a bit.

The night before the race I tried all my usual keep calm tactics and enjoyed watching the highlights of the ITU World Triathlon Championships, early to bed!

 

Race morning came all too quickly,  starting with a rude awakening from my alarm! I looked outside,  then at the weather forecast,  it was going to be a hot one!  The weather man was not wrong on this occasion. Warming up pre race at 0930 it was clear the heat was going to be a factor and lots of the elite women were dousing themselves with water in an attempt to keep their body temperature down.  Not helped by the fact the race start was delayed due to some technical issues and it being transmitted live on BBC2.

 

Abi Bagshaw - Elite Athlete?!

The race was fast, and as predicted it hurt. I tried desperately hard to hang onto a group of 3 girls but unfortunately they were just too quick!  I found myself running the next 8km of the race on my own. I suffered between 6 and 8km where there is little crowd support and the course isn't particularly inspiring. 

 

I finished in 36:30, quite a bit outside my PB and was initially quite disappointed, but as I chatted to other runners everyone's times were slower than expected,  due to the combination of the heat and the wind. 

 

 

Combined Service Ladies



This race also incorporates an Inter-Area match between the Combines Services, The North, Wales and the Midlands.

 

You can read the full RAF report here.

 

I really enjoyed the experience in Manchester,  it is incredible to line up against some true legends of women's distance running. Tirunesh Dibaba defended her title, and won, adding this to a huge string of victories including 5 Olympic medals and a world record. I was thrilled to make it to the top 10 GB runners and made it onto the BBC billboard of GB ladies!

Sun, Sand and Sweating

Last week I was lucky enough to return from a week of training in Mallorca. 

Prior to going I had some concerns about how much swimming and cycling we were going to be doing, since I have only ever swam on consecutive days a handful of times, never mind twice in one day! (I stand by my view that triathletes are mental).

After the HORRENDOUS task of packing my bike for the first time ever, then trying to work out if 4 pairs of everything was too much or not enough I was ready to go...at 0200 in order to catch our 0600 flight! 

The training was brilliant, cycling, running and swimming are all so much easier in the sunshine, and due to the intensity and the much needed rest periods by the pool, I wasn't half as knackered as I thought I would be. In fact I was getting twice the sleep I normally get so I was feeling pretty fantastic....until....

I had a rude introduction to saddle soreness! Yes, I was wearing padded shorts, using chamois cream and all the other good stuff. I think It was just one ride too much for my bottom! 

This meant that on the last day of cycling I was off the bike and on my 2 feet for what turned out to be a pretty memorable run. I ran up Formentor which we had done some hill efforts on the bike the previous week. Despite being told to take it easy I couldn't help chasing a few people on their bikes up to the top (I overtook 6). When at the top a couple of them came over and asked to have their picture with me! :O Now it is back to the UK and the training continues, although the big races seem to be coming up quickly! Looking forward to my next travels and the World Duathlon Championships in Spain, more sunshine, definitely more sweating!!