Monday 4 June 2012

ROSSENDALE Triathlon 2012

All week, every day, No. Every hour, No. Every minute maybe close to every second I had been checking the weather hoping, praying and urging the weather to change to something closely resembling summer instead of the darkest depths of winter. The weather men never get the cr@p weather wrong do they?

The day before, I had commuted to work as normal and decided to take it easy both ways however I was getting really peed off constantly thinking about the weather that I hammered it home averaging close to 21mph. Preparation spoilt. At least I got a good nights sleep.

On the entry form I put a slower swim time down, as usual, partly because Im not swimming as fast as years gone by and partly so that I could start earlier. I ended up in one of the last waves, off at 11.17. Swimming hasn't gone too well this year, only a handful of sessions all year and it's only very recently that I actually lasted a whole hours training session. Biking is hit and miss but my running is going places in a very short period. I was aiming for a top 10 as I was so close 2 years ago but deep down I wasn't all that hopeful. Knowing what the weather was going to be also totally demoralised me to the point I didn't want to get up and do the triathlon.

Arrived at Marl Pitts swimming pool and was greeted by a scene from a Spanish holiday resort. There was building work going on every where, I couldn't recognise aynthing. Parking was limited and just about squeezed it. The trek to registration was a feat in itself, battling the gale forced winds and 'icy' rain. Temperature was 6 degees. The missus and I spent the next 2 hrs in the pool area warming up and dosing up on caffeine. Racking the bike I noticed quite a few TT machines, not my weapon of choice today due to not wanting to clean it and because of the high winds. I might be slower but I'd be safe.

My pre race plan was to hit the bike for an hour to warm up but  there was no freakin' way that was happening. Just before I got in the pool I met an old friend from my Aquabear days and it was great catching up. Soon it was my turn to get in the water and within seconds I was off. Had no time to acclimatise to the pool temps. This showed instantly! As soon as I pushed off the wall I got cramp in my foot! Arghghgh. Keep calm. I've had it happen before and I've swam it off. Luckily after one lap it disappeared and off I went on my merry way.  I took the swim fairly easy but it was still hard work when suffering from lack of mileage.

I was first out of the pool in my wave and barefooted it across the tarmac into transition. Bit of a slow one for me but wanted to make sure I would be warm however I failed to put on my gloves and threw them to the ground in disgust. It was then a fair distance to run in my cleats before mounting the bike and starting the ride of doom. It was virtually a head wind, uphill for the first 6 miles hampered by traffic lights after one mile. I over took loads but didn't feel fast at all. The conditions were really terrible  but I fought valiantly. I was lucky with 2 more sets of lights  and tried to save a little energy on the downhill blast before the run.

With all my previous muscle and cramping problems I wasn't counting on a good run but maybe, just maybe.  After a very quick T2 I was out on the run which was a totally different route to previous years due to the building work. It actually suited me better as the inclines were more gentle and the down hill puts were sharp but short. After lap one I thought I was flying and lap two I was doing well. A good sign is the amount of people I was overtaking and I have NEVER EVER done that one a run before. Lap three was good and even managed a sprint finish and collapsed into a heap just past the finish line.

I met up with some Rochdale Tri club members and told them how well I thought I had done but I didn't have a clue what my timings were. So a quick shower later it was to the club house for a long wait for the presentation and results.

I came FIFTH! The guys at 4th were a relay and dont count. On closer inspection Number 200 got a faster swim time than me and he was in my wave yet I was in transition way ahead of anyone so if his time was mine that would put me 4th! Dispute on it's way. The run time includes transition, run to bike mount and the first traffic light stop which would give a 20 minute time for 5km! Overall times were miles down on previous years due to the weather.


Pos   Num   Name   Cat   Pos/Cat   Club   Swim400m   Psn   Bike 21k   Psn   Run 5k   Psn   Overall   Tag   
1224Chris JoyceM1/73Huub TFN RT00:04:50300:42:22100:19:28101:06:40 
2218Steven GregoryM2/73Trawden AC00:05:461300:44:03500:20:54401:10:43 
3216Jonathan FergusonM3/73Rossendale Tri00:05:451100:46:23900:19:45201:11:53L
4236Rebecca/Dad/EmmaREL1/7Team Rebecca00:07:236100:42:32200:22:05801:12:00 
5191David MirfieldM4/73Ride On00:06:464100:42:58300:22:38901:12:22 
6201Simon BrierleyM5/73Rochdale Tri00:05:511700:43:51400:22:581601:12:40