Race Report - Worcester Double Sprint

Race Report

Well I didn’t drown, which is a positive all round!

Training for the week was normal so I will concentrate this report on the first of the main events. I, sensibly, had packed all my bags the night before so getting up early on the morning I had to only eat some food and go. Which I duly did, but still managed to leave 10 minutes later than planned.

Then the highways agency decided to shut the M54, so I had to do a swift U-turn and drive a different way, then google took me to the wrong address! After all that palaver I arrived at the event half an hour later than I wanted to, but still with loads of time to spare such was my keenest.

Registered, equipment racked, and clutching my red hat ready to go I stood on the lake side nervously awaiting our briefing. At which point the marshal told us the lake was a barmy 16°C as they had put the heating on all night for us – yes people you read that right ‘heating’. Apparently this lake has a heating system. However it works I don’t know but I wasn’t complaining.

The heated lake!

Bobbing around with everyone else in the water we awaited the air horn, and then we were off. Thrashing around like defective octopods!

In my panic I had set off waaaaay too fast, I knew this when I got to the first turning bouy in second place, so I slowed but it took until three quarters of the first lap before I managed to calm down and find a little rhythm.  Which I managed to maintain for the rest of the swim – which I was pretty happy with as the swim was the great unknown. I have trained in open water before, but some of the stories of people swimming over you and pulling you back had unnerved me somewhat. Well it wasn’t quite plain sailing (or swimming!) there a few ghostly limbs that appeared out of the green water, and I did get squeezed between two of my fellow competitors, but I emerged from the lake unscathed, not too tired and chuffed with my new found open water form!

A swift jog along the bank to transition and I was ready for the bike…..or so I thought.

Firstly I ran down the wrong aisle and had to double back to my station. Then there was the removal of a wet suit in rapid time. Anyone who has ever tried to get out of a wet suit will know those two statements don’t go together…..ever. And especially not when you are in a cramped, grassy pen, surrounded by very expensive bikes. Eventually I extracted myself from my rubber casing (makes me sound like a sausage), dried me feet (not well enough as they were freezing on the ride – top tip for next time) and was ready to refuel. Two slices of Malt Loaf and a slurp of juice. I grabbed two flapjacks, to eat on the ride, and then for some unknown reason couldn’t find the pocket at the back of my trisuit (special lycra all-in-one to prevent nakedness upon removal of wetsuit and by putting tri in the title means you can charge 17 times the normal asking price of a slip of material!). I was sure I had one, but could not for the life of me find it. Panicking that time was ticking away I did what any sensible idiot would do and shoved them down my top and zipped it up!

And we were onto the bike course.

The sun was out, and the weather was actually pretty good, so I dried off relatively quickly. The bike course was a 30k rolling course through Worcestershire, few steep hills, but altogether pleasant. I didn’t go hell for leather as I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to feel with the run, but I kept a steady pace. Chased down a few slower cycles which is always good for morale. Got overtaken by a few cycles, mostly those who came past on solid wheeled race bikes with tribars (they’re like extra handle bars but again because tri is in the title…£££). Kept my eye out for the motorcycle marshals who were monitoring to ensure there was no draughting – essentially unlike the tour de france (because other than the draughting it was exactly the same !?@) you can’t sit behind a competitor to gain a tow.

The first lap seemed to go pretty quickly, and soon I was onto the second catching people who were only do one lap….on my second…more good motivation. 

The only other thing I was looking out for was my support crew. Those who didn’t fancy the 5.30 start were coming later to watch, and were going to position themselves at a pub on the route. The first went passed, nope. The second…still nope. The last pub was empty as well. They clearly hadn’t made it in time and would be no doubt waiting for me on the run!

Dawson fan club!

In fact they had been delayed and thought best placed to be was at the end of the cycle route in a layby. So as I was preparing to finish the cycle I was cheered on by the wife, the brother in law, two friends, a dog and a homemade banner! Who could ask for more.

Second transition was much swifter than the first, mostly due to not cycling in a wetsuit. Runner shoes on, scoff more Malt Loaf and we were off again.

4 laps of the lake, half of which was a nice flat green grassy area that presumably is used for picnics and ball games when idiots aren’t running round it trying not to die. The other half I think was an adjoining field they had just cut. Certainly here was a lot of mounds of cuttings that you had to avoid.

The first half a lap was all about getting my legs back, going straight from a bike to a run is not much fun. Muscles are all wrong and legs are all wobbly. But soon I got into my rhythm of running, and my support had made it round to the finishing straight to cheer me on again.

Due to an ongoing injury I have had to limit my pace to 11min/miles. Which is rubbish, but after the first lap I saw I was down at 9.30/mile. But it felt good so I carried on. On completion of the second lap my support crew had doubled to 6 after some rugby buddies had completed the shorter version and were then giving me suitable abuse/support as what rugby buddies are like. (Those of you that are good at maths…the dog wasn’t allowed in so the brother in law took him to one of earlier mentioned pubs).

Expecting my knee to blow up any minute I kept up my pace, and it held for the last two laps! Which meant that it was the fastest I had run since February. Very happy with that.

Rugby buddies (who only did the little race!!)

Through the finish line with a congratulatory bottle of water, banana and oat biscuit thing…….and er no medal. Which I wasn’t overly precious about as this is a training event for me, but if this was you peak event that you had trained for I think that is a little bit harsh.

But hey, who cares, I had hit all the times I had wanted to hit, and felt pretty solid at the end. Shared tales of the race with the supporters, including my lack of pockets. To which someone pointed out the two large ones I had on my back. At this point I did the only thing I could, remove two chocolately wrappers from my front and dust the oats out of my chest hair!

Eventually I did what any proper dedicated athlete would do, went to the pub for a beer!

STATMAN

Pretty happy with that