I gave myself plenty of time to scope the course on Friday, which I always like to do for new races. I was reasonably pleased with it all though a total of 15 dead turns on the bike was going to make it a bit slow I thought.
For only the second time ever I was really looking forward to the swim and had decided to go hard to try and make the 1st pack and try to hang in there. It was a great swim, with plenty to sight off of and break down the distances. Perfect OW conditions, the only negative thing was having to swim over the waves in front who should really have been staggered better. I felt great during the swim and was hopeful of a decent time. I was delighted to see 20:34 on my watch as I ran up the exit ramp, though I have to admit now that I suspect the swim was about 70-100m short. (Even so this would have been a big PB for me so I was chuffed)
A long run into transition and then onto the bike to chase down the fish impersonators! A lack of hills on the bike meant I’d have to work even harder than normal to use this leg to catch people up. It all went fairly well though and I seamed to be catching people. It was hard to know what AG they were, but I figured that it wouldn’t matter overall so I just kept focusing on the next one in front. One of the great things about the race was how spectator friendly it was; even the bike. They had 10 chances to cheer you on (2 per lap) not more than 100m from the swim exit, transition and run start. This meant you got regular mental boosts to keep you going hard!
Off the bike and my watch showed 1:22.18… I had a chance to break the 2-hour mark – a goal of mine for this season. Even with the extra 500+m I was sure I could run sub 38 mins on the flat course. Once again the support was great and each lap (4 in total) the energy levels got a shot in the arm. I set off hard to catch as many people I thought might be in my AG, but also knowing that it was going to be a fast day for others and that sub 2 hours wouldn’t guarantee anything over-all. I soon saw Mark Roberts in front and knew he’d be close to the front. I zeroed in on him and had caught him by the end of the 2nd lap. However as I eased past and listened, hoping to hear his breathing slowly fade… it didn’t!!! He was sticking to me! Oh dear, now its down to tactics, not something I’ve ever really had to deal with in a race before. Well, there he remained until about 300m to go… Then he pulled level……… I was unsure if I had another gear to use if he went (bad mentality to have). He slowly eased past me and I couldn’t go with him. With 100m left he had about a 10m gap. We turned onto the final finish run of about 50m and he eased ahead a touch more and the national title was his!!! I followed him some 10 or so seconds later, disappointed, but still satisfied.
On reflection, I’m not sure there’s much I would have changed. I’ve concentrated hugely on my swim recently and I’m delighted to have seen the fruits of this labour, though there is a long way to go yet. Maybe this cost me slightly on the run, but there’s time to get this back. Tactically, I was the start of an education. Mentally I think I also need to change the way I deal with some things. Experience is a great thing and I’ve gained a lot from Sunday’s race. Hopefully this will all help to make me a little bit faster next year.
As a race, it was really, very good. Some small issues, but I’m yet to meet anyone who’s raced a perfect race. There will always be something that could be better. I guess the only gripe I might have is the short swim. There was room a plenty for the turn buoy to be a further 30-50m away to make it a correct distance. Leg markings might have been good, but I couldn’t have given any more so it wouldn’t have changed my result. Some black pen couldn’t have helped me run any faster and if you cross the line having given it your all, then marking doesn’t come into play.
If they do it again next year, I’ll be there, though the AG race should really be a longer 3-lap affair I think. Well done to everyone else there and to the organisers for a good first race.