Thames Turbo Triathlon - Race Report

I started the day nice and early at 5am, hoping to see no rain as I opened the window, but no such luck! It was bound to be a crappy day and I just had to get mentally ready for a race in the rain.

I got my bag ready, got the drink bottles for the Speedfill, a banana and a Powerbar for breakfast and I was out of the door.

I got to Hampton Court pool with plenty of time to check in, rack the bike and watch the first wave of starters as they took off. It was freezing, and I had not taken a rain coat, only a coton sweater, mistake I will not allow to happen again, specially when racing in this unpredictable UK weather.

My number was 101, and I noticed the 80's were already lining up so I went to transition, got my warm clothing off, placed it in my transition bag and ran off to line up by the pool. IT WAS FREEZING outside, and I was dreading the bike section as the wind factor would surely make it feel cooler, specially with the wet tri clothing on. Oh well, I had to MAN UP!

Soon enough I was on the pool ready to go. The marshall sends me off and I soon passed the first two people in front of me.  There was a bit of traffic in the pool (as always at  this race) but I got out in 9m:40s.

Transition time was ok, but not great, mainly due to the fact that there was a long run from the pool along the side of transition to let you in through the back.  I get the helmet on, get the bike and Im off, for another long jog before I can jump on the saddle.  T1 was 1m:07s.

I made the big mistake of not opening my shoes up when I put them on the bike so, once again, I had to struggle to put my feet on the shoes. I ended up having to stop and open up the velcro so I could put my feet in. Once the feet were in, I was off and did not stop until the end.

It was raining, the road was wet, and, as we all know, the white lines can be slippery, so I was not pushing 100% on the bike, it was more like 80%, but I still managed to pass quite a few people and, for the first time on my 2 years racing here, I was not passed by anyone.  This tells me my bike training at home with the turbo is going well, but I still need to work at it some more.  Total bike time was 39m:59s, meaning a pace of 30Km/h.

T2 slower than T1 at 1m:44s.

Shoes on and off to Bushy Park. The run was ok, specially given the cold and rain. I set off at a quick pace but soon slowed down a bit. I was not passed by anyone and passed about 10 people on the run.

In summary, it was a good race due to the fact that I was able to shave abut 7 minutes from last year's time.  Also, taking into account that I was not pushing at 100% on the bike because of the rain, I could have easily shaved off another 2-3 minutes, making it a total of 10 minutes off of last year's time.

Now I have a month and a half before the Half Challenge in Barcelona and only one Olympic Distance race from now till then.  It's getting closer and closer, so I just hope I can stay healthy and injury free.

Swim: 9:49

T1: 1m:07s

Bike: 39m:59s

T2: 1m:44

Run: 21:40

TOTAL: 1h:14m:11s

AG: 29/70
Overall: 133/407
Full Results Here