Winchester May Day Tri 2017

Last year, Winchester May Day Tri was the only full triathlon that I did, so I was looking forward to doing it again this year. (I did three elements from the Long Course Weekend, over 3 days and the run part of London Triathlon, but they don’t really count!)

I was looking forward to wearing my gorgeous tri kit from The Athlete’s Palate. It’s a striking colour that perfectly matches my bike!

The swim

I haven’t done as much swimming as I’d hoped to this year. It’s much harder getting out of the house now that we’ve got M. One of us swims in the early session and the other swims in the late session. Stu and I have to swap the baby (and car keys) poolside.

I thought that I might do OK in the swim, but the pool was much warmer than I’m used to. It felt like a hot bath. Although that might be nice for a relaxing paddling, it’s not helpful for a competitive swim.

Also, I was in a lane in the middle of the pool. That meant I had to slither out of the side in an undignified manner like a seal getting onto a rock. In previous years, I’ve been right by the steps and the door of the pool, which I’m sure must have saved a couple of seconds.

Swim 00:09:56 (170/257)

2016 10:06

2015 09:41.3

So, my swim was slower than in 2015 but not as slow as when I was pregnant.

Transition 1

I faffed in T1, which can be seen by my time. I was also racked a LONG way from the pool as we arrived quite late. It was a mistake to rack on the right-hand side of the path, which has lots of loose soil. My feet were an absolute mess. Next year, I won’t make that mistake again.

T1 00:02:54.80 (182/257)

2016 3:43

2015 02:24.00

I definitely need to arrive earlier, find a good spot in transition and be more consistent.

The bike

I knew the bike route, so knew where I could push hard and where I should back off. Stuart was cheering near to the bike in/out area and managed to capture some photos at the end of my first lap. I’m not going very quickly as I’d just had to stop for some traffic lights.

There was a professional photographer who was positioned by the first roundabout on the course:

I was feeling quite good on the bike, I know the course well. Although I’ve not done a lot of cycling, I figured that my marathon training would have kept me fit.

Finally, I was heading back to transition. I’d removed my mitts whilst waiting at some traffic lights in the final kilometre. If you look closely, you can see that my feet are on top of my shoes, ready for a flying dismount!

Bike 01:05:17 181/257

2016 01:15:11

2015 01:05:10.40

I can’t believe how close I was to my 2015 time… if only I hadn’t had to stop at the traffic lights!

Transition 2

I just had to remove my helmet, headband and Buff, put on my trainers, have a quick puff of my inhaler and get going.

T2 00:01:33.80 124/257

2016 01:44

2015 01:24.90

T2 is normally my best discipline. I didn’t do too badly but was not as quick as in 2015.

The run

This is the part of the race where I’m always most confident. (Partly because there’s no risk of drowning or crashing!) So far, I was behind my 2015 PB in every discipline. Would I be able to reverse that trend?

Stuart captured me coming out of transition.

The pressure was on. It’s a two-lap course that goes around the outside of the school, with a horrible section on wood-chippings near to the start. Then there’s a length and narrow uphill section, before getting onto the school grounds and enjoying a long downhill. There’s then a short, sharp climb, before passing the finish area and heading back towards transition.

I always find it motivational to pick runners off one-by-one and when it’s someone from your own club, that’s an extra incentive.

I felt good, but did not want to become complacent and knew that I had to keep pushing on my second lap.

Finally, the finish was in sight.

Run 00:27:51.05 121/257

2016 33:24

2015 31:06:00

I was delighted with my runtime, which was over 3 minutes faster than I’ve ever managed before.

How did I do at Winchester May Day Tri?

Overall 01:47:33 163/257

2016 02:04:09

2015 01:49:46.65

I was amazed that my run was good enough to make up for my earlier shortcomings. I managed a PB of over 2 minutes!

Senior female 4 6/20

2016 31/35

2015 7/12

I also placed higher in my age group than in previous years.

27/82 women

2016 59/74

2015 35/69

Another highlight was significantly improving on my placing in the overall women’s standings.

Check out who appears at 1:38!

As usual, there was a lovely medal at the finish!

I can’t wait for next year’s event!