Mud, Grass, Rain and my first ever Off-Road Tri experience

As promised here is the race report for what was my first ever (not my last I hope!) off-road triathlon experience at Box End lake in Bedford.

I had been feeling really down the week before last about training, but with my qualification for the Worlds, I was feeling brighter and more motivated than ever. In my down dreary week I had decided to find something fun to take part in that was local and that would be smaller in competitors and short in distance.

I stumbled across the Box End Off Road Evening Tri series which was taking place over the summer. I repeatedly kept checking the information about the race which would be an enter on the night job, and would involve a 750m swim in one of the boating lakes, a 10km off-road bike course which would involve 2 laps around the lake and would be fairly bumpy, and then to finish off a lap of the bike course as the 5km off-road run.

I decided that it would be good to aim for a top 5 female finish, not considering times, as I have never raced on a mountain bike before.

Above is my beloved Boardman mountain bike which I bought myself last year as a present to myself after breaking my wrist! It didn't end up looking this clean after finishing the race last week I can tell you!

So after loading the car and checking the weather for the millionth time that day (it was forecast showers at 8pm) I made my way down the A1 for the race at Box End park. As I approached Bedford, the blue skies were becoming more and more grey and before I knew it, it was raining (5.45pm was the time noted that this started!).

I arrived at the watersports centre to register and then took a look around the site. It soon started to rain a little bit more so I decided to place my bike on the racking on the other side of the bridge over the boating lakes and then go and get myself ready and keep warm.

The race wasn't to start until 7pm, and as I was already mostly ready, it was a case of keeping out of the rain and chatting with a couple of ladies who were also getting ready in the changing rooms. I wasn't really that nervious, just more annoyed that it was raining and I hadn't raced much this year in the dry or warm!

Soon enough it was time for the race briefing, and making my way back over the now very slippery bridge, I finished putting what I would need out next to my bike (just my running shoes) and was ready to go.

Slipping into the water I was really pleasd that the water temperature was really pleasant and in fact much warmer than the air temperature. I had been deliberating whether to wear a jacket for the bike, but in the end I decided not to wear it (and it infact got totally soaked laying in transition!).

The starter went and we were off. I settled into a nice rhythm and got plenty of feet to draft from. It was easy enough to spot the feet and with a straight out and back around two buoys, it was easy enough to sight and keep a good pace up.

I exited the water in 12:43 (which I have since seen was around 12th place overall and in fact I was the first lady to exit the water too) and managed to get the wetsuit off in super quick time. I was then FREEZING! Grabbing my shoes and helmet I was then onto the bike and I was really really cold. I hadn't realised that it was going to be this cold! Anyway I was then passed around 1km into the bike by a lady who looked on a real mission and then another one hot on her heels. I wasn't too bothered about this (at the time I had not idea I was in 1st position) but I was there to enjoy it. Another issue was the fact i didn't have clips or MTB shoes and my feet kept slipping on the pedals. I am sure that I would have gone a bit quicker if I had clips on. So the bike took me around the lake on the flat initially and it was quite grassy, but this grass was painfully slow and I was really trying very hard! The route then took you up and around the back of the lake and up some steep inclines. One particular section was so muddy and steep I had to jump off the bike and run just to get up the hill.

Having made it round successfully once, I was pleased that only a couple of bods had passed me- it was fairly difficult to pass anyone anyway as the track had a definate easier line of travel which soon developed into a muddy line upon the second lap.

I was pleased to see that there were still a fair few people behind me as the course often switched back on itself, but then you could also see who was up ahead of you!

I hadn't a clue of my bike split as I forgot to push the lap button on my watch, but there again it was probably a good thing! Just coming into T2 a lady came past me and was absolutely caked in mud up her back (my legs were totally covered in grass, but not mud) and I shouted to her 'Does my back look as bad as yours?!' to which she replied- 'It's ok- you can tell me that I look as though I am covered in sh*t!'.

Laughing into T2 I then managed not to fall over and grabbed my cap after racking my bike. Even though the sun wasn't shining, I decided that it would keep the hair out of my face. Out of T2 and I thought, Wow- that lady has ran really quickly as I can't see her anymore! Turns out she had clips on and so was a bit longer in transition than me. She was gaining on me however and it wasn't long before she managed to catch me up on the first incline. It was an interesting run which saw me pass three ladies still on their bikes (poor girls!) and nearly stack it twice. It was a slippery affair which was kind of fun at the same time!

It was great to finish the run on the flat and just sprint my heart out for the final 200m or so.

Coming over the finish line I was quite relieved but also pretty darned pleased with myself. I had managed to come 4th lady which was a huge achievement. I had also managed to come 29th overall out of a field of 60 people (15 ladies were racing). It was a tough old course and with the bike split coming in around 38 minutes and run at 27 minutes (nowhere near my best times) it just goes to show you how the terrain, conditions and equipment can make a whole world of difference. I managed a pretty good time of 1:20:08 in total which was only 9 minutes behind the leading lady. Obviously my swimming is a real strength, but I need to work on the bike strength if I am to try and hold onto a lead of some sort!

A real challenge and tough weather conditions. I have to say that the state of my bike was a real reflection of what we encountered. In fact it is still sat in the shed waiting to be cleared of the grass tangled around the tubes!

Anyway for now happy Training! :)

Qualifying for the ITU Worlds Championship Auckland

Its just a quick blog today.....

Having found out that I have qualified for the Worlds ITU Championships in Auckland for my age group, this week was spend deliberating whether or not I realistically could afford to go. Not only in monetary terms would this be expensive, but also on my body as it would be then another 4 months of solid training up until then event.

However after much discussion with family, friends and even a Facebook vote I have decided to go! I have the fantastic support of my company Pearson who have helped me before when I went to Budapest, and also the support of my friends and family.

I hope to make this my best race this year and hopefully it will be one to remember.

I can party hard afterwards!

Hopefully I can update you further on my Off Road Tri later this week.

Happy training guys!

Doing what you like as and when

This past week has been about enjoying some well deserved time doing what I like and when I like. It finished off with a break to the Norfolk coast with my lovely girlfriends from university days. I had raced my absolute heart out at Chester triathlon (Deva) and felt really deflated afterwards as I knew that my two main goals for the racing season had been achieved. I had raced hard at Dambuster and Deva and last Monday I was feeling really down about things. I then decided after discussions with some good friends and Will that it would be good to just do what I felt like in terms of training. Also with a weekend away coming up I knew that I would have little opportunity to train anyway. I did however manage a run on Saturday morning which was glorious in the sunshine and around the country roads of Blakeney. Anyway after my run I was pleased to see that the British Triathlon website had been updated with the latest people to have qualified for the World Triathlon Age group Championships in Auckland. My name had a Q next to it! Just that little bit of news was encouraging and even though I am unsure as to whether I will even go, it was the best news for me and greatly cheered me up and gave me my mojo back!

Today was the start of another big block of training and began with an early morning swim. Getting into the pool again was great and I have the motivation now to train hard and enjoy myself with a few more goals on which to focus on before the end of the season. I have outlined these below- 1) Take part in an Off Road triathlon and try and smash it to place well. 2) Bedford Mini Triathlon- come in the top 5 female category. 3) Beat my previous records and times from the past club relay events. 4) Beat my previous London Triathlon (2010) times Having evaluated what I have already done this season I decided that I can focus on these goals, even if they are smaller than my other ones as it gives me more motivation to go for it. I think I want to make October the fun month of doing what I want as and when I feel like it, so if I go to New Zealand then that means extending my season above and beyond what I think my body can cope with. I am just about managing with the help of will's coaching plan and my great sports therapist Cheryl who keeps my body in check. I have done so much more than what I expected of myself and I am pleased to bits with my efforts. I have also been looking forward to 2013 and what I feel will be my major goals. I know that this is far off yet, but having qualified for the Europeans and gained a coveted London marathon place, I have a couple of events to aim for which are my main priorities. I think that it is good to have in mind what you want to achieve and have goals for your season as well as goals for your individual training days and training weeks and blocks. Had I trained last week, I would have felt even worse and I think I needed the break mentally and physically. Giving yourself the chance to take a step back and evaluate is a good thing. I didn't feel guilty about not training as I made a specific point knowing that I wasn't going to train to give myself that rest. I wasn't going to lose any fitness but if I had another few weeks off then certainly I would have lost form.

So this Thursday is my first ever go at an off-road triathlon at box end in Bedford which I am really looking forward to. I think it will be a challenge but I am fit as I will ever be! I will let you all know how I get on! Happy training! Kerry PS Sorry the font has changed, I can now update you on the move with my new IPad courtesy of my job!

Sleep, Eat, Work, Train, Eat, Sleep- the life cycle of a triathlete.

I haven't blogged in a wee while and thought that I would update you all on my current daily doings as well as a race report for the weekend's activities.

June has been a VERY busy month for me with work. I cover the east of England with my job which I love very much, but the travelling can seriously disrupt the training I intend on doing.

In the run up to the Dmbuster I managed around 4-5 hours of training including no swimming that week.  It wasn't all that bad due to the fact I was tapering for the race. The following week involved a trip to Edinburgh for work, and this resulted in 3 days of no training. I managed to pack it all in the first half of the week before I went but having 4 days in total free of training did a few things to me. Firstly it made me feel incredibly guilty for not training, secondly I was stiff as a board come Sunday watching Will race at the British National Championships at Ellesmere. Lastly I felt that my fitness would drop off. Well I was mainly concerned as I had the Deva Triathlon in Chester coming up and I did not want my fitness to dip. Lots of people reassured me that I would be fine and I wasn't going to lose anything. But what mostly concerned me was the fact that I had not ventured into a swimming pool in over 2 weeks. The main reason being that the pool's opening times are quite restrictive and with getting up some mornings to leave for work at 7am, I couldn't even make the early starts!

So all in all, the life of a triathlete was seriously at risk of dropping off in my case. I had managed to fit in some longer runs to build me up for the distance and also doing some chainganging on the bike with Stamford Tri and Rutland Velo Club members, but I felt that this wasn't really enough for me!

Cue the weekend....... I had entered the Deva Divas ladies only triathlon with my Mum as a kind of tradition we have been following for the past few years. However this year would be on a Saturday, and the Saturday was preceeding the Deva triathlon. I then decided that Mum would need to find another runner (I ran for us last year) as I wanted to avoid injury at all costs and I would swim instead.

The Team after all the action (me, Claire and Mum)

Saturday morning was rather windy but not without sunshine, and so we turned up to Chester meadows with Claire Allen (a friend of the family) rearing to go.

I think I was the least nervous of the trio having done lots of races before and was ready to put my head down in the swim and try and exit the water as near to the front as I could.

Walking down to the start line with Will it was lovely to see lots of ladies smiling, plenty of them here to do their first triathlon. This is what I LOVE about this event, ladies only, really friendly supporters and marshalls and very encouraging to introduce people to the sport without the intimitation of strong burly men around!

Anyway, I entered the water with the other pink capped ladies in my wave and struggled to stay behind the start line. We would be making our way down the river with the current and this presented problems in trying to keep behind the line! I was then thinking about the next days race in which I would be going upstream for 350m, and so warmed up by swimming upstream. That would not be pleasant! But thinking about the task in hand, I got myself as near to the start bouy in the middle of the river as possible and waited for the hooter. Having missed the lame siren start, it was only when pushed forward I realised we had begun. Not wanting to waste such an opportunity, I surged forward and kicked hard and swam hard for the first 50 or so strokes. I was bashed somewhat and kicked in the face, but that didn't deter me and soon enough I was in clear water on my own in the middle of the river. There was a crowd of 6 or so ladies to my left swimming along the bank, however I didn't want to swim over to them as I would lose time, places and I was in the fastest part of the river.

Soon enough the finish was coming up fast and I drafted off some feet before moving in front and swimming up to the red bouy and in and up the slippery ramp into T1.

I was running hard to find my Mum and hand the timing chip over to her. Soon enough she was off and onto the bike.

 

 Left: Mum waiting for me

Right: Mum running out of T1

Below Mum heading up for the race.

What a swim! I was told I came second overall in my wave doing 750m in 11:23. My best ever time! I was pleased to bits with that as it beat my PB and last years time of around 13 minutes. Mum came in slightly off her time for last year, but literally only around 30 seconds or so and considering how windy it was she did really well. It was then onto Claire for the 5km run around the meadows.

Claire running to victory!

It was a great race all round and I think you can see from the photos, it is one to put in the diary for the next few years!

Sunday's race was to be an entirely different affair. It was a World's Qualifier which basically meant it would be of the same caliber as the Dambuster with the same competitors present at this event. I was again at an advantage knowing the bike route and the swim as well as the run having done them numerous times when living in Chester. It was also good to know the wind direction and where it would assist me and where it would be good to hit the bike hard.

Another early start (after finally switching off Andy Murray the night before) and breakfast at 5am (sneaky half an hour back in bed) meant we were all ready and prepared for the day's event.

There was a serious car accident which delayed the start by around 15 minutes, this delay did help us a little as we were having had to wait in the toilet queue for longer than I cared to.

Wetsuit donned, and parents found, we walked the 10 minutes or so up the race start. I was feeling rather nervous at this point in time, as you can see from the photo below.

Feeling rather apprehensive about the swim, I was just trying to steady my nerves. Will was off ten minutes before me in the preeceeding wave, and so I could watch him swim past, I can now pick out his storke quite easily and therefore identify him in a crowd of neoprene. I was pleased to see him up with the top lads in the top 10. Then it was time for us to get in the water. Again it was a slightly cooler feel than I had been swimming in, but certainly not as cold as Dambuster. I warmed up before trying to find myself a place near enough to the bank, so as not to swim in the full current pushing against us. The siren sounded and this time, unlike yesterday I managed to push my watch to record my time. It was a mess of bodies and lots of pulling and groping again. I was pleased to get to the turn around bouy and finally swim with the current. I then worked my way through the swimmers. It seems to be that I am able to push through when the swim is slightly longer as I think others tire a bit more quickly than I do.

Anyway finally out of the water in about 30th place (according to the parents) and running into T1 I glanced at my watch and saw it read 20:30..... NO WAY! I was shocked but then pleased that I had swam so well. Kicking off the wetsuit in a record time, I then grabbed my helmet and glasses, then the bike and I was off.

The mount line was halfway up a slope and I could forsee lots of people falling off, so I made my way a little bit further up the slope and onto the grass before setting off.

The bike course is pretty good, although lots of turns which means that you often have to slow down and break your rhythm before settling back into it.

I saw Will around 30 minutes into my bike ride which was encouraging, although I spotted he was in a kind of pack, and thought that he would get done for drafting (which he unfortunatley did and got a 2 minute penalty). The heavens did decide to open up on us and the rain was pretty cold, but  I was over halfway and over the bike course by that point so I knew I was on my way home. It was an uneventful ride for me, getting passed by the quicker men from the wave after me and some ladies, but mostly I managed to pass around 10 people although  probably lost more places.

I was pleased to clock a 1:24 for my ride of 25 miles (or just over) and although not much quicker than the Dambuster, I felt good for it and pleased that I had the legs to carry me through. I had spent a considerable amount of time on the tri bars which felt really comfortable, however coming into T2 I lost my place on the racking AGAIN, which lost me around 15 seconds or so and then grabbed my shoes and cap before exiting onto the run course.

It was 2 laps of 5km each around the meadows and Chester's Grosvenor park. It was not really flat or hilly, except for a couple of short sharp uphills which took it out of you and I had to slow to a walk once or twice and got rather dizzy.

It was great though as I was running with a girl from my age group and we kept exchanging places throught the entire run course. Sometimes I would be in front and she was on my heels and then she would move in front. I was determined to beat her. Anyway on the second lap at the water station, just after one of these short sharp inclines, I lost her and she moved around 50m in front of me. I thought then that was it and game over just to concentrate on my own run. We then moved across the suspension bridge into the park and I could just about see her still.

It was then in the park that I managed to find some legs and move a bit more. It was good to have someone to chase.

The final stages of the run I managed to keep up with a guy in front of me and we were then right behind this other girl. The the final downhill followed by the finish gantry. I pushed past her and sprinted for my life to the finish. I had done it!

I was pretty pleased to see that I had outsprinted her and done myself proud. It was a fantastic race and really well supported. I had struggled on the final parts of the run however with a really sore back, and my back was playing up as I walked around the finishing area. I think it was the amount of time on the tri-bars which did that, I will have to work on that for next time!

What a race! Chester Triathlon club knows how to do it well and I have to give them credit for organising a fantastic weekend of racing and having some great goody bag bits too!

It was a great way to finish off 6 races and now I have only a couple of fun short races to look forward to.

I decided to enter the Bedford Mini Classic which is on at the same time as the Bedford Classic as I didn't really want to do another Olympic distance (I am still relatively new to all of this) and I wanted to enjoy some training for a while without racing. It will be a good event as Will and a load of Stamford tri Club are doing it too (I have also convinced my StepDad Mike to come and do the mini version). It is a 200m swim, 15km Bike and 3.3km run. Something of a training event that I can go and smash!

I am happy just doing some solid training for a while. I have the Bedford Mini Classic on the 29th July, then the club relays in Nottingham Bank holiday weekend in August before the final race of the London Triathlon in September. It is a good finish to a solid season.

I hope that everyone has had a good week of training and racing!

Kerry x

Becoming a Dambuster finisher finally!

If you had all seen my latest post, you will have been aware that I was intending to fully go out there any enjoy the Dambuster race this year and try to avoid any dramatics like last year. Being at Rutland Water gave me that full home advantage and I wanted to face my demons and race hard and strong with the added bonus that it was a ITU Worlds Qualifier and would be a tough field.

Knowing the course was probably in my best interests as having been following the weather forecasts pretty much hourly, I knew that a Southerly wind would mean that the Rutland Ripple would be doubly hard due to the hills and the headwind.

So the weekend began with my friend Rob Monk arriving from Chester. He has played a large part in my swim coaching for the past couple of years so it was great to be able to see him and show him the route the night before. Driving around the course was a great way of seeing where you needed to be able to push and where you needed to avoid anything in the road- there wasn't that much as our roads around here are really quite good and smooth!

We then registered and were informed that due to the temperature of the water being below 12 degrees BTF rules stated that they needed to cut it down by 500m making it 1000m.  Additionally due to the southerly wind blowing directly into the creek that we were to swim in, if this made it difficult for safety cover, they would cancel the swim entirely, making it a duathlon with a 5km run to begin.

That was not the greatest news I could have heard. I was ignoring the fact that the water was so damned cold, but knew that I would not have covered 15km in training so that would be a bit challenging to say the least. The decision would be made at 6.15am the following morning.

So it was off home to discuss the potential pitfalls for the next day and what our race strategy would be come duathlon or tri. For Will and Rob a shorter swim was really detrimental as they are very strong swimmers this would mean that they had even less time on their main competitors.

The morning dawned windy and slightly drizzly, but I was pleased to see that the rain did manage to hold off and even the sun was trying to say hello.

It was great to be at a race knowing the area, knowing sooooo many people, and to have Stamford Tri supporters out in force to cheer us on. Racking my bike I overheard the commentator announce that a swim was due to take place, and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief, as swimming is my strongest at the moment. Racked up, I made my way over to the throng of Stamford Tri competitors and we chatted and listened to the race briefing to be told that we needed to watch out for cars etc as the amount of people on bikes would mean that the cars would be slowing down. You weren't to overtake or undertake, and with 8 draft busters on the course, drafting would be definitely caught!

Finally it was time for Will's wave to go, and beach starts would take place- to get as much meterage as they could for the swim and watched the men dive into the water. I managed to clock Will coming out of the water in 7th place around 1:30 down on the leader (he was MILES in front!).

Chatting Ready for the race

Soon enough it was time for the girls. In our yellow hats we made our way into the water. Yes it was pretty cold, and yes I did do what most other athletes do in their wetsuit to keep warm! I had been a bit annoyed and nervous after the commentator had announced that in previous waves there was more than the usual amount of breaststrokers- a bit of scaremongering- GREAT!?! But I got in and tried my best to acclimatise, which wasn't too bad apart from on my head.

Then it was back out and ready with the hooter for the off......

 Beach Start made for interesting swimming or rather fighting- you would have thought ladies were uch more polite!

Off we went!

I can only descorbe that those first few hundred metres as being a bit of a washing machine and fight. I was groped, I groped others, I got hit on the head. It was really manic. I can only imagine that for weaker swimmers it was really quite awful. I stuck my head down and maintained a hard but manageable pace which seemed to get me clearer and nearer the front of the pack. As we made our way towards the end of the creek I was in clearer water but still on top of people and toes. It was only when we turned around (and back into the wind and chop) that I made some headway as I was fairly confident in this choppy water. Having only swallowed a small amount of water, I was pleased to get back to the start with relative ease and exited the water with a couple of others. It seems I placed well in my age group for the swim and exited the water around 25th or so out of a field of 190. Not bad at all! With 15:20 for the 1km swim being announced by the commentator (she did have some good points!) and running the slightly longer path for the ladies and older gentleman's transition, I found my bike and then struggled to get the wetsuit off (thus noting that I needed to practise this a bit more!).

Getting onto the bike was a bit of an effort but once the shoes were on (left them on the bike this time with elastics) I was off down the driveway and out onto the main road.

Here would be a slight crosswind which I used to my advantage and worked my way on the bike, I was fully expecting to be passed quite a bit on these early stages, which did happen, although I managed to pass a couple myself and made my way to the first roundabout without too much trouble. I could however see the cars being problematic as one car passed me and then couldn't pass anyone else so braked heavily meaning that I had to slow, as did two other ladies, and then on the roundabout he managed to squeeze one of these poor ladies onto the pavement! Not good at all. I also clocked a large group of ladies in front of me who were clearly drafting, but it wasn't long before I saw a draft buster coming along and clocking them! I also happened to see a lady whose number wasn't facing the right way, and the draft buster signalled this to her, and after he had rode off, she blatantly left it facing forward- there is just no justice sometimes.

The next section was to be straight into the wind and my gosh it was tough hard work. Approaching the Ripple I knew that it would be tough, but managed to get my head down and work up those hills as hard as I had done in training... and some! It was great to see so many people cheering us on at specific points as well. The only weird thing I experienced was a real feeling of jittering in my legs on all of the hills. I don't know whether it was anxiety or nervousness or even weakness, but any ideas or thoughts are greatly recommended!

Having conquered the Ripple, it was down onto the fastest part of the course. It was brilliant! Tailwind and smooth flat roads meant that I beat my target of getting to the final hill in Ketton. i wanted to be there in an hour which I did. I was pleased as punch. I did manage to pass a few more people (probably around 10-12 in total) which isn't many but considering the field I took it all in my stride and enjoyed it.

Heading back into Whitwell would be another tough old drag, but I clocked my time and realised that my aim of 1:30 for the bike was a very realistic goal and making my way back into T2 (with a very slick dismount according to Will) I was pleased to have ridden a 29.2kph average (1:26:06). AWESOME!

The run would be my absolute worst part of the day, although setting out of T2 I was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt ok. Heading out to the Dam I realised soon enough that I probably would need to remove my trusty cap and went across the dam into a huge headwind that wanted to blow me away! The run was a steady run and although I knew that it was slow, I just wanted to finish strong and not have any stomach problems. I had taken a gel 20 minutes before the swim and at 45 minutes into the bike and only sipped a bit on the bike. I did not want to vomit again or to have a stitch. I was unfortunate enough to get a slight stitch initially on the run, but this soon went off. I ran as hard as my legs would go, and it was a relief to get the wind on my back turning around on the dam.

On my final leg I was quite pleased that there was a steady stream of people after me, meaning that I would not be last and far from it!

The last mile I tried to push slightly harder, and with it came the stupid heaving again (need to sort this out) and it was a huge case of mind over matter to stop me from being ill over the finish line which would not have been a pleasant look! Lots of cheering from Stamford Tri all the way to the finish and some great photos (courtesy of Darren Kelly and Steve Meynell- thank you guys!) showed that I really did enjoy my day out on the Dambuster.

Finish line- Yes I had done it!

What a race! It was then to find everyone and congratulate everyone else and see what my final times were.

I had managed to finish in 2:35:17 which even with a full swim would have seen me finish in under 2:45 (my target time). I was elated! I felt great and it was great to see Will had finished in 2 hours dead, even with a full swim would have been fastest Olympic Distance ever for him so a massive PB. Photo below shows him fully going for it at the finish!

Rob did really well as well and finished strong in his age group. I managed to come 14th out of 22 girls in my age group, which was a real achievement and I managed to come 91st out of the ladies field (190ish). I was really chuffed for one of my good friends Michelle Wright coming 5th lady overall and the 3rd fastest times for the swim and bike. Awesome stuff! It was a first time race for a couple of Stamford Tri guys too, so a massive well done to those guys!

I wanted to thank everyone for their support on such a fantastic race, I really really went for it and really enjoyed the race. I have now set myself a benchmark, and even though I didn't qualify at this race, I know that it wasn't my first priority. My only real goal was to finish and to finish well. I think it's safe to say that this race has shown my improvements and I definitely achieved those goals.

So today it's a recovery ride and let those legs feel better!

Happy Training!

Kerry

Summer........ What Summer?

Well haven't we all been having fun in the sun??? No? Well that's been the story of my life and everyone else I know who has been training. Wind, rain and cold. We have had it all. And the timing couldn't have been worse!

The Dambuster Triathlon is less than 24 hours away and I have been constantly checking the weather with every click hoping that by some miracle the weather forecasters have got it wrong and that the heavy gusts and gales predicted will not materialise! Oh well, it can only make you stronger I suppose, but having raced Woodhall in the pouring rain, and Lincoln pretty much, it has been a rather varied race season so far.

Being only my second ever Olympic distance event, the Dambuster for me is pretty much my main race of the season, some call it their A race, others might call it the one above all others. For me it is simply the one where I wanted to perform my best with over 6 months of hard training, weight loss and strength gain all under my belt. I say wanted as with the predicted weather I am certain that this will have a great effect on my performance. Not so much with the swim (although there are rumours of a shorter swim due to temperature) but more so on the bike. If I decide to don a jacket, that will be the 3rd time racing in a jacket, and I pray to god that the wind is favourable for a majority of the bike, although I am probably wishful thinking!

The Dambuster for me in 2011 has some awful memories and for me it was all about being strong and at least trying to finish. Last year I had the worst preparation for an Olympic distance event ever. I was firstly injured with those awful shin splints and therefore was not fully race fit, but I wasn't prepared to lose my race fee (remember also that I had only just come out of a splint for my wrist two months earlier!). Also I was pretty tired having driven up to Sunderland and back down to Essex before finishing the week off in Glasgow for work and flying back on the Friday night before the race- again not ideal race preparation. It was to be my second ever Olympic distance, so you would have thought I would have been fitter, but having only completed a small number of training sessions, I was well and truly over estimating my capabilities.

Anyway, race morning dawned and after a hectic start, I was pleased to come out of the water with a half decent swim time. I then began to run into T1 with Will cheering me on. I glanced over and shouted had he finished, to which he replied that he had pulled out. So there again the mindset took a tumble. Knowing that Will had pulled out, having not run anything over 2 miles in the run up to the event, and having some very dark clouds appear overhead, I was already beginning to crumble.

No matter I thought, onwards and to the bike. After starting off pretty well, I began to get passed, and more people began to pass me, and even more, until I thought I must be the last person on the bike here. I was it was safe to say pretty demoralised, and even began to cry. My thoughts were an absolute mess and my mind was set on getting back to T2 and pulling out. Having seen Will pull out, I then thought that not finishing was a serious option for me. It didn't help matters when 3/4s of the way through the bike the heavens opened and I got hail and rain thrown down on top of me stinging my face and arms. Such a relief it was to get back into T2 and rack my bike. Again though my mind was racing between "run run run" and "stop stop stop". Racking my bike, I then thought it's all over............ until I thought no carry on you silly twit. Putting on my shoes and running out of T2 I felt OK, until literally the first gate about 300m away. I was really feeling pretty bad and the marshal there at the gate asked me if I was OK and I just about burst into tears. I DID NOT feel OK, I was miserable. Triathlon was meant to be about enjoyment, and I almost wanted to drop down I felt so bad. The lovely man gave me some sweets and told me to try for another 100m, which I eventually did, but knowing the torturous run back and forth over the dam, I decided to call it a day. What an event, my mind was in pieces, my body was screaming at me and I was totally gutted.

Anyway, enough moping, on reflection afterwards and with hindsight it was easy to see that I was under prepared through and through and it would have been better to have not even started, despite losing the entry fee. This year that is all going to be a far distant memory. I AM stronger, fitter, leaner and faster than I have EVER been before and even though the weather gods have decided to be mean and play havoc with us all, I am going to give it my best shot.

Being a Worlds Qualifier means that the competition at this event will be fierce, but I know what to expect and I am ready to fight my demons and destroy the race that almost destroyed me.

Good luck to all of those racing this event this weekend, I know many of you reading this will be taking part or watching (thanks in advance!).

Happy training and Racing!

Kerry X

A Lovely Jubilee Weekend and Woodball Shower triathlon more like!

What a weekend! It was glorious to have 4 whole days off work to train, race and to have a really good time with friends and family to enjoy and celebrate such a momentous occasion.

The weekend kicked off for me by attending a ball with some great friends Alex and Michelle also from Stamford Tri Club.

Saturday ended up being a complete rest day for me with Woodhall Spa Sprint Triathlon on the Sunday so I spent much of the day cleaning the house before having dinner at Will's Mum's house.

I had been trawling the weather websites all day looking at the forecast for Sunday which was to be cold, wet, windy and pretty miserable. It would be a Stamford Tri takeover with around 15 or so of us racing in Woodhall Spa. This would be great knowing that there was plenty of familiar faces on race day. After waking up at a lovely sociable hour, I picked up a fellow triathlete from Stamford (Andrea) and drove on up through the awful rain and wind, willing the temperature on my dashboard to rise above 9 degrees with no such luck.

After finally parking the car (on the field past the run course!) we debated about our options before finally taking everything with us from the car due to the 15 minute walk to the main race HQ. We were totally soaked before we arrived at the registration tent and then having registered, it was time for as minimal transition as possible. I decided to leave my shoes off the bike again and cover them over with a towel as well as leave a jacket to wear on the bike.

We then made our way into the pool centre and slowly stripped off our layers to try and acclimatise to the appalling conditions and cold temperatures outside.

those of you that have been following my blog will have seen that I have had a few stomach issues on the run, and having met with Mary on the Saturday morning, i followed her advice of having a pretty big breakfast and then a gel around 20 minutes before the start of the race in order to allow my stomach to be ok for the run. I also was to sip a drink on the bike course. In my haste I had however forgotten my drinks bottle in the car and decided against walking back through the rain to get it, and decided to purchase a sports drink and leave this on my bike. In the end I only took a couple of sips just for good measure whilst on the bike course.

Anyway I didn't get hungry and managed to have my gel whilst waiting around in the changing rooms ready for the start.

It was a pretty miserable start to the race, however there was plenty of support from fellow Stamford Tri Club people which was great to see and hear!

Once called for the swim start into the water we went, and I relaxed at the lovely balmy temperature of the water- thinking to myself that I better enjoy this as the next bit would be mightlilty cold!

I exited the water after 400m (12 laps of a 33m pool) and headed into the mudbath that was transition. Locating my bike, I made a slight error in putting my race belt on upside down and then after finally pulling my my rain jacket, had to negotiate the HUGE muddy puddle that was on the exit of transition.

The bike was the worst part of the race for me. I just couldn't warm up at all! I had no feeling in my fingers or toes and the rain was belting down and the wind was pretty much in my face for most of the first half of the course. I was overtaken by a few people and managed to claw back a couple of places, but all in all it was a pretty dire result coming in at 51:13 for 24km. After my success on the bike in Nantwich I was pretty disappointed when I clocked my time coming back into T2, but there again the conditions were pretty shocking and it was only on the 2nd part of the course that i managed to get moving after the legs had warmed up!

Heading into T2 I felt pretty good, but the legs were moving and after heading out of the run exit (through the horrendous muddy puddle again) I was up on my toes and running strong. I felt pretty good and managed to pass 3 people heading out over the course. At the halfway mark (or so we were informed) I checked that I was on 10:30- and took a second look. I couldn't be running that fast surely?!

Anyway the run was a lovely flat square and therefore I knew where the final part would be and where to put the hammer down.

Coming in for a total time of 1:23:51 wasn't my best effort, but the run split of 22:28 certainly was a PB not only in a race but ever! I was chuffed to bits with that run split and was looking around like a deranged woman at the end to confirm that the run was indeed 5km to confirm my PB.

It was certainly a great event and race, and I must again thank the supporters for coming out on such an awful day to cheer us on in the pouring rain!

I have been having a good block of training recently with my hill rep session each week and increasing reps each time. I really am starting to feel much more confident about Dambuster in 11 days time, which is basically one of my key races of the year.

I am less nervous than I was about the bike, although running along 2 miles of the run route today has filled me with a sense of dread about that!

I am feeling really fit and much better than I ever have in triathlon and feel that I will probably do quite well as long as everything sticks and I don't get any niggles or injuries ahead of race day.

Next on the agenda is a pretty full week of training, with lots of work on the bike ready for next week's taper and journey to Glasgow for a few days with work. I will probably take the old trainers and do a couple of short runs just to to keep things ticking over. My next blog will likely be from after the Dambuster and will be a full run down of how it went.

What a weekend though, it was great to get a race in, some time with good friends and also to attend my first ever street party in Langham. It was really good fun to see everyone out enjoying themselves and celebrating the Queen's reign. I feel immensely proud to be British and part of her empire. Long live the Queen!