Chamonix Mountains

Chamonix Mountains

Sunday 15 May 2016

A Wonderful Weekend at the European Duathlon Champs in Copenhagen

Much worry in the weeks running up to the race - have I done enough training to warrant going to the race ( not really !), how bad will I be as even my running doesn't feel great, how will I get my bike to the courier ( thanks Rose for sorting this all out) , why do they need it 10 days before the race, what kit shall I pack, and all the usual panic !! 
I could hardly believe that it was May already and it was "time"! The weather was initially forecast to be awful for the race and there was much discussion via the Facebook group about what cold / wet weather gear we would be permitted to wear with our GB trisuits. 
Needless to say, we arrived in Copenhagen to bright sunshine! The apartment that Angela had booked for us was lovely and was also the base for the GB Team.


I was travelling with Rose & Sara from One Life, Angela & Hedley. 



It was great to have their company and also to meet up with Gemma & Ian who shared our apartment. 
We arrived on Fri afternoon, in time for the bike course recce, led by Team Manager, Barron. It was a valuable ride out, looking at how the course weaved through the streets through the city and turned (sharply!) into the park. On the left was the sea which looked lovely but meant that there was the potential for a strong wind. We rode round one 30k loop and checked out transition. A very worthwhile exercise! 
On Sat, we had time for a tourist trip on electric bikes to see the famous , but slightly disappointing, Little Mermaid. 


It was incredibly hot for us Northerners and we were all keen to get out of the sun after registration.
There was a team briefing that evening in which Barron went over the latest race instructions. We decided to rack our bikes in the morning. 
It was an early start on the Sun (8 May) but we were staying close to the course so could get set up and return to the room for pre-race faffing! 
Our race started just after the elite women at 8am and it was already sunny! 


After the first lap of the run (5k) along the road, around a park and back along the road to transition / turn around, I was already hot and poured water over my head. Back onto the second lap and the sun was hotting up, making the 10k challenging enough ! I felt quite sick for most of the run, but this soon changed into panic as transition time approached! 



After doing a pre-race run through to locate my bike amongst the many, I was slightly dis-orientated when they had opened a different gate into transition for the race! I had told myself I would be calm and efficient in transition (!) even if it cost me a couple of seconds to get it correct. I soon located my bike and had a gel whilst putting my helmet & shoes on. A quick swig of water and the long jog out to the road. 
The bike course started awkwardly with a turn round a cone and onto a bike path going the wrong way down the road ! I was slow to clip in but soon found my pace and managed to negotiate the twists and turns through the city and remain on my bike! The cobbled section was awful and I feared for my bike! As almost everyone else seemed to go up onto the cycle path to avoid the cobbles, I decided I'd do this on the second lap. The turn into the park was worse than on the recce, due to some strange cone action from the organisers and the country park was not closed as had been expected. I tried to maintain a decent pace over the 2 laps. I got overtaken but managed to overtake a few women. After 1 hour 51, the 60k bike leg was over and the transition 'marathon' was completed in reverse, with officials vocally enforcing 'rules' on where you could leave your helmet! 
The crazy positioning of the one water station meant that you didn't pass it coming out of transition and had to struggle round one very hot 5k run lap until you got to it. I felt like I was dragging myself round the run, but thought that I couldn't be that bad as I was overtaking people all the way round the laps. I was desperate to finish and get out of the heat. I had to really hold it together running through the park on the second lap as the heat was relentless. I was pleased to get back to the road and finish the race. 


Looking good after 3h 25! 😁
A decent result, all things considered , 8th in Europe and qualification for the World Champs 😊







Monday 2 May 2016

Silver lining at Stockton

There were lots of good reasons for entering the Stockton Standard Distance Duathlon, but they all escaped me as I shivered before the race, barely able to keep the coffee in my cup! It would be my first Standard distance race and although I have had some success at Sprint distance and the longer distance, I am no pro at duathlon. I think Stockton was only my 4th or 5th one. To some there was the added pressure of it being the National Champs, but for me the pressure was that my running seems not to be as good as normal (although I have had some good results!) and I still have general fatigue issues, in both body and mind! 
With duathlon, there's a whole day of your life taken out by the time you have dragged your kit to the right place, faffed about and generally panicked about where the course goes and how you get in and out of transition! I totally failed to work it out, but had a great transition space for my super duper bike, so I was sure that I would find it amongst the hundreds of others.
I found Angela (McGurk, who I'm going to race in Copenhagen with very soon!) and we found the start line so all was good! Slight worries about how cold it would be on the bike and how to count the six laps, but the run was just two, so I hoped I could count to two!! I wanted to set off steady / easy as I wasn't certain how I would feel during the race, so I ran comfortably without going too fast. You have to remember that the whole race is going to take around 2 and a half hours ( well that was my guess-timate). I found myself running with John who I had met on the Tri4U Mallorca training camp two years ago. It was nice to have his company and he's a sensible runner, so we kept a good even pace going. The course was very twisty, out and back around loops along the river and over a wobbly bridge. Two laps of the run were done soon enough; someone with a beepy watch said the course was a bit long but it doesn't matter if you are all doing the same. I wasn't likely to break my 10k pb!! 



Into transition, bike found easily, deep breath, don't panic, remember helmet, off safely to the bike course on which I had no idea where I was going, other than there were three roundabouts! I had also a dodgy strategy for counting laps which involved pressing the lap button on my watch! Hey ho....those Brownlees could learn from me!! I found the bike route challenging as it was technical, with four 180 degrees turns, windy, and spent the first two laps wondering where I was on the lap! I did managed to get down onto my tri bars the majority of the time which was one thing that I wanted to practise. After about four laps, I was shattered, the wind was hard work and there was no respite on the lap at all. I felt like if I stopped pedalling I would just fall off, I was so tired! Next the counting challenge! The worry of doing the correct amount of laps; had I done five laps or six?! It's amazing how you can't count six laps when you are racing. I had been pressing my watch button, but wasn't certain if the 5 meant I'd done 5 or was on 5. I had been watching the time and thought I was taking 12-13 mins approx per lap. As I passed the end of lap 5 (I hoped), I decided I'd check by multiplying 13 by 5 to see what time it'd be and what time 6 laps would take ! Panic ! Can't count! Why is there 1:02 on my watch ? Aaaarghh! Once I'd calmed down, I realised I was ok and was on my last lap! 
Coming into the last turn, I started to get my feet out of my shoes, but the dismount line was immediately after the turn in, so I only got one foot out. Never mind, at least I didn't fall off! I should have checked that before but there wasn't enough time for me to do the 'shoe thing' in that short stretch so I'm not sure what I would have done better there.
Transition was fine again, not quick but correct! I headed off on the second run which was one lap (5k ish). I'm actually ok at running off the bike and even though I was wrecked from the fight with the wind, I managed to overtake runners as I went round the lap. 



This makes you feel like you are doing something well, at least! I knew that I wasn't running particularly fast, but I wasn't overtaken by any women so that was good. I knew that another Mallorca friend, Liz, was ahead of me and a few others but I had no idea of my actual position in the race. Over the wobbly bridge and the run was almost over. It seemed a short run as the longer races have a 10k and it was pleasant to get it over with 'quickly' i.e the pain doesn't last too long! 


I saw Liz at the finish and she directed me to the results printer. I was surprised to be just outside my prediction of 2:30, considering it wasn't the greatest performance by me! We compared finishing positions and Liz was hopeful that we had medalled. It hadn't crossed my mind! 
I felt shattered and in need of fuel and warm clothes, so I got myself sorted, saw a few One Lifers, and had a coffee with Katherine Davis, who had run well but sadly realised she had done the wrong amount of bike laps - grrrr! We waited for the presentation. Liz gave me the thumbs up, part way through and she was right. She was National Champion and I was runner-up! Totally unexpected by me. Medals also for the rest of the Copehagen crew - Angela, Hedley and Rose! Also a silver for John. Well done guys!