I entered Allerthorpe for two main reasons;
A) I wanted to try racing over the Olympic distance as a test to see
how I faired, as the plan is to race 70.3 next year (2015) and B) to support my
local triathlon club (Barracuda)
because this was agreed to be our club triathlon. Aside from these reasons, I
wanted to get one more race in before heading to Australia at the end of the
month for a nice long holiday.
Allerthorpe is one of the most local races I
can do living in Hull, which is nice as it’s always good to see how strong the
local competition is. I normally race GB Age-Group qualifiers so to race in a
more relaxed local race is always nice as I didn't need to place so much
pressure on myself and I could just enjoy the race. The only concern I had was
getting the nutrition right. Normally, I only have a bottle of water on my bike
when I race sprints, but knew that racing this distance I couldn't just rely on
my CHO stores. After a few text’s to Ian (my coach) and a mate Rob I decided
that 2 gels on the bike should do the job nicely.
I woke early, consumed my standard pre-race
breakfast, drove to the race, registered, sorted all my kit out in transition and
chilled out as registration closed 90 minutes before my race start. I found
this a little frustrating but it gave me a good chance to catch up with a few
members of my local tri club before the start at 9:30am. I was in the first of
three waves so I knew that everyone that I was racing against would be direct
competition, as the slower competitors were in the two latter waves.
After the pre-race brief we were given able
time to get our wetsuits on and get into the lake for a good warm up. We were
then given a 2 minute warning so I positioned myself to the right hand side of the pack, giving a nice direct line to the first buoy. The horn went and we
were off!! Everyone else also had the same idea to me which made the start
absolute carnage with everyone racing to the first buoy. After the first buoy
the field spread out and I was able to get into a nice swim rhythm, which I
maintained for the total of the 1500m 3-lap swim. I felt like I paced the swim
well and came out the water in the top 25 which I was over the moon with. After
exiting the water, I quickly ran into T1 to grab my bike and start making inroads
into the top 10.
The bike course was perfectly suited to a
“TT’er” triathlete as it was dead pan flat. The course consisted of a loop of Allerthorpe and the surrounding
areas. I've been racing a fair few TT’s this season and have placed
well, so was confident I would have the bike legs for a good result. I felt
really strong on the bike and I think the weather (Hurricane Bertha) played in
my favor. The roads were pretty open to the elements (wind and rain) and I knew
that my TT strength was helping as into the wind I started clawing my way back
toward the top 10. I approached T2, just after the hour mark, had my feet resting
on my tri shoes and dismounted before the dismount line.
The run was just a single 10km lap with a similar
elevation gradient to the run with only a few small climbs over hump-back
bridges. In a similar story to the bike I felt super strong but this time it
took me until the final 3km to start picking off competitors. I could see the
finish line fast approaching so kicked for the final 1km. I completed the 10km
in just over 42 minutes, which I was a little disappointed with. This disappointment
was soon alleviated when I was informed that the run was actually closer to
11km, thus making my run time about right.
I finished with an overall time of 2:08:40,
which resulted in me coming 14th overall and 5th in my
Age-Group. I’m happy with my performance as this was my first attempt at racing
an Olympic distance triathlon and can now kick back and enjoy my 3 weeks in
Australia, before my coach, Ian starts cracking the whip to get me back in shape.
Thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil.
Thanks to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears)
