Stockton-on-Tees Standard Distance Duathlon

My season ended early, in late August 2014 and after a 4-week holiday in Auz (see earlier blog for more info) I was keen to get back in the training groove. My trip to Auz was mega and i would do it again in a heartbeat, however 4-weeks of eating out and minimal training meant i was a long way off the condition i was used to. 

Once back and after recovering from the jet lag i was soon back putting in those winter miles and in the gym looking for those gainz!! It was a slow process and slowly but shortly i began looking like something that resembled an athlete. I love winter training and the opportunity it presents to get "off-road" on both foot and on the MTB. During the winter i still like to race as i feel that i need that "full gas" effort once in a while to remind me what its like to go at race pace. That's why The East Yorkshire XC league is perfect for me, as it gives me that monthly option to race in a quite and informal environment. 

From September to Christmas things were going really well with the training and and was feeling fitter by the week. Then out of nowhere on NYE it hit me, the nasty flu bug, that was doing the rounds. This knocked me out for two weeks and it was inevitable that this set me back as the thought of training made me feel worse!! 

Once i got over this i started training again but as a result missed a fair few XC races and one of my favourite 10-miler road races. This was frustrating as like i said earlier i really need that racing stimulus through out the winter and as it turns out i didn't race from early December until now, Stockton. 

In the build up to this my preparation had been good, but could have been better. I had originally planned to race Clumber Park standard distance duathlon a few weeks prior to Stockton. However, I had to change my plans because I was invited to present some of my PhD research at The World Congress of Science and Medicine in Cricket, in Sydney. It was a really tough decision............ Clumber or Sydney!! Anyway this meant that my training was a little interrupted and I only had one chance of earning a place to represent GB at the standard distance European duathlon champs 2016. So i placed all my eggs in this basket! 

The race started at 1pm, which was a really nice change to the norm of being up ready to race at the crack of dawn. This meant that Sally and I could drive up to Stockton in the morning instead of an overnight stopover. Racing at 1pm also posed a new challenge for me, what do it eat? Anyway i decided to work backwards and effectively had two pre-race breakfasts and my pre-race rituals just started from 10am.  

Once we got to Stockton we ended up driving around for a while as the closed roads (for the race) were causing havoc for the sat nav!! Once we finally found a place to park (close to the race HQ) i gathered up all my gear and headed over, registered and set up in transition. This was a quick and easy process which was nice so i just enjoyed chatting to a few "triathlon friends" and just chilled with the Mrs. 

As it approached 1pm the pre-race nerves were well and truly kicking in and the added pressure of racing to qualify for the Euros next year didn't help things! I headed over to the race started and commenced my warm-up and listened to the pre-race brief. After the pre-race brief we all got called forward and gathered on the start line to wait for the klaxon. 

The klaxon sounded and we were off! The first 10km run was 2-laps of the 5km circuit, which looped the river Tees. The pace was blistering as there were plenty of athletes just like me racing to qualify. The lead runners quickly shot off the front, which then left the rest of us to settle into the 2nd/3rd groups. After the first 2km these groups now had splintered and i settled in and was able to stick to a pace i was happy with, on the limit but manageable. i continued to maintain this effort for the remaining 7-8km and was now one-by-one picking runners off as i made my way through the field. 

Just crossing the Millennium Bridge

The run wasn't the easiest or simplest of runs, as it included a lot of changes in direction and a leg sapping run over the Millennium bridge just before the start/finish line. After a hard but solid run i was back into transition; trainers off, helmet on, unrack bike and now time to smash the bike. 

Just heading out to start the 40km bike leg 

Like the run, the bike was multiple laps of an 8km loop, so 5 laps. It was great to be able to race on closed roads which meant that you can smash it round corners and not have to worry, the only downside is that its you're not 100% sure on what position you are in. The bike course was also similar to the run in reference to the changes in direction with a fair few "out and back" branched sections. Once out of T1 and onto the bike leg i was quickly working hard to catch up to the super-fast runners who had put a fair bit of time into me. This bike course suited me, pretty flat but with a few gentle climbs so the strength i worked hard to build over the winter both on the bike and in the gym was paying off. Parts of this course were quite windy, which also played well to my strengths, being able to push a big gear into a strong headwind. The more laps i did the more confidence i had on the course and knew how fast i could take all the corners. I kept pushing as hard as i could and continued to overtake people, however by the 3rd lap onward i was clueless to my place within the field. I normally race the sorter distances so race nutrition isn't that important where as racing for longer nutrition becomes really important, therefore I had my race nutrition all planned out and knew exactly when to take the gels on the bike, which i was able to stick to. After an hour on the bike i was approaching T2 with me feet resting on the top of my shoes ready to dismount and to start the final 5km run. 

Both my transitions (T1 & T2) were pretty slick and i was quickly trying to settle into my stride. This was easier said than done as for the first km my calf's were cramping! once i overcame this cramp i was able to settle into my stride. It was about 2km in before i lost my head. i was running along and then out of the corner of my eye i spotted a dog running up toward me and i kept running thinking that it was going to turn back to its owner, but it didn't it just continued to run and then everything went "slow-mo" as the dog jumped into me!!! What a nightmare!!! i just hoped that i would stay on my feet and fortunately i did, however this really got to me and i found it hard to get back into my rhythm. fortunately i settled in and was able to keep pushing as hard as i could as i snaked my way round the course. All that was left was the leg sapping Millennium bridge, running up and over this well and truly took me into the red!! I knew it was less than a km to go so just dug in and gave it everything i had left. 

Fubar'd crossing the finish line! Definitely a hard day at the office and the lack of racing in the build up didn't help! 

I finished 25th male in a time of 2:05:01. Unfortunately the race results weren't displayed in age-groups, which is rather annoying especially when you are hoping to qualify for the GB Age-Group team. However a few weeks later I got the email from Triathlon England saying that I had qualified for the Euros in so I'm buzzing for that!!  

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil, as well as my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). Also thanks to Trihard and AWOL adventure for the photos.