Nottingham Sprint Triathlon

I entered Nottingham at the start of the season hoping to qualify for the European Sprint Distance Championships for 2016. However as i qualified earlier in the season for the European Duathlon championships also in 2016 I decided not to "opt-in" for selection as I think I'd struggle to fund both as well as my best friends wedding in Malta. Building up to Nottingham I was happy with how my training had gone, however I had only raced one pool based sprint so my race fitness especially in the swim was somewhat lacking. 

I travelled down to Nottingham (Holme Pierrepont) the night before, in an attempt to relive some of the stress of travelling on race day, especially as the M1 is a nightmare at the moment with all the road works. I made good time and after registration, I put on my cycling gear and headed out to recce the bike course as in previous years the bike course was laden with potholes. However this year I was pleasantly surprised as these had been filled in, which was wonderful. After the recce I headed to the hotel, checked in, dropped off my kit and then headed out for dinner, with the Mrs. 

It was the morning of the race and I did the standard pre-race ritual; 3-hr pre race breakfast and carb and caffeine-load. After chilling in the room and getting ready we then headed over to Holme Pierrepont. Just like in previous years this was a split transition, so I first made my way to T1 and started setting up my bike and laying out everything I needed for the swim and bike legs. I then headed over to T2 to put my trainers down. I was lucky with T2, in that I had an easily identifiable landmark so I knew where my trainers would be upon entering transition. After setting out all my kit in both transitions I started to put my wetsuit on, whilst listening to the pre-race brief.

Yet again this was a GB qualifier for both the Worlds and Europeans so we were set off in Age-Group waves (M 20-24, 30-34 & 35-39), which is great as you get a good idea of your direct competition. We were able to get into the water ~5 mins before the race start and I started to warm up and get acclimatised to the water temp which was a tad chilly. We then got a 1 minute warning and at that point it occurred to me that I had left it too late to get a good position in the water. The horn went and we were off!! It took me until the first buoy to get into my swim rhythm as it was a constant battle to find clear water. Unfortunately I didn't get into the swim group I wanted to be in, so couldn't take advantage of the better swimmers, but you live and learn. After exiting the water I quickly ran into T1 to grab my bike and start making up for the time I lost in the water.

Just like in previous seasons and has now become the norm, my training consisted of racing in the local TT league so i knew this would help me out on this course. The bike course was 4 laps of 5km (20km in total) and perfectly suited to the “TT’er” as it was dead pan flat, with four 90° bends per lap. The wind was also kind to us so I knew it was going to be a fast time. I felt really strong on the bike and as the laps ticked down I was constantly gaining and passing some of my fellow competitors. After four storming laps I approached T2, just after the 30 min mark, with my feet resting on my tri shoes and dismounted before the dismount line.  

The run was just a single 5km lap of the bike course with a few slight deviations. In a similar story to the bike I felt super strong and kept picking off competitors. I could see the finish line fast approaching so kicked for the final 1km. This last km was pretty tough as the wind had picked up from the bike leg and we were now running into a head wind!! The finish line was down the “blue” carpet in front on the grandstand and the crowds. This was a great way for finish the race. I completed the 5km in just over 19 minutes. 

I finished with an overall time of 1:05:49, which resulted in me coming 17th in my Age-Group, which was a improvement from last years placing, so I'm happy with that especially with my lack of racing and decreased time to train due to PhD commitments. 

The next race up for me is the Humber Half Marathon at the end of June. 

Thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil.

Thanks to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears)

New race kit looking great (shame about the silly face!!)