36

Day 2 & 3 – Austria Bike Trip

It’s not going so well. We took a vote over breakfast on Sunday morning to a back drop of torrential rain as to who was keen to ride and who wanted to get a bus. The group was split 50/50 but after venturing out into the 5 degree morning the decision was made that we would all get the bus. Unfortunately it was the wrong call and almost on cue as the bikes were loaded into the trailer, the skies cleared.

We got over to Fugen, checked into the hotel and with most of the group keen to ride it was decided to head out after lunch. Our timing stinks. Just as everyone filed out of the hotel in cycling gear, the rain started again. My mind was already made up that I would be spending some quality time in the spa. Most of the guys keen to boost the vertical completed during the week soldiered on to climb Zillertaler Hoehenstrasse starting from the town of Aschau. Unfortunately they only managed to get 7km up the climb, which was an average of 12.5% including pitches of 21%, before having to turn back because the weather was so bad.

The rain hasn’t stopped since, and I don’t mean a light rain. It’s a complete washout. Being down in the valley we have watched with trepidation the snowline slowly creep towards us which doesn’t bode well for the next few days. This morning we decided not to jump the gun and hold back before making a decision on what to do but at 11 the decision was made to stay in this hotel for an additional night. The forecasts are for clear skies tomorrow and we don’t want to miss out on doing all of Zillertaler Hoehenstrasse which is known to have the most beautiful roads in Austria. There are 5 ways up the climb so we are hoping to take a different route up tomorrow and fingers crossed we will have sunny skies!

Happy training.
Cx

35

Day 1 – Austria Bike Trip

The annual cycling trip to Europe has begun! This time there are 17 of us and and we are attacking the mountains of Austria. We flew into Zurich on Saturday morning to meet up with the group who had mostly flown in from all over the US including Texas, California, Washington State, New York as well as the regulars from The Netherlands and UK. We had a bus collecting us to drive to Bludens in Austria where we would be starting the trip the following day.

There were a few worried faces as we were driving through really heavy rain from Zurich and a lot of blackberry action trying to figure out what the weather was going to be like for the start of the ride in the morning. The rain was relentless all afternoon as the bikes were put together varying between steady and torrential. Not a good start! I have my with me which is light and handles like a dream so really keen to see how I handle some of the tricky descents.

Thankfully we awoke to some fog but mostly clear skies which prompted me to head off ahead of the group with Cathy who lives at Lake Tahoe. I really hate getting wet on the bike plus I am much slower climbing than most people in the group so needed the jump not to get left behind! Today’s stage was 112km and 2400m so it wasn’t going to easy.

The first climb of the day was taking in in the Silvretta tourist road which was awesome! So many twists and turns to get to the top of Bielerhöhe pass as well as some pretty steep stretches. Due to the rain there had been some snow on some of the peaks which made it look gorgeous. I love that someone had put a sticker on the signs warning of kangaroos in the area.

Down the other side of the pass to Ishgal where I spent a week skiing in March this year. Really cool to see it in summer with all the flowers out! After lunch we jumped on the Oscar express to head down the valley doing 60km average and hanging on for dear life! Oscar is our Dutch giant who doesn’t feel anything under 5% gradient and a massive head wind is a refreshing breeze to him.

After making our way down the valley we did a small climb and a small descent and then the steepest of steep climbs which was a 7km with an average of 12%. It had these nasty pitches and a small amount of recovery and it was a killer. Unfortunately I had to pull the pin on the climb after 1.5km after my hip flexors which I have been having issues with for 6 months started to scream. My gears are not small enough so a smaller cassette will be going on tonight! (Of course it had nothing to do with my legs or fitness!!!)

Tomorrow is another tough day with it being quite long at 136km and 2000km. We go over the Kühtai pass, then heading through Innsbruck and onto Fügen. 136km and another 2000m.

Lets hope the legs hold up!

Happy training.
Cx
More Photos

34

Summer Training

Last week was spent hanging out in Nice, albeit a little longer than intended when my flight was cancelled. So begins the inevitable scramble, along with 150 other people late Sunday evening, to get onto another flight. Having had some experience with this due to snow and ash clouds I know that the best course of action is to get online and get on a flight ASAP. I had my laptop in my bag so had the advantage of being able to do that immediately. With nothing available for 3 days out of Nice I got The Dutchman and I on a flight from Marseilles for Monday afternoon. We went home and got up early to catch the train from Nice to Marseilles and then the bus to the airport. Not a good start to the week given I was supposed to be starting a new job rather than catching trains, buses and planes!

I was on a high all week after my London Tri win which also pushed me to train harder as my season is quite long this year so I have plenty of races left to test myself with. I got in some really good quality swims in the sea and count myself lucky because I haven’t encountered any jellyfish at all this year. I heard from a local triathlete that there was a huge school of them a little further around the coast from where I do my swim training, but thankfully they didn’t come any closer to Nice. I have been stung a few times in the past on my hands and feet and have never really been that phased by it until a local told me about horrific scarring her friend now has on her face as a result of getting tangled up with one. Certainly has made me a little more wary.

Anton, a friend of ours from London was also in Nice visiting his girlfriend Claire so the 4 of us did a lovely ride together taking on Col de Nice, Col de Braus (the one with at least 20 switchbacks), Col de Castillon which then gives you a fantastic descent all the way down to the sea in Menton where we met my parents for lunch. The 4 of us then continued our ride over to Ventimiglia in Italy to have some coffee. Having done my training for the day, the others did a little loop up into the valley and back down again to then jump on the train back to Nice.

Claire was happy to learn some new routes as she has just started a business called Cycle Côte d’Azur in Nice doing guided cycling tours which is creating some interest both in Nice and the UK.

So this week I am getting ready to head out to Austria with BikePlusTours for 10 days through the Austrian Alps with 15 other riders. It’s going to be 10 days of pain! Check out the website for a profile of 1 of the days, there is a lot more red on the graph than I like!! I will be trying to upload some blogs whilst away to keep you updated (if I survive!).

Happy training.
Cx

33

London Triathlon Win!

The London Triathlon is definitely one of my favourite races. It is well run, has closed roads and is in London which means I can sleep in my own bed the night before. I love the race and after winning my age group there last year, I was keen to have another shot at winning there.

My parents came over from Australia specially to see this race as they know it is one of my favourites and the last time they saw me race was when I used to do 5km cross country in my late teens! It was great having them there along with The Dutchman and certainly made it easy to find my support crew with my Mum shouting louder than anyone else and The Dutchman being a head taller than the crowd!

One of the things I love most about London Tri is the huge number of ‘newbies’ who choose that race to give triathlon a go. It makes for a really great atmosphere and highlights the popularity that triathlon is currently enjoying.

Everyone is put into a holding pen to begin where we get a race overview and then the adrenalin pumping with some cheering and Oggi! Oggi! Oggi’s! The special touch is that you have to give the person next to you a hug to wish them luck.

We then head down the stairs and onto the pontoon to jump in the COLD water. It topped the thermometer at 17.2 degrees, however saying that once the initial shock is over, race nerves kick back in again and before you know it the race is off. The course had been changed this year we were swimming in a clockwise direction which I prefer, as I breathe on the left, so I could keep close to the buoys on my right and keep an eye on what was happening in the pack.

I went out hard from the gun but it is always difficult with so many people so you do get a bit battered. I’m not really bothered by that and just keep focused and trying to find some clear water out of the way of kicking feet. The pushing and shoving lasted almost until the turnaround point which was good in some respects because I was focused on swimming hard to get where I wanted to be so I wasn’t thinking about how far we had swum.

After the turnaround it is amazing how many people you can overtake, and I guess that is where race experience comes into it in that I can pace myself over the distance. Out of the water and into a long transition which involved a couple hundred metres of running, including a flight of stairs! Wetsuits come off before heading back into the Excel centre and the trick is to run to the last person as they are always free to help you get your wetsuit into the bag provided.

My transition was fast and I was out on the bike in no time. I started cranking up the pace and was feeling good, only to make a silly error of missing the turnaround point for lap one! I realised my mistake a few hundred metres down the road and was lucky that I could cut across the course and get back on track. With an extra 500m in the bag, the adrenalin was really pumping now!!
I love that we get to go through the Blackwell Tunnel which is closed to traffic. It slopes down and you have a tailwind so being on my Focus Izalco Chrono means I can fly through there. It is such a buzz going that fast down in the aero position which everything rushing past. I was in the first female wave to go so I could see who was ahead of me on the bike which works well for me, I get really fired up about seeing the girls ahead of me and love chasing them down!

I was off the bike in 4th place and had some running to do to close the gap. I caught the first 2 girls within 1500m and couldn’t find the girl in front anywhere. The course was quite congested but with having turnaround points you can usually see who is ahead of you. In those situations the only thing you can do is just run as hard as possible. With the course changes, my time was slower than last year but I was really pleased with my performance and really pleased with 2nd place. When I checked the results later on that day, I was ecstatic to see I had won my age group! I have no idea what happened to the girl ahead of me and I do hope she is OK.

I’m in Nice now for a spot of recovery and to show the sites to Mum and Dad. It is going to be a shock to the system next week as I am going back to working full time! Having worked 4 days a week up until June and then not working at all for the past 6 weeks, it is going to be tough! Saying that I am looking forward to starting my new job.

Next race for me is another sprint race at Dorney Lake. I slipped one of those in pre London Tri and came in 3rd. So far it has been a really great season for me with every race being a podium finish! Hopefully I can continue the trend!

Happy training.
Cx

32

Hyde Park Racing

I love it when I can race in London! It makes everything so easy, especially when the race starts at a decent hour. Last weekend was the Dextro Energy Triathlon in Hyde Park, which is a 10 minute ride from my house.

Saturday afternoon I headed down to the park to register and to watch the pro ladies. It was a great atmosphere and really inspiring to see them race. They girls can really move and it is incredible to see them flying past lap after lap doing times I could only dream of!

I was racing on Sunday morning in the age group Olympic distance race which for me started at 9.20. With a start time like that, I had some supporters on the course which is always fantastic! My swim wasn’t brilliant (when is it lately??) but I felt like I kept a consistent pace. I was with 2 guys who were making me push hard to keep with them which is what I needed.

The distance from swim exit to transition was around 500m which suits me as I can run straight out of the water and overtake a bunch of people who are not sprinting. I had spent considerable time on Saturday practising transition so my times were pretty good as I really have it down what goes where and in a specific order to speed through and get going.

The bike course was 5 laps and I am hopeless at counting laps because I refuse to use a bike computer, but that’s where the Dutchman comes in! I get so into the race I forget how many laps I have done! He was standing at the turnaround point counting down the laps for me and adding to the series of photos we have of my back wheel or the competitor behind me!

Unfortunately there were quite a few crashes on the course. It had been raining earlier in the morning so some of the corners were still a little bit wet and slippery. Coupled with a very busy course it was inevitable that accidents were going to happen. There was one guy who went down going in the opposite direction to me and he just seemed to crash into the barrier so not sure what that was about. Thankfully there was a lot of St John’s Ambulance support so people were never too far from help.

I was flying on the bike and having a great time. I was feeling really strong, all those intervals up mountains in France have paid off! I love the Focus Izalco Chrono and after many, many hours on it I am very comfortable staying in the aero position for everything except dead turns. It handles really superbly as well as looking great! I was talking to a guy in transition who had recently purchased it with the Dextro only being his 2nd race on it and he too was waxing lyrical about it (he also said to say thanks to Wiggle for the amazing 15% off deal he got!).

Out onto the run and due to the mixed waves, you have no idea where you are in relation to anyone else in age group so it is all about just going as hard as you can. I felt good on the run but didn’t feel like I had that really sharp fitness I like to have at this time of the year. My run was slightly slower than I liked, but it was enough to get me 3rd place in my age group so no complaints! I placed 9th overall out of the women so for me it was a fantastic day out and much improvement on last year where I was 14 minutes slower! I loved racing in my new Wiggle branded Craft Elite Tri Suit, it is always nice to get a ‘Go Wiggle’ shouted at me!

I’m off to Dorney Lake tonight for a spot of mid week triathlon racing which I am using as a solid training session in preparation for the London Triathlon on the 8th August.

Happy training.
Cx

31

Back To Reality

Well, time flies when you are having fun! I’m at the end of my 3 week training block in Nice and looking forward to going home tomorrow. The weather here has been hot hot hot which has meant early mornings to get out on the bike or out running. I made the mistake a few days ago of thinking I could take the heat at 11:30 and ended up diving into the water fully dressed post run in order to cool off. I have had 2 friends staying with me, both who like to sleep in so it has worked pretty well with me getting back from training at the same time they are getting up. It’s always a great feeling to get the training done and then have the day on the beach guilt free!

Yesterday I did Col Eze, dropped down to Cap d’Ail and then up to La Tubie. Not too difficult but certainly beautiful. I feel like I am riding well at the moment and with so many cyclists in the area it is easy enough to pick targets and push myself. I am a little worried about my swim because I have been swimming solo so it is hard to know how I am going, and swimming isn’t my strong point. I will be back in the Hampstead lido tomorrow for my coached session so will see how I fare against the regulars there!

I have really enjoyed riding my Focus Cayo Expert and being here has really allowed me to get to know the bike and get a good feel for it. Before coming out to Nice I only had a couple of hundred km’s on it. Many, many more now and most importantly I can descend on it! I am off to Austria at the end of August for a week of tough cycling with Bike Plus Tours including covering some of the well known passes. These include Bielerhöhe pass, Kühtai pass, Jaufenpass, Timmelsjoch climb as well as the famous Grossglockner road. It’s going to be tough but I am really looking forward to it.

For the past 2 weeks I have been testing out Power Balance. I have to admit I was extremely skeptical but I have noticed a difference to my balance when riding (more hands free tricks!!) and also when swimming in that I can rotate a lot further. It claims an increase in strength and flexibility however I haven’t really noticed that. I had a friend (also a skeptic) test it out and she too noticed a difference to her balance. We did the testing together as recommended on the demo video and did see results. I have seen a few riders here in Nice wearing them and have been asked about it a couple of times so they seem to be well known and used here. I would recommend it, however I do thinks the results will be different for each person.

So back to London tomorrow to get ready for the Dextro Olympic distance triathlon in Hyde Park on Sunday. Good luck if you are racing!

Happy training.
Cx

30

More racing!

I’m currently in France having had the good fortune to have 6 weeks off between jobs so spending a few weeks in Nice training. I came out here last week and then drove over to Italy for the Fausto Coppi sportive which was on Sunday. To say it was gruelling is an understatement.

The Dutchman, Toby, Ian, Martine and I drove over to Cuneo from Nice on Saturday morning in order to register and check in. The race HQ was in the main square with lots of different tents and displays as well as the local pizza festival. There was also a Michelin support truck doing last minute repairs which saved my relationship with the Dutchman after I broke his gear lever at 7:00pm on Saturday evening.

I was very lucky that one of the guys hanging out at the Michelin van got on the phone to a bike shop in the neighbouring town and tracked down a replacement. I have driven with Italians before but had actually forgotten how road rules and speed limits are used more like a guide. I jumped in his rather nice Mercedes and we set off at 130km hour through the 50km zone swerving around anything in the way, steering with his knees, lighting a cigarette whilst holding his phone between shoulder and ear. Scary.

On Sunday we got up at 5:30 to get ready for the race (new gear lever in place) to have breakfast. We had declined the pasta course that the hotel was kindly offering, and we were in the minority having made that decision. The race sounded OK on paper, certainly not easy, but manageable. 198km’s with 4500m of climbing. What they don’t mention in the brochure is that you have to contend with 39 degree heat, road surfaces more suited to a mountain bike and some of the toughest climbs in the Alps.

There are 2800 people who take part in the race and everyone is supposed to wear the jersey supplied. I was threatened with disqualification for wearing my Wiggle jersey (theirs didn’t fit me) and it was actually lucky I had it on as the guys I was racing with could find me amongst the crowd!

The gun went at 7am and 2800, mostly Italian, riders all went like crazy. I thought I had been caught up in a Pinarello advertisement with so much pimped up Pinarello carbon around me! The roads were closed so we didn’t have to watch out for the cars but you had to contend with riders swerving all over the place, avoiding crashes which were frequently happening and roundabouts that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. It was a lot of fun but I certainly had my wits about me.

The first 30 minutes I didn’t take my hands off the bars and my knuckles were white from holding on so tight. You roadies may be used to those conditions but us triathletes like some space around us! There were massive groups of people flying past so we were jumping between groups trying to stay together. We hit the first climb and then got to see some pretty dangerous descending with people riding all over the road and randomly braking. I think we had all decided that the best way to deal with it was to just get down as quickly as possible.
We were in a group of about 75 riders being pulled across the valley floor doing between 50 – 55km hour. The scary thing was there were groups overtaking us and making us look like we were standing still. It was a great group to be in but we had to watch them pull away after The Dutchman got a puncture.

During the valley crossing we had also lost Toby and we thought he was ahead of us, as it turned out he had also flatted but had caught up just as we were getting back on the road. He had received some assistance to get back on the road, unfortunately it was from the broom wagon!

We started reeling in some people and were doing OK, however a stomach virus that The Dutchman had leading into the race came back to haunt him. I made the decision to stay with him and let Toby and Ian go. We hit the first big climb of the day, colle di Sampeyre It is 16km and an average of 8.5%. We made it up with a few stops along the way. The roads were in pretty bad shape which made the descent pretty tricky. There were so many holes and places where the patchy tarmac ended and you were on dirt you had to take it so slowly to get down. The army had been roped in to help marshal so there were guys in each corner with red flags slowing everyone down to keep it safe.

The next climb was the real killer, Colle dei Morti. 22.5km and by this stage the temperature was at 39 degrees. We had 1400m of vertical ahead of us and The Dutchman was in bad shape but adamant that he wanted to continue, so up we went. We took our time doing the climb and obviously the higher we got the lower the temperature. We had the Marco Pantani monument waiting for us at the top marking the summit at 2481m. It was hard to believe the heat at the base of the mountain now that we were up in the snow! Extreme conditions made all the more challenging by the torrential rain that started to fall as we began the descent.

The descent was a spectacular mix of windy and sweeping corners and you could have really hammered it but the rain got so heavy that we had to get off the road and take shelter in a mountain refuge for 10 minutes whilst the storm passed. Luckily this was almost the end of the day and an hour and half later I crossed the line holding hands with the Dutchman. It was a hard day in the saddle just shy of 11 hours. I was very happy to have a cold beer at the end of it!

We have decided to go back next year and give it another go, but right now I am doing short sharp sessions to get ready for the Dextro in Hyde Park at the end of the month. The weather here in Nice is scorching so run sessions conclude with me diving into the sea, but it certainly beats being in the office!
Happy training!

Cx

29

More racing!

Race season is in full swing and I have had a spate of races to keep me occupied. Last week I was out at Dorney Lake for a mid week race which I was very happy to finish in 2nd place. I had been sick with a stomach bug for a few days and wasn’t able to eat anything the day before. For my enormous appetite to be affected I was seriously sick! I felt OK on race day and had been eating so decided to give the race a shot.

It was a beautiful evening and perfect way to spend a Wednesday night. The sun was shining and there were over 100 people on the start line despite the start time being moved 15 minutes earlier without any notice!

I had a good swim and felt great throughout, I have been struggling a bit lately with my swim and I just wonder if I haven’t been doing enough of it to get that strong swim fitness and muscular strength through my shoulders and back. Anyway, it all went well and I was out of the water in 2nd place and onto the bike. I wasn’t too far behind the lead girl but I just could not pull her in so keep her in my sights and used her to ensure I kept a strong pace throughout.

As there always is at Dorney Lake, a ferocious wind was blowing which meant I was riding my Focus Izalco Chrono on an angle to stay upright. I was speaking to a guy afterwards who had a disc wheel on the back and he said it was extremely hard work to stay upright let alone go in a straight line!

Heading out onto the run I felt OK but couldn’t seem to get any speed in my legs and figured it was due to not eating. I held on during the run but certainly wasn’t setting any land speed records! I was just lucky I had built a bit of a buffer going into the run. All in all, I was very pleased to claim 2nd place and got a nice little bag of goodies as a prize and a trophy to add to the collection.

On the weekend The Dutchman and I caught the train up to Ledbury to hang out with the Wiggle boys at the Mountain Mayhem 24 hour mountain biking event. Wiggle had an impressive tent set up with around 20 bikes for people to test out as well as a whole range of mountain bikes and the new Verenti bikes. It was a fantastic atmosphere with kids, dogs and bikes everywhere. Triathlon organisers could certainly learn a thing or 2 from these guys! There were all sorts of tents giving away everything from shower gel, bananas, coffee, energy drinks and food. It was a real village fete feel to things with an enormous board tracking the rider’s positions. The facilities were awesome with plenty of food and vendors showing their wares. There was even an Aston Martin display for those with a bit more loose change to spend!

The Dutchman and I went and rode 50km of the sportive we were doing the next day to give the legs a bit of a spin after 3 hours on the train and I was pleased to see there wasn’t too much climbing!
Sunday morning we met up with Rich Pearman and Ben Simmons to do the 105km sportive. Rich and Ben had kindly agreed to ride with me as their recovery ride. They both won their respective races the day before so were treating it as an easy spin. Now, lets just be clear that their idea of an easy spin is me going all out! At one stage I was tucked into Ben’s wheel doing over 50km hour and he wasn’t even trying. I on the other hand was definitely in my red zone with my legs on fire! Such an exhilarating feeling and I can’t thank both of them enough for their support. We even had The Dutchman in a Wiggle shirt so I can only imagine that we must have looked like an orange streak as the Wiggle train zoomed past people.

Thanks to the guys I clocked the fastest female time in 3:19. Thanks again fellas, much appreciated!

I only have a few more days left of work before I am heading off to Nice for 3 weeks of hard training to get ready for races at the end of July and beginning of August. I’m very lucky to be having 6 weeks off between jobs and intend on taking full advantage of the time off to get into top shape. To kick it all off I am doing the Faust Coppi which starts in Cuneo in the Italian Alps, a few hours on the train from Nice. It is going to be a killer and I am expecting to be in the saddle for 9-10 hours. It will be by far the longest bike ride in terms of time I have ever done. Will see how it goes!

This weekend I am spectating at Ironman Nice to support Ian, Sarah and Claire. Best of luck to anyone else racing there this weekend!

Happy training.

Cx

28

Windsor Triathlon.

Last weekend was the much anticipated Windsor Triathlon, one of the most popular races on the UK calendar. Despite the alarm going off at 3:45am, it was a wonderful race to do and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I will definitely be lining up again for next year!

My wave kicked off at 6:20am and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water wasn’t too bad in terms of temperature and the current was not raging as it has been in previous years. The swim starts with you swimming against the current so the trick is to get as far across to the right as possible and stick to the edge as much out of the current as possible. (That’s me in the picture top left striking out towards the far bank.)

Unfortunately I didn’t have a great swim and I struggled to find my stride. For whatever reason I ended up smack bang in the middle of 2 groups so didn’t have the opportunity to draft which is my tried and tested swim strategy. Just after the turnaround point the group behind me caught up and this caused me to start getting stressed because I was losing ground, and that never helps with performance. I latched onto the back of the group and got through it and came out of the water way down the field in 30-something position.

Lucky for me it was a long bike at 42km which gave me the opportunity to pull in a lot of the girls. It was a lovely course which I would describe as undulating which kept things interesting. Being a single loop it isn’t great for spectating so I tried to hurry up things seeing as I had made The Dutchman get up at 3:45 to come and watch. I wasn’t pushing things too hard and managed to get one of the fastest female bike splits of the day and came off the bike in 5th place and feeling great. I had taken some extra time in T1 to put on arm warmers and my Wiggle jersey as I really feel the cold and was so thankful for it. My feet were completely frozen and I couldn’t feel them, to the point where in T2 I put my running shoes on I managed to mash my toes up but didn’t realise it until I started to run. It was the strangest sensation! Another quick stop to try and untangle the toes and get going again. I think I regained feeling around the 8km mark!

The run was really special in that you do 3 loops of Windsor including heading up to the castle and over the bridge towards Eton. It’s a real treat running in such a picture postcard setting! Being loops through the town, there is support along most of the course and it is always nice to have a bit of encouragement. I went past the girl in 5th place quite early on the run but unfortunately couldn’t close down the gap on the lead 4. I was happy to settle for 4th place in my age group and 5th place overall.

Next up is the Verenti Mountain Mayhem sportive at Eastnor Castle sportive on Sunday which I am looking forward to. The Wiggle boys will be there for the weekend with Mountain Mayhem going on so check out the weekend schedule.

Happy training.
Cx

27

Action Packed Weekend!

I had an action packed weekend starting out with Blenheim Triathlon on the Saturday and finishing with the Verenti Dragon on Sunday.

I had not raced Blenheim before so was completely awe struck at the spectacular setting. Unlike the pro’s I got to swim in my Aquasphere wetsuit which was a huge relief given swimming isn’t my strong point. I had a good swim and was happy to latch onto the feet of a stronger swimmer and draft my way around the course. The run out of the swim is straight up a hill and I pushed it hard so managed to overtake more than 10 girls during T1 which gave me a boost going out onto the bike.

The bike course was 3 laps with a little bit of up and down and some really fast sections which was great! I feel like I’m strapped onto a rocket riding the Focus Izalco Chrono on those bits! I had my cousin Megan and friend Leanne there supporting me. Leanne’s job was to take some snaps but she was positioned on one of the fast bits so I have a series of pictures of my back wheel. I’m sure I must be one of the few people who has their supporters yelling at them to slow down. Made me laugh going past each time.

I was very happy with the bike leg but I made a silly mistake. One I also made early season last year but apparently didn’t learn from. I was happily drinking and eating on the bike which would have been fine if I was doing an Olympic distance race. I’m anal about nutrition and purely through being out of practice I did my Olympic distance nutrition plan. What that means is that as soon as I start to run, I feel sick and get stomach cramps because there is too much in my stomach.

The first lap of the run was awful but thankfully things settled down by the time I started the 2nd lap and I was able to pick up the pace a little bit. I managed to scrape into 2nd place in my age group by a mere 3 seconds and get 6th place overall which I am thrilled about. Congratulations to Emma-Kate, Stuart and Jodie for their fantastic results on the day.

Leanne and I then drove out to Wales to stay overnight to ensure we were nice and early for the start of the Verenti Dragon Ride. I have done the Dragon on 2 previous occasions and absolutely love it. There is a reason it is the UK’s favourite sportive and why wouldn’t it be with the superb sign posting, well stocked feed stations, awesome scenery and military precision organisation.

I also had the added pleasure of testing out the Verenti Rhigos 3 on the course. The Wiggle boys kindly set up the bike pre race and sent me on my way. Leanne and I were taking it easy due to me racing the day before and having Windsor Triathlon this coming weekend which gave me a chance to chat to other riders. It’s so great seeing riders of every ability out there, and a lot more women.

It was nice to meet the Team Wiggle Tandem guys Jez and Dave as well as Peta McSherry who is a Team Wiggle road racer out on the course and I rode with them for a little while. I would love to say I rode a while with Ben Simmons, but my legs don’t go anywhere near as fast as his! Ben was the fastest rider on the day, very impressive given he was riding without the assistance of a group for a lot of the course.

I was a bit concerned about only having ridden the Verenti Rhigos 3 it for literally 20 seconds before setting off on the course but from the beginning it was comfortable with great handling. It didn’t occur to me until I was at the bottom of the first descent that I should probably take it a little bit easy given I wasn’t used to the bike! I’m looking forward to doing some long rides and a few more sportives on it, the next one being the Verenti Mountain Mayhem Sportive at Eastnor Castle on 20th June.

Next one for me is Windsor Triathlon this weekend which is a biggie on the Tri calendar and another one I haven’t done before. Best of luck to those racing the weekend.

Happy training.
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