Another one done, and stupidly, my next race is next week

Anyway, The deva triathlon: -

Getting my excuses in, I’m still injured and I have only ran 3.5km in the past two weeks and I haven’t cycled much either. Also, this was an ITU/ETU qually race, so there were loads of team GB age groupers racing.

Excuses out of the way, it was an enjoyable race.

It’s quite a big event, with lots of spectators and entertainment. There was even a camera crew there with a drone flying overhead.

The Swim

Again I went into the race expecting to DNF on the run, but once I got into the water, which was warmer than I expected, I thought I would at least push hard on the swim.

I swam up near the front and got myself ready. The klaxon sounded and we were off

Straight away I was surrounded by people and swimmers in front of me were going pretty slow, I couldn’t get past them. I eventually managed to swim over to the left hand side, but I never managed to get into any clear water.

I managed to cut my finger of someone’s toe nail, but at least I didn’t get hoofed in the head.

One random did swim across me at a 45 degree angle, I have no idea where the hell he was going.

My goggles (old ones this time) once again fogged up, I couldn’t see anything! I even managed to swim into two of the buoys. The exit ramp took me by surprise too!

From the exit ramp, there is quite a long run up to T1

T1

Although it wasn’t fast, it was clean

I still struggled to pull off my wetsuit, even though I had lubed my legs. Maybe I needed more lube.

I really need to start pulling the Velcro neck flap with my left hand, for some reason I do it with my right hand and it’s really difficult.

The garmin was already on the bike and set in multisport mode (note to self, preselect the correct screen). Shoes were also on the bike, with elastic on both shoes.

Helmet on and run for the mount line. Left foot on my shoe and flick my leg over, kicking off my rear bottle in the process! Doh, no time to stop

Again, my butchered and modified shoes slipped on perfectly.

The Bike

Windy, in some areas, very windy.

It was a single loop, out of the city and on to some relatively quiet country roads, with one stretch of beautifully smooth dual carriageway about half way round.

Most of the people I passed were from the wave before me and there didn’t seem to be many people passing me, apart from Mathew, who passed me, then I would pass him, back and forth for most of the Bike leg.

I pushed hard on the bike, but it was really tiring, my neck was killing me and I was pleased to get to T2

T2

A first for me, I lost my shoe!

I think I must have twisted it off as I dismounted or it could have hit the floor and twisted off. Not sure.

I managed to run down the wrong side of the racks, but I was the first one back to my area, so I had no problem racking and grabbing my shoes.

It took a while to get all the grass and grit off my feet, which I later found out I hadn’t done very well L

The Run

This was where I thought it would fall apart, as I haven’t ran for a few weeks.

And it started off badly! Straight out of transition was a long sweeping, and fairly steep, downhill. My poor legs weren’t ready for that and it hurt. Once I got onto the main part of the course though, it was a lot better, still not 100%, but a lot better.

I could feel that I had a few bits of gravel in my shoes, which was a bit distracting and I ended up with a blister on my left foot, which was uncomfortable.

I crossed the line with a 45 minute 10k, which is not marvellous, but as expected considering the lack of training, injury and the extra weight I have put on in the past few months.

Conclusion

A fun race, which I would have liked to have been fit for.

Stupidly (once again) I had a rubbish meal and a few drinks the night before, which dehydrated me quite badly. The hotel was rubbish too and I didn’t get a lot of sleep

Swim - 24:23

T1 - 01:28

Cycle - 01:10:14

T2 - 01:32

Run - 45:37

Overall - 02:23:15

412 OA (1102)

63 AG (149)

Nutrition

Porridge, raisins, honey pretzel, coffee, beet it shot
elivar endure (front bottle)
elivar hydrate (rear bottle which I kicked off mounting)
torq gel x 2 on run
I need to eat properly after the race (note to self, prep a shake)

Kit Used

Huub trisuit
Garmin 910xt with quick fit kit and bike mount (multisport mode without transition)
2XU Z:1 wetsuit
zoggs predator flex polarized goggles (my old ones)
Cervelo P3, Zipp firecrests
Front mounted, 600ml bottle
Rear mounted, 600ml bottle (which I kicked off)
Rudy Project Wing57 aero helmet
Specialized Sport RD shoes
Newton TriRacer
Blue Seventy race belt (worn under wetsuit)