What a fantastic event this was! The crowds were out, the Mersey Tri athletes were out in force, Mersey Tri support was fantastic, pro triathletes were racing and even the sun made a long overdue appearance.
As for my race, well it was a good one!
I was expecting to race better than last year (2.20) - ideally a 2.15 - as I knew my training has gone well this year. However my training focus has been on longer, slower distance races rather than speed so I didn't really know what to expect. I had continued to train normally through the week, including two big sessions (a 100 mile cycle and a 20 mile run), but took it easier on Friday and Saturday to prepare.
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| Smiling at the front! |
Back to the race. Into the water, I bullishly swam straight to the front and towards the left hand side. Paddled about a bit, waved at Lynn in the crowd and then got myself set. The start hooter went off without warning, and we were away! The first couple of hundred metres up to the first turn were a little chaotic, with people swimming in all sorts of directions. My legs were swum over by a couple of people and I got hit a few times in the scrum. Eventually, I picked up the pace and got myself clear of the crowds.
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| Super drafting! |
By the first turn, one swimmer had taken off and was way ahead, leaving a small ‘chase pack’ of three (including myself) ahead of the rest of the field.
One of our group (the first female swimmer as it turns out) shot off the front, leaving the two of us to swim together. I drafted off his feet for the rest of the swim, cheekily overtaking him with about 100m to go to exit the water in 3rd position.
Out of the swim in 20 minutes – but this included the long run from the water along the tarmac surface to transition (about 200m?).
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| 3rd out of the water |
Transition was smooth. Wetsuit off quickly then glasses, helmet, socks, shoes, bike, away! Ran about 20 metres and realised I’d forgotten to put my number belt on. Doh! Parked the bike on the edge of a bike rack and ran back to get it and put it on. 3rd into transition, 6th out!
As soon as I hit the bike course, Stuart Hayes zoomed past for his second lap (we only started the swim after they had finished theirs). The roads were quiet and I could get my head down and pedal. Legs were a little tired, which I didn’t think was a very good sign! They felt so much better after the first lap and I began to pick my pace up a little, averaging 37kph for the next couple of laps.
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| Zooooooooom!!! |
As my bike progressed, more and more people were on the course, making it a little congested. Having said that, it felt great to overtake people on the bike! Support on the bike course was fantastic, with people cheering ‘Mersey Tri’ and ‘Go Bryan’ all along the course, with one of the pro’s (Jared Woodford) yelling encouragement to me as he whizzed past. With support like that I felt like one of the professionals!
Into transition, not many bikes there. Quick change and back out on the run.
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| Beware of the gel! |
Started running a little too quickly and felt dreadful! Slowed it down then had some of my new, never tried out before gel (Zipvit) and it wasn’t good! Only managed half of it, washed down with several cups of water at the aid station. After about 3k I started to feel better (maybe the gel worked?) and my pace averaged at about 4.10 – 4.12k pace. Happily I managed to keep this up for the rest of the run. Once again, the crowds on the run were fantastic, making lots of noise and high fiving me as I went past! Thankfully I avoided cramping hamstrings, despite the constant threat of them striking, by shortening my stride as I neared the end of the run.
I finished the race with a massive PB, in 2 hours and 13 minutes, taking seven minutes off last year’s effort. I also came in 19th place overall, 7th in my age group and my highest position since taking up triathlon! Got to be pleased with that!!
| Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | Total | Position | Category |
| 20:38 | 1:53 | 1:08:24 | 1:09 | 41:54 | 2:13:56 | 19/627 | 7/92 |
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