London Triathlon - been there done that

So Monday was the last day to enter into the London Triathlon.


and I'm not on that list.

I'm a little sad about it, it's something I wanted to do every since I moved to the UK, and I've done it two years in a row (remember?)

I just honestly don't have the time or engery to put in the effort I would expect of myself.  In fact, I don't think I'll be entering any races this year.  Maybe 2012?  Right now, my goal is just to make it to the gym, or go for a run, once or twice a week.  I think once the weather improves, and the days are lighter longer, this will be easier to achieve.

But I have made it to the gym the past 2 Sundays for 2 hours each!  I walk R to the train station then head down, do 45 minutes on the cross trainer, 30 minutes doing weights, 20 minutes swimming and then relax in the hot tub/steam room.  It's a good routine to get in, and I hope to carry on with it.

I'll also make it to the gym tomorrow after work, and will hopefuly schedule in a run next Thursday when I work from home (weather permitting, of course!)

How are your 2011 fitness resolutions coming along?

London Triathlon Race Report

Woot woot, I had a great day on Sunday! How could I not when I had these guys cheering me on?

Just as a recap, last year I did the triathlon in 3:29.07, and was 114/122 in my age group (ouch). I was really uphappy with my time, but I don't think I realised what a big impact being sick made on me, it really made me lose my edge. This year, I dropped a whopping 18 minutes off my time (okay, I'm rounding!) for a 3:11.55! And I was 87/133 (there were 140, but 7 DNF). I'd like to be in the top half, but I definite improvement over last year!

Itching to start!

Swim

25.58
Last year: 29.39

Um, how did that happen? The one leg I certainly WASN'T working on was my swimming leg! But this year, I decided to hire a proper swimming wetsuit and what a difference it made! Last year, I was so exhausted after the swim, I barely had the arm strength to unzip myself. This year, I felt just amazing on the swim, I could have gone on forever. In fact, about 2/3 in , I remember thinking, 'Boy, I really don't want the swim to end because then I have to cycle and run.' I just kept everything nice and smooth, breathing every 3rd and sighting every 8-10 strokes. I wore a watch this year, and caught a glimpse coming into T1 and saw I swum sub 27, and it felt awesome! I think if I worked on my swimming, I could definitely knock a couple more minutes off, but I was so chuffed to knock 4 full minutes off my time from last year!  And I'm pretty sure I finished in the top 15 in my age group.

And they're off!

T1
5.43
Last year: 7.24

Like I said, I felt great after the swim, and really wanted to push it through to the bike. Last year, I was so miserable at this point, but I felt really optimistic this year that I could hit 3 hours. Side note, I'm really disappointed SportCam doesn't have the women's swimming photos up! Who can I complain to???

Bike
1:31.29
Last year: 1:39.27

Last year, I had almost zero on-bike training.  I literally bought a bike with less than a month to go, and had maybe an hour total time on the saddle before the big day.  And boy did it show.  I was so stiff and achy and sore on the day because I just wasn't used to it.  And I was being passed by everyone and their mother and their dog.  This year, I made sure to put in the hours on the bike.  And it really helped.  I only got passed by everyone and their dog.  After the first lap, I was a few minutes under 1:30, so I really thought I was on course to go sub 3 hours.  But coming off the bike, I saw that I was already over 2 hours at that point and wasn't going to sub an hour on the run.  Looking over other people's times, I can see that the 14km/26km laps they said just weren't the case, as I split 25.31 and 1:05.58, and others were similar to that (with the second lap being a good 10 - 15 minutes slower than a double first lap).  Oh well.  I felt strong on the bike, took in plenty of water, and thought I would be good going into the run.  R suggested I might need new/more gears though, because I definitely maxed out a lot where I didn't have any range left to power through flats/downhills.  Is it time to invest in a proper bike?

Too fast for the camera man!

T2
2.25
Last year: 5.18

Wow.  Spot the difference!  I think this goes to show just how incredibly knackered I was last year, I had NOTHING left in me.  This year, I wanted to hustle hustle hustle.  I literally just dropped my bike and helmet and head for the run.  My time is faster than some of the top ten girls in my AG!

Run
1:06.23
Last year: 1:07.20

This is definitely the most baffling part of the triathlon.  I checked my watch on the start of the run, and I was at 10.35, so I would have needed a 55 minute run to hit my 3 hour mark and I knew that just wasn't going to happen.  So my adjusted goal was to hit 3:09, so I could say I cut a full 20 minutes off my time.  But the power just wasn't there.  I hit the jelly legs definitely, and after a km or two, I started to feel a bit more normal.  But I just didn't have the speed.  It was really frustrating because I focused on brick sessions a lot this year.  I had in a good 3-4 sessions in July, including 17 mile bike ride with a 4.75 mile run (which I did in 45 minutes!!!)  And I ran the whole 6.2 miles this year.  Which is why it's so disappointing to see me drop less than a minute off my time from last year.  I honestly think I would have gone faster if I had walked a bit, but I'm proud of myself for charging through the whole thing.  And the worst bit? 4 short laps instead of 2 longer ones.  Mentally, 4 laps is just a nightmare.  UGH!  But check out that finish:

So so so glad to be done!

Overall
I am so happy I dropped almost 18 minutes from last year's time.  I felt solid and strong throughout (except the run of course!)  And I know with the right training, I could easily break 3 hours.  Despite concentrating on my running and cycling, I dropped the most time from my swim and my transitions.  I think I could easily drop another 5-10 minutes on my cycle, too.  The demon?  That run.  I was dissapointed at the time, but can still appreciate that I had a great race overall.  I've learned that no matter how slow you train, you're gonna race even slower!  So, if I want to run 9.30-10 minute miles in a race, I need to be running faster than that in training.  I've got the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon in 2 months, and I'm hoping to run that in under 2:10, so I've got my speed and endurance to work on!

Mazda London Triathlon 2009 race report

First, the stats:

Swim: 29:39

I felt pretty good for the swim, but the wetsuit made a big difference, methinks. I used my brother-in-laws surfie hand-me-down and it just didn't fit properly. There was A LOT of water getting caught in the arms, and it had a big effect on my pull. But I felt fine in the open water - the docklands were pretty good because although it has the mad rush of an open water swim, it's effective a giant swimming pool, so there wasn't too much impact from currents, etc. I finished about 20-30 in my wave out of over 200 so not too bad!

T1: 7:24

I couldn't get my wetsuit off! It was actually a bit comical. I was yanking on the strap but nothing was happening. The actual transition was pretty on par with the rest of the ladies. I could have been a bit faster wheeling my bike, but overall, it went okay.

Bike: 1:39:27

My big downfall. I felt pretty strong on the ride, to be fair, but I just didn't have the speed I needed. Considering I was hoping to go around 1:20, this is obviously where the majority of my added time came from. I wasn't prepared for the hills, drinking from my bottle, racing with others, etc. This was the leg I was least prepared for and it really showed. However, that also means it's the leg I can make big improvements on and really drop some time! Both my laps were pretty much evenly split, as well, so I kept it consistent.

T2: 5:18

I was just so knackered at this point, I really felt like I couldn't have run with my bike. This was much slower than most people, and I could feel it at the time. Hopefully, as I get better on my bike, I won't be so tired for the transistions.

Run: 1:07:20

I was hoping to run around 10 minute miles, so this wasn't too bad (considering I was absolutely dead coming out of the transition!). I averaged just over an 11 minute mile, so I know I can bring this down a good 10 minutes or so. I also walked (much more than I should have!), so that's another area I can shave time. It was two 5km laps, so I just kept imagining I was running to the King Alfred Centre and back, which really helped. As did seeing my cheer squad! I still managed a sprint at the end, too.

Total: 3:29:07

My goal had been to beat 3 hours and I was obviously no where near that. I also knew during the race that I was going much slower than I should have. I kept thinking, as long as I finish, that's okay. And I felt like that afterwards for a bit. But I just couldn't help but be disappointed.

A few days on, I think I'm feeling a bit better.

On the actual day, I was amazed how tough it was, and how much my body just couldn't cope. At the time, I thought, oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again! The days following (Monday, Tuesday), I was really upset about my time, and lack of strength, and really felt like I hadn't put in the effort I should have. But in hind-sight, I realised a few things.

1. Being sick took a major toll on me. In fact, I don't think I was fully recovered, because following the Triathlon, it's come back with a vengence. I also only trained about 3 times in the 2 weeks leading up to the race.

2. I really need to get a swimming wetsuit! While I did fine on the swim, carrying the extra water in my suit really dragged me down, and knackered my arms. I was surprisingly tired after the swim, and that shouldn't have happened.

3. Waiting until less than a month before the race to get a bike, and then only doing 1 proper run on it = super bad idea. It was the cycle that killed me, for sure. I just kept getting passed, first by my wave, and then by the wave of big blokes that started 30 mins after us!!!

So I'm feeling better about myself, and I'm looking foward to getting stuck into the next one.

Here's my glorious (stolen - but will purchase soon) picture following the race: