Since 'making my comeback (!)' as I like to think of it (i.e. since taking up endurance/multi sports a couple of years ago), I've not actually won anything more than a participant medal. The closest I've come was in an aquathlon (10k run into 1500m swim) - when, after a disastrous run (I did the vertical marathon the day before which killed my shins and calves and left me almost crippled!), I swam my way back into 4th position. I'm pretty certain I'd have podiumed in the sprint tri I did in Henley too had it not been for a major problem with my handlebars coming loose, meaning I had to take a 1k detour back to transition to fix my bike during the bike segment.
However, that all changed yesterday as I won the inaugural DMSC Wild Wadi swim. The idea was simple - the lazy river on which people sit in their inflatable tubes and get pushed around the park by the current, we'd swim around that two times and against the current. And man was it tough. You couldn't allow any glide portion in your stroke, which meant staying strong with a fast turnaround the whole time. It was 800m long but swam like about double that.
Anyway, I started fast and took it out on the first lap being drafted by a girl who apparently works at the waterpark. There was one straight where the current was so strong we barely moved at all. Weaker swimmers were, apparently, having to try to walk it but even that proved tough.
Just after the halfway point, the girl on my feet decided to make a move for it. I looked back and couldn't see the third placed competitor so I just let her go and drafted on her feet. It was bit slower but much easier and I saved energy for the last turn or two when I kicked hard and sprinted past. Go ME! When I got out, tho, I almost threw up...my lats and abs burnt like fire so it as great open water training.
Best three thing about winning? 1. It's nice to win stuff - it might only be a small swim club race but it strokes the ego and goes some way to justifying the time spent training.
2. My prize was a snazzy medal, some super dooper cool Blue Seventy carbon race goggles and a pack of Gu energy gels which I use a lot anyway.
3. I beat some guys who'd usually be near me or ahead of me in this kind of race - proof that the training is working and I'm swimming stronger now than I have since the comeback trail started!
4. Oh, there's a fourth! I looked like an awesome swim ninja in my cool Blue Seventy PZ3 swimskin which I'll be wearing over my tri suit for all non wetsuit triathlons this winter.
Back to training this morning and I got in a 143km ride - 60 of which was done with the fast coffee ride group. Normally around two-thirds of my long rides are done with a group (which is safer and more interesting as you can chat your way through a 5 hour ride) but managed 83k today riding solo - great practice for Ironman.
45 mins on the treadmill tonight (decided to swallow my treadmill hatred a little and get a few more runs done in the aircon after last week's heat stroke blow-out) then it's a 2hr easy ride tomorrow AM, 10 x 800m fast runs tomorrow PM, and finally a nice easy recovery week starts...I'm certainly ready for that!
However, that all changed yesterday as I won the inaugural DMSC Wild Wadi swim. The idea was simple - the lazy river on which people sit in their inflatable tubes and get pushed around the park by the current, we'd swim around that two times and against the current. And man was it tough. You couldn't allow any glide portion in your stroke, which meant staying strong with a fast turnaround the whole time. It was 800m long but swam like about double that.
Anyway, I started fast and took it out on the first lap being drafted by a girl who apparently works at the waterpark. There was one straight where the current was so strong we barely moved at all. Weaker swimmers were, apparently, having to try to walk it but even that proved tough.
Just after the halfway point, the girl on my feet decided to make a move for it. I looked back and couldn't see the third placed competitor so I just let her go and drafted on her feet. It was bit slower but much easier and I saved energy for the last turn or two when I kicked hard and sprinted past. Go ME! When I got out, tho, I almost threw up...my lats and abs burnt like fire so it as great open water training.
Best three thing about winning? 1. It's nice to win stuff - it might only be a small swim club race but it strokes the ego and goes some way to justifying the time spent training.
2. My prize was a snazzy medal, some super dooper cool Blue Seventy carbon race goggles and a pack of Gu energy gels which I use a lot anyway.
3. I beat some guys who'd usually be near me or ahead of me in this kind of race - proof that the training is working and I'm swimming stronger now than I have since the comeback trail started!
4. Oh, there's a fourth! I looked like an awesome swim ninja in my cool Blue Seventy PZ3 swimskin which I'll be wearing over my tri suit for all non wetsuit triathlons this winter.
Back to training this morning and I got in a 143km ride - 60 of which was done with the fast coffee ride group. Normally around two-thirds of my long rides are done with a group (which is safer and more interesting as you can chat your way through a 5 hour ride) but managed 83k today riding solo - great practice for Ironman.
45 mins on the treadmill tonight (decided to swallow my treadmill hatred a little and get a few more runs done in the aircon after last week's heat stroke blow-out) then it's a 2hr easy ride tomorrow AM, 10 x 800m fast runs tomorrow PM, and finally a nice easy recovery week starts...I'm certainly ready for that!
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