Race report – Aerofit sprint race 1

As I explained in my previous blog, this weekend saw the beginning of our local season here in Dubai with the first of the Aerofit sprint races in Ghantoot (part of the emirate of Abu Dhabi...about 40 minutes drive from Dubai).

Going into this race, as I also said previously, I didn't expect much from myself as I was definitely still carrying some Ironman fatigue in my legs and, just as significantly, had done almost no training for this kind of race – training for a short, fast sprint (just over an hour) is very different from training for a long, endurance race like an Ironman (12 hours). Turns out I needn't have worried too much.

Although this series has been a regular monthly feature on the tri calendar for the past few winters, this year the location has changed slightly, so it was in effect a new course for most of us. The Golden Tulip Hotel Bungalows are a great location for it though and transition is superb – with around 250 participants (capped at that number – these races are very popular) it used to get a bit crowded in the old transition area.

So, on the day, I was up at 4am and I had a quick shower (tip from Chrissie Wellington – helps to turn up feeling awake), some porridge, a chocolate bar (probably not the best thing in the world but I find it hard to take in calories in the morning – one of the things that always goes down OK is a spot of Cadbury's so...whatever works!) and a can of iced coffee. I'd already pumped my tyres and packed my bike in the car the previous night and packed my bag, so all I had to do was put on my trisuit and the shorts and t-shirt I'd also laid out and go. I really recommend a bit of prep like this the day before – when you have to be up at 4am, it helps to have as little as possible to do or think about.

I got to the venue just after 5 (6am briefing, so 5 was ideal) and had time to register, set my transition area out, make sure the bike was in ship shape, fill my aerobottle, stretch etc. I love the atmosphere at races as more and more people arrive – there are nerves, of course, for any race, but for me it's a super cool experience.

Briefing over and it was time to get in the water and warm up. And then, before we knew it, it was 6.15 and the klaxon sounded...we were off! The swim was an oddly shaped one. The hotel is pretty much at the central point of the beach. We started all the way down to the left, swam out to a pontoon just 30m or so away from shore, then swam parallel with the shore for most the distance. The sand as we entered the water was mushy and oily – like quicksand – so even though it was shallow I just dived in and started swimming as soon as I could and then swam hard to get away from the crowds.

To be honest, I got a bit lucky on the swim. One of the really top local triathletes, Ian, came down just to do the swim as a kind of race practice (think he's maybe injured at the mo so no bike/run) and he went hard, so I was able to just get on his feet and draft the whole way. Another of the top guys, Nick, did the same, drafting off me; I think the three of us opened up quite a sizeable lead. The swim was a bit short in the end (around 650m instead of 750m) although that probably wouldn't make much difference to the overall times as, finishing the swim at the far right end of the beach, we then had to run around 250m across the sand to get off the beach, before running through transition. By the time we'd done this, Ian had stopped and Nick had passed me so I was in second place. This is familiar territory for me at this point in the race but in the past my transitions have been fine rather than good, and I've often lost position. I've been practising transitions a bit of late and that paid off (it's great when you see a result from some hard work) as I headed out on to the road still in second.

The bike was two laps of a 5k out 5k back course and 20km exactly – not the 22km mooted. It's also traditionally where I start making my impressively determined move towards the back of the field, although I usually run out or real estate on my pursuit of last place and end up around 20^th in this race. I didn't expect any better today for the reasons I stated at the beginning and the first 5km was certainly a struggle. I found it hard to control my breathing and had to spin quite hard into a bit of a breeze and very slight uphill – but, while Nick was increasing his lead, he wasn't tearing away from me like he would have in the past. In fact, during the whole first 5k, only two more guys (the eventual winner and a relay cyclist) passed me towards the turnaround point.

Halfway through the second 5km stretch, two more guys I know came past – Tony was part of a relay team and a strong cyclist, Roy is a great triathlete who tends to win the veterans (plus-40s) category every race. But I stuck with them and started feeling really great, finally controlling my breathing and cadence. Being careful not to draft, from then on the three of us worked with each other in something of a pace line to keep going hard to the end. It was without doubt the strongest I've ever felt on the bike during a race. I've simply never been quick enough to work in this sort of pace line with the good riders. I rode around 31mins for the 20km (just under 40km/h average).

Tony and Roy got a few seconds on me heading into T2 but, again, I had a really good transition (opting for a white running cap which I'd left ice melting in – a genius move, really helping to cool me down on what was a very humid [mid-30s even at 7am] morning). I left T2 a few metres behind Roy and, as I headed out, I could see that I had a pretty solid lead on a lot of guys I'd have expected to be beating me.

The run, I knew, was where I'd suffer and I immediately cramped and hurt – inevitable with my last real run being a hilly Ironman marathon less than three weeks ago. I was determined to see it out tho, and just shortened my stride and set small goals. I was passed by one of the brilliant young racers – Tom – whose run makes me look like I'm taking a gentle stroll, but he was the only guy to go past up to the halfway point. There, I downed a sports drink, threw a water over my head and carried on. Amazingly, only one more veteran came through right until the end when a relay runner caught me. The run was an almighty effort, I have to confess, but I came in with a time of 21:30 for the 5km run which isn't too shoddy at all.

My final time was 1.05.24 and my position was 7^th overall and 4^th in my category (open men). Admittedly, two or three of the guys I'd usually expect to be jostling for the podium weren't racing but, all told, a very good day's work and far better than I'd expected. In a lot of ways, it was the perfect start as it set a genuinely competitive marker for the season ahead, while I also know exactly where I can make improvements in all three disciplines, which is the ideal position to be in.

Last year, as my second full season doing triathlon, I think I lost sight of the wood for the trees a bit and focused so much on time and position that I stopped enjoying it. While parts of the race were certainly painful, one of the things I was most pleased about was my attitude. I soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed the race...how it's meant to be.

In summary then: a great start and amazing (but surprising) to see how all that longer Ironman training has translated into the shorter stuff – especially on the bike. Onwards and upwards then!