Finally… My A race arrived.
Drove up to Knaresborough, for our weekend stay in Yorkshire, while I competed in the Rubicon Middle distance tri.
The weather forecast in the days leading to the Bank Holiday weekend had been quite poor, but fortunately, the good weather arrived, as we left home ;)
A brief scout of the bike course done and a visit to registration, and I was ready for the race.
Disappointed to realise that I had left my HRM strap at home! Not necessary for the race, but just a bit of data that I can use, after the race…
Arriving on the Sunday morning at 5am. I went to registration, to get my Timing Chip.
Pulled all the necessary kit out of the car, to re assemble my bike, and transition box… Then, I discovered that, somewhere along the line, the spring and nut off the end of my QR had disappeared! WTF! Panic quickly set in. Where could it be? Had to be in the car, but where. It was still dark outside, as I scrabbled about in the footwell areas of the rear seat and load bay… I found the spring, but couldn’t locate the end cap.
Just at this point, a guy appeared, asking if he could use my pump, as he’d forgotten his. I immediately saw an opportunity, and replied ‘not at all’, whilst adding ‘you don’t by any chance have a spare skewer, do you?’… Yes he did, and yes, he loaned me it! Phew! (I later found the spring, but the other part still eludes me!).
The bike assembled, I headed for transition. The racking was a little tight, to be honest, but it isn’t a deal breaker. As it turned out, both competitors either side of me didn’t show up, so I had plenty of space.
06:45 and Mark (Livesey) stepped up, to deliver his Race Brief. Very well structured, whilst he left you in no doubt as to what was expected/ not to be tolerated, etc, he did it with a humour that was present throughout the event/ weekend, and shared by all involved.
The Briefing complete, we were instructed to follow him on the meandering walk through the grounds of Newby Hall, treading in God only knows how much Sheep shit. He resembled the Pied Piper!
As we approached the start area, we became aware of the sound of Bagpipes, and a solitary figure, in full Highland Dress, piped us all into the water! Quite charming, really… A nice touch.
Squelching through the mud, as I waded into the river, I soon realised that I had lost my timing chip! Marvellous!
The water was quite cold, and there was a good bit of ‘craic’ being bandied about, as we waited for the last of the competitors to enter the water. No sooner was the last man in, then the horn blast was heard, and off we went.
I was expecting a fast swim, as it was mainly 1700m downstream, with the remaining 200m, after the turn, but it didn’t really appear to be quicker. I did make a concerted effort to swim hard from the off.
I started about 3/4 of the way back and there was a fair bit of ‘biff’ as we progressed. Everything had settle down as we went, but it seemed that the next wave caught up as we rounded the turn buoy, and it was bedlam! The last 200m was quite physical, getting punched in the back of the head and taking a couple of uppercuts, too! Trying to climb out, up the steps was like trying to exit a burning building! Arms and legs scrabbling everywhere… I did enjoy that bit, knowing that I could no longer drown! ;)
A quick run, along a carpeted section, took us up the boat landing staircase and through a beautiful gardened area heading towards the stunning Newby Hall, then out into T1.
Out of my wetsuit, and on with the bike kit and off I went. A brief stop at the exit, to tell the marshal I’d lost my timing chip and give my number to her.
The ride was very good, if a little bumpy at times. 2 big laps, with a short final lap.
The road out of the grounds was quite rough, but soon smoothed out as we headed over to the A168. A slightly undulating course, it was still quick, and the mainly smooth surfaces enabled a good speed.
Only down side to the ride, was losing my ‘tool bottle’, from the rear cage on my saddle. I noticed this on the last lap, and just hoped that I didn’t suffer a p*ncture, or mechanical…
The Feed Zone was situated in the Hall grounds, in the main hub of transition, etc.
Passing through the Hall twice was quite uplifting, with quite a good crowd shouting encouragement to everyone.
Into the grounds for the third and final time on the bike, I headed into T2.
A brief stop in transition and I was out running. As we exited T2, we encountered a 'scaffold bridge’, built so that the runners could cross the road, without encountering the cyclists. Only needed to be crossed the once, but what an effort it required! Referred to as the Travelator (remember Gladiators), it was a formidable obstacle. I managed it in a oner, hammering up and across the top, then flying down the other side. Many runners needed to pull themselves up, using the handrails, yes, it really was that steep!
4 laps of the grounds lay ahead, mainly tarmac, with some trail/ grass track, and the Sun was beginning to come out...
There was a separate runners Feed Zone, which was well stocked with water, Coke (genuine, uncut), fruit segments, energy drinks, etc.
Tried as I might, to keep to my plan of 4:40/ km’s, I just didn’t have it in me, and as each lap went by, I watched my hope of a sub 5 hour race slip away.
My final time was 05:15:10.(Official).
Swim: 43:35
T1: 5:52
Bike: 02:30:04
T2: 1:47
Run: 01:53:36
Above times taken from my Garmin 920XT.
It was a great event, and I fully intend to make this my ‘A’ race again, for 2016.
