Who are you calling a Big Cow?

[CCS]

Where: Oop North (Milton Keynes)
When: 13th September 2014
Organiser: Big Cow http://www.big-cow.com/home.aspx
Course details: Emberton Country Park, Olney, Bucks. Lake swim, rolling bike, 2 lap run round lake (mix of off road & tarmac)
Distance(s):750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Marshalling: Plenty - and very helpful
Facilities: Free parking, toilets, snack van, loads of fresh fruit at the finish line
Technical: Chip timing
Freebies: Polo shirt, buzz bar

Organisation
I guess that quite a few on here have done Cowman, so you all know Big Cow events – but it was the first time I had done one of theirs, and was very impressed! Bike course well signed; well organised transition (20' inflatable cyclist to show you where bike in/out was; similarly sized inflatable runner to guide you to run out); friendly & helpful marshalls who suggested I go and look at there the bike route joined / returned from the main road (it WAS a bit complicated); e-mail beforehand with sizing guide for race polo shirt to make sure you had the right size.
Overall, very friendly and relaxed feeling. Can’t fault them!

Background
This was an ETU qualifier - seemed like a good idea at the time!
I entered this one in a fit of post-Windsor euphoria, when things seemed to be going well. Then, the school holidays intervened. Lack of time meant that focus has very much been on cycling, with the odd 5 or 10km per week of running; swimming has been negligible (we are talking twice in 3 months here). I guess I stand guilty as charged of not so much disrespecting the distance, as disrespecting the sport! Head just wasn’t in the right place – and if it wasn’t for the fact that I had secured a highly complex exit pass (which involved the BAT missing judo training, and ferrying small child to a party), I might well not have bothered.

The event
Alarm went off at 4am. After much crashing around the house; knocking pot of chamois cream all over the bathroom floor; minimal breakfast etc, was on the road at 4:30am. It’s dark; you get all sorts of rubbish on the radio. I did rather enjoy the extended version of the shipping forecast on Radio 4 though (particularly whatever weather phenomenum was described as ‘losing its identity’ later… know how it felt). Got to the venue early, and did a hasty recce of the bike course (still in pitch darkness) – rather more undulating than I had been expecting. Got more lost in the darkness, so also ended up doing an impromptu recce of the run route along the service road round the lake, before finally locating parking and transition.
Don’t know what it is about triathlon, but really felt like I was going to vomit. Must be nerves – but why don’t I get this at cycling events, which probably mean far more to me? Perhaps still have a subconscious fear of swimming? Perhaps it’s the early morning start? I really don’t know!!
It was all a bit intimidating… GB kit everywhere (though I did still manage to have one of the flashier bikes).
Did at least bump into one friendly face – one of the SEWTTS ladies, who has a bike that is definitely a cousin of Fluffy’s – though she has some excellent solid bright pink tyres… must ask where she got them!

So… my first ever full sprint distance triathlon (only having done Supersprints before…) – a PB ensured!

Swim
Scary – all a bit busy in the lake – perhaps around 150 in the wave, so despite setting off very wide to the right, it was all a bit bifftastic. I have never had a swim where I didn’t have to actually turn at a buoy before – I just sort of got carried around in a massive shoal of swimmers. In fact, I didn’t even really have to bother with sighting… just followed the trail of bubbles and bodies (probably a good thing, as my rather elderly goggles with the cheerful yellow lenses were massively steamed up).
Out of the water in a poor (but about right for the hours of training put in) 15:42
No statistical analysis of positions / performance done yet owing to cycling commitments yesterday

T1
1:35
Not fast. Seems to be getting harder to get out of my wetsuit… wonder if the lining fabric deteriorates over time, and sticks to me, as if anything, the suit is a bit big (certainly, I am smaller than I used to be) – so not sure why it doesn’t just glide off like it used to.

Bike
Well, I had to come from behind on this one (so to speak… calm down, Kevy!)
Loads of people to catch, so didn’t have to take my usual TT-ing approach. Loads of shocking bike handling from others though… a lot of pulling out without looking behind (cue much shouting from me: “on your right”… “stay left”… “stay left”… “stay in the f***ing left you f***ing idiot”)… and quite a bit of riding in the middle of the lane, causing queues of cars to back up, which I then had to duck in and out of and around. Not fast, but overtook loads.
34:43

T2
50 sec
Meh

Run
Just can’t gauge run pace on feel!
I have been consistently running sub 25 min 5kms in training, and generally, the limiting factor seems to be cardiovascular fitness. Here, it was my legs that were the limiter. Quads burning, and a weird cramp down the front of my shins which didn’t leave me for about 2km. I guess that’s what you get for disrespecting the sport!
At registration, they marked up everyone’s left calf with a letter representing your age group. Unfortunately, I hadn’t bothered to see what mine said, so I spent the run trying to guess, and see who of the people whizzing past might be similarly elderly. Passed by loads, but did manage to reel in one woman and two elderly gents.
A shocker – 27:44

Overall 1:20:34.
Totally screwed up with my Garmin. Having forced a factory reset on it the other day, none of my defaults were right (no OW swim mode etc) - and failed miserably to press the right buttons to make multisport mode work... so it was just like having a useless brick tied to my arm... couldn't even see an elapsed time!
Poor – but only myself to blame!
After the finish, my feeling was “meh, triathlon… not doing this again… I will henceforth just be a cyclist”.
But on the journey home (where I had plenty of time to think, owing to the M1, A5 and M25 all being broken), I decided that’s a rather defeatist approach. I may do a sprint at Thorpe in a couple of weeks (pending the BAT deciding if he is going to a dan grading for judo that weekend) – and I think I may try another qualifier next year.
My main conclusion is that triathlon is an early season event – there is no point in trying to do it after the summer holidays, as fitting in all the right training is just too complicated!

[King Sad]

Oh Clare, feel guilty now for egging you on. Still mighty pleased to see you will try again next year. Yes, there is some ropey riding, I was shouting at three riding abreast yesterday (race report to follow)
Anyway, a PB is a PB and now you have a benchmark. Well done [WHITE SMILING FACE]

[IanM]

Don’t know what it is about triathlon, but really felt like I was going to vomit. Must be nerves – but why don’t I get this at cycling events, which probably mean far more to me? Perhaps still have a subconscious fear of swimming? Perhaps it’s the early morning start? I really don’t know!!

I think it's a bit of both swimming & early morning, and probably other stuff. I did a TT with a stupid start time of about 7am earlier this year, and felt very similar - definitely more on edge than I normally do before a race. Probably doesn't help that I'm forcing food into myself at an ungodly hour and my stomach's none too chuffed about it.

[Jack Hughes]

I think you are probably fatigued after a long year. It's hard to mentally pick yourself up again. and again. and. again.

Plus, you had probably put a fair bit of expectation on your shoulders (and we are partly to blame for that), I expect you really just need a bit of a wind down. Write your xmas list.


Dear Santa, I have been good all year and would like:
1) A power meter
2) Some pink tyres
3) A new wetsuit
4) possibly some coaching sessions
5) some vouchers for PGL to get rid of the kids at strategic times so I can go and do some hill training in Yorkshire (other places have hills, maybe the Pyrenees as the wine is better ) and have a nice endurance block.
6) A power meter
7) socks

[jonathon.e]

I think it is an excellent result, given the following.
1.this year was all about the bike, not triathlon.
2. This year was all about the bike, not triathlon.
3. THIS YEAR WAS ALL ABOUT THE BIKE AND NOT TRIATHLON.

Your last races have been against a top class field, TT Nationals, and given the Cow Tri. was an ETU qualifier, the field was slightly more weighted towards the pointy end of the sport.
Most of the competition will be so focused on the event, they don't have to worry about child juggling, Bat balancing, work dodging and other circus acts, put those factors into the mix, and the results swing towards your favour.

There are ways to counteract the early morning race syndrome.

As the season reaches a climax if we see no improvement we get disappointed

Given that it was your first Sprint OW triathlon, and this season was ALL ABOUT THE BIKE, well done.

Great result

[scibby]

Had a quick look at the results:

In your age group...

- 4th best bike
- 5th worst run and swim...

So, all about the bike has clearly worked... The killer question is what do you want to do about the rest?

An excellent result overall, well done.

And yes, surprisingly undulating bike course...






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[CCS]

Thanks all. Think I could definitely have done a good 4 mins faster than that with more consistent recent training and the right head!

So, all about the bike has clearly worked... The killer question is what do you want to do about the rest?

Hit the nail on the head!
Current thought is:
- get a bit of swim coaching - seen some workshops in SW London which look like they might be what I need to give me a bit of focus (and I do like to do some swimming for recovery sessions anyway, even if not racing)
- keep up the running over the winter, and try to get a better feel for pace (or learn to use my Garmin properly to help me with this)
- hit some sprint tris in the spring / early summer, then focus more on TT-ing
- keep going with the turbo intervals - after all, that seems to be what has made a big impact this year

That's a plan.... what could possibly go wrong?!

[kfjatek]

- get a bit of swim coaching - seen some workshops in SW London which look like they might be what I need to give me a bit of focus (and I do like to do some swimming for recovery sessions anyway, even if not racing)
- keep up the running over the winter, and try to get a better feel for pace (or learn to use my Garmin properly to help me with this)
- keep going with the turbo intervals - after all, that seems to be what has made a big impact this year

You can get all this through a certain local(ish) club for 16 squid a month.

Well done on the race btw, nice time!

[scibby]

I'd also add:
- do some track sessions.
- do some bricks (next spring)
- ABSOLUTELY do not sacrifice speed for plodding out 13.1 miles... Ie don't do long slow runs. Do longish runs with tempo intervals eg 1km on, 1 km off... As a newly non-plodder, it will be all too easy to fall back into the low cadence, slow foot strike, single speed that you have worked soooo hard to get out off...




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CCS]

- get a bit of swim coaching - seen some workshops in SW London which look like they might be what I need to give me a bit of focus (and I do like to do some swimming for recovery sessions anyway, even if not racing)
- keep up the running over the winter, and try to get a better feel for pace (or learn to use my Garmin properly to help me with this)
- keep going with the turbo intervals - after all, that seems to be what has made a big impact this year

You can get all this through a certain local(ish) club for 16 squid a month.

Well done on the race btw, nice time!

Trouble with clubs is the fixed nature of training sessions and the difficulty of getting free time / exit passes to coincide...

I'd also add:
- do some track sessions.
- do some bricks (next spring)
- ABSOLUTELY do not sacrifice speed for plodding out 13.1 miles... Ie don't do long slow runs. Do longish runs with tempo intervals eg 1km on, 1 km off... As a newly non-plodder, it will be all too easy to fall back into the low cadence, slow foot strike, single speed that you have worked soooo hard to get out off...

Good points. Probably do need to add in some longer runs, since at the moment, I am not doing much more than 5km (have an 11km circuit that I can use aiming for fast 10kms)... and I know I need to get to the track, but I'm still a bit scared of real runners... but if I get a bit more brave, then the Woking track isn't too far away...
Plan in the short term is to do intervals on the treadmill to kill time while youngest is at gymnastics (though have wimped out of that tonight, as feeling full of lurgy)