Where: SouthwellLeisure Centre
When: 18 May 2014
Organiser: One Step Beyond
Course details: Based at Southwell leisure centre, pool swim, undulating out and back bike course, 4 lap grass/tarmac run
Distance(s): 400m (pool) swim; 17.6 km bike; 5km run
Marshalling: Traffic control at bike out and bike in, marshals in transition, at junctions and at other points along course
Facilities: Leisure centre facilities, free parking, toilets, massage, trade stands
Technical: Chip timing
Freebies: T shirt
Pre-race excuses:
- Old, fat n ugly
- Calves still not 100%, no run training in, err weeks
- Unhappy with the stack on my bars, need an extra 30mm due to diminished flex in back, Parts on order (bars not back)
Southwell is the type of race that attracts athletes from quite a radius including big cities, where they say that the streets are no longer lit by gas but by this new electricity, to Lincolnshire hamlets where a groom can have a wedding photo taken of his wife, mother and sister but there will only be one woman in the shot.
Due to road works the bike and run route had to be altered.
Blue skies, no clouds, 18C, wind 22kph ish
Swim:
Splashed up and down a pool 16 times, got out and ran to T1.
9.19 2013 9.16 EDIT by way of mitigation/feeble excue; except for one half man/half fish the average time for the top 3 in my AG is about 8:34 ish so about 45s off them - oh bugger just realised that then puts pressure on me to get my arse in gear and bring down that difference - 45s John pull yer finger out
T1:
Slight argument with race belt
0.55 2013 1.12 (complete malfunction of brain/co-ordination)
Bike:
Due to the roadworks 100m from the normal bike out/bike in point; instead of mounting, riding 25m, then left onto the A612 and then immediately slogging up the hill to the university campus where it crests, we did a sharp left onto Park lane (single lane for farm access etc), pootled up the hill there, turned right past the campus car park and then left (traffic controlled) onto the A612.
Extra distance was about 200m; the first 300m or so are flattish 2.5-4.5%, the 300m slog up Park Lane was about 4.5-6.0% and then the 500m past the campus to the A612 again flattish 2.5%. It seemed easier than the 900m straight bash up. What was good was that having crested Park lane you had a flat 500m belt to turn onto the A612 so the final 50m or so to crest just felt easier.
OK so from here on back onto the same course. Uppy/downy for 2k Strava segment Cundy Lane over the Rollers to Beck St – bit windy in yer face but brain not engaged. Unhappiness with the stack on my bars is making me sulky but after a few mins gave myself a mental slap across face and told self to MTFU. Segment 4.59 av 34.7kph vs PB 4.31 38,2kph (and that was in Outlaw Half when I cycled 44k just to reach the start of the segment). Same race 2013 4.44 for the segment.
Next 4k, Strava segment Thugaston to Lowdham; bit more like it John, back to the race plan. I always do an extensive analysis of a course, profiles, Google Streetview etc. and then devise a racing strategy … admittedly it generally develops into – get on bike, pedal like f###, get off bike. Segment, 6.36 35.3kph vs PB 6.55 33.6kph. Av 35.2kph max 48.2kph. Standing 253 out of 1374, in top 20% got to be happy with that. Now surprisingly on the short drop into Thurgaston before hitting this segment I only maxxed at 52.2 kph vs PB 56.5kph… mmm strange.
Nice clean navigation of the roundabout and even got a cheer from a couple of club cyclists.
Back to work.
Segment Lowdham to Thurgaston. 120 out of 771; 5.57 av 37.8kph max 43.6kph. Same time as in PB 5.57
Segment into Thurgaston 0.9km; again same as PB; 1.19, av 39.9kph max 43.6kph.
Now the big surprise for me was the next 3.4k, uppy/downy, seemed like mainly uppy. Segment, Southwell Road, Gonalston the college. 7.21 vs PB 7.51, 240 out of 847. I thought I had down really badly, particularly as no 371 (a rather attractive female member of Stamford Tri, no not cradle snatching, she was age appropriate for me) came from behind and handed me my arse on a plate.
Just when it was all going well it unravelled slightly. On the final drop to the bike in we hit the road works; if the traffic control was Stop the time waiting would be deducted from your time as well as an additional 20s for loss of momentum. It looked as if the control was going to go Stop, woohoo, stop, feet out of shoes for last 200m pedal to bike in … only it remained Go. Bum, brain out of window, forgot to get feet out of shoes so dismounted with shoes on.
Overall bike time 32.19. Bit difficult to compare because of the route alteration but my PB on the usual course is 32.25. So all in all happy with that except for my grumpy, unproductive segment, stupid sod should have known better.
T2
Slow run to rack, take off shoes – arse 1.11 vs 2013 0.51.
Run
Because Park lane was being used for the bike out a new run route consisted of 4 laps around the fields, mainly grass, some tarmac. Legs felt OK, slight couple of twinges but no dramas. Passed a surprising number of people (including 371 at lap 2). Managed a sprint finish (oh don’t laugh, let me have the occasional delusion) – nothing left as it should be. 26:41 – nothing to compare it with. Had a chat with 371 and congratulated her for spanking me on the last third of the bike.
Provisional time 1:10:25 PB on the original course 1:06:36
Swim: I knew the swim was going to be about the same so no surprises.
T1; slight faff with belt which should have never happened, calmness and imposition of self discipline required.
Bike; I am happy with the way the bike is going, the Strava PRs and top 15-20% placings are nice-to-haves and keeping fingers crossed that when adjustments to cockpit are made it will put me in a much happier place.
T2; apart from the shoes, that went OK.
Run; frustrating that after some really nice runs in Jan-Mar I ballsed it up by trying a different make of shoes but hopefully will be able to resume training shortly. Even so my time would not have been drastically different.
Overall; placed 5th in AG last year, this year reckon I will be lucky to get an 8 or 9 spot; still a good race, no dramas, no injuries. Although I enjoy the Midland Sprint series my prime focus for this year is 70.3 distance; consolidating/tweaking swim, consolidating/tweaking bike and improving my run time.