It feels like the race was a long time ago already, but it's only a week. I feel for Miss Midwesterly. To come across the Atlantic like that, and have such a build-up only for things to go horribly wrong. She's taken it very well and is already looking to the next race to prove herself. Not being a stranger to race adversity, I sympathise.
The race for me was very cool. I was so pleased to have been able to manage the entire thing in the light of my back injury which was still hurting on the run. It was the second run I'd managed to do in 6 weeks and was therefore pretty damn horrible and had me aching for 3 days afterwards, but simply to have finished the run was - in my mind at least - a big achievement.
The swim was great. I had none of my anxiety from the Ellesmere triathlon 2 weeks beforehand, and I even managed to enjoy the experience, as I had done with all my open water swims the year before. Clearly it served me very well to get in the Serpentine 3 times the week before. The water was tasteless and clear too, which helps with the psychology a lot. Still ... I'd like to learn how to push it on the swim because I wasn't even out of breath. I just go at a leisurely pace as if I'm out for a gentle swim in the sea. I think I could shave off several minutes if I learnt how hard I could push myself. Never as quick as Emily mind you ... who was something like 15th out of the water and had all the pros turning their heads!
The bike was amazing. I absolutely loved the course. It was hilly enough to be interesting but not so much that I couldn't spend a good deal of time on the tribars. I felt really strong for pretty much the whole section and enjoyed the psychology of going past people. Although the course is billed as a hilly one, I found the hills to be very short and totally achievable. I think having a compact crankset helped, but also that I was expecting far worse. I managed to refuel a bit on the bike; eating two bananas and about a litre of carbo drink. Obviously this isn't enough on a course of this length (luckily it was a cold morning so hydration wasn't too much of an issue), but it's a start. I need to work on techniques for refuelling while I train.
The run was a killer. Because of my lack of adequate training I went into it feeling pretty tired. It was 3 loops of a very undulating course but I only managed to completely run one loop, having to walk on the uphills of the final 2 laps. I stopped 3 or 4 times at feed stations too, to drink Gatorade and eat my final banana. I think they got me round in the end. I just had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and ignoring the pain in my back and my body's desire to stop. I'd love to get to a place where I could be strong in the run too. Most of the people around me were also walking when I was, so it would be great to be able to run the full course.
In all it was a very inspiring race. Great that I could finish the distance, and good that I felt strong in 2 disciplines. I think I can improve substantially on my time, and there are already plans hatching for a repeat performance in 2009. I was originally looking for a full Ironman for next year, but currently it makes sense for me to do another year of half distance races before raising my game.
Great race, great company, great experience.
T: 45 mins open water swim
30 mins spin
W: 45 mins open water swim
T: 40 mins open water swim
F: 30 mins bike
S: Rest day
S: UK Half Ironman 70.3
501st out of 799 finishers
46th of 107 women (77th on swim, 36th on bike, 62nd on run)
11th of 26 F35-39 (16th on swim, 7th on bike, 15th on run)
Swim: 41:58, Bike: 3:38:18, Run: 2.09.41, Total: 6:40:27
Total: 9h 50m
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