Same old story - ages since an update, but let's not dwell on it...
Up to Lisbon 1/2 Ironman at the end of April my focus had been on longer distances and getting the miles in the bank. The intention was then to switch this from the middle of May so I could race well across all distances and get a little bit of speed back in the legs.
Much against my original intention of increasing my training volumes this year they've actually gone down due to time constraints - being self employed isn't everything it's cracked up to be. I don't think averaging 80 minutes a week in the pool is ideal for anyone! So 2011 once more is an experiment in how to try and maximise every minute spent training...
Build up races
Speedy Beaver National Sprint Championships, 29th May. What a waste of time this race was... I was looking for a good result here, but after a solid but thoroughly unpleasant swim (the murkiest water I've ever swum in) I got 10 metres out of T1 before realising that my front tyre was flat as the proverbial. A faulty valve and race over.
Fritton Lake Sprint Tri, Eastern Region Sprint Championships, 11th June. This was intended as a sharpener before Dambuster the following week, but I knew that the competition was pretty good and I would need to be on good form to take the win. As it was I ended up with 2nd fastest swim split, plus fastest transitions, bike and run to win it. The times were slightly slower than 2010, but I know that the run was 300 metres longer and am sure that the swim was longer than the previous year... We work so hard for every second, so every second lost needs to be justified!
The dampener on the result was 2 sprained ankles. Unfortunately my ankles seem to be getting weaker and weaker, so I need to spend more time on rehabilitation - 6 sprains in 6 months is not good. However, these weren't too bad so just 5-6 days off running this time.
The Race
Dambuster British Standard Distance Championships, 18th June. Although this race was intended to be my main focus of the year and I diligently tapered and cut my training down accordingly (always happy to do that...) I didn't go into the race with a huge amount of confidence. I know I'm strong across all disciplines but there's no real standout. There have been no leaps or bounds since 2010 so I would have to hopefully rely on a solid performance across the board.
The weather didn't look kind with plenty of rain around and a stiff breeze blowing. As it was though it couldn't have been better (well, it could...) with the rain stopping 90 minutes before the race and not starting again until the journey home.
Swim - 19.37. Well it didn't feel fast, but evidently it was! I knew there would be plenty of fast guys so opted to stay right out of trouble. As it was I found some feet to get towed behind and had a pretty trouble free swim. 10th out of the water I was reliably informed by my wife.
Bike - 1.05.39. This is the leg I'm least happy with, although I was only beaten by about 5 guys I'm not happy to have lost 3 1/2 minutes to Ben Howard the eventual winner. I was very uncomfortable on the descents - the crosswinds were playing havoc with my deep front section wheel and I spent the downhills sitting up, feathering the brakes and clenching my arse. I made it up to 4th but then got nervey on the descents and came into T2 in 6th.
Run - 34.00. The run is a little bit short at around 9.5k, but I'm happy with this split. I made it into 5th pretty quickly and just felt comfortable all the way round. I'd opted for a new (and minimal) nutrition strategy and it was absolutely fine - a gel at the start of the run left me confortable and strong through to the finish.
Overall - 2.00.58. Was aiming for 2.02 so very happy to go under.
It was quite a wait to find out the results, and I didn't know who may have finished ahead from the 30-34's, or who may have pipped me from later waves. As it was - no-one, and no-one. 5th overall and 30-34 British Champion. I'll take it.
