What a difference a few days make! St Neots sprint triathlon is an excellent event which we have done several times. The sun was shining and the welcome was warm. We were looking forward to the day, although we hadn’t done any open water swimming since the nice warm temperatures of Barcelona last October.
Having psyched ourselves up for a cold start in the river, at 13.6 degrees, it didn’t seem too bad. There was talk of the swim being shortened, but that didn’t happen, it remained at 750 metres. I have been focusing on consistency with my swimming this year and, although I’m still not very fast, I came out of the water in a group. That was confidence boosting as I’m normally near the back.
Due to a very waterlogged meadow, the transition area was in a different location to normal, which meant a longer run to my bike. For once, I didn’t feel out of breath. Another improvement! Soon I was on my TT bike.
The one lap 25k bike was enjoyable and faster overall than previous attempts. However, I still feel I don’t have as much power as on my Pinarello. I decided to book that TT bikefit, I had been promising myself, plus that all important bike service before the Europeans. Soon I was at the split to head towardsT2. Suddenly, I panicked. Should I be doing 2 laps? No, I’m sure it is only one. My legs were convincing me that one was the correct number!
Back in T2, my space was in the middle somewhere and it took a few moments to confirm where I needed to aim for.
The 2 lap, slightly short, 5k run was around the meadow and is flat and fast, with lots of support. Yet another PB, yay! Finally, I spotted the finishing arch. I felt pleased with my efforts on the day, finishing 2nd in my age group. Bearing in mind that I am at the top of my age group, and there aren’t any older age categories, I came 10th out of 19 females, so very happy with that result. Now it is time to focus on my next race, which is the Grafman half distance relay on 2nd June.
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