I am sure that I read somewhere that it is a good idea to have a bit of a break mid-season, especially if you are doing a whole bunch of hard races over the course of the triathlon season - I hope so anyway.
Last Thursday, on my occasional commute to work from Walton-on-Thames to the City something happened and the net result was that the next thing that I remember, I was in the back of an ambulance. I still don't know how I fell off, or what happened because I hit my head so hard that I broke my helmet and was subsequently concussed for a few minutes. Apparently, the lady behind me said that I just went over the handlebars, led on the ground for a bit and then got up and started to walk around - albeit, in a rather confused manner.
So...after a quick check up in the ambulance, during which I was sure they were going to send me on my way, I was told that I would be going here..
...and, there I stayed for the rest of the day. They kept me because I had hit my head and could not remember what happened at all - apparently, those are not good things.
Over the course of the day, it became quite obvious to me that my head was not the problem. I could feel my chest getting worse and worse, even through the co-codemol. I was pretty certain then that this was not going to be much fun.
So, one week on and I have yet to do any real exercise so you could say that the mid-season break is going very well indeed and I am being very diligent. The honest truth on the other hand is that I am going mad not being able to train when I want to. I have a very important race next weekend (this one) and I really want to nail it with my other two team mates. So, to be stuck in limbo not doing much before this is pretty miserable....I want to be out on the road or on the turbo having fun with pain.
This weekend we had the first of the big domestic Olympic distances races which took us back to the lovely town of Windsor. I can say this now because the race is over, but I had all intentions of taking the overall prize for this race. It would have been my first major triathlon win in my career and I was pretty sure that I had a good chance of doing it, especially when I heard that the winner for the last two years was having to pull out due to an injury - the race was now wide open and I was pretty sure that I was fit enough to win it.
The swim took me a while to get into, but after about 400m, I was quickly making my way back up through all the white caps that had set off a bit too fast. At the 1000m mark, I had caught what I thought was the last two. I pulled away from one of these and swam back most of the way with the other one. In the end, I was pulled out of the water in what turned out to be 3rd position in my age group. My time was quite bad (24:12) but I assumed that was because of the current in the Thames, which was pretty strong on the day. What followed can only be a lesson to all who take part in this sport....
As I ran into T1 I believed whole heatedly that I was running down the correct aisle to locate my bike. I ran, and I ran, but still I could not see my bike. At this point, the panic set in and I started to scramble around bikes trying desperately to locate mine. In the end, I had to take a deep breath, look at my number and then try to find my bike. By now, some two extra minutes had passed by compared to what I was supposed to use in T1 and I was only too aware that the race had slipped through my fingers, and all because of such a stupid mistake. They always say that transition is the 4th discipline in triathlon - now I know why. Even after all the training, if you can't find your bike, you might as well have not bothered doing half the training.
Still, I tried to calm myself down and get on with the race but out on the bike I was just not really getting into it, mainly because I didn't feel that I was racing for anything anymore. I had wanted to do a 57-58 min bike split and I knew that I was more than capable of doing that, especially on the back of my recent TT performances. Still, the miles went by and I failed to really get into the ride. In the end, I got back to T2 in about 59 mins and got through T2 in good time to head out on the run.
I must confess, I do actually quite enjoy the run at Windsor, there are crowds pretty much the whole way round and my club, Thames Turbo, provides some very vocal support on the infamous Turbo Corner. My run speed was not exactly what I had hoped, but I had not really regained my interest in the race by this point. Alas, the 3 laps passed by and I came home in 2:07:20.
This is still more than 2 mins quicker than 2006 when I first did the race and my run time was 4 mins quicker yesterday than on that day, so things are getting better. I finally found to, to my surprise, that my time was enough to get me a 2nd place in my AG and also 3rd place overall - I didn't think that would be possible!
I know it sounds like I am grumbling about what most would see as a good result, but to me, it just doesn't make me that happy. I could have won the race, but I made a schoolboy error that cost me dearly. So far this season, I have beaten the winner and the chap in second place in other races, so to all intents, it seems that it could have been possible - there is always next year.
This weekend it was time for something totally new in my world of racing. I had managed to get myself in a team of London Dynamo boys for the annual 4up team time trial champs for the Surrey League. The team was made of two time trialists and a couple of chaps who normally ride road races in the UK.
For those of you who are not that familiar with things...it is basically this (picture is not actually us, although we did look pretty good all on TT bikes with disc wheels)
The idea is that you have a go at the front and block the wind for everyone else and let them rest, then you fall to the back of the group and slowly find yourself on the front again.
Anyway, we had a strong team and we'd be lying if we said we weren't going for the win. The Dynamos had won it the year before so there even more pride at stake.
We eventually set off, having done some practice runs along the road (and almost coming off a couple of times on corners) and quickly got into a good rythym. The roads were winding and undulating and it was pretty hard to remain as organised as we would have liked, i.e. right on the wheel in front - especially with your hands no where near your brakes!
We lost one of the team and decided that we would be best off going along with 3 of us (you only 3 of the 4 to get your time). The whole ride can only be described as brutal....I was not used to the ups and downs of racing like this and occasionally it became very hard when I missed the wheel to draft from.
Still, we eventually finished in 1:18:37 for the 57.3km course. We had managed to average just under 44kph around a course which is by no means flat. For me, it was one of the hardest rides I had ever done.
For our effort, we managed to pick up a pretty old trophy that has some very good names on it from previous years. I only managed to get a quick shot of it though befor e it went off for engraving - hopefully I'll get to have it in the house for part of the year.
Last Sunday I had another go at a 25 mile TT...I had done one the week before and, even though I managed to finish second, the wind on the day meant that the times were never going to be that good. I also had the added problem on that day of a very slow puncture which meanth my carbon disc wheel was getting closer to the tarmac all the way to the finish. Anyway, I finished that one in 55:10 and, thanks to some other London Dynamo boys I was able to get 2nd prize and the Team prize for the day.
Last Sunday was on a course which is not really the fastest round this way, albeit, it is not bad. There are a few hills, but there are large sections where you can still get into a good rhythm. It started to rain on the way down as well, not really a good sign, especially as there are about 5 roundabouts to navigate.
8:05 rolled round though and it was time for me to set-off. I felt a lot better this time though and the bike felt good as well. I had lowered the seat a fraction and I reckon this made things a lot more comfortable, especially for someone who pretty much rides right on the front of the thing.
25 miles went past before I knew it though and, if what my watch was telling me was correct, I knew I had done a good time. At 45.5kph, I was hopefuly of just slipping under 53, but alas it was 53:17 on the line - enough for another 2nd place and this also maintains my run of podium finishes this season....as in, every race triathlon or biking race I have finished in the top 3.
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