On Saturday, we travelled over to the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont to register for the race and to leave all my gear off. The place was alive with activity. Athletes and organisers swarmed around the place. It was quite gusty and the lake looked choppy, which didn't help my nervous disposition. There were a few swim events taking place and I got chatting with some of the swimmers who said that the swim back up the lake into the wind was like swimming in 'a washing machine'. This also didn't help the nerves!
After getting everything sorted at the transition area, I bid farewell to the lake knowing that in only over 12 hours I'd be back and suited up for the swim start at 6am. The rest of Saturday was spent chilling with the family and making final preparations. Mum and Dad flew over that evening too and we met up with them in the hotel briefly before heading off for an early bedtime. Alarms were set for 4am and lights were out before 9pm. I didn't sleep well.
I was up before my alarm at around 3.50am. I forced down 2 flapjacks and some fluids while slowly getting ready. Shona, Mum and myself left the hotel around 4.45am, leaving Dad to look after Sophie and Sam at the hotel so they could sleep on.
It was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies and the sun was just rising. The wind had calmed down but the same could not be said for my nerves! As we arrived at the lake, I jumped out and headed to the transition area to do my final preparations such as tape some snacks to my bike, pump up the tyres, etc. It's a bit unnerving being around so many elite athletes - of which I am not one! Some of these guys spend more on their bikes than I would on a car. They were tweaking this, adjusting that, spraying here and there. My bike got a quick squeeze of the tyres and a nod of approval.
By this stage the loud speaker was telling us that we needed to make our way to the swim start. I quickly ran down to the viewing gallery to say a quick bye-bye to Shona and Mum - and also see if I could somehow escape as my nerves were starting to get the better of me! :)
However, once I started making my way to the swim start the nerves started to clear and I actually started to look forward to the swim. I got my wetsuit zipped up and joined the other 1000 competitors in the water, which was a tropical 18 degrees! My swim training had been minimal to say the least so I was just looking to finish the swim, so I positioned myself in with the slower swimmers. As the countdown went from ten minutes down to one, the banter was great in the water between everyone. Then the hooter went and the frenzy began.
The swim start wasn't too bad considering there were 1000 people all making a dash for the same stretch of water. You get the odd kick and punch but nothing deliberate. I had decided that if needed I would switch to breast stroke if required and alternate between it and free style. However, for the first 1.2 mile length of the lake I settled into a nice rhythm and only went into breast stroke if I lost my bearings a little.
The first half of the swim felt really good considering the longest swim I'd completed in the past few months was 1000m. I got to the half way mark (1900m) in 50 mins which was pleasing enough for me. Scarily enough the guy who won the overall race was already out of the water and on his bike at this stage - 48 minutes for his 3.8k swim!!
The second half of the swim was a little different considering it was into a strong head wind. There was a real strong current against us and progress was slow. I eventually got out of the water in 1hr 56m ... unknown to me only four minutes within the cut off time!!
The support volunteers were amazing with their encouragement during the whole day. I really appreciated their help in getting out of my wetsuit. They just told me to sit on the ground while they pulled my wetsuit down and off. I took under five minutes to get ready for the bike and then off I went - to the mad cheers of Shona and Mum!
The sense of relief of having got the swim over with and onto the bike was immense. I had trained really well for the bike and had no real concerns for the 112 miles that lay ahead. The whole course was very well signed and staffed with volunteers and the traffic management was really well organised.
My predicted bike time had been around the seven hour mark which meant that I needed to keep my average speed around the 16mph mark. For the first thirty or forty miles I was able to maintain an average speed of around 20mph without any real effort and so I was hoping for a good time to make up for my slow swim.
Then the wind entered the equation. At times it felt like I was pedalling and going nowhere. I was down on my easiest gears and still getting it tough. Heart rate was high and average speed was falling. At times we were cycling straight into a 25mph head wind.
There were feed stations every fifteen miles or so and these were well stocked with water bottles and energy gels. It was at one of these stations around the 75 mile mark that I lost balance when reaching for a bottle. I managed to get my right foot unclicked just at the last moment, although I did cut my leg and jarred my knee on the right side while a pedal caught me hard on the left shin. But with all the adrenaline and not wanting to look silly, I just picked myself up and rode on without taking time to inspect the wounds.
The rest of the bike ride was uneventful up until mile 106, when my chain decided to jump off the cogs! Thankfully I got it back on without any problems and managed to make it back to transition in a time of 7hrs 12min. Not bad considering the issues I encountered.
It only struck me in the final few miles of the bike that I still had to run a full marathon. I took about five minutes to get a change of clothes and shoes and some food on board. Then off I started for the last 26.2 miles of the race, albeit running/waddling for the first mile or so as my legs got used to running instead of cycling!!
The run route consisted of four laps of a course that bordered the River Trent and passed by the Nottingham Forest football ground, finishing with a lap of the lake and passed the grandstand. Once again, the support on the run route was outstanding! There were so many people along the way shouting encouragement and offering words of support.
I had trained well for the run and had a four hour time in my mind. I soon realised that this was out of the question - my legs were just not doing what I wanted them to. There were feed stations roughly every 1.5 miles on the run route. I managed to run between stations and then stop of some fluids and a banana. Then run onto the next station. The run was the toughest thing that I've ever had to do. Unknown to me at the time, the fall from the bike earlier was taking its effect on my legs. As each lap went by though, I never doubted that I would finish. I just knew that there was a lot of pain before the finish came!
At the start of the last lap, Shona came down to the side of the track and encouraged me before I started off for the final 6 miles. With each step of that last lap, the feeling of euphoria and pride grew and grew. As I came into view of the finish line Sophie and Sam met me and the three of us crossed the line together. I had finished - I had become an Outlaw! My final time was 14hrs 55 minutes.
Although I finished in a time a lot slower than I had expected (90 minutes slower), I was still so proud of what I had achieved. One year earlier, I had not even been able to run due to a double Achilles injury. This was only my fifth ever triathlon and just goes to show that with a little hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve their goals.
At this point I'd like to say a massive thank you to Shona, Sophie and Sam for all their support. For putting up with my early morning training, washing my sweaty clothes and generally putting up with my grumpiness when I was tired. Although I was out there doing the race, I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks also to Mum and Dad for coming over to support me. It meant a lot. And thanks to all my friends who sent me messages of encouragement. It was all greatly appreciated!
