Windsor Triathlon

In our wetsuits waiting for the early start
In our wetsuits waiting for the early start
The start line against a strong current
The start line against a strong current

15th June 2014

This was an on/off event for me. My crunchy arm had prevented me from swimming and there was so much going on that it all seemed very doubtful that I would make it to the start line. However, three weeks ago I decided to go for it and booked myself some swimming lessons, bought a wetsuit and persuaded my friend Richard to take me on a few cycle training jaunts. So feeling rather nervous and poorly prepared for my first triathlon I arrived at Windsor with John, Tim and Liam at the unearthly time of about 0600. We had racked the bikes on the Saturday. It was time to climb into the dreaded wetsuit (Zone 3 £150.00). They are unbelievably tight and, as my head comes out of my body in a different place to most humans, it has a tenancy to garrotte me. Tip toing bare foot from the transition area to the start point was quite painful.
The race starts in “Waves”. My wave was number 17 and the start gun went off at 0715.

There was an almighty scrum of clashed arms and thrashing feet. The current was really strong and I struggled to move at all. I also found it hard to get my breathing under control and it was an awful attempt to cross the river into quieter currents. Once there things went a bit better but still bad as I made slow progress up the right hand bank. The turning point was interesting as it was almost impossible to make progress against the strong current but it just had to happen. Once around the buoy I recovered my breath and got quite into the stride of it.
The end was in sight and I clambered out feeling very light headed and unstable after 39 minutes 36 seconds. Eventually I gathered my composure and ran to the transition area.

Running to transition
Running to transition

I panicked when I couldn’t get out of my wetsuit and decided to tear it off. Then I realised the Velcro flap was still attached and managed to peel the thing off and jump on the bike after more than 3 minutes.
The bike ride was fun and armed with some jelly babies seemed to go quite well. The 42 km ride took me 1 hour 27 minutes and 9 seconds. That said my friend Tim was riding a single speed wooden bike he made himself and finished
in a staggering 1 hour 19 minutes 38 seconds!
The transition from bike to run was fast and there was enough energy left in the tank the complete the run in 51 minutes 32 seconds.
The final time was a very slow 3 hours 03 minutes and 33 seconds – not too good but a result nevertheless.

Tim Powers Across the Finish Lime with an amazing time!
Tim Powers Across the Finish Lime with an Amazing Time!
The Well Deserved Pub Lunch.
The Well Deserved Pub Lunch.

I rather enjoyed it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.