DGtri Athlete - Jamie Harman

Race Report for Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon 20th May 2012
The bosworth super sprint was the first multi sport event in 2012 for me and i was looking forward to getting with like minded people and also trying out my new bike. I arrived in plenty of time at around 07:30 and had a natter with a few friends generally soaking up the exciting atmosphere and taking the mickey!. I don't like to pile the pressure on myself so just intended to use the race as a test run for all my kit and get my transitions spot on.That's how i get through race nerves. Basically i just lie to myself!

We entered the water at around 09:00 and it was cold!, Very cold. And especially now i had lost so much weight i was really feeling it. Infact my fingers, toes and tongue were numb. I chose to start quite close to the bank so as i could just stand up but still had good view of the buoy. Just before race start i decided to tread water and when the race start horn went i just took off!, I looked over my left shoulder and could see people behind me but no one in front!, This made me panic even more and i struggled to get my breath, I managed maybe 80 to 100 meters and then my arms locked with the cold, It felt like i had hit a wall. I managed to get them moving again after a few meters breast stroke then settled in quite nicely but i still couldn't wait to exit the cold water. I think i exited the water in around 4th position in or around 9 minutes just over a minute behind the leader.

Into T1 and off with the wetsuit and out on the bike in under a minute. I knew i was up there with the front runners but had no idea where i was until Robbo told me i was in third!, So excited the park road and in a panic i hammered the bike up the road. I could see the guy in second place in front of me just going up the hill towards the A444 and passed him before he got to the top!, Again i was so excited and carried away i nearly came off my bike, I thought to myself i just got to calm down a bit here and push. I settled in on the bike and got the legs really moving. My new bike is so easy to ride fast and after getting it set up by the shop it was awsome!. Totally comfortable it felt like i could ride in the aero position all day. I think this may also be due to me not having a large belly to get in the way anymore. I pushed through the lanes never letting up, Just pushing and pushing and got back to T2 in around 25:53. When i got back to T2 there was just one bike in the transition area!. That feels weird!.

Just under 2 mins down on the leader exiting T2 with Pam shouting there's a pig here with your name on it Jamie! i took off on the run and with only one lap there was no holding back. I saw the leader coming back around the top of the lake and with only one lap knew i could not catch him, I still pushed though as you never know what can happen in a race but my legs by now had started locking up with the lactic acid and i had to ease off a little to get the blood moving again so i could once again find my pace.

Considering i do not train for Sprint tri's or Super sprint races this turned out to be a great result. I finished the race in 47mins 26secs, 5mins behind a seasoned regular podium finisher!. No shame in that!.

So what was supposed to be a steady race to get back into the swing of things has turned out to be one of if not the most important confidence boosting races so far!.

So i ask myself the question what now? and the answer, To continue to improve during training and my race performances at the current rate throughout the rest of the season will be a dream come true.

Training just got more interesting!!!.........Anything is possible!

Thanks to Dermot for coaching me without him i would be nowhere. Thanks to Johanna for my nutrition plan. Thanks to Bill Livingstone, Pam Batchelor, Steve the belly Robinson for your support and advice. Thanks to Paul Smart for the flattering photo's. No moobs lol Thanks to my partner Louise for putting up with my obsession and giving me 100% support. If i have missed anybody sorry but Thankyou! Oh and thank you to my Two great kids!

Onwards and upwards!........2012 just got more interesting ;-)

Jamie

DGtri Athlete - Simona Carena

The Full Boar Little Piglet Super Sprint

Last Sunday I took part in the first triathlon for 2012: The Full Boar Little Piglet at Bosworth Water Park. 500 mt open water swim, 10 miles bike and 2.5k run.
This is the first of 3 events at the location run by Full Boar, and I hope to compete in the other two later in the season.

The race is very well organized: friendly but professional, it has the same look and feel as larger events, but without the hefty price tag and with few quirky touches that make it stand out.

It also has the most satisfactory goody bag I have seen few years.

What the organizer could not do unfortunately was turn the sun on for a few days to warm up the lake.

After many grim thoughts about the consequences cold lakes have had on some of my recent races I resolved to bite the bullet and take it as a character building experience and use it to learn to manage my cold water phobia.

So there I was on the start line, well actually jumping about on the shore looking at the start line waiting for the “2 minutes to go” before jumping in as a cold lake is no venue for a “warm up”!

I position myself just on the front but slightly outside of direct line to the first buoy in case of a rising panic attack and got off to a fast start.

I soon found myself in 3^rd position, feeling very cold but enthusiastic of the placing due to the small filed taking part. I was trying not to get carried away and keep within my ability for the distance as I could feel a slight panicking feeling when trying to go faster. I let another female competitor go at half way but eventually made it back up to be the first lady by the swim exit.

I was very pleased with the result and to have paced myself well.

T1 was not so impressive, not even by my modest standards: I was feeling wobbly and shivering whilst trying to force a jacket and gloves on. Eventually I manage and was off to the mount line.

In the dress rehearsal the previous day after the cold swim I could barely keep my bike upright, but on the day it actually was not too bad, managed to close shoes on the go and settle in the aero position… on my new bike. Gone are the day of carbon envy thanks to Bill Livingstone I now have the bike of my dreams…

In fact my bike split does not do justice to my new machine, but I worked hard all the way round without letting up the effort and my legs where very sore, so I put it down to pilot error in pacing and possibly to the cold.

The 10 miles soon went by on well marshalled quiet country lanes and I was back in transition trying to squeeze all 10 pinkies in to a pair of trainers… not an easy feat when lost all sensation since the swim.

However I soon hit the run course at full speed, felt not unlike a cartoon character with my numb feet going around super-fast so decided to put on a matching insane grin and see how fast I could go. I managed to make up 1 place in the ladies ranks, but could not bridge the gap to the next lady as ran out of course, not something I normally mind; I was feeling really strong and could have kept going. No complaints however as the 2 fastest lady run split landed my on the 3^rd place in the Open Category.

I have truly enjoyed myself on this event, in spite of the cold on swim and bike. In terms of performance it also was a great day, Dermot plan as usual keeps delivering results!

To crown it all off I now have a coveted “Pig Trophy” and won a goody bag from race sponsor Tiology in the free raffle!