Rather valley sprint tri - European championship qualifier
On Sunday 12th June I raced at the rather valley sprint tri. This was my best race last year and I felt like I had a lot to live up to. With it being a European qualifier for israel next year the atmosphere was fantastic.....but the competition was strong!
Transition racking was done in alphabetical order and according to age group. This gave me a chance to see who I was up against. My friend Christa from my tri club was there, as was a girl who took the bronze medal at the worlds two years ago in Sydney (Sarah) and a worlds aquathlon medallist and GB age group athlete (Kathryn). I felt confident about my form but you never know what's going to happen on race day!!! My biggest worry was the swim. I had bought a new wetsuit on Friday as I had ripped my other one one holiday (too many coco pops!) and I was worried about being able to swim well in it and get it off quickly in transition.
I got in the water 10mins before the start time to have a swim. Everything seemed to be ok. We lined up at the swim start waiting for the hooter for what felt like ages. Some of the girls were creeping forward then getting called back. I always position myself at the front but don't know why I do as I'm not one of the stronger swimmers. Everything went so silent you could have heard a penny drop. I felt sick!!! The hooter went and I got this sudden rush of adrenalin, we were off! I swam hard to the first buoy, getting there in 5th place.....but then the other girls swam round me, under me, over me and I was trying so hard to stay with them. Just like last week I felt like I was putting a lot of effort in but not really getting anywhere. I always feel like giving up after the swim, always feel like I've blown my chances. I kept telling myself to just try and stick worth every girl that passed me and stay on their feet for as long as I could.
The marshals pulling the athletes out of the swim all knew me so I got a loud cheer and a "go Sam, go" as I exited the swim in 25th place (7th in my age group). A quick T1 and out onto my bike and I caught the first couple of girls within minutes. A few minutes later I past Christa and we gave each other a cheer. The bike course was a 26k very hilly route. I know the course like the back of my hand after doing so many training days here last year. I was picking the girls (and the men) off and started to get some confidence back. Down on my tri bars, I remember thinking it's just me and the road, and I tried to block out everything else around me and just enjoy the feeling of pushing myself as hard as I could. I was overtaking more and more people until eventually, about 3 miles from the finish I overtook Sarah. I knew she was a talented athlete so all of a sudden I had forgotten about my awful swim and felt like I was having a great race. I was worried I had pushed so hard on the bike that I would have nothing left for the run but I always try to treat the three disciplines as separate races.
My mum and my sister were surprised to see me return to transition when I did. I had moved from 25th place to 8th and had clocked the fastest bike time for my age group and the third fastest overall. As I was putting my running trainers on, Sarah was racking her bike. I knew she had a good run. We were lying in 2nd and 3rd place in our age group. I ran out of transition strongly, more to make Sarah think that I had a lot left! I overtook a girl within the first 30 seconds. I was not in 7th, still 2nd in my age group. The run was a 1 lap 5k course around the lake. I started off glancing over my shoulder every minute to see where Sarah was, each time I looked she was dropping durther and further behind. After a while I started to focus on the girls ahead. I could see Kathryn and put in a spurt to catch her. I went past her quite easily. I was know in 6th and first in my age group. In the distance I could see another girl but there wasn't too much further to the finish, only another kilometre or so. For the first time in a long time I felt like I was racing on the run. Rather than holding on for positions I felt like I was attacking and closing people down. I put in another spurt to catch her and kept working until I could see the finish. I clocked 19.51 for the run, which again was the fastest in my age group.
Finishing fifth overall and winning my category was a great result for me. Especially as it was a qualifier and the standard and number of athletes was so high. Looking at the results, I am starting to open a bigger gap on athletes who last year were beating me. I really enjoyed the race, I loved switching off from everything and just for that hour or so nothing else matters but you. I was pleased that dispite giving the lead swimmer a 4minute lead I was able to claw some of it back......perhaps I am more of a fighter than I realised. I took the first qualifying slot for the Europeans next year, and I am moving forward to Spain in 2weeks with confidence in my ability. I hope to show everyone what I'm made of!
On Sunday 12th June I raced at the rather valley sprint tri. This was my best race last year and I felt like I had a lot to live up to. With it being a European qualifier for israel next year the atmosphere was fantastic.....but the competition was strong!
Transition racking was done in alphabetical order and according to age group. This gave me a chance to see who I was up against. My friend Christa from my tri club was there, as was a girl who took the bronze medal at the worlds two years ago in Sydney (Sarah) and a worlds aquathlon medallist and GB age group athlete (Kathryn). I felt confident about my form but you never know what's going to happen on race day!!! My biggest worry was the swim. I had bought a new wetsuit on Friday as I had ripped my other one one holiday (too many coco pops!) and I was worried about being able to swim well in it and get it off quickly in transition.
I got in the water 10mins before the start time to have a swim. Everything seemed to be ok. We lined up at the swim start waiting for the hooter for what felt like ages. Some of the girls were creeping forward then getting called back. I always position myself at the front but don't know why I do as I'm not one of the stronger swimmers. Everything went so silent you could have heard a penny drop. I felt sick!!! The hooter went and I got this sudden rush of adrenalin, we were off! I swam hard to the first buoy, getting there in 5th place.....but then the other girls swam round me, under me, over me and I was trying so hard to stay with them. Just like last week I felt like I was putting a lot of effort in but not really getting anywhere. I always feel like giving up after the swim, always feel like I've blown my chances. I kept telling myself to just try and stick worth every girl that passed me and stay on their feet for as long as I could.
The marshals pulling the athletes out of the swim all knew me so I got a loud cheer and a "go Sam, go" as I exited the swim in 25th place (7th in my age group). A quick T1 and out onto my bike and I caught the first couple of girls within minutes. A few minutes later I past Christa and we gave each other a cheer. The bike course was a 26k very hilly route. I know the course like the back of my hand after doing so many training days here last year. I was picking the girls (and the men) off and started to get some confidence back. Down on my tri bars, I remember thinking it's just me and the road, and I tried to block out everything else around me and just enjoy the feeling of pushing myself as hard as I could. I was overtaking more and more people until eventually, about 3 miles from the finish I overtook Sarah. I knew she was a talented athlete so all of a sudden I had forgotten about my awful swim and felt like I was having a great race. I was worried I had pushed so hard on the bike that I would have nothing left for the run but I always try to treat the three disciplines as separate races.
My mum and my sister were surprised to see me return to transition when I did. I had moved from 25th place to 8th and had clocked the fastest bike time for my age group and the third fastest overall. As I was putting my running trainers on, Sarah was racking her bike. I knew she had a good run. We were lying in 2nd and 3rd place in our age group. I ran out of transition strongly, more to make Sarah think that I had a lot left! I overtook a girl within the first 30 seconds. I was not in 7th, still 2nd in my age group. The run was a 1 lap 5k course around the lake. I started off glancing over my shoulder every minute to see where Sarah was, each time I looked she was dropping durther and further behind. After a while I started to focus on the girls ahead. I could see Kathryn and put in a spurt to catch her. I went past her quite easily. I was know in 6th and first in my age group. In the distance I could see another girl but there wasn't too much further to the finish, only another kilometre or so. For the first time in a long time I felt like I was racing on the run. Rather than holding on for positions I felt like I was attacking and closing people down. I put in another spurt to catch her and kept working until I could see the finish. I clocked 19.51 for the run, which again was the fastest in my age group.
Finishing fifth overall and winning my category was a great result for me. Especially as it was a qualifier and the standard and number of athletes was so high. Looking at the results, I am starting to open a bigger gap on athletes who last year were beating me. I really enjoyed the race, I loved switching off from everything and just for that hour or so nothing else matters but you. I was pleased that dispite giving the lead swimmer a 4minute lead I was able to claw some of it back......perhaps I am more of a fighter than I realised. I took the first qualifying slot for the Europeans next year, and I am moving forward to Spain in 2weeks with confidence in my ability. I hope to show everyone what I'm made of!
Sam
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