European Triathlon Championships
Pontevedra, Spain
25th June 2011
Pontevedra is a lovely city in the North of Spain. It was to host the 2011 European Triathlon Championships and had an extra little heatwave to welcome us Brits to the country! The swim was along a river to a bridge, round a couple of buoys and back to land again. I practised the swim a few days before race day and the water was boiling! Wetsuits were optional but I needed mine to keep me afloat. The swim felt long and after talking to some other athletes they told me it was 2-3 minutes longer than the correct distance. This did not bode well for me as the swim is my weakest discipline!! I also had the chance to practice the bike course which was a long climb of 9k, around a turnaround point and back again. I love climbing hills so I was excited about the bike course. The run was 2 laps around the Old Town. It was undulating and slightly over 5k but looked like a good course.
The lead up to the race was fantastic. The opening ceremony saw musicians, actors, people with fire, lots of spanish dancers to entertain us etc. I met lots of old friends from the Worlds at Budapest. I saw the Belgian Boys who I made friends with in Ireland too and the whole city had a great buzz about it. I was nervous about the race, but more excited to be a part of it all.
On race day I got up at 6am and ate cornflakes out of a glass as we had forgotten to bring a bowl! We walked through the city to the start of the race. It was still pretty dark and we were greeted by party-goers on their way home from a fun night out shouting "buenos nochos" to us! I had racked my bike the night before so all that was left to do was set up the rest of transition. Everyone was provided with a box and your stuff had to be in the box or you were penalised. As quite a messy person this rule was stressing me out! So I stood in transition for a while and tried to visualise what I was going to do in the race. I spoke to the other girls in my age group for a bit. I´ve met most of them before but it reminded me how competitive my age group is. I was to be racing the national champion and the silver and bronze medallists from the 2010 Worlds. The current European Champion was back to defend her title and the silver and bronze medallists from last year´s Europeans were there too. I tried to remind myself that it wasn´t about them and I just had to do my own thing.
There were about 70 women in the wave I was going off in. It was so crowded on the pontoon, there were about 2 women per box on the start. We were asked to get into the water and then the hooter went. We were off! No more time to be nervous! As we all started swimming I instantly got hit, punched and kicked. I tried to get my arm out of the water but there was no room to even do that. I did some breaststroke and then got going. A bit of open water.....a couple of strokes and then another hit and punch. Now someone was grabbing my ankles. More breastroke. A bit of a panic. Then back into some open water, a couple of strokes.....then someone was swimming over me. A cough and a splutter. Bit more breaststroke. Then off again. Needless to say I hated the swim. On the way back I got a bit more room but I knew I had lost a lot of ground. I was out of the water 12th in my age group, 2 minutes 58 seconds behind the lead girl in my age group.
Transition was a long run in, I tried to use this time to make up ground. Wetsuit off and thrown into the box. Helmet and bike shoes on and then I was off. The ride out was brilliant. The climb was great and I was overtaking a lot of people. Nobody went past me. I don´t ride with a watch or speedometer but I felt like I was going well. I overtook 4 girls in my age group, turned round at the top and I was on the way down. The descent was so steep that when I pushed my hardest gear it didn´t make any difference. I felt like I had run out of gears and couldn´t go any faster whether I pedalled or not. I felt really frustrated by this because I had a lot of energy and power in my legs but it was just going to waste. The bike is my main strength but I felt like it went to waste a bit because of the course.
Back into transition and I could see a girl in my age group just starting the run. Running trainers on and I was off. I caught the girl ahead within the first couple of minutes. The run was brilliant. Through a massive stadium, around 2 laps of an undulating 5k and back into the stadium. As it was laps I could see where the other athletes were. I knew I couldn´t catch the girls ahead as there was nearly a 2 minute difference and I knew I was stronger than the girls behind. I ran in my comfort zone and enjoyed taking in the atmosphere, the crowds, the flags, the cheering. In hindsight I wished I had pushed a bit harder, just to get the best time that I could have got, but I will remember that for next time.
I crossed the line finishing 7th. It was a solid performance but I have learnt a lot from it, my approach to the race, my attitude during the race and more importantly my goals and next steps for what I have to do next. I am somewhat frustrated with myself as I think I have a lot more in me than 7th place and in many ways I matched the medallists for bike and run speed but I know if I persevere and keep trying I will get there. Dermot´s coaching has really given me a lot of confidence and I´d like to thank him for his continuous support (and patience!) with me. It was a real honour to race for GB and a great experience that I will always be proud of.
Sam
Pontevedra, Spain
25th June 2011
Pontevedra is a lovely city in the North of Spain. It was to host the 2011 European Triathlon Championships and had an extra little heatwave to welcome us Brits to the country! The swim was along a river to a bridge, round a couple of buoys and back to land again. I practised the swim a few days before race day and the water was boiling! Wetsuits were optional but I needed mine to keep me afloat. The swim felt long and after talking to some other athletes they told me it was 2-3 minutes longer than the correct distance. This did not bode well for me as the swim is my weakest discipline!! I also had the chance to practice the bike course which was a long climb of 9k, around a turnaround point and back again. I love climbing hills so I was excited about the bike course. The run was 2 laps around the Old Town. It was undulating and slightly over 5k but looked like a good course.
The lead up to the race was fantastic. The opening ceremony saw musicians, actors, people with fire, lots of spanish dancers to entertain us etc. I met lots of old friends from the Worlds at Budapest. I saw the Belgian Boys who I made friends with in Ireland too and the whole city had a great buzz about it. I was nervous about the race, but more excited to be a part of it all.
On race day I got up at 6am and ate cornflakes out of a glass as we had forgotten to bring a bowl! We walked through the city to the start of the race. It was still pretty dark and we were greeted by party-goers on their way home from a fun night out shouting "buenos nochos" to us! I had racked my bike the night before so all that was left to do was set up the rest of transition. Everyone was provided with a box and your stuff had to be in the box or you were penalised. As quite a messy person this rule was stressing me out! So I stood in transition for a while and tried to visualise what I was going to do in the race. I spoke to the other girls in my age group for a bit. I´ve met most of them before but it reminded me how competitive my age group is. I was to be racing the national champion and the silver and bronze medallists from the 2010 Worlds. The current European Champion was back to defend her title and the silver and bronze medallists from last year´s Europeans were there too. I tried to remind myself that it wasn´t about them and I just had to do my own thing.
There were about 70 women in the wave I was going off in. It was so crowded on the pontoon, there were about 2 women per box on the start. We were asked to get into the water and then the hooter went. We were off! No more time to be nervous! As we all started swimming I instantly got hit, punched and kicked. I tried to get my arm out of the water but there was no room to even do that. I did some breaststroke and then got going. A bit of open water.....a couple of strokes and then another hit and punch. Now someone was grabbing my ankles. More breastroke. A bit of a panic. Then back into some open water, a couple of strokes.....then someone was swimming over me. A cough and a splutter. Bit more breaststroke. Then off again. Needless to say I hated the swim. On the way back I got a bit more room but I knew I had lost a lot of ground. I was out of the water 12th in my age group, 2 minutes 58 seconds behind the lead girl in my age group.
Transition was a long run in, I tried to use this time to make up ground. Wetsuit off and thrown into the box. Helmet and bike shoes on and then I was off. The ride out was brilliant. The climb was great and I was overtaking a lot of people. Nobody went past me. I don´t ride with a watch or speedometer but I felt like I was going well. I overtook 4 girls in my age group, turned round at the top and I was on the way down. The descent was so steep that when I pushed my hardest gear it didn´t make any difference. I felt like I had run out of gears and couldn´t go any faster whether I pedalled or not. I felt really frustrated by this because I had a lot of energy and power in my legs but it was just going to waste. The bike is my main strength but I felt like it went to waste a bit because of the course.
Back into transition and I could see a girl in my age group just starting the run. Running trainers on and I was off. I caught the girl ahead within the first couple of minutes. The run was brilliant. Through a massive stadium, around 2 laps of an undulating 5k and back into the stadium. As it was laps I could see where the other athletes were. I knew I couldn´t catch the girls ahead as there was nearly a 2 minute difference and I knew I was stronger than the girls behind. I ran in my comfort zone and enjoyed taking in the atmosphere, the crowds, the flags, the cheering. In hindsight I wished I had pushed a bit harder, just to get the best time that I could have got, but I will remember that for next time.
I crossed the line finishing 7th. It was a solid performance but I have learnt a lot from it, my approach to the race, my attitude during the race and more importantly my goals and next steps for what I have to do next. I am somewhat frustrated with myself as I think I have a lot more in me than 7th place and in many ways I matched the medallists for bike and run speed but I know if I persevere and keep trying I will get there. Dermot´s coaching has really given me a lot of confidence and I´d like to thank him for his continuous support (and patience!) with me. It was a real honour to race for GB and a great experience that I will always be proud of.
Sam
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