Blithfield Olympic Triathlon
The Blithfield Olympic is a very well organized race from Punishing Event and hosts at the same time a Sprint distance. The race location is very rural, HQ is on the edge of the large reservoir that gives the event its name; the swim is held in a corner of the lake and the run course winds itself on its shores; the surrounding tortuous, quiet and undulating country lanes offer an interesting bike section.
Although I was looking forward all season to return to this location to race the Olympic distance, the last two weeks previous to the race I was not firing on all cylinders so I was a bit unsure on how well or bad the day was going to pan out.
It was great to meet a few friends and team mates and in particular have a quick reassuring chat with Dermot and Bill. It is always a bonus to be rubbing shoulders with good athletes and it certainly gave me that extra bit of confidence and anticipation to get racing.
I found the waters of the lake reasonably warm and although quite murky not an issue.
I placed myself just behind the fast people a bit to the outside of the direct path to the first buoy as I thought at this distance there would be a higher number of competent swimmers. I then spent the length to the first buoy scrambling over trashing arms and feet realizing how wrong my assumption was.
The plan was to settle down quickly, pace the first lap not too fast and increase the speed on the second lap. It all went fine and I was feeling efficient, but was not prepared for the good news as exiting the water the race commentator shouted that I did a 26:25. This included also a short run where I was faffing with my wetsuit zip, therefore I was delighted as I must have paced it right. So the first PB of the day was in my tri-suite pocket… may be that was what was impeding the zip from opening? ;-)
Transition was fine, may be a bit slow, but in my defence the filed was uphill!
The bike section consisted of two loops, with a very thrilling descent followed by crossing the bridge in the middle of the reservoir. The course keeps winding along small lanes with constant small hills and required to concentrate to maintain efficient cadence and momentum. On the first lap I tried to keep a steady tempo and keep in touch as much as possible with bikes overtaking me to ensure I was not relaxing. On the second lap I felt really good and did a bit of overtaking on the hills without overdoing it. By the end of lap two I had to concentrate more to remain efficient.
This section was completed in 1:19, a supersonic average speed of 19 mph for my standards. The recent hard work paid off! Just as well that I have a second pocket in my tri-suite as this was PB n.2 of the day!
I soon arrived to the second transition and was feeling fine and keen to try for another PB. A bit of a greedy attitude but as I have not had a 10k race or a fast Olympic tri in a long time, ever hopeful with the great improvements in my running form thanks to Dermot’s coaching, I thought it achievable.
My legs felt great coming off the bike and I got going on the off road run path at my 5k pace… then thought better of it and reined it in a bit. The run too was a two loops affair and I thought to follow the trend in holing back a fraction on the first half and then give it all I had left in the second section. The plan was good but the execution was limited by my ability and so I found myself slowing ever so slightly all the way through. The sun was warm where the breeze was not blowing, but the condition were not bad on the day, I think I simply must have misjudged the pace and or run out of steam. Never the less I was able to grab a 51:30 for the 10K and not only have the fastest race at this distance either stand alone or in a tri but also finish the race placed 2nd in my age group in an overall PB time of 2:40:02!
I am ever thankful for all the advice, support and perfectly tailored training plan from Dermot, work is required from my part… but the correct guidance makes every effort yield consistent results!
Simona
The Blithfield Olympic is a very well organized race from Punishing Event and hosts at the same time a Sprint distance. The race location is very rural, HQ is on the edge of the large reservoir that gives the event its name; the swim is held in a corner of the lake and the run course winds itself on its shores; the surrounding tortuous, quiet and undulating country lanes offer an interesting bike section.
Although I was looking forward all season to return to this location to race the Olympic distance, the last two weeks previous to the race I was not firing on all cylinders so I was a bit unsure on how well or bad the day was going to pan out.
It was great to meet a few friends and team mates and in particular have a quick reassuring chat with Dermot and Bill. It is always a bonus to be rubbing shoulders with good athletes and it certainly gave me that extra bit of confidence and anticipation to get racing.
I found the waters of the lake reasonably warm and although quite murky not an issue.
I placed myself just behind the fast people a bit to the outside of the direct path to the first buoy as I thought at this distance there would be a higher number of competent swimmers. I then spent the length to the first buoy scrambling over trashing arms and feet realizing how wrong my assumption was.
The plan was to settle down quickly, pace the first lap not too fast and increase the speed on the second lap. It all went fine and I was feeling efficient, but was not prepared for the good news as exiting the water the race commentator shouted that I did a 26:25. This included also a short run where I was faffing with my wetsuit zip, therefore I was delighted as I must have paced it right. So the first PB of the day was in my tri-suite pocket… may be that was what was impeding the zip from opening? ;-)
Transition was fine, may be a bit slow, but in my defence the filed was uphill!
The bike section consisted of two loops, with a very thrilling descent followed by crossing the bridge in the middle of the reservoir. The course keeps winding along small lanes with constant small hills and required to concentrate to maintain efficient cadence and momentum. On the first lap I tried to keep a steady tempo and keep in touch as much as possible with bikes overtaking me to ensure I was not relaxing. On the second lap I felt really good and did a bit of overtaking on the hills without overdoing it. By the end of lap two I had to concentrate more to remain efficient.
This section was completed in 1:19, a supersonic average speed of 19 mph for my standards. The recent hard work paid off! Just as well that I have a second pocket in my tri-suite as this was PB n.2 of the day!
I soon arrived to the second transition and was feeling fine and keen to try for another PB. A bit of a greedy attitude but as I have not had a 10k race or a fast Olympic tri in a long time, ever hopeful with the great improvements in my running form thanks to Dermot’s coaching, I thought it achievable.
My legs felt great coming off the bike and I got going on the off road run path at my 5k pace… then thought better of it and reined it in a bit. The run too was a two loops affair and I thought to follow the trend in holing back a fraction on the first half and then give it all I had left in the second section. The plan was good but the execution was limited by my ability and so I found myself slowing ever so slightly all the way through. The sun was warm where the breeze was not blowing, but the condition were not bad on the day, I think I simply must have misjudged the pace and or run out of steam. Never the less I was able to grab a 51:30 for the 10K and not only have the fastest race at this distance either stand alone or in a tri but also finish the race placed 2nd in my age group in an overall PB time of 2:40:02!
I am ever thankful for all the advice, support and perfectly tailored training plan from Dermot, work is required from my part… but the correct guidance makes every effort yield consistent results!
Simona
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