DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

National Triathlon Championships

“Will I be in too much pain to finish the 10 km run?” Not quite the worry I thought I’d have the night before the National Championships.

About ten months before we had finally figured out how to completely eliminate the problem of chronic fatigue caused by artificial sweeteners. I had been training consistently in Chester, still under Dermot’s guidance, but also swimming with Chester Academy, doing some sessions with Chester Tri Club and going out cycling with friends from the club. I had some good results in triathlons and also across all three disciplines, so I started to become confident that on a good day, I could be one of the challengers for the championship title.

So I thought that the night before I would worry about whether or not I could perform well enough to be a serious contender for the title, rather than whether or not it would be possible for me to finish the 10 km run, usually my favourite part of a triathlon and where I often make up time over other competitors.

But an injury which developed around my ankle meant that I could only run twice in the three weeks leading up to the big day, and both times in significant pain both during and after the run. I supplemented the missed running sessions with aqua-jogging sessions in the pool or sea. Although I had believed in the effectiveness of aqua-jogging for some time, I was convinced that I would lose quite a lot of my running fitness, and slowly doubts started creeping in and I began to think there was no chance I could be one of the contenders, but consoled myself in the fact that at least if I was second Maltese female, I would qualify for the National Team.

But Dermot was having none of that! He has believed in me since before I even started doing triathlon and kept telling me that I shouldn’t give up when I had come so far and that I could still do it. A few days later I did my last hard brick session before the race (usually cycling followed by running – but in my case cycling followed by aqua-jogging!) and during this session, Dermot’s words of encouragement kept popping into my head and I thought “No, I won’t give up when I’ve come so far and trained so hard!!” I remembered the words of professional triathlete Mac Brown, who wrote in a blog that the finish line does not care about injuries and excuses and that as soon as you start making excuses with yourself for your performance, that is when you are defeated.
So a week later, after words of encouragements from my parents and sister, Dermot and other fellow athletes, I was on the swim start line and trying to remain as positive as I had felt in that last hard session. Off we went and after all the hits, kicks and being swum over at the start, I managed to get into a reasonable rhythm. A good swim for me, but not good enough to be close to the three leading girls!

Onto my bike amidst very welcome cheers from family and friends and I kept trying to work hard and convince myself that although I used to be quite a weak cyclist, I could now make up for lost time on the bike. Sure enough, towards the end of the cycle segment, I could clearly see that the gap between me and the girl in front of me was decreasing.
As I exited transition, I could see her running ahead of me and held on to the hope that I could move up into third place if my ankle did not play up too much. The first few kilometres were relatively pain-free, apart from a background pain which I could ignore enough to run at a reasonable pace, so I started feeling optimistic: “Maybe my ankle will be ok after all. Maybe I haven’t lost my running fitness. Maybe it’s true that the race isn’t over until the finish line.”

But after about 3 or 4 km, this all changed. Suddenly, every step I took became painful and I had to slow down just to be able to keep running. The gap between me and the girls in front was growing and the only thing I could think about now was to trying to get to the finish line and wondering whether I could make it. William ran past me and shouted encouragement and also told me that the gap between me and the girl behind me was quite big. Good reason to try to keep running – finish the race second Maltese and qualify for the national team!

The next big motivator came when Barry told me that Dermot had won his tenth title! We had spoken about this so many times and if he had fought to win so hard and succeeded, I could fight to finish the race!!
So as I ran slowly, feeling pain with each step I took, I thought about being on the national team, I thought about my swimming coach in Chester, Barry, telling me and Ide to be tough, I thought about Ide telling me all about her first Ironman and breaking through the pain barrier to get to the finish, I thought about Maria and Marica reminding me that pain is only temporary, and of course I looked forward to celebrating Dermot’s tenth win!!
I focused on getting to the finish line and just hoped no one would overtake me because no matter how badly I wanted to finish second, I just knew that the pain wouldn’t allow me to run any faster than I was running. And finally I could hear Dermot’s mother cheering me on and knew I was approaching the finish line. Then she was running next to me, forgetting her own tiredness and just supporting me. By this point, I knew I could make it. My parents and sister were cheering me on by the finish line, and I approached it smiling and laughing.
Crossing the finish line felt amazing, even more so when I realised that notwithstanding the fact that my run was about seven minutes slower than I would have expected on a good injury-free day, my time was still a pb by about three minutes! And it was amazing to run into Dermot’s arms to congratulate him on such a great win and to thank him for always supporting me and believing in me, even when I had stopped believing myself.
I would like to thank Dermot once again for being such a great coach and boyfriend. I would not have achieved so much without his support – I probably wouldn’t even have discovered triathlon without him – and even if sometimes the simplicity of running is appealing, the beauty of triathlon is now unbeatable in my books! I’d also like to thank my family for all their support, Barry and all at Chester Academy, my friends in the Chester Tri Club, Bill and Pam for their constant support, Giuseppe at Starbene shop, Joseph St. John and everyone who believed in me and supported me before and during the race. And thank you to all involved in organising such an enjoyable race!

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

British Universities Standard Distance Triathlon Championships

Having looked forward to the BUCS Olympic Triathlon Championships for a while (in between working on assignments and my dissertation!), the nerves only started to set in slightly the night before. This was when I realised that I hadn’t taken part in such a long race for over two years! Of course speaking to Dermot about it, who has completed five Ironmans, it seemed a bit silly to be worrying and I knew that I was well-prepared for the race thanks to Dermot’s programme and the swim sessions with Barry.

As we made our way to the race venue in the morning, I was really pleased that it had turned into a nice, warm day and that the wind had died down. At least I could stop worrying about having frozen feet throughout the race, as had happened at the Full Boar race in May!

As I finished my run warm-up, Ide (my training partner and the only other triathlete from Chester Uni in the race) came running to tell me that my back wheel was flat. I started to think that this must be the end of my race, as there wasn’t too much time left before the briefing and race start. But as soon as I saw Dermot and told him what had happened, he grabbed his bike and headed back to the hotel to get a new tyre (he had been considering changing the back tyre as it wasn’t in the best shape, but didn’t wish to do it so soon before the race). Big thanks to Dermot for racing back to the hotel and quickly changing the tyre for me and thanks to Ide for remaining calm and preparing the wheel while Dermot was gone (while I just panicked!!).

So my bike was sorted with a really nice new pink tyre (thanks Bill and Pam!!) and luckily the race started a bit late, so we had time to recover from the stress and hear the briefing. Into the cold water (well at least cold for someone used to warm water in Malta) and without too much time to think about what lay ahead, we were off. There were some very fast swimmers in the race and quite a lot of chaos in the water in the beginning. I was swallowing a lot of water and getting into a bit of a panic, but I eventually got into quite a good rhythm.

I finished the swim in 12th place, got onto the bike and started to worry again as my feet were so cold that they were really painful! But thankfully as I got moving on the bike, they soon recovered. The bike segment consisted of four laps, which included two steep hills, one very long one and one a bit shorter and several sharp turns. Since the roads were open to traffic, it was difficult to get into a steady rhythm without having to slow down because of cars, the hills or another sharp turn!

I passed one girl on the bike and started the run in 11th place. I was quite tired and the run was far from being easy. It was two laps and also included two steep hills. But I managed to get into a decent pace and passed two girls on the second lap to finish in 9th place overall in a new p.b. of 2h 33min 31s.

I was really pleased with the result, especially since the bike course wasn’t fast at all and I was told that both the swim and run were longer than they were supposed to be. It was really nice to beat the time of my first Olympic distance triathlon, which I thought for so long would never happen. Big thanks to Dermot for his coaching and constant support and for helping me to keep going, even when I was so close to giving up (at least now we know why ). Big thanks also to Barry for the great swim sessions and for all his support, encouragement and enthusiasm, even at 6 in the morning when most of us are still half asleep!!

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon

Meeting friends I hadn’t seen for a while meant that the Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon was great fun from the moment we were picked up to be taken to Market Bosworth! Although they all tried reassuring me that the lake swim would be ok, they started to look worried when I told them it would be my first open water swim outside the warm Mediterranean Sea!!

Dermot and I were first in the lake before the race, to try to get over the shock of the 12° water before setting off. Although I never really got used to the cold, my breathing was more controlled than I thought it would be and I got into a fairly decent rhythm. I was second female out of the water but a slow transition (caused due to feeling so cold, I like to think) meant that I was third out onto the bike course.

I didn’t really manage to get into a good pace on the bike and the gap between me and Sam (in first place) grew substantially. I entered transition in second place again and it was only when I took off my cycling shoes that I realised that my feet were so cold that I couldn’t even move them. Trying to put on my running shoes proved to be a very difficult feat, as my toes just wouldn’t bend! After seeing the girl who had finished the bike in third place leave transition to start her run, I decided I just couldn’t waste any more time in transition, so I just pulled my shoes on the best I could and started the run, just hoping for the best.

It was a very strange sensation running on frozen feet which weren’t even placed properly inside my shoes! But other than that, my legs responded well and I quickly caught the girl in front of me. I finished the race in second place and was very pleased with my race, although I know I still need to work hard, especially on my cycling.

Well done to the Full Boar Team for putting on a really great and enjoyable event!! And thanks to Bill, Pam and Joe for the lifts and to all our friends for their support during the race!!

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

BUCS Sprint Distance Championships

Having participated in the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Duathlon Championships in November, Dermot and I knew that the level of the field for the BUCS Sprint Triathlon Championships on Sunday 1st May would be very high. However, we decided to represent our universities again (University of Chester in my case) and our aim was to perform well and try to improve on our position in the duathlon (I had finished 34th out of 62 females and 188th overall out of 246 participants).

We combined the race with a three-day visit to my uncle Louie and his partner John in Cheltenham, who had booked a really nice room for us in a beautiful, luxurious hotel and who spoilt us all the while we were in Cheltenham! Having arrived in Cheltenham on Saturday afternoon, on Sunday morning we made our way to Calne, Wiltshire where the race was going to be held. Getting there included 9 miles of cycling to Gloucester, 2 train rides to Bristol and Chippenham and finally another 6 mile bike ride to Calne, which was mainly uphill! I had never cycled so much before a race and wondered whether I was going to be tired before even starting!

After registration and a short run warm-up, I made my way to the pool for the start of the 750m swim time trial. I was the first to start in my lane, with three other triathletes starting at 10 second intervals after me. Two of the guys behind me overtook me and I exited the pool just after them, having completed the swim in 12:54, 51st out of 95 females. Although I felt strong in the pool, I had hoped to swim slightly faster. But I tried not to let it bother me as I made my way to transition, where Dermot was cheering me on before starting his swim.

I headed out to begin the 25km cycle and immediately realised it was going to be hard as the wind was really strong. The first half of the cycle was all against the wind and the speeds on my speedometer were disappointingly low. I was also being very cautious as we had heard that a few athletes had been disqualified or given penalties for disregarding regulations. As I reached halfway and started heading back towards transition, the wind was behind me and I kept working hard to try to make up for all the lost time in the previous half. I finished the cycle in 49:52, 26th out of the 95 female participants.

After what turned into a frustratingly slow second transition, I made my way onto the run course. Since it was a much flatter course than the one in Chirk two weeks before, I was hoping for a good time. I felt good from the start of the run. At one point I almost took a wrong turning, but the athlete behind me who I had just overtaken called out to tell me which way to turn (I thought that was true sportsmanship and really thanked her for it!). I finished the run in 22:20. Although I expected to be slightly faster as this was slower than my run in Chirk, everyone seemed to have slower times than normal and someone said that the route was longer than 5km. In fact, I was 19th in the run segment and was very pleased with that.

I finished the race 25th out of 95 females and 138th overall out of 280 participants. I was very happy as this was substantially better than my result in the duathlon. After the race, Dermot and I started to head back to Cheltenham where a delicious plate of pasta cooked by Uncle Louie awaited us. But the journey back was quite eventful with an attempted (but failed due to my tired legs) two-team time trial to the Chippenham train station, which resulted in us missing our train by a minute! After thinking we had to wait an hour, Mum saved the day by telling us we could get an earlier train, but this was delayed so we then had to sprint from one platform to another to avoid missing the next train! The coach driver kindly found no objection to our bikes on the coach so we were back at Louie and John’s flat much earlier than we thought, for another lovely evening with them.

I would firstly like to thank Louie and John for making the weekend so special, Barry and Craig at the Chester Academy for their encouragement and Dermot for his constant help and support.

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

Chirk Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday 17th April I participated in Chirk Sprint Tri, my first triathlon in the UK and the last event of Chester Tri Club’s winter league. Starting the race at the top of the league and following consistent performances in training and races over the winter, I was looking forward to a strong start to the triathlon season.

The triathlon, which consisted of a 400m pool swim, 24km cycle and 5km hilly run, started in the morning but luckily I wasn’t setting off till the afternoon, giving me time to get to Chirk by train. I arrived early and was informed that we would be starting 20 minutes behind schedule, so I took the opportunity to familiarise myself with the transition area and the start and finish of the bike and run, while chatting to some of my friends from Chester Tri Club and watching others finish their race.

After setting up my equipment in transition, I made my way to the poolside. It was strange starting a race without being able to do a swim warm-up, but we set off and I managed to get into quite a good rhythm. I finished the swim in 6:39 in 8th place and ran out to my bike for a quick transition before starting the cycle. Since it was a time trial and I wasn’t racing with a watch, I had no indication of how I was getting on, but I got onto the bike and started working hard.

A couple of weeks before I had gone to Chirk with some other Chester tri club members to cycle the bike course and I’m very glad I did as it was quite a strange course. The scenery (which is beautiful!) is deceptive in that it makes the road look flat, but in actual fact on the way out you are steadily climbing, whereas you go back down quite fast apart from a hill towards the end. In general, the roads were really bumpy, but the beautiful weather made it all very enjoyable, although being overtaken by the fast guys behind me was slightly less enjoyable!

My 1st transition and cycle time was 45:16, 11th fastest of the female participants. As I started the run, I was quite worried as it’s a renowned hilly course, with one guy being convinced it was 10km just because the hills made it feel so long!

Although I had pushed hard on the bike, my legs felt surprisingly fresh as I started the run and I felt strong throughout (although being overtaken by the Chester tri club member who ran the fastest time of the whole field (16:22!!) did make me feel slightly slow). I ran cautiously as I kept thinking it was going to get worse, but as we turned round to head back I started to think that maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. As I ran up the last hill, I started realising that I had been a bit too cautious, as I was still feeling quite fresh. It might have worked in my favour as I finished strong and even overtook a few runners on the way, but I think if I had been less cautious, I might have been able to go slightly faster.

My 2nd transition and run time was 22:00, so I was pleased to have run under 22 minutes on such a hilly course. This was the ninth fastest time of the female participants and I finished the race in 1:13:55, in 8th place out of 128 females and in 91st place overall out of 368 competitors. Having crossed the finish line, it was time for another quick transition to gather all my belongings and race back to the train station to get the train back to Chester and finish my 5,000 word assignment which was due the next day!

I was really pleased with my placing in the race and with my result, which was good enough for me to win the club league, with a score of 466.36% out of a potential 500. I have a couple of triathlons planned for May, the first being the BUCS Sprint Triathlon on the 1st May, followed by the Full Boar Sprint Triathlon on the 15th May. I’m looking forward to a good season, and would like to thank Dermot for always believing in me, Chester Tri Club, and Barry, swimming coach at the Chester Academy.

RESULTS

LEAGUE RESULTS

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

Chester Tri Club Winter League Duathlon

The last duathlon of Chester Tri Club’s winter league was held on Sunday 3rd April. As we prepared to start, the sun was out and it was much warmer than it had been in the previous duathlon. (When I got home, I actually had a slight tan line of my shorts!)

As we started the first 5km run, Gill took the lead and I could immediately see that she was much faster than me (she finished the first run in 19:55!). Kate was just behind me most of the way and then led at one point towards the end and though I felt that I couldn’t get into a fast pace, it turned out that I was running well and Kate and I entered transition together in 2nd place having done a 21:31 run.

We set off on the bike and a lot of the time Kate and I were alternating between second and third place. As one of the male triathletes passed me, he said “If it doesn’t rain more, we’ll be ok.” I hadn’t even realised that it had started to rain slightly, but soon after he said that it was pouring! I don’t think I had ever cycled in so much rain before. Kate and I again entered transition together, this time in 3rd place as we had been overtaken by Becky. Notwithstanding the rain, the conditions were still a lot better than the strong wind in the last duathlon and my bike split of 29:38 was 2½ minutes faster than last time.

It was only in transition that I realised just how cold and soaked I was, which slowed down my transition quite a bit. As I started the second 5km run, I could see Kate ahead of me, who was quickly catching up with Becky. But somehow I just couldn’t get into a good rhythm. My feet were so cold that my toes were completely numb and each stride at the beginning was really painful. I eventually started to warm up again, and overtook Becky towards the end of the run, so I finished in third place behind Gill and Kate in a time of 1:15:11, over 3 minutes faster than the previous race. I wished I had run a slightly faster second run (22:31), but overall I was very pleased with the result.

I’m still in first place in the women’s winter league and I’m now looking forward to the Chirk Sprint Triathlon on 17th April, which will be my first triathlon of the season and the last event of the winter league.

RESULTS

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

Chester Triathlon Club Time Trial

I have been a member of Chester Triathlon Club since I moved to Chester last September. The club organises a winter league and a summer league for its members, with the winter league consisting of 5 types of events: running, cycling time trial, swimming, duathlon and triathlon. Each member can enter as many races as they like and their total score is calculated on the best result in each type of event.

On Sunday 20th February, I participated in the second cycling time trial organised by the club. I cycled at an average speed of 18.81 miles per hour, covering the 9.4 miles in 29:59 and finishing in third place. The temperature was about 6 degrees but the very strong wind made it feel much colder, and notwithstanding all the layers I had on, by the time I got home my toes were completely frozen!

Following solid performances in the swimming time trials organised by the club and Helsby half marathon in January, I moved up into third place in the league through my result in the cycling time trial. The next event in the league will be a duathlon on Sunday 27th February, consisting of a 5km run, 15km cycle and 5km run.

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

Borders Road Running League, Chester

On Sunday 13th February, I participated in Race 4 of the Borders Road Running League in Christleton, Chester. This is a League which was set up in 1983 by clubs from North Wales and the bordering area of west Cheshire to provide friendly inter-club team competition through a series of road races over each winter. There are two divisions with the emphasis on team competition leading to relegation and promotion of 2 teams at the end of each season. For the first division, the men’s team need the first 10 male runners to finish whilst the ladies’ require the first 4 females.

268 runners from 15 clubs participated in the 9.4km race in Christleton, organised by West Cheshire Athletic Club. Despite a hard week of training and studying leading up to the race, I felt strong from the start. I finished the race in 41 minutes 45 seconds, meaning that I would have set a personal best by over 30 seconds had I run at the same pace in a 10km race. I was 15th female out of 73 and 149th overall. I was also 4th female out of the Chester Tri Club runners and the four of us placed second among the first Division ladies’ teams. The atmosphere was great, the race was very enjoyable and I was very pleased with the result!

Johanna Calleja