It's taken me a while to write this as it feels like i'm only now fully recovering, everything back in order, time to stop kinda thing. I updated my adventure from Turkey on a mostly daily basis via facebook but this is a chance to put it all together, if i remember it all!
The anxieties leading up to the event had gone and i was all set to go. My z3r0d GB polo shirt had arrived in time, shame it was meant for a child rather than an adult! That has been a major disappointment about the whole event, the kit not being ready for us, or seeing some people with it but others not having any, yet all ordered at the same time. I'm still awaiting my tracksuit, hoodie and t-shirts! Chances are tho that the majority will go back as sizes and cut are meant to not be for the average joe bloggs! interesting tho to see all the juniors, elites and paratriathletes with all the kit tho. we have to pay our whole way & get nothing in return, and those that get there on elite merit get it all...
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| Ready for the off!! |
I stayed the night in a local hotel near the airport to ease the rush and potential for traffic on the morning and my mother kindly kept me company so i enjoyed a nice relaxed meal, even allowed myself a lager and dessert ;) Morning of the flight and squeezed into the miniscule polo shirt just so that i might be recognised by other age-groupers and feel less alone. As it was i saw a few others in GB kit in the queue for check-in so at least i knew i was in the right place. Bags got checked in without a problem but as for the 15kg carry on well i was made to test that for size in easyjet's carry-on size cradle and i had to jam it in, but fit it did, only to then get stuck trying to get it out! thankfully other age-groupers realised my troubles and helped me out. Then another guy helped lift it into the overhead bin so at least people were being friendly. On the plane i sat next to a couple who i realised were also going to Alanya and as it turned out Helen and Tim were in the same hotel as me and when at the hotel we became friends and they kinda took me under their wing, which was lovely, to have friends out there. I also met another 2 guys on the transfer from the airport to the hotel, Adey and Steve and they also became friends, along with Danny, as we were all staying in the same hotel. Post race enjoyed a lovely evening in the bar drinking beers and chatting with this bunch which was lovely :)
The transfer from the airport was longer than had been advertised (over 2 hours) and there was no Nirvana Europe (travel company) rep on the bus which meant the bus driver had no idea where we were all staying and was shouting out random hotel names at us before stopping to ask for directions! However, finally we got to our hotel after 11pm to be met with the sight of 2 camels being walked down the street! i'm used to wild horses in penlan, but camels??
At our hotel and the staff had kept us some leftover dinner which was nice. It wasn't great, but at least it was something after a long journey and no food on the plane (unless you paid an absolute fortune!) As it turned out we got the best deal on the hotel. Right on the beach, a small hotel which was beautiful. The food was OK, not great, and on my last night i refused to eat chicken nuggets, pita bread and fish vegetable soup - instead opting to pay for a decent meal in the restaurant next door, but on the whole it was decent and i probably lost some weight as i wasn't eating as much as i normally do. Not to say i didn't snack, as i still treated myself with some choc from the local shop and some lovely jelly worms :) i also found pepsi max in plentiful supply which was great.
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| Beautiful sunset on the beach |
The first day there i just wanted to orient myself so off i toddled for a couple of hours walking through the town, trying to find the important places for the race. I was surprised at how relaxed i felt walking through this strange town and the local shopkeepers, whilst trying to entice you into their shops, didn't harass and soon moved on to the next potential customer when you walked by without stopping. I actually quite enjoyed the attention by white blonde hair brought, even if i know it was all artificial! The walk from the hotel to the race centre was a good 1/2hr walk though so i walked a fair few miles in the week and in flip flops for most of that which wasn't great! I was also surprised that i wasn't bothered by the heat. It averaged about 30 degrees probably during the day and race day the water and air temperature was 26 degrees. Hot yes, but a breeze on the bike from averaging 20.5mph and on the run there were 2 water stations on each of the 4 laps, with some shaded sections too so i found the whole race fine. I was surprised to see a few turkish athletes, and GB athletes walking. During the build up to the race i didn't lounge in the sun, to be honest i didn't lounge in the sun full stop, but i wonder if those that did just lay and soak up the sun found any detrimental affect on performance come race day, i.e. more sluggish?
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| View from my bedroom balcony |
I'd had no communication from my age-group team captain which was disappointing, especially as a first timer way out of their comfort zone, so i joined in with a group of mostly 50-54 yr olds for a recce of the bike and run routes. Doesn't matter who i go with, but as it was, Helen, Adey & Steve all joined in this recce so at least it was friendly faces again and some of those in this group were also on my flight over so i felt comfortable enough. The road surface for the bike wasn't as bad as british roads but it was bouncy in patches from roadwork repairs and the brick road surface in places. However, the course was flat as a pancake and nothing technical so i only lost speed during the race by sitting up to drink and take a gel on-board, and also when having my brain jiggled going over the rough patches. From this race though i have now bought an aero drinks bottle so that i no longer need to change positions in order to drink. The girls in my age-group left me for dust on the bike course, one girl i was chatting to post-race clocked an average of 25mph, beating my bike time by 8 minutes so all i can say to that is "respect". However, the race has given me areas i want to improve upon and getting an aero drinks bottle i see as free time ;)
The swim recce was a nightmare...there was no safety support, which i expected for an "official" swim course recce and it was a bit of a free for all - turn up and jump in! the 1500m turn buoys looked so far out it was scary and in actual fact on the morning of the race they didn't seem as far so i think they had drifted in the tide and even on race morning the course was still long by about 200m! I hadn't planned to swim the whole course but then someone suggested i might be best doing so to settle my nerves about covering the distance so off i swam. However the waves were rolling and i kept stopping on the outward stretch, hearing myself doubting my ability to race and thinking all i wanted to do was turn around and get out! As i was trying to sight so the waves were smacking me in the face and whilst it wasn't "that" bad the anxiety of feeling like i was out on the 1500m course all by myself made it quite disconcerting so in part i kept stopping for safety reasons. As it was when i was about 100-200m from the turn buoy, and after what felt like swimming for 1/2 hr i decided to cut around early as when i looked around i could not see another swimmer anywhere around and as there was no swim support it felt a bit disconcerting should i carry on going and then be out there all by myself. Also, i was afraid the group i came with (who were all doing the sprint distance 750m loop) would have got out and gone as it felt like i was out there forever! The cross swim was fine and coming back the waves pushed you back into shore lovely but it didn't help settle the nerves at all. But hey, i gave myself a talking to on the night before the race and having swam in the sea by our hotel every day i was used to swimming in rolling waves to a degree so i told myself to "man up" and get it done. It'd be the same for everyone and if i told myself to keep swimming then i'd get there a darn sight quicker than if i doubted myself and stopped. Having swam in the sea every day i also got used to how salty it was too, which was rather unpleasant but on race day i can't say i remember much about the salt taste so it can't have been that bad.
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| Transition on race morning...nice to see no bed hair for me this morning!! |
Having psyched myself up and told myself that i was here and i could do this, i felt good. I only slept for about 3 hours though due to fireworks and a wedding party going on until midnight in a neighbouring bar and then the call to prayer going on over the loud speaker (this happened daily 4 times, day and night!). My alarm was set for 4:20am and up i was.
Brekkie was a mishmash of a bit of bread and jam and a cereal combo but it worked as nutrition wise i was fine with a 3:1 nectar fuel drink on the bike (drank about half) 1 gel pre-race, 2 gels on the bike, and then i used every drink stop on the run to take a sip and then throw the rest over myself to keep cool. What was great post-race was the cold wet sponges! i was missing my jelly sweets though post race, instead it was yucky fruit! My feet were sore at the end though as the water throwing had led to rubbing in my shoes as obviously i don't wear socks! luckily no bleeding, which i had been expecting, but i did have to plaster them up for a few days before that actually led to them almost becoming infected from not breathing so they came off and then the wounds started to heal.
So race morning and i got a taxi down with 2 of the lads. They were both a tad nervous as they weren't up for much chat where as i'm fine on race morning and quite relaxed. My bike was already racked having done that the night before, even with the hassle of being sent away for not having my helmet with me for racking to be told upon my return 1hr later that i was right and could have come in the first time. For a european champs some of the organisation was shocking to be fair! haphazard body number printing on race morning, first wave having to dive start unexpectedly before team managers came running through us to assure us it was a water start and no diving, no official photos so no momento of me crossing the line face beaming with my GB flag waving :( (they gave us a little GB flag to carry as we're running down the finishing straight - lucky i was all alone on the finishing shute, nobody near me, so no need for a sprint finish).
The weather was perfect. Calm blue sea, no wind, warm but not too warm...perfect! i had put suntan lotion on all the bits i could reach but as it was the cut on the back of the trisuit was a little bit too far for me to reach as post-race i had some definite "tan" marks on my back, but it also goes to show how strong the sun was as when i was swimming in the sea each day with my swimming costume on, even though i put suntan lotion on my back, and was only in for up to 20-30 mins max each time i caught the sun every time. Now if you know me you'll know i'm a whiter shade of pale so the sun is attracted to me like bugs are to a light but on the whole my P20 suntan lotion worked a treat and whilst i got a little colour i didn't burn and the only thing that pealed post turkey was my nose! What was painful though were chaffing patches on the left side of my neck, which i get occasionally from swimming anyway but more pronounced post-race so i can only assume that is from breathing on my left side and rubbing?? also, the lanyard with my age-grouper access badge for the race area, chaffed my neck in places so those burns were quite painful when applying sun tan lotion and by the end of the holiday i was trying to avoid being out in the sun for periods of stillness if i could to try and protect my neck.
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| Wish i could say i was leading my wave by a mile but alas...still nice clear open water for me throughout ;) |
Anyways, back to the race...we went off in age-groups, with a few age-groups lumped together at a time. the way they decided who went off when made no sense as first wave was 7am - men 19-29, and then 15 minutes later was us women all the way up to 34 years of age - why 15 min gap when the men are likely to be mostly much quicker?? no idea, because then 5 mins after us we had men 30-34 bearing down on us, and 5 mins after that men 35-39, etc.! i left plenty of room around the buoys knowing i would get the men coming flying through soon enough. I'm under no illusions i'm a fast swimmer and yes i did see both yellow hats fly past and then also a bunch of red hats late on in the swim. The water was crystal clear, with nothing to be seen. Some people saw small fish but i didn't see anything other than some seaweed on the floor and a manhole type cover nearer shore. Oh yeah, and the bloody big black diver that was hanging around underneath the turn buoy!!! You'd think they would have warned us???
After the race i was telling everyone i saw about it as those racing the sprint race the following day (i was racing olympic distance) might want to be aware! i had assumed he was taking photos but no, no such luck, in actual fact there wasn't an official photographer at the race which i think is shocking. The diver was a support apparently, in case you got dunked under the large buoy and got stuck! NICE!! No need of that for me as i had clear water all the way around on a lovely gentle, solo swim! We lined up in the water holding onto the rope underneath the pontoon and i was lucky enough to get a pontoon leg to push off from but i decided to let the 2 people either side of me to get a 1 second head start to give myself clear water but there was no need as i never saw any of them again! Not even a chance to get on any feet, they were gone! So in that respect it wouldn't have mattered if i had pushed off the same time as they were that much quicker than me, some of them 10 minutes quicker, that i was left swimming along, counting to 100s of strokes to pass the time, without any bother. The water was flat, no current, and other than a sting on my leg on the way in it was incident free. I actually felt my swim went OK, i felt quite strong during it and tried to keep a good pace up but i was disappointed with my time until i realised the course was long so i can knock at least 4 minutes off my time probably which actually then makes the time a decent time for me of about 30 minutes. Not great by any means, but for me it's OK although if i can get down to 28 minutes then i would be happy. The thing with this swim course was that there were only 4 buoys in total on the course so there was little to focus on, that made sighting problematic at times, but it also made it quite boring. Regular buoys give you something to aim for to break up the monotony.
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| Up on the toes!! Start of another lap on the run |
The bike was comical in terms of the clear drafting that was going on - packs of riders, and i mean packs of 8 riders all bunched together, tight on each other's wheels - taking the piss a bit really but also poor in that there were marshals out on motorbikes all the time and regular marshals standing out on the course and how nothing was done was pretty shocking as i made a conscious effort at one point to drop back a little as someone i had earlier overtaken re-took me but then didn't pull away and i didn't want to waste energy by re-taking her when i knew it would be detrimental to my performance overall, but also that it could be classed as pacing so instead i dropped back a little out of the drafting zone, but then when you see a peloton go past you it's pretty ridiculous! the course was also poor in that there were no signs in transition to say "bike out" "bike in", etc. and no sign at the mount/dismount line, just a man with a red flag. That along with poor signage back into transition made the final route into transition a bit tricky as you could easily miss the turn. The bike was 4 laps and there was plenty of breeze from speed without there being any actual wind. You had to count your own laps but i can count to 4 so i was OK. Lot of people out on the course shouting for GB and Ben from the club and his girlfriend Nicola were also out there cheering which was nice to hear my actual name being called, rather than just GB or my surname. Thanks to Ben for a number of the photos of me racing here as without him taking photos i wouldn't have any proof that i actually raced!!
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Clearly enjoying myself too much here!
Whilst the bike was flat as a pancake the run was 4 laps with a short sharp climb in each lap, which then gradually levelled off before a faster downhill type section that brought you back into town and into some shaded streets before back onto the front and back onto another lap. With 2 water stops each lap i kept cool enough and even though the run felt like a plod i was overtaking more people than were overtaking me. I have a very high cadence when running and for me it's just about putting one foot in front of the other no matter how i feel as if i keep moving, given my high foot turn over, then i still manage to keep a reasonable speed up even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. As it was when i approached the finishing line and saw the timer say "2:29" i was chuffed to bits as i had set myself a target time of 2:30 as my PB from Bala was 2:35. So, even with the longer swim i still did a PB although obviously helped by this being a non-wetsuit swim (26 barmy degrees in the sea un all that) and no wetsuit to wrestle with in T1. But, given it was non-wetsuit my time for the distance had it been the correct distance was actually OK. Anyways, i digress...
On the run i wasn't bothered particularly about overtaking people unless they were in my sights and i knew i could. I had no pressure in this race, no rivals, so i had nobody to try and beat but myself. I had hoped not to place last overall but as it was i was 66th out of 96 females of all ages so definitely not last and given this was only my 3rd olympic distance and still very much learning how much i can push myself over this distance, and only my 8th triathlon in total, i was more than happy especially given my race PB but also my run PB which was 44 minutes! my previous best 10k race was 44 mins dead back in 2009 but for a triathlon at this distance i had done 47 mins something at bala so this was a huge time given the heat, those short little climbs and the fact that it felt anything but fast! I did overtake one girl of a similar age to myself on the last lap and as it turned out that placed me 16 out of 17 in my age-group, rather than 17th! Her run time was a good while slower than mine which is why i overtook her with ease, but she had been that much better than me on swim and bike to begin with. I'll never make up the huge deficits on the swim but i can certainly improve my times there but if i can gain 2/3 minutes on my bike time, and then knock a further couple of minutes off my run time then i should at least be more competitive when racing against the best in my age-group. I will still never win, but at least i might catch a few more and gain a few more places.
All in all though it was a job well done and whilst i might have been able to push a bit more on the bike maybe, at the time i was going as fast as my legs would take me and on the run it was about pacing it due to heat and the 4 laps being agony in one respect but also helpful in another because you knew what was coming, you knew how to pace etc. so i increased pace a bit after the hill on the 3rd lap and then on the 4th lap did increase pace after hill and kept trying to increase it so when i got about 1k out i knew i was into the final stretch if you like. Running through the town, hearing one of the girls i had met calling out my name with her family and friends, seeing welsh flags and having an extra cheer for being welsh, lapping up some of the cheers because hey, why not, and hearing people shout "Go GB, you're looking strong!!" certainly brought a warm feeling inside and those were the moments i enjoyed, when i thought how proud my parents and friends are of me, but also how proud i am of myself, for setting myself a challenge in the autumn of 2011 to conquer my inability to breathe with my head in the water (not a fear, just had never learnt so would swallow copious amounts of water and waste shed loads of energy - which is why i didn't swim), and for proving that with enough will power and determination you can achieve your goals.
Representing my country as an age-grouper wasn't a goal when i took up triathlon, my goal was to complete a triathlon and then to be as good as i can be. However, to be able to call yourself a GB age-grouper is pretty cool, even if i got here through the reserve list having just scrapped the qualifying time. I did myself proud and whilst i wasn't the quickest, you can't ask more than a PB race time and a PB run time in my biggest race to date in the hottest conditions i have raced in, with my first non-wetsuit sea swim, outside my comfort zone, without family or friends around. Needless to say i enjoyed a well earnt beer later that afternoon although funnily enough i couldn't allow myself to have one before the afternoon, lol!
Don't think that i was able to take it easy after the race tho!! i went back to hotel to shower and change, grab something to eat, and then had to head back down to collect bike from transition and lend it to someone for the sprint race (there had been major problems getting bikes out to alanya so a lot of people borrowed from others). I got to transition 1/2hr before it was scheduled to open but then mild panic set in when transition was completely empty, no bikes at all, including mine!!!! I found people in official t-shirts but they could only tell me that everyone had collected their bikes and questionned why i thought transition was re-opening at 1:15pm - ummm, because that's what was in the official programme???? thankfully i wasn't the only one who's bike was missing and another girl in my age-group came over and we tried to find someone who knew where our bikes were. Nobody did!! How incompetent is the organisation of this event????????? Anyway, long story short, the other girl, Victoria, went off looking to see what she could see and found the bikes and our transition boxes (lucky i had not left my purse or hotel key in here) outside transition in an area that many people could access, leaning up against fences!!!! not a happy bunny!!!!! with that, i lent the bike to Molly, and then had to hope i'd see it again in one piece the following day. As it was Molly came 2nd in her age-group, and whilst not being overly grateful for the lend of my very expensive bike, at least gave it back without problems or faults. Ever one to help others me but sometimes i just wish i could quell the urge to be nice!
Later on that day i watched the women's elite race and was disturbed by how tiny they all are, like children! I'll never win races if that's how you're meant to look! Still, it was fun to cheer on the GB girls, with Vicky Holland coming second in a sprint finish. I then hung around for the presentations so by the end of the day i was absolutely shattered having walked miles and not properly rested after my race. as it was i went to stand in the sea for a few minutes just to let me legs cool off. That evening enjoyed a well earnt beer and had some dessert, just disappointed it was a bit pants! However, no late night celebrating as i was getting up at 5:45am the next morning to go and support the sprint race, doh! That was another long day as following all the cheering of Ben and Helen in the sprint race, i then returned later on to watch the men's race, only to be disappointed that there was only 1 male brit in the race, and the top guys who had been due to race hadn't come along so the field was quite depleted. Still, cool to see some of the top guys racing and the speeds they go at. That evening i finally started to unwind and enjoyed a lovely evening over beers in the bar with the friends i had made. The setting was beautiful, being able to enjoy a beer whilst looking out over the crystal blue sea and sky, really chilled me out and i was then able to reflect on all that had taken place and what i'd achieved.
My last day i had planned to do tourist sight seeing up the castle on top of the cliff overlooking the beach but my legs were in bits, i had blisters on my feet, my shins hurt from walking too much with flip flops, and i had sores on my neck that i wanted to keep out of the sun. Instead, i woke up in time to go see the elite relay event which was actually great fun, the most exciting race of the event & really good fun, just a shame there was no GB team in the event given the lottery funding they all get. However, that was a great way to finish off the event and i bought a nice 2XU fleece momento of the event, even though it was a tad expensive in my eyes, hey, at least they threw in a free cap! the expo at the event was shocking to be fair. I had expected to be able to buy bike repair stuff, like C02 cannisters given we couldn't bring them by plane, and nutrition stuff, and nice tri gear to buy, but all there was initially was a few items in the 2XU stall, before they finally added more stuff with 1.5 days left of the event, and then they added some promotional stalls but that was it!!!!! Anyway, waved goodbye to the event and then i went back and had a nice gentle lunchtime swim in the sea to ease the aches and pains, before a chilled afternoon watching tennis on TV and just unwinding over a beer or 2. This was my final evening and i decided to treat myself to a nice meal in the neighbouring restaurant as the food on the last night was particularly crap and i wanted indulgence! All week i had decided not to eat elsewhere for lunch as i hadn't felt comfortable eating alone in restaurants where they are trying to entice you in, instead, opting to have lunch in the hotel bar on those days i had proper lunch. The staff were friendly and i knew them. However, the guys at the neighbouring restaurant were lovely and very pleasant so on my last day i returned for a good lunch before leaving as i knew i wouldn't eat properly until very late. As it was i didn't eat properly until the next day as my intention of having room service upon arriving at my gatwick hotel late on the monday were thwarted by no-one answering so i had vending machine crisps & chocolate!
I had a lovely sleep that night and my parents came to fetch me late morning, rather than travelling back in the early hours of the morning and not getting any rest. So that was my adventure! I tanned a little, for me anyway, not that anyone would notice, i had fond memories, but i also wasn't wearing rose tinted specs so could see the weaknesses in the experience also. However, it has motivated me to try and qualify again for the europeans next year which will be in Kitzbuhel, Austria, with a beast of a course up a mountain! If i don't get there not to worry, it's just something to aim for. I'd be more concerned with improving upon last year's time in Bala and then seeing if that was good enough to make the rolldown list again.
I was straight back to work and even though the race physically didn't take much from me, the travelling, the endless walking, and the emotional experience of it all certainly took it's toll as i struggled in training for the first week and a half with my legs just feeling heavy and not having any oommphff! I made a decision soon after my race that racing again in 2 weeks for Pembroke Olympic distance tri probably wasn't ideal, given my feet needed to heal before running sockless again, and also i wanted to get some good training in before my next big race which was a month from my turkey race which is Liverpool for the british championships at olympic distance, and also a world championship qualifier. So i took the decision to sell my place and give myself the chance to recover properly rather than run a race, and a hard race at that, tired, for that then to have a knock on effect on my liverpool race. So, here i am after that essay, back into training, ready for the next challenge which will be poppit sands aquathlon this sunday, and then liverpool on 12th July. I have no ambitions of making the worlds in london in september, and it being a british championship doesn't mean that i'm good, just that anyone can enter and test themselves in what will be a top-notch field. So my aim is to try and better my PB time again, trying to swim a better time to be more competitive, and then to back that up with a faster bike and run split. All i can do is my best on the day and i'm still very much learning this sport, how hard i can push myself etc., so each race is a chance to test that out and see how far i can do...
If you have read all this then you deserve a medal! Thanks for reading all xx
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