My first 'big' race

Back when i signed up to my races for my first tri season i included the Gower Olympic as my last race. However, i was advised by someone to fit another olympic distance race in, just incase one didn't go right and then i would have to wait until the next season before having another crack at that distance. So with that in mind i looked at all the olympic races out there and Bala, North Wales, took my fancy. I had heard horror stories of the Bala Middle Distance in 2011 of horrific waves on the swim and athletes huddled in phone boxes with hypothermia on the bike ride! This wasn't helped by reading the race director's report of that race, which detailed everything in anxiety provoking glory! I had heard that Bala lake was cold but i had survived north dock in may, so i was sure i could tough out the temperature. The race was on the second sunday in September, so my parents and i travelled up on the saturday and stayed in a hotel overnight. The race setting looked beautiful and the weather on the saturday was like a summer's day, with people having picnics and bbq's down by the lake front.

The hotel we stayed in was just down the road from the race but it was a hotel/pub with minimal parking, so my dad had to squeeze the car into a space that wasn't really marked as a space. Got a few looks from the peeps in the beer garden as i was washing my bike in the car park before taking it up to our hotel room! I was more shocked by the jaguar that left his cervelo and other top notch bike up on top of their car overnight, with it all dew covered in the morning!

Eating in the restaurant that evening we were unfortunately sitting right by a large table with a kid who was left to their own devices, meaning their bag was left lying in the way of our path, and i had to endure endless stories of these 'seasoned' triathletes talking all things triathlon! what i actually wanted was a nice relaxing evening to take my mind off the following day being my first time doing an olympic race with the 1500m swim giving me anxiety sweats not that many months ago! The evening got worse come night time...my alarm was set for 6am as it was a surprisingly late race start of 9:30am, not that i was complaining. However, our hotel was bang opposite a bench where the locals obviously like to congregate after the pubs close to eat their kebabs and make a right racket! I think 2am i finally got off to sleep, ahhhhh!!!!

What was special about this race was that it was a european qualifier for the euro champs in June 2013. This meant the standard was top notch, but also the race set up was quality so i had number transfers to put on my leg and arm - how cool did i feel! I also got my own race numbered bike slot in transition, so no having to worry about getting prime position by getting there dead early - although i did anyway! I hadn't thought of this race as being a european qualifier until just a week before when i decided to register my interest to try and qualify as it only cost £10 to put your name forward. The reason i did this was not because i had ambitions of qualifying, but more that i wanted to be able to compare myself against the best and see how i fared. I had no idea how long it would take me to complete the race, but it is a relatively flat and fast course, with closed roads. I had a time of 3hrs in mind.

Race morning the lake was calm, the sky was clear, and the setting stunning! i hadn't had my usual breakfast of porridge as breakfast in the hotel wasn't until later, so i had 3 little pots of low fat rice pudding! i had no idea how they would serve me but i had read that elite triathletes often use rice pudding as a pre-race meal so i didn't think anything of it. as it was i could tell no difference in terms of performance between porridge and rice pudding.

the swim course looked nice, just one lap of a long out and back in an oblong shape. we were in waves, with the women going off first - a hare for the hounds coming later! we were able to get in to warm up and i was surprised to see the water was brown, and not the green i was used to of north dock, lol! my strategy for the swim was to again start at the back and once comfortable pick people off. There's no sprint start for me in tri at the mo, just getting into my stroke, conscious of who is around me initially with some anxiety, and then settle into it and nerves all gone. i kept slightly wide of the buoys but not too badly. i was catching people all the time and once into the rhythm the distance didn't seem too long and went by quite quickly. as i was on the last length back i could see some fliers from the men's wave streaming down the inside, so i was glad i was wide of that. Getting out at the end i swam right in, whereas others were standing much too early, and then you had to scramble over some rocks onto a pontoon projecting into water and off into T1. There's a slight hill straight out of transition and as i got onto the road so i saw my parents :) This was also the first race where i was wearing celtic tri race kit and that got me a cheer too from someone in the crowd i didn't know. My celtic tri race kit is 2 piece, whereas i was used to wearing a 2XU trisuit. The 2 piece is definitely easier for pre-race toilet stops, although i prefer the snug feel of the 1 piece that covers all your back when cycling and doesn't ride up when running. However, loved being in a kit that made me stand out from others.

having closed roads was lovely meaning you could concentrate on your race and those around you, rather than traffic as well. There where 2 women on the bike that i kept changing positions with but i was conscious of the frequent draft busters in this race so that i wasn't 'pacing' which we had been warned about pre-race. I was happy to do my best on the bike and not worry about the others. As the men poured past i loved hearing the low zip of the disc wheels gaining and then passing me :) The run course was deceptively challenging in that there was a slight incline for a mile or 2 up from T2 and then just a long stretch before you come inland into a caravan park (random!), turn around a large tree, and then retrace your steps. As my first olympic i definitely felt it in my legs more after a longer bike course and a longer run, but i was able to increase my pace in the last couple of miles and catch runners much slower than me but who obviously had had a better swim than me. Coming back into the transition area and i did my usual sprint finish to make up a lot of places in the last couple of hundred metres :) Crossing the line and having no idea of my time as i didn't wear a watch at all during my first season of races. being a posh race there was a van with instant computerised results, although i had to queue for this but i had seen my parents and they told me i had finished far before the 12:30pm 3hr deadline i had set myself :) as it was i did 2:35 and placed 62 female :) happy days!!!!! Ok, so my swim still lets me down, i did 32 minutes for 1500m, but my bike was decent and i did just under 48minutes for the 10k with some energy zapping inclines both out and back on the run. So i was more than chuffed to bits with that given it was my first olympic distance. Job done me thinks :)