#tricurious

This one wasn’t in the race diary, but when the opportunity arose to race at The AJ Bell London Triathlon this weekend, I jumped at the chance. I took part last summer as a swimmer on a relay team and despite probably not being race fit, I really wanted to tackle the event as a whole after experiencing the wonderful organisation and atmosphere last year.

Fortunately for me, I was racing in a wave alongside a brilliant group of Tricurious ladies, all of whom were taking on the Sprint distance for the first time under the watchful eye of Katie and Laura who were leading from the front and racing in an Olympic wave earlier in the day. It’s an age old saying but it really is true; surround yourself with excellent people and excellent things happen. Despite the less than ideal build-up, I wanted to be the sort of person that trusted my body and my strength enough to do this triathlon. So I did.  

Spirits were high as we huddled together in neoprene, sharing a laugh and preparing to tackle the docks. The next thing I knew, we were following the rubber bodies in front and heading down the stairs and into the water. The quick shock of the jump in came as a welcome relief on a very warm day and feeling brave, I plumped for a spot on the left hand side of the pack, very close to the front. I was rocking my new blueseventy wetsuit and I was up for a bit of a scramble!

The swim was bloomin’ lovely! I found some feet, some hands found mine and in a cluster of about 5 bodies, we travelled along in relative ease to the first buoy when I remembered I was racing and was probably having a bit too much of a leisurely time. Onwards! Frankly, the swim came to an end all too soon, I had a lovely time and also enjoyed not falling over the second I found the ramp out the water.

The transition area at the London Triathlon is HUGE. With some 13,000 competitors it needs to be, but it means you need to cover quite some distance from the swim exit to T1, including running up a flight of stairs, and around most of the circumference of the exhibition hall, wetsuit in hand! 

Luckily I found my bike with relative ease amongst the sea of 2 wheels, and off I went! The bike course is a bit windy (some with more knowledge might say ‘technical’) and for my non-bike legs the undulation was real, but the crowds and competitors were super supportive, the speedier people passed by with an encouraging grin on the right, calling sometimes on the bends or narrower portions of the course just so you knew they were coming (apart from the odd person that felt the need to speed by on the right, despite the warning flags of the marshalls that someone had come off and an ambulance was coming through…).

Forgot my tape – a plaster will do!

The incline coming back into T2 was pretty mean, but I made it up and wobbled my way back in to transition, repeating the mantra of spin-instructor/cyclist extraordinaire Mark Clarke, ‘Your legs will come back, your legs will come back…’ And they did. I was racked, I was running, and for the most part I seemed to be moving forwards. Except when I fell on my face. The run route wasn’t the most inspiring, but I was grateful for the laps because 1.25km passes by quite quickly and the crowds were nicely condensed at the point when you needed their support the most. Also, the volunteers out on the water and gel aid stations were brilliant, their energy and positivity was relentless and infectious!

Whoops! Fell over my own feet!

I spotted lots of the Tricurious ladies also out on the run course, it was lovely to swap words of encouragement and cheers with them – they were all well on their way to becoming triathletes!

Once we’d finished, we pitched up alongside the run course with a beer and had the best time cheering, staying out there until the sun started to set and the last runner was safely home.

It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t always pretty, but it was always with a smile. 

Feeling Tricurious? I was…

Thanks London Triathlon for the opportunity to race, and for my Rainbows for the support, what a brilliant day!