This was my 4th Windsor triathlon in 5 years. It was also the one I felt most prepared for. I've been cycling like a demon for two years and running steadily all winter. I've also recently joined a local triathlon club Evolution and the regular sessions with them have really helped me to understand myself better, and assess my capabilities. More of that in another post.
My plan was simple. A standard swim would get me out of the water in about the same as last year - 37 minutes. Bike at 34-35 km/h for a 1:10. Then hopefully my run fitness would get me through in a tough 42. With reasonable transition I was hopeful that I might just beat my enduring Windsor target of 2:30 - but anything better than last years 2:42 would make me happy.
White swim cap this year in the 45-46 year old 6.55am wave. The morning was dull but not cold. I got up at around 4:45 (woke before the alarm) and had a banana and half a cup of coffee. Had an easy drive down to the cricket ground car park and got to transition with plenty of time to spare. Had a chat to another Robert racked next to me who I'd chatted to before at the Eton Supersprint. 6:35 had a gel according to plan.
Swim - 36:55 (174th of 189 finishers)Have some nice new Zogg predator goggles, only worn twice, and double-hatted them. Got to the start and on cue slipped into the Thames. Quite warm. Felt rubbish as usual for 10 minutes, knew it would pass. Watched my wave disappear into the distance and may even have been in last place at one point.Got into a bit of a rhythm, only breathing to the right as to the left makes me dizzy these days. Think the gel kicked in around 20 minutes in as I was fighting through the weeds on the right bank.
Got to the turnaround buoy without much incident and kicked the pace up a little on the way back - passed a few white hats which was nice. Annoyed that people in waves behind me managed to swim across me as they passed. Reached the end feeling fine and checked my watch which said just over 35 minutes - pleased with that.
T1 - 1:47
Decided to take my wetsuit off right away while it was full of water. Think this worked well. Carried it through to T1 and stupidly ran down the wrong aisle. Only lost a couple of seconds though as I was able to duck under the bar to get across to my bike. Decided that I would take a spare inner tube after all and stuck it in the back pocket of my trisuit. Another wasted second.
Bike - 1:09:38 (27th of 189 finishers)
I've been doing this bike route in Evolution TT training so was pretty confident about my pacing. Hit the A308 hard - need to try and keep up at around 38km/h on this stretch. Straight away passed a few people trying to put their feet into their shoes and others just not trying hard enough :-) Once I got up to speed I had a gel and a sip of water to wash it down. Kept to the pacing plan, passed loads of people. some people passed me, but I overtook them again. Later on some serious cyclists with deep carbon rims and aero helmets overtook me and I could see the sweat dripping off their noses. I'm not quite that hardcore yet.
At the Drift road turnaround I had another gel. I had occasional sips of water and drank maybe 300ml during the whole race. This was part of my plan to improve on minor stomach problems I've had previously. No solids. No energy drinks. Nothing on the run.
Halfway back along Drift road was overtaken by a pair of cyclists who seems stuck together. To avoid drafting them I slowed a little, but they didn't pull away. So I speeded up again and told them they were drafting as I overtook. The lead cyclist complained, but I didn't wait around and never saw them again.
As usual there was a stupid driver getting his car in the way. He was sitting behind some cyclists refusing to overtake, hogging the middle of the lane, and just generally being annoying. Made me very pissed off as he was doing ~30km/h in a zone I know I needed to do at 36km/h. So I overtook him. After that it was plain sailing, though I was a little disappointed I couldn't push as fast as I wanted to up Mount Hill. Got back into town along the new route, spinning my legs a little and slowing down getting ready for the run.
T2 1:36
Had a job getting past slow people getting off their bikes. Note to self, do not let anyone sneak past just before the entrance to Alexandra Gardens. Not a bad transition, but could have saved a few seconds by having my laces looser. I dismissed socks totally this year and my feet didn't slide that easily into the trainers. Stupidly picked up a Nutrigrain bar, and as I put it in my back pocket running, felt the inner tube in there, so had to backtrack to throw it down. didn't even eat the bar.
Run 43:31 (17th of 189 finishers)I've had a good year of injury free running. I've never done Windsor before without some kind of leg worry. My left knee has felt a bit weak, but mostly when sitting and walking, and I knew running wouldn't be a problem for it. No distractions with hats or sunglasses either today.
Got going immediately with a nice fast cadence - no wobbly legs. It was hard, but I felt in control. Kept an inner mantra going "This is what you came here for - you're ready" I did the whole course (all 3 loops) on Wednesday night. I'd managed 14 minute loops which give me 42 minutes for the course, and I hadn't been racing full speed. However, on Wednesday we'd neglected the extra section out past Browns. This is definitely what threw my estimate out.
I felt tired after the swim and bike, but I also felt strong and confident that I could do it. The hours and hours of running in the past year, especially all the lunchtime runs at Stockley Park (thanks guys) mean I know exactly what I'm capable of in a way I never have before. So I kept to a steady pace and enjoyed the many Evolution cheers of encouragement - sorry if I was too tired to acknowledge them all - I tried to give a smile and a wave. I lost track of time and only realised I wouldn't quite make 2:30 coming into the end of the second lap. I did know I'd get a PB, so pushed on to make it the best time I could and my HR shows increased effort on the final lap.
Total 2:33:27 (61st of 189 finishers in Age Group 45-49. 421st overall.)
Very pleased with everything. Once more I'm faster at every discipline than last year, and my run is 5 minutes faster which is really great. I am disappointed to be 61st though - I didn't look beforehand at past results, and thought a time like this would give me a better showing. It's phenomenal how fast those old people are :-) Obviously my swim lets me down badly and I will never catch the leaders unless I can take at least 5-7 minutes off that. I have been getting faster on the bike every week for 4 weeks in a row, and think with more TT practice I can improve there too. I could have gone a little faster - especially on the flat later sections - but will need to consider how that would affect the run. A run after doing the swim/bike feels weird. Mentally you are ready, and the run muscles are ready, but the tiredness keeps you from getting to your proper run speed. I'm much better than I was, but I don't think I'll ever get to 40 minutes on the Windsor course. But I only need to go 2 minutes faster to make Top 10 in my age group.
So if I managed to train properly, next year I want:
Swim 30, Bike, 1:06, Run 41:30 - 2:21 maybe with transitions - just outside the AG Top 10. I can dream !
