Arriving at Wakefield I was greeted with a muddy field, a splutter of rain and some appropriately unhappy marshalls. There was no parking next to the lake or near transition, instead we were given a place in a field just off the nearest roundabout. Still it was only a 500/600m walk to transition but it did mean crossing a major road with two bags and a bike! As you enter Pugneys Lake you have the registration room immediately infront of you which saves alot of time wandering around. Registration was quick and simple and I was presented with my new style BTF sticky race numbers, more about these later!
Off to transition, which opened at 10am on the Saturday. Well laid out with numbered racks it was easy to find my racking area and so as required I racked my bike the night before. A little uneasy about leaving my bike in transition overnight I was reassured that there would be extra security around until the morning. Being the sort of person who likes to plan ahead I thought I would pre-run my movements through transition from swim to bike and bike to run. Try as I could I could not work out the routes through transition that were still being set up around the lake. So unfortunately I had to leave without knowing where to run from the swim, bike or run! Luckily the lake was set up with a triangular loop of buoys placed every 300m. The longest straight of the swim was 900m parallel to shore.
We had booked a room at a hotel just off the next motorway junction. The hotel, Days Inn, was made the official hotel for the event with 'Triathlon Specific Deals' including a dinner at 7pm and breakfast at 5am. Upon arrival there was almost a team spirit in the air as all the triathletes sat in the lobby watching le tour until 7pm. Soon after dinner it was off to bed for an early but necessary nights sleep!
My alarm went off at 430am, I was already awake though and had been since 4am. Nerves hadn't kicked in yet and so I went through my usual stretching routine. We went to breakfast at 5am and were in the car by 515am. Transition opened at 530am and I like to be there early so as to have a moment or two to collect my thoughts before my swim start, which was at 635am. The course was completely set up upon my arrival which made me feel a little better and there was a talk by race officials explained the routes for all disciplines. Entering transition I was given the 'no bags allowed' warning by one of the marshalls and so I had to take everything out of my bag and carry it to my bike; a little annoying! After two or three trips in and out of transition I was done and went and got changed.
My swim went off on time with approximately 40 or 50 people in my wave. They were quick, everybody wanted a sprint start which if i`m honest took me by surprise. The deep water start meant everybody was clawing and flapping and almost immediately two packs formed, both tearing off course slightly. By the time we had made it to the first buoy the inside pack had a distinct advantage over the rest since they had followed a straighter route. Its hard when in a group because it is tempting to follow the person in front and not sight for the buoy yourself. If everybody does this you do tend to drift off course slightly. I finished the swim in 28 minutes, a poor time I thought at first but after watching the video my dad had taken I knew why, I must have swam an extra 200/300m over the necessary distance. Poor sighting was responsible and is a factor I must work on before my next event.
My transition to bike went well up until my vault onto my bike resulted in a fall just outside of transition. Unphased and a little embarrased I heading off to complete the bike course with an average of just over 20mph. It was a tough course, mostly uphill which made everybody suffer. I quite like the hills and so managed to pull myself back to 14th or 15th in my age group.
Off the bike and onto the run for four laps around the lake. Mostly flat and collecting a wrist band for each lap the run course was setup nicely. I managed 42 minutes on the run placing me 20th in my category overall.
Not a bad result by any means but not my best. I know now I must work on my swim skills in the open water. If I can stay with the 22/23 minute swimmers I can hold them on the bike and then try and attack them on the swim. If I can get this sorted for london I may creep into the top 10%. Heres for hoping!
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