The clue's in the name...

Time to reflect on my penultimate triathlon outing of the year: the Cotswold Lake 62 End of Season Standard Triathlon. The clue’s in the name: yes, it’s the end of season, but also, crucially, it’s in Lake 62…. I should have taken note of this, it would prove a vital clue in the conundrum of finding the venue….

Last year, I took part in my first ever open water triathlon at the Cotswold Sprint tri. The course and organisation proved ideal for my first dip in open water territory. The lake was beautiful – pristine even. It was crystal clear, very shallow in places, and very still on the surface, being well sheltered. The bike course was on wide, open, straight and flat roads around the southern part of the Cotswolds, near Cirencester. The run was 2 laps of a gravel path around the lake, with transition being lake side. There was a café for spectators and great support on the run route, which passed through a giant adventure play area and high ropes course. I loved it, so I was eager to go back to the same venue and have a bash at a standard distance event there this year. … only, it wasn’t the same venue. As I said, the clue is in the name. The tri I did last year was in lake 32…. but I had slept since then, so couldn’t remember this. So when this one said ‘lake 62’, I naturally assumed that it was the same lake as, surely, all triathlons in the Cotswold Water Park must take place in this same idyllic lake? Not so.

Thankfully, I had got a cracking deal on a Travelodge (yes, the same one we stayed in last year; yes, the one about which I said ‘never again’ after they tried to fine us £100 for parking overnight… in the overnight parking spaces reserved for Travelodge guests…), but it was a steal at £55 for two people for two nights, and I love a bargain. Besides, it’s near the venue, they accept Cannondale unquestioningly - which a lot of the more upmarket hotels are reluctant to do - it’s a handy location, and ‘with new refurbished rooms and comfy new king sized beds, to stay anywhere else you’d need rocks in your head’, so here we were again at the delightful and delectable Travelodge Delamere M4 Eastbound. By ‘we’ I mean the Mothership and I; Matt had once again put Exeter City before my triathloning, and he and his Dad had headed north to Crewe for the weekend to watch Exeter lose…. again. (I did try to mention that he had pinned his flag to the wrong mast as his wife would never let him down so badly, but he wasn't in the mood to listen to this reasoning....)

Staying two nights would prove to be a Godsend as it allowed us to go and rekkie the venue and the course on the Saturday. The weather on Saturday was foul: pouring rain all day until late afternoon. When we got to the area, there were signs that a triathlon was taking place at that moment: bikers with tri-belts and numbers on them. First moment of panic: have I got the right day? Check the blurb – def September 11^th, not 10^th… this must be a different event as it’s taking place in a different lake. Mildly confused, ask the organisers – who appear to be the same organisers of the tri I have signed up for. Saturday is a relay event; the standard event is indeed on the Sunday, in lake 62. Thank goodness for the pre-raceday rekkie, or I’d have rocked up race morning to the wrong ruddy lake!

It's not just me being stupid: there are literally hundreds of these lakes, finding the precise one isn't as easy as you'd think in this maze!

Race morning, alarm sounds at a highly acceptable 7am and the weather is sunny! Yay! Total contrast to yesterday. For the first time this year, the weather Gods are on my side. After 5 triathlons in rainy, damp, overcast conditions, I am due some sun and warmth! Driving to the venue, there is a low-lying mist hovering eerily over the fields. There is a crispness to the air: that reminiscent parting handshake as summer gives way to autumn. I am feeling very calm and looking forward to the race ahead and to seeing what I can do on what will hopefully be a fast course.

Four of my fellow N1 teamies are also competing, and Dennis and Liz Elliott have set their alarm for the crack of dawn and have driven up from Sidmouth to come and support us all: a lovely, much appreciated act, but one which does put the pressure on me somewhat not to be shit! At 9:30am, in wave 3, I enter the water for the deep water start. This is only my second time swimming the full 1500m distance open water, and my goal is to improve upon my truly abysmal 32-minute clocking from Dambuster back in June. The hooter goes and we’re off. There are roughly 60-70 people in my wave and a throng of swimmers from wave 2 coming around to join us on their second of the two 750m loops. I get bumped and barged a bit, try to find some feet, don’t really manage it, so look for a bit of personal space to try and establish my own rhythm. I am soon made aware that this lake has a LOT of weeds in it when a huge, green, slimy piece of sub-aquatic flora makes itself at home on my forehead and partially blocks the view from my mask. This is a far cry from my beloved, weed-free lake 32!

On the start line, mentally girding my proverbial loins ahead of the challenge to come...

Finally arrive at the first turn and try to take as tight a line around the buoy as possible, opting for a few breaststroke strides to allow me to tuck in and get a good sighting for the next buoy. I am aware that I am quite gaspy today and struggling for breath, then I realise that in my pre-race faffing, I forgot to have my inhaler. No bloody wonder! Too late now, must press on. As I complete the first 750m lap, I give a wave to my Mum, and to Liz and Dennis, who are watching on the bank, just to reassure them that, no, I haven’t drowned, I’m just taking bloody ages.

No, despite what it looks like, I'm not drowning: I was signalling to my Mum after the first lap so she'd know which one was me!

On to lap two… desperately wishing that this was just a sprint distance and I could get out now.

Looking back at the next turn, I am monumentally disheartened to see only a handful of white swim caps behind me. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to calculate that, of the 60 ish starters, for me to be roughly 55^th slowest, things are going really bad at this point. No matter. Press on. Finally find some clear water on the second lap and get into a better rhythm and start to up the pace a bit. Am as relieved as Father Christmas on Boxing Day that the ordeal is over and I can get out of the weed-infested water.

The exit was slippery as hell (those ruddy weeds again!): I'd defy anyone to make this look graceful!

T1 is the usual uncoordinated mess (never seems to get any slicker with practice). I manage to wheeze at my Mum on the exit that I forgot my inhaler – thankfully she takes the hint to find it and has it ready for me later when I come to start the run. It takes me a long time on the bike to get my breathing back under control, so I’m not able to blast out of T1 like I usually do. About half a mile in, a guy passes me, but doesn’t really pull away. A mile later, I pass him. One mile further on, he comes back at me again, etc etc. We soon establish that we are in fact an annoyingly similar pace and we basically cat and mouse like this for the entire two lap, 41km course: trying not to get caught in each other’s draft zone and get busted by the bike marshalls. Halfway round the second lap, as I pass him for about the 11^th time, he shouts, ‘Here she is!’, I offer, ‘Ellie, by the way.’ ‘Matt’, he offers back (oh, good, a name I will be able to remember). We then exchange a few words on each time of passing each other and arrange to have a glass of water (this is tri!) at the finish to toast each other. Unfortunately, once we headed out of T2 on the run, I never saw him again. If, by the small remote chance you are reading this: sorry Matt, I did look out for you. Good job on completing your first ever triathlon!

The guy to my left is my bike-course buddy, Matt: we cycled the whole 41k at roughly the same pace!

I loved the bike course: it suited me to a tee. It was lumpier than the Cotswold Sprint course, but more undulating than hilly. There was nothing technical on it either, so hardly any need to brake. At the same time, it offered you nothing: next to no opportunities to use gravity to your advantage; the downhill sections were gradual, so you still had to work. I love to graft on the bike, so it was ideal for me. The best bit was that we got to cycle past Kemble Airfield, where about 20 decommissioned large jet liners sit, like an aircraft graveyard full of metallic carcasses slowly rusting and decaying: the inner-plane geek in me loved it. Great place for a photographer to positon themselves too….

Big planes and fast bikes: two of my fave things in one shot!

I was slightly worried that I didn’t seem to be catching many people on lap one. I passed a few guys, but only about one or two ladies. Normally, due to my crappy swim, I start to pick people off on the bike very early on. This made me worried that they were all so far ahead, I had no chance of catching them. Come lap two though, all that changed, and suddenly I seemed to be catching and passing people every few meters, and working my way up through the field.

Into T2, having thoroughly enjoyed the bike and having felt that I pushed it hard, but having no way of knowing what position I was in. I was later pleased to see I'd averaged bang on 20mph for the undulating 41k: the bike fit I had done the previous week with Tribe Cycle Solutions already bringing dividends! I blasted off on the run, keen to use my strongest discipline to make up some ground. That said, I hadn’t actually run for over two weeks prior to this after tweeking my achillies at a parkrun back in August, so I wanted to give it time to heal: just have to trust that my legs know their job well enough by now. The run was 6 laps around the lake. My biggest worry was that I’d lose count, so Mum, bless her, in amongst taking photos, proffering me my inhaler and some flapjack squares, was also ticking off the laps for me in a notebook! The course was very boggy in places, due to the previous day's heavy rain and hundreds of people trudging up the same lines every lap. My Nike Pegasus are quite grippy though, so I was moving well through the field. No way of knowing whether the other athletes you’re passing are on lap 1, 2, 3, whatever. No way of knowing if I’m 30 seconds behind the female in front of me or 30 minutes: just have to keep pushing the whole way, as you only know when you cross the line, so you don’t want to miss out on a position by a few seconds, knowing you had more to give. Leave nothing out there. There is a purity and honesty to this style of racing which suits the masochist in me: no one to hide behind; it’s all down to you and your capacity to hurt yourself. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) for me, my 'hurt' threshold appears to be quite high!

2h30m20s of hard graft later: it's over!

Due to the different start times, all the other N1 members finished before me, so they were all there to greet me as I crossed the line: a lovely feeling. Team solidarity, sharing special moments with like-minded people, that’s what being part of a club is all about. Ollie, one of our younger members, had had a brilliant race, as had Anne, so we were hopeful they might have won their categories. In fact, all of us had performed well, with no mechanical glitches – always a worry on the bike section! We stayed for the prize-giving, hoping to come away with an odd category win. The first prize to be awarded was the third female overall…. In a time of 2 hours 30 minutes…. Ellie Dominey of N1 Tri Club. Flippin’ heck! I might have hoped on the outside chance of a category win, but not a top three over the standard distance. Genuinely gobsmacked, but obviously also thrilled in equal measure. After being the 30th female out of the water, I went on to post the 3rd fastest female bike split (the winner and second posting the fastest two), and the fastest female run. I also found out I had won my category, by almost half an hour, but it was only one prize per competitor: no grumbles about that. Ollie and Anne indeed won their categories, and Ollie was a fine 5^th overall. A Great day for the club with 3 out of 5 of us coming away with some trinkets.

Team N1.

A handshake....

And some goodies. Post-race prosecco: it's why we put ourselves through it, n'est-ce pas?

Mixed feelings afterwards. Yes, I had podiumed, but I was a full 5 minutes behind the 2^nd female and a whopping 15 minutes behind the winner: both of whom had much faster swims than me. My swim time, 31:20, was a marginal improvement on my Dambuster swim, but I can comfortably do 29 minutes for 1500m on a steady swim in the pool, so why am I slower in open water, when a wetsuit is meant to help with buoyancy and thus speed you up? Very frustrating. After a full year now of being with N1 and diligently attending the club swim sessions twice a week, I am swimming no faster now than I was this time last year. Dennis almost choked on his Chester Slice (no bacon butties: another failing on lake 62’s part), when I mentioned the word ‘duathlon’, but when I replace my weakest discipline with a second go at my strongest discipline, it’s hard to see how that isn’t a better combination for me. I certainly have a lot of swim demons to overcome before I will ever be able to access that still elusive, and still much coveted, top podium place in a triathlon event.

Tomorrow, 17^th September, I would have been out competing in Cozumel, Mexico, at the ITU Standard Distance Triathlon championships. As it goes, I have made the right decision not to go and I will instead watch the races from the comfort of my sofa. 2017, when they are to be staged in Rotterdam? Maybe… we’ll see. But, next up, we have the Roadford Relays, with six N1 Tri Club teams (24 people) taking part, over a super-sprint 400m-12.5km-3.5km course, it should be a great day out and a fun way to end what, on reflection, has not been a bad first season as a triathlete. Looking back on my events below, I have many reasons to feel proud and smile… if we gloss over the swim!!

February: Taunton Deane Long Course Pool Aquathlon (1000m / 10km): 3rd lady in 1:00:45.

March: Clumber Park Sprint Duathlon, inc. ETU Sprint championships qualifier (5km / 20km / 2.5km): 6th lady, 1st age cat. in 1:08:23, qualified in number one spot for 2017 ETU Sprint champs

May: Slateman Savage double triathlon weekend. (Day 1: 400m lake swim / 20km bike / 6km run; Day 2: 1000m lake swim / 52km bike / 12km run): 3rd Savage lady in combined time of 4:54:08

June: South Hams Sprint Tri (750m sea swim / 20km bike / 5km run): 3rd lady, 2nd age cat. in 1:28:44

June: Dambuster Standard distance Tri, Rutland Water (including ITU world triathlon championships qualifier): 32nd lady, 10th age cat in 2:35:40, qualified for 2016 ITU world standard distance championships via roll down place, in Cozumel, Mexico.

July: Honiton Sprint tri (400m pool swim / 21km bike / 5km run): 2nd lady, 1st age cat. in 1:07:03

September: Cotswold End of Season Standard Tri (1500m lake swim / 41km bike / 10k run): 3rd lady, 1st age cat, in 2:30:20.