Dorney Lake Triathlon

 – Race report by Dan Grech –

 

A few months ago my mate asked if I fancied doing a triathlon and saying yes was such a good decision. It’s allowed me to improve my fitness without having to run all through the summer. It’s provided me with a really fun and enjoyable training block whilst also not burning me out ready for marathon training. I was nervous about being rubbish at it or making a fool of myself but everyone was so kind and supportive at the event and fellow Traccies who have also done triathlons.

 

Dorney Lake Triathlon. Just wow. One of the best organised and picturesque venues I’ve been to. It was the 12th triathlon style event of the year hosted by RunThrough and the whole event was seamless. There was 10 separate races going on throughout the morning. Held in the London 2012 Olympic rowing lake it was a fantastic backdrop to a tough day in the office.

 

Those who have followed my training will know that the swim was my weakest discipline but after swimming twice weekly at Whitemills in Sandwich I was confident I could perform to a decent level. This all went out the window after approximately 200m when I started to panic (for no reason) and lose all stroke rhythm. This was coupled with my googles fogging up and leaving me blind. I ended up not enjoying the swim one bit; even having to take my googles off with 100m left; just to be able to see where the finish ramp was to get out of the water. As you can see from my swim exit photo I was not a happy person.

 

 

 

 

Next up was 38km on the bike down one side of the rowing lake. Again it was a fantastic course; was so flat that it didn’t allow any rest to stretch your legs. Was really happy with my bike leg as this is what I trained the least for because “how hard is it to ride a bike”. Managed to maintain a faster average speed than I ever had done at all so chuffed with that but deep down know I could improve greatly on the first 2 disciplines. I continued to be non-photogenic on the bike; as I thought my positioning was very professional and aerodynamic… however looking at the photos I was wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY the run. I set out with the goal of 45mins. Not too close to PB but something I could push for even with fatigued tired legs. Spot on nailed it. I ended up with a run time in the Top 10% of the whole event. It was a hot flat run with no breeze making it extremely hard mentally; but was able to break it down into manageable sections. It was 2 laps of the course up the opposite side to the bike; there was a tonne of people there cheering and supporting making a truly wonderful experience.

 

 

 

 

Overall it was a fantastic challenge; I was dying during and dead afterwards but looking back it was a lot of fun to do. Not only the event day but all of the training. Something different to train and set a goal at for myself at. I do think I was the only athlete who changed their sunglasses during transition. I had to make sure I was colour coordinated otherwise it would have made me slower.   

 

 

 

 

For now: training as begun for some shorter races to finish the year; turning into marathon training ready for Manchester next April. Who knows after that… maybe an Ironman 70.3.

 

 

A great read Dan and a tough day at the office indeed!!