by IronGirl » Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:26 pm
Sunday
Full Boar Middle Distance Triathlon ( Half Ironman Distance)
1900m swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
5 hours 35 min
had a ball, to summarise I got on the bike and back in the pool mid-June and today was only 20 min off my pb at this distance. Very very pleased.
swim..........only 13 degrees and it felt colder. My feet went from freezing to numb within minutes. I tried kicking a bit more but felt like my calves were going to cramp with the cold, so I gave that up as a bad idea. lost 7 or 8 of my 20 mins on the swim. I was very glad to get out. There's something to be said for racing triathlon in hotter climates, if only I could convince Mr I.
T1........terrible. My new wetsuit is somehow much "spongier" than anything I've had before and gets very ruffled up whe I take it off, that and I got stuck trying to undo the velcro at the top (just very cold! and thought I was going to pull something). Quite hilarious to watch I should imagine.
bike...........Gently undulating course, with 3 very long drags as opposed to steep hills. Seemed to go well and was able to maintain a good rhythm. First proper ride on my new bike (I know that could have been a disaster!!) but she was fab. I think I might have just squeeked in under 3 hours (2:55), will have to wait for results.
My feet stayed cold for the whole bike. I tried moving my feet around and wiggling the toes but they were numb. I actually created a blister on the inside of my right big toe as I just couldn't feel what was happening. Blinkin well hurt on the run! Can you use hot oils on feet or would that just hurt and would it really keep them warm anyway?
T2.............. much better, straight through and out at a good pace. "steaming out of transition" according to the commentator!
run.............the race was advertised as a gravel / grass run. It was actually a road run...........yippee cos I've done so much road running..........not! Story of the day my feet were still tingling going out on the run. After about half a mile I thought I had a stone in my shoe and reluctanly set about removing it. There was no stone, it was the blister I'd created myself from toe wiggling on the bike. The run was 2 laps, twice up a hill and back. My feet finally came back after the first lap, which was good and bad. Good as they felt normal and I could push off more, but bad as I could now feel how sore they were from the blister and pounding of the road run. On the positive side I was running OK, just below 8min/mile pace which is OK for me at the end of a half. Yeah I so need speed work!
And despite the foot problems I really did have fun and really enjoyed it. The organisation and marshalls were fantastic. It was very laid back and uncommercialised, just like triathlon used to be. I got lots of shouts of "C'mon Vegan Lady" and one lady at the end an ex Veggie Cycling and Athletics club member actually thanked me for showing people that this was possible as a Vegan. That's why I wear the vest and is just about the best comment I could have got. Really proud! Based on counting people out on the lapped run I think I was round about 20th lady.
