OK, second free moment since the race to reflect. Android seems to have discarded the first report I wrote. 🙂

Result: 10th/144 overall (bit disappointing)
(S: 7th, T1: 60th, C: 21st, T2: 33rd, R: 6th)
Date: Sunday 1 July 2012
Format: long 400m lake swim, 20km road bike, short 5km trail run
Race website: http://www.trytri.co.uk/
Full results: http://www.triandenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Provisional-Eastleigh-Tri-Sprint-Results-2012.xls
Photos: http://www.photoboxgallery.com/gallery/collection?album_id=1335841380

First off, this ought to be a great local event for us, as only took 30 min from Basingstoke on a Sunday morning and the venue theoretically perfect. Great to have family supporting and be able to cheer Budgie through T2 and run laps and the finish too!

The Try Tri organization however was again a bit amateur vs. e.g. the Concept Sport ones, a couple of useless marshals, the car parking being on the bike out/in zone and confusion about the transition logistics. The bike route also has a few too many roundabouts and lights for my liking but not a lot they can do about that. 🙂

I had at least swum in the lake last month and ran the run course, and I’d streetviewed the whole bike course, so unlike a lot of people I saw I didn’t have to gesticulate wildly at marshals and spectators to work out where to go!

There were just under 40 in each swim wave. I started right on the line but was still in a horrible melee for the first 150m. Thereafter the fast starters got tired and I comfortably exited the water in 5th. I think come Marlow and a wave of 100, I need to burn a bit more energy in the first 200m to stay out of the scrum before settling down to comfortable pace.

I’d practiced getting my wetsuit off, but not while wet, standing on slippy muddy grass with nothing to hold onto. I should have saved 30 seconds here without question.

The bike was ok, ish, but my legs felt cold and I feel like I underperformed even my current training by 30 seconds per lap. I was at least feeling clear headed coming into T2 and it was fine, but I couldn’t get moving as well as I thought I might on the run and hampered by grumbling lower gut didn’t pick it up on the second lap either. In the end, if I’ve worked out the actual run distance right though, sub 4:00/km pace is as good as I could have expected.

So, will definitely benefit from more T1/wetsuit rehearsal (standing on a wobble board?), more cycling and more brick sessions. 10th was OK result, but I feel like if I’d had a good build up and race day, perhaps I’d have had a shot at 3rd/144 on current training? After Marlow’s done, I think I will look for another sprint to blitz myself on!