I had run over things many times since South Africa, was the run training up to spec, did I need to do something different in how I carried out the run training, as well as a myriad of other issues. One thing that stood out was that I was finding myself on the verge of lacking any enjoyment, I do triathlon as a hobby and I should always remember that. I decided to step away from pure cycling due to the lack of enjoyment in it all, I didn't want this to happen with triathlon as well, I think the disappointment in my performance at South Africa went deeper than I fully appreciated and I needed to remind myself almost daily that I should be doing this for enjoyment first and foremost and any results are a bonus.
I did a couple of TT's post South Africa, not that successful in the end, my slowest club 10 for about 5 years and a DNF at an Open 25, I did these far too soon after South Africa in hindsight and didn't really enjoy them (that old enjoyment factor again). One event I was looking forward to was the East Grinstead Triathlon, only a sprint event which I didn't even really train for, but it is a team get together so it always is a great atmosphere with the rest of the team there.
I was going in the Elite wave, which for us was a mass start. I was a bit worried about being left miles back after the swim, but surprisingly although Charlie Pennington took 90 secs out of me, I wasn't the last one out of the pool. The swim training has certainly helped over the last year. Onto the bike and I just settled into a pace that felt difficult but sustainable, given the woeful power I put out in the last 2 TT's, the power today was surprisingly half decent, not great but a lot better than I expected. Being one of the later starters the traffic had built up a bit and I did get a few holdups, not major ones, but enough to break the rhythm up. I still had a decent ride, but slower than the previous year. Out onto the run, and the lack of recent run training and speed work, really showed it's face. There was no real motivation for me to really hurt myself, and I was happy running at a fairly decent pace, but well below what I should be able to run for 5km. I came home in 1:11:41, 8th Overall and 4th in the V40 AG. Charlie won his 4th on trot with another great time of 1:04, 4 mins quicker than 2nd place. Slower than last year, but with a quicker swim, but most of all a very enjoyable race where I was there to have a laugh with the team, mission acclomplished.
The next triathlon was to be the Castle Triathlon Lough Cutra Gauntlet middle distance race over in Ireland. After a few disappointing weeks, Ruth and I decided to try and get some confidence back into how I was racing. I was planning on training pretty hard through the Lough Cutra event, but Ruth thought cutting back and not going into it too tired was probably more important for my peace of mind. Run training was starting to feel good again though and although still not doing that much, each session felt better and I was recovering better, so hopefully with less fatigue and a bit of freshness, the race would go pretty well.
I did sneak a 50m TT in the week beforehand however, as I wanted to see what sort of effort I could realistically race a middle distance race at, I had only done one before. I promised to do it at projected HIM pace and just see what I felt like and the sort of pace I could expect. Not too shabby, I kept the power around the HIM effort and recorded a time just a smidge over 2 hours, 2:00:12 to be exact. The last few miles trying to get under 2 hours was fun.
San Fairy Ann CC 50m TT
Onto Lough Cutra, this is one of the Castle Triathlon Series events, and I had always wanted to do another event after the experience of the Bastion last year. After a tiring couple of days travelling I lined up on race morning, really looking forward to the race and above all, I was out to have fun, pure and simple. For the second time in 2 races the result really didn't matter, though as always you want to do well. I was so relaxed on the day I even forgot my Garmin watch and it didn't even really bother me that much, the run would have to be done on RPE when I got to it.
The swim was a very chilly 13 degrees, and although the body felt fine, the hands and feet told me it was cold, and when the face went in it was well and truly confirmed. Foolishly I was one of the first in, so it meant getting a little colder waiting for all the others. Once we were off though I soon felt warm enough and although only 200 competitors I must have lined up a bit too far back as I was swimming into others straight away. This meant a slower start than normal, but not too worry I was soon into a decent rhythm. The swim was straight forward enough, swim around Apple Island and then head straight back to land, probably my straightest ever swim. I came out in 33 mins, not as fast as I would have liked, but considering the cold and the slow start I was happy enough.Out onto the bike and what on paper seemed a pretty benign course, a couple of little hills and one fairly decent one, ended up being a pretty tough one with the headwind first 45km and the road surfaces, which in the main were just speed sapping and generally hard going. I just settled into the power I planned to ride at, and soon enough I was starting to pass the faster swimmers. The first 45km were a little tough to say the least, the wind had picked up and although the roads seemed flat, there was a lot of false flat or gentle inclines which just seemed slow. It wasn't long before I was on my own and I just kept plugging away. The biggest climb was preceded by a slow drag as well, and once into the climb proper it was OK, a bit like an alpine climb with switchbacks, but nothing too steep and fairly short. The views over the bay were amazing and the thought of a fast tailwind assisted blast back to Lough Cutra saw me with a huge smile on my face.
Some views on the bike course
Over the top of the climb and I wasn't to be disappointed, it was a great blast down from the hill, but although it was fast the road surface was still shocking in places, so caution was certainly on the mind. After what seemed like ages of not passing anyone, I was starting to catch other riders in front of me, power was still good, and I was still feeling great. The last 10kms were a bit of a drag, mainly being draggy and a bit twisty and turny, but it wasn't long before I was back into the castle grounds and into T2. A time of 2:30:36 shows what a tough course it was in the end.
The run was the area where I knew I might struggle, coming into T2 I had seen that there was about 4 or 5 bikes there and I knew I was fairly well up but also knew I would be passed by a fair few. Not really wanting to hammer myself too much on the run and then have that impact training again, I ran at a fastish training pace, legs felt good pretty much from the off, just the usual 1-2km of unresponsive post bike legs. As I was just going by RPE I was monitoring my breathing which seemed a bit rapid, I eased off until I felt I was at a good pace but not too slow. The run course was a 3 x 7km lap, with virtually all being off road, mixture of grass, hardcore trail paths and a few tarmac sections. As per usual the run route is scenic and far from flat, though it wasn't as hilly as the Hever Castle route. For the first lap one or 2 faster guys passed me, but even on the second lap I was a bit surprised I hadn't been passed by that many. It was more difficult to tell on the 3rd lap however as more and more runners were joining the course, I just stuck at the pace I thought was decent enough. I was starting to flag a little towards the end of the 3rd lap, again lack of decent run training starting to show here, but I was happy I had run a decent run. A 1:40:50 isn't the greatest time in the world, but it is my fastest half marathon and after how I felt after South Africa it is a step in the right direction.
I did run the 21km at a faster pace than I did for the first half of IM South Africa and not suffered any issues like I did there, progress was made there at least. In fact I wasn't too sore afterwards, well not until I had a post race massage - OUCH. I came in 13th Overall, and surprising to me, 2nd in the V40 AG. I really hadn't expected that and it showed that it is possible to have fun, ride a hard bike leg and still do pretty well. It was also nice to get the fastest bike leg as well overall, still life in the old dog yet. Overall time of 4:47:35 and just 5 mins slower than the AG winner.
I can highly recommend the Castle Triathlon events as great festivals of triathlon, it was great to see so many people enjoying the selection of races available and the organisation is fantastic. If you are ever on the West of Ireland during the late may Bank Holiday then try one of the races, no doubt like me you will have some great fun and a wonderful memory. Oh and the Guinness in Ireland is just so much nicer.
As for me, I feel refreshed after a good race, not too fatigued and looking forward to a few weeks of hardish training before taking on the Bastion yet again on the 12th July. Again for me it will be more about having fun rather than worrying about performance, I think I can see that performance comes easier when I am enjoying myself.
