Well I am happy to report that I did it. I finished the triathlon yesterday.
Sunday 13th May 2012. It was a beautiful spring morning with a slight chill to the air. My start time was 07:38 and we arrived (my wife and two sons joined me to offer their support...thanks guys) nice and early.
We got parked up and I went to join the queue to register.
Two things immediately struck me. The things I'd been reading about online for the last several months - people were amazingly friendly and chatty and willing to swap tips and suggestions and help each other out and there were people there from all backgrounds and all shapes and sizes.
It was great to be there and soak up the atmosphere.
I got registered and set up my transition point (basically this is where you park your bike ready for the cycle and then return to swap over to the swim (Transition 1 - T1 - is swim to bike and Transition 2 - T2 - is bike to run).
This is the source of a lot of stress and questions for first time triathletes. My advice - relax. If you have any questions, then ask the organisers either before the event or on the day. They're there to help and are good at it. In fact, a shout out to One Step Beyond for a fantastically slick setup.
The swim started bang on schedule. I'd had to guess the time it'd take me to do a 400m swim as prior to registering I had no real idea. As it happens, I had quite badly overestimated this part by 7 minutes (I can comfortably do this in 10 minutes now). The end result being that I ended up caught up behind two slower swimmers.
I managed to pass one but the other was just fast enough that if I'd tried to pass, I would have run into the swimmer after me coming the other way. In this pool swim, the rules were simple - clockwise in my lane, no walking and no backstroke.
However, the swim time was still around 10 minutes to my surprise (adrenaline, I guess).
We left the pool over nicely laid out mats - though the final instructions recommended sandals as the roadway was rough - and made our way to our T1 area.
Minor disaster struck me here as I couldn't fasten my helmet - and again the rules are strict and simple: no cycling in the transition area and helmet on and fastened before you even touch your bike. Failure to adhere to these two rules would mean disqualification.
After a few minutes that felt like forever of fumbling I worked out my straps had crossed.
Helmet on and onto the ride.
And again, a shout out to the organisers here. Although the roads were kept open, they had stop/go signs at the junction onto the road so you could fairly safely cycle straight out. Care was still needed of course.
The cycle route was an immediate uphill, low-gear, climb for the first mile followed by another 4 miles of climbs and descents of mixed levels of incline with the last mile to the turnaround a fairly flat - very gently climbing - section.
On the return, I'd made a note of the two fast descents so I would know when to be in a low gear and I'm glad to say that despite slowing right down I never had to stop and push and only once had to stand out of my saddle.
Back to the same junction and the traffic was stopped again.
Back into transition for T2 into the run.
I always knew the run would be the most punishing aspect for me for a couple of reasons - first and foremost it's the one area I've struggled to remain consistent during training. As a teach would say "it needs more work" and secondly it was uphill all the way to the turnaround point.
Unfortunately I had to walk some parts of it - I simply ran out of steam on the first outlap. It was out, turnaround, back, turnaround and repeat.
That feeling though when you pass the finishing line and your children and wife are shouting you on is amazing.
I was on a high for the rest of the day. I'm surprisingly less sore than I expected and less tired, too.
Some things I learned: it isn't enough to lay your kit out for transition. If it's wearable, try it! Make sure it fits as you remember and sort out any last minute hitches.
It's still a small world: I met a guy I used to work with!
It's friendly and welcoming: You'll see this written time and again, but other competitors and complete strangers there to shout on other people offered shouted encouragement, smiles and claps - and believe me it helps. A really nice touch was the turnaround point on the run at the top of the hill: the organisers took the time to note your number and offer personal encouragement. "Come on Tony, you can do it" "Go Tony...last lap...make it count mate"
It's as expensive as you want it to be: You don't need a 6 grand carbon fibre bike. In fact, if you're not doing ironman any time soon and even then, if you're not an elite triathlete, it's just a waste. Even my £600 Giant Defy was probably overkill, and is certainly better than anything the original triathletes had in the 80's. Just go with what you can afford. Some of the competitors had mountain bikes. Remember that, because a bike shop or a triathlon store is there to sell you the gear and make a profit. Nothing wrong in that, but bear in mind that their advice might be a little bit biased in their own favour (Total Fitness in Nottingham never tried to upsell me anything by the way - I knew which bike I wanted and they sold it to me and set it up for me on the day I bought it. They did offer me free pedals if I bought the shoes (discounted) which I knew I wanted anyway).
All in all I really did enjoy it. And it's true. It's addictive - I can't wait for my next on in September.
I can buy gadgets to help me and only spend as little or as much as I want to at the time (because lets face it - a multi thousand pound/dollar full carbon tri bike would be pointless to someone of my limited ability yet).
