Battling the elements and the urge to chase down fellow competitors on the bike leg, #TeamTCUK athlete Bleddyn Bridge perfectly paced his way to a sub 12-hour long distance race finish at the Cotswold 226 triathlon.

Pre-race

The months leading up to the event had been hard work keeping on top of the training but with it all planned out by James I had no excuse not to do a session or miss a session; the programme gave me enough motivation. However, the last few weeks before the event I had that all too familiar feeling of “I’m not ready, I need to train more”. James was good at removing those thoughts and assuring me I was ready (deep down I think I knew that myself).

As my main event was local to me I got the unusual experience of sleeping in my own house before a race that did not help with the nerves one bit! Breakfast was the first challenge of the day making sure I ate a good meal but my body didn’t want anything.

The nerves continued until I had set everything up in transition and done the mandatory check and then check again and again. I was then ready to go and relaxed a bit as I knew I was ready and although the next few hours would be hard I could do this.

Swim

Time: 1:07

The swim went really well after I had got through the mayhem of the mass start where I lost my swim cap but managed to keep hold of the goggles. I thought I had a good pace going not too hard but was in a group of faster swimmers who where dragging me along for the first lap. On the second lap the group broke up and I ended up on my own. At this point I thought I had slowed down but I hadn't and for once in my life I was swimming in a straight line.

I ended up coming out of the water in 18^th place surprising me when I got to T1 and most of the bikes where still there (that not the usual sight I see in T1!)

Image

T1

T1 went well the pre-race check and re-check paid off here, everything was where it should have been and I was out and onto the bike quickly.

Bike

Time: 6:28

It took me two or three miles to get into the bike as it was very windy and wet. I had to resist the urge to chase the guy in front and chase the one or two guys passing me, but I would see all these again (except the guy that flew past me and would go on to take second place in the race).

Image

The course consisted of two laps. After the first lap, as I passed by transition, I had to really fight the thought in my head that was shouting at me to stop and that didn’t want me to do another lap in that wind and rain. This is where the event team came to the rescue with their support and friendly but very loud encouragement. The second lap passed really quickly as the sun came out and I could just put my head down and pretend I was just on a training ride.

T2

T2 was not as elegant as T1, with a little bit of jelly legs and I did my best Bambi impression as I ran to the rack! There was just enough time to get my legs used to running and ready to put my shoes on and off I went feeling positive about the next couple of hours.

Run

Time: 4:08

The run consisted of five laps of the course, which was good as it meant there was support all the way around even for this small event.

I was aiming for a 50-minute lap however I got too excited at the start and did the first lap in 45 minutes. At this point I gave myself a good telling off and slowed down to a more sustainable pace. The next two laps passed fine then on lap four the tiredness hit and my legs decided that was enough for today and they wanted to stop.

This made the last two laps both physically and mentally tough, when I had to take a run/walk strategy. I walked through the aid station and then slowly broke back into a slow run for the rest of the run. On the way back to the finish for the last time a friend shouted out that if I hurried up I’d beat the 12-hour mark. That gave me a boost of energy and off I went to the finish crossing the line in 11:48, again doing my best Bambi impression! At that point the organiser laughed and said: “now that’s what I like to see, someone leaving it all out there!”

Post-race

After the race there were free massages so I joined the queue straight away by which time my legs had cramped so bad I could not bend them at all to the amusement of my girlfriend. After a quick 15-minute massage I felt more human and then it was off to get some food and have a well-earned sleep.

Race review

I would recommend this event to anyone but sadly this was the last year that the 113 Events team are holding the full distance triathlon. I would still recommend a trip to the Cotswolds for any of the other 113 events as they are all well run on quiet roads with a very friendly atmosphere.