#TeamTCUK Jo Sutton storms her way to an AG win at IM70.3 Dublin taking in a few speed bumps on the bike course along the way!

Pre-race

How were your preparations leading up to the race?

Good. Being the last race of the season I was having issues with motivating myself in the two weeks leading up to the race. I still completed all the training sessions but was struggling to kick myself out of the door. In terms of training though, I thought the programme fully prepared me for the race.

Did you feel that your training had prepared you sufficiently?

I’d been able to recover well from a previous race a month before, get some good sessions in and taper all thanks to Matt’s training programme.

Swim

Time: 31.57

How did it go?

Very well, much better than I expected, felt so strong throughout the swim

What were the positives/negatives?

Sea swim which I was nervous about as I have very little experience of racing a sea swim. The conditions were perfect, pancake flat made for a quick swim. I was also worried about a mass start but only 4 athletes started every 6 seconds which was great and meant you didn’t get hammered. I can’t think of a negative about this swim – I just loved it!

T1

Time:

How did it go? Long run out of the water which suits me so didn’t mind this. Ran past my bike initially but found it within a few seconds despite walking/running through transition the previous day. With so many bikes racked it was hard to pinpoint any location markers to remember where your bike was. Generally it went well no real issues, slightly annoyed I lost my bike even if it was for a matter of seconds.

What were the positives/negatives?

Chairs in the changing tent were not set out the best and meant it was tricky to run around them/people which slowed you down. Having already done a previous race that year with a mandatory change tent I was used to the drill. I was out of the swim pretty early on so didn’t have too many people to jump over or bump into in transition.

Bike

Time: 2.39

How did it go?

Fast course with a few little hills but nothing major, the rest is flat and fast. This made for a good bike leg and with nutrition on board I was able to keep the pace up (HR started to drop in the second half but I think I kept the pace on target). Still got a bit overtaken (as usual) but not massively (and managed to catch them on the run). I feel that my bike leg is improving so hopefully in the near future this becomes less and less.

What were the positives/negatives?

A LOT of speed bumps, I think 52 in total (26 going out and 26 coming back) which wasn’t ideal. Fast and flat course.

T2

Time: 3.22

How did it go?

Good, no real problems

What were the positives/negatives?

Same set up as T1 and so the same issues arose with the seats blocking the way. No chance to walk through T2, as it was in a different location to T1 but it was fairly easy to figure out where to go.

Run

Time: 1.35

How did it go?

Painful! My legs felt not bad coming off the bike and I am glad I pushed the bike like I did. My foot was in agony 5km in (think I need new trainers) but I kept plodding on. Pleased with my time (I know I have it in me to go a few mins quicker but pleased with my performance on the day).

What were the positives/negatives?

Lots of aid stations that were well manned, toilets had you needed them (no time for that), good flat fast course in Phoenix Park. Three loops with the second being the hardest as each loop you had to pass the finish line. Good for spectators and lots of support the majority of the way round. Parking was a nightmare for spectators and you had to walk quite far to see the race (and after the race which was painful).

Post race

How have you recovered from the race? Now that it’s done, what are your future race plans?

Last race of the season so I have so far done nothing in the week following the race (apart from walk the dog!). I know I should have done more for a quicker recovery such as foam roll, ice bath, sports massage which without this has resulted in me struggling to walk for three days post race. I also flew back from the race at 7am the next morning to be in work for 10am which wasn’t ideal but I had to make a last minute change in flights to collect my age group award!

Future plans: let’s dream big – podium at Castle Howard July 2018 – 3 years doing this race with a 6^th and then a 5^th position it’s about time I hit the podium. Podium at European champs in my AG – with a 5^th position in Denmark ETU and only 1min 30 behind 3^rd I think this is in me too. Podium at World Champs – ok maybe a bit steep but hey, a girl can dream!

I want to also do some local sprint and standard distance triathlons early on in the year for a warm up and bit of fun. Oh and perhaps Morzine trip with TCUK?

Race review

• Good time of year (all the UK Ironman 70.3 events seem to be on or around the same date). Dublin 70.3 is in August so fitted in very nicely with my race calendar.
• Easy to get to (although don’t book with Aer Lingus – they tell you you can book your bike on the plane but in fact you have to just wing it and turn up on the day hoping no one else brings their bike!)
• Very useful to have your own transport to get to the race/registration etc.
• Good venue although parking is very tricky but doable (expect a walk to spectate the run)
• A to B course with nice run in Phoenix park at the end
• After finishing the race you have to wait until 2.30pm (race starts at 7am) to pick your bike up which is a huge issue if you have a flight to catch and are struggling to hang around (if you have a fast-ish finish time) – however this was highlighted in the race manual.
• Time and time again…a lack of toilets at T1 morning of the race (athletes, nevermind spectators)
• Very little in the way of food/coffee stand for spectators (point courtesy of mum!)
• Focusing solely on race – cracking race
• Support was great in general for this race