Vitruvian Triathlon

Today is the 13th running of the Vitruvian Triathlon, unlucky for some perhaps. The weather dawns pretty good and race day stays dry throughout. This is usual for me to say the least.

Having registered last night and set up my bike in transition at the same time, I probably took it a bit too leisurely on Saturday morning and ended up rushing the few things I had left to do. Not that you can rush much when transition at 5am is a place full of zombified folk who aren’t fully awake yet but will turn into fully honed athletes once they are dipped in reservoir water. I miss part of the race briefing due to my over leisureliness.

The first swim wave is off at 6:15am, I am off in the 5th and last wave at 6.50am. Clearly they are worried about me if everyone else requires such a big head start. They needn’t have been.

The swim is two 950m laps and it's the first time I've done a two lap swim that requires a brief exit from the water and a 25m run back long the 'beach' before getting back in.

I get involved in a few scuffles in the first 100m or so which throws all my breathing and heartbeat out, which means I end up resorting to doggie paddle for a while before moving up to first backstroke and then breaststroke. Eventually I attempt to reengage with front crawl but it takes most of the first lap to do so. I also have blinding cramp in my left calf, not good. I am hauled (helpfully) out of the water by the armpits after the first lap and sent staggering on my way before plunging inelegantly back in.

24 minutes for the first lap isn’t great. The second lap is better in that I manage to swim most of it properly but with the field now well thinned out maintaining direction becomes the new problem and on being hauled out of the water by my armpits for a second time I’m appalled to find that my second lap is no quicker than the first. I will put this down to poor direction finding and the fact that I did drag both legs all the way around due to the calf cramp.

A total swim time of 50:25 is my worst yet. My transition also needs work, 4:03 is pretty terrible really. I ought to be able to halve that but at least now I’m onto the bit that matters most. The 2-lap bike course. I have done this course twice before in the Dambuster Duathlon and this is the first time it hasn't been excessively windy.

Without the wind the terrain doesn’t seem quite so hilly and I also discover to my surprise that the course has some downhills. Previously the in-your-face gale negated these and the nice smooth tarmacked roads are a joy, I hardly see anyone fixing a puncture. 

At the end of lap one I hurl by Outlaw Half branded water bottle at L before picking up a fresh one. I didn’t want my souvenir bottle to be reused and handed back out to someone else.

Lap two goes just as well as lap one and I thoroughly enjoyed minute of the 2:57:06 ride, which is nicely inside the hallowed 3 hours even if it was short. As in 85k rather than the usual 90km for a half iron distance race.

So to the 10.5km out-and-back run along the edge of Rutland Water dodging the ‘tourists’ who really didn’t give a monkeys whether they got in anyone’s way or not. In fact, I think most tried to be as disruptive as possible.

The whole run is a bit of a limp as the cramp in my calf has not eased one bit on the bike, usually it does. So it’s a case of being careful so that it doesn’t turn into a tear. I had already worked out that a 2:05 half would get me in under six hours. I review and recalibrate this at every km mark. Yes, they have km markers here which is about the only thing they did better than the Outlaw. That’s not a criticism of the organisers, it’s just the Outlaw sets the bar very high.

At the end of the first lap I pause for a brief hug with the boys and girl of the support crew before another lap of tourist dodging beckons.

I hold my pace and run a 2:02:16 half finishing in 5:55:50. A mere 1:33 behind the winner but I’m happy with that. I’m called a Vitruvian, handed my medal, t-shirt, crisps for the boys, a biscuit for L and a flap jack for me. Then I’m handed a pint of Erdinger, sadly alcohol free. After writhing in agony on the grass for a while, then being reunited with the support crew, I pass my Erdinger to L and head off in search of any available petite blondes who might wish to massage my legs. They are all booked up apparently but a hulking great male offers to do instead. Beggars can’t be choosers of course and he does a brilliant job of reintegrating my calf with the rest of my body. Then I borrow some money off L to pay him before grabbing another Erdinger, sadly still alcohol free.

Sundowner Middle Distance Triathlon

We are somewhere near York at Allerthorpe for the Sundowner Middle Distance Tri, an event that is in only its second year. The race starts at midday for those planning on taking over six hours and at 1pm for those planning on being a little bit quicker. After recording 5:52 at the Outlaw Half I recklessly place myself in the latter group. The aim is for everyone to be finished by the time the sun goes down. The only problem is somebody forgot to book the sun.

This leisurely lunch time start is pretty unique in the world of sport and makes for a relaxed morning unless your other half has opted to enter the Sprint distance which kicks off at 9.30am.

So first a spot of supporting. L has to do one and half laps of Allerthorpe Lake, which is so shallow in places that when they start some folk walk or run the first section before diving into the water. This is followed by a 20k bike and then a 5k run, all of which takes part in steady miserable rain.

The rain has stopped by my start time although the black clouds overhead are clearly promising that this is only a temporary lull. My own swim involves four laps of the lake and as I’m hopeless at counting lengths in the pool this could pose a bit of a problem. My swim watch, I’m guessing, will be unable to help me here by counting the laps without a definite side touch to set it off.

Already unsettled I mess up lap one by going off way too quickly but somehow I manage to stave off an impressive attempt to drown. After a bit of breast stroking, a touch of embarrassing backstroking and even a spot of walking in the shallow bit I pull myself together but I still emerge from the water in 43:18, five minutes down on my Outlaw time. Maybe I did an extra lap.

The rain that had serenaded L’s event is now back as I set out on the first of two laps of the 45k bike course. Lap one is completed in a satisfying 1:26 and I’m sure I can go faster and break 2:50 but the weather has other ideas. Pretty soon it’s hammering it down and the roads are awash. I finish the bike in 2:55. Still not bad though, ten minutes up on the Outlaw and without the aid of L’s fruit and brandy cake. It was probably more due to the lack of a loo stop and an absence of any attempt to break my thumb this time.

I did almost have a mishap at the end of the first lap when they handed me a drinks bottle with a screw top. How the hell are you supposed to remove that whilst cycling? Eventually I manage to chew it off with my teeth and without crashing.

Then it’s the three lap run, each one involves a loop around the lake before heading out onto the public roads for an out and back section. It is only along a minor B-road but it’s possibly the narrowest and most congested minor road you’ll ever see. Every lap sees everyone dodging their way through a never ending stream of land rovers and tractors. It’s almost as if it’s some deliberate protest against the race.

It’s not helped that the puddles either side of the road are making the strip of tarmac we are running along narrower and narrower. Conditions on the run are no better than on the bike. Bouts of persistent rain are interspersed with more torrential wind assisted offerings.

They had warned us that anyone starting the final lap of the run after 7:00pm would need to carry a head torch and a red rear light. I’m hoping to beat that deadline unless my calves explode.

They don’t and I run every scrap of the distance recording a 1:57 half marathon, which I feel was a triumph for my pacing which I got spot on. Then as I cross the line, the rain stops. Typical.

I did try and up the pace on the final lap to see if I could push myself under 5:40 or even 5:30 but the calves refused to co-operate. My time though was just over 5:40. 12 minutes up on the Outlaw Half. Get in there.

Despite the weather, an excellent event.