Alan Sewell wrote this brilliant account of his first ever Olympic distance triathlon where on a scorchingly hot August morning he swam, biked and ran his way around London. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did....
"We came. We saw. We got wet and tired. And, what the hell, we conquered too. Well, whatever, we feel like conquerors. And we still feel kinda tired too…
Sunday, August 5, 2007, saw six members of the Virgin Active Road Runners take part in the largest triathlon in the world. Hanna, Alison, Sonia, Lisa, Esme and I all completed in this year’s Olympic-distance age group categories, which meant we all set off at different times through the day.
I was initially worried about my 6:30am start. And then more worried when I woke up at 4am. But, like a pro, I stuffed as much malt loaf and as many pancakes down my throat as I could, and felt surprisingly awake, and ready for the challenge ahead.
One of the best decisions I made all weekend was to stay close to the starting line, so it was just a short walk from my hotel to London Excel Centre. I arrived at 5:30am, racked my bike, and set the transition. The transition hall was huge, about the size of a football pitch, only stacked with bikes. I had a tough time figuring out exactly where I was going to be entering and leaving the building during the race – don’t laugh, I’m allowed to be easily confused at 5.30am! - especially as they had changed it from the sprints the day before.
And after racking, it was wetsuit on and down to the swim area, for a short safety briefing. As it was so early in the morning there were few people about in this large hall, and you could sense that something big was about to happen. Big, and maybe a bit wet.
Swim...
The weather was perfect. It was going to be another hot day so personally I was really pleased to be in the first wave of the day even if it was at 6:30am. The rest of the gang were going to be racing at close to midday. But I am sure it was of great solace to them that I was going to be there to cheer them on!
I was well aware of all the horror stories about the swim - people swimming over you, grabbing your legs, kicks to the face. It was my first tri so I erred on the side of caution and placed myself towards the back of the pack. The race itself wasn’t as rough as I had expected. There was the odd leg pull and occasional knock on the head, but I gave as good as I got, and finished the 1.5km in good time.
T1...
Once out of the water, I was a bit light-headed. I stumbled to the railings, and whipped the wetsuit off and stuffed it into a bag. I could hear Tom and H cheering me on (not as I whipped my wetsuit off, but as I ran to the stairs to find my bike). I grabbed the bike, and ran in my socks past the bike mount line, jumped on, and I was away.
Bike...
The bike was a bit weird to be honest, as I was kinda stuck in limbo - too fast for the mountain bikes and too slow for what seemed like everybody else on their road bikes. And being in the first wave the course was quite lonely at some points on this 40km course.
The ride was flat and scenic, taking me past Canary Wharf, by Big Ben and close by the London Eye. Once again, when I got back to the Excel Centre the cheers of encouragement from my family, H and Tom were greatly appreciated, and gave me some much needed focus. I was two-thirds of the way through!
T2...
I managed to get my feet out of my shoes before I came to the dismount line, so all I needed to do was jump off, park the bike and put the running trainers on. It felt like a quick transition, and before I knew it I was off and literally running.
Run...
By this time the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was picking up. I had taken on lots of fluid during the bike leg, so even though I was having a good time I wanted get the 10km run over with as soon as possible and get a good time. The course was two laps around the docks, and like the bike course it was flat and fast. I took it easy on the first lap as I didn’t want to cramp up and ruin my time, but for the second lap I picked up the pace. Nothing could go wrong!
Something then went wrong. Just as I was getting in the ‘zone’ I clipped my leg on a pillar in the pavement and fell on my arse. Nice. I did a tough guy combat roll and was up again. It was painful, but the only major damage was to my pride. And maybe a bit to my arse. Oh, and to my time too, as I eventually found out that that tumble cost me a sub 40min 10k! Bloody pillars…
Overall...
This was my first triathlon, and it was a really great event to do as a beginner. Around half the people in my wave were beginners (they didn’t all fall on their arse, but hopefully they will all have more events to come during which they can live up to my performance).
I know that supporters and athletes all had a wicked day and enjoyed a fantastic atmosphere. There was also loads of support from the crowds and marshals. The course is as easy as you want it to be, as it is all flat and relatively uncomplicated."
The results should now be posted in the results section and a few photo's have made their way HERE.
