A
fabulous Finnish finish
If you had
told me 3 years ago that I would be on the start
line of the European Long Distance Triathlon
Championships wearing a GBR tri-suit I would have told you that you
may have overdosed on performance enhancing but brain befuddling
"supplements". But there I was, feeling something of an imposter,
amongst Europe's finest age group and pro athletes, pondering quite
how deep the "deep water" start was going to be and if someone was
suddenly going to let me know my selection was an unfortunate
clerical oversight.
When I was
offered a place on the team in February (you get a "Congratulations
you have been selected e-mail") I looked up the weather in Tampere,
Finland, where the race was to be held. -20c by day didn't look
great and the 160cm of ice on the lake seemed to suggest skating
drills should replace swimming ones.
Luckily
there was no ice to break as the starter ordered us into the water.
Whilst the balmy water temperature (19.6c) was comforting, the
thought of a 4km out and back swim was rather scary to a landlubber
like myself. When the team GBR race recce took place the team
manager pointed out into the far distance beyond the horizon line..
"and somewhere out there is the turn buoy". Luckily my customary
swim start tactics left me with plenty of feet (well all of them
actually) to follow. I managed to find some kind of rhythm and
sensed I was heading in the right kind of direction. This was
confirmed as the leading age group ladies caught up and swam over
the top of me.
Whilst the
woman on top wearing rubber water play fantasy may be some people's
idea of fun I didn't take too well to this assault. My survival
instincts must have kicked in and I swallowed several gallons of
Finland's finest lake water to act as ballast and enable me to
remain submerged whilst the girls tap danced on my head.
I must have
swum round the buoy at some stage as I could see the footbridge
near the Olympic Stadium HQ where transition was. With great relief
I hauled myself unglamorously out of the water happy to be alive
and not experiencing the dreaded cramps that have reduced me to
tears in the past. I was further uplifted by the cheers of support
from team Wintergold (Daisy, Daniel, Alice and her parents had all
come out too).
The bike
leg was a confusing 6 lap effort that included lots of well
marshalled roads, a section of motorway and a scalextric style
cross over where you went from being on the left side of the road
to the right with on-coming riders doing the opposite.
I was
making quite good progress but couldn't push too hard or drink as
my stomach was complaining about the small pond ingested during my
encounter with the fast ladies. By lap 3 this pond was trying to
make a bid for freedom sometimes up, sometimes down and sometimes
both. Not wanting to break the strict ETU rules on revealing
various bits of anatomy and not wanting to soil my new trisuit I
skidded (no, not that kind of skid) to a halt outside the stadium.
"Where's the loo?" I shouted at the congregated mass of spectators
and officials. Various shrugs and looks of confusion suggested that
my lack of Finnish ("missa on vessa", if you ever need to know) and
coherency made me look rather
I decided
to head into the stadium and search the myriad of corridors for the
room I was increasingly desperate to locate. The combination of
shiny floors and cycling cleats is not good. Add in a dose of panic
and the dramatic backflip with double twist was inevitable. Picking
myself from the floor I spied the facilities required and some 7
minutes later I emerged from the stygian gloom to remount my bike
several kilos lighter. The next 3 laps were more comfortable in
spite of the rising wind and the continuing game of Russian
roulette at Scalextric corner.
Going into
T2 it was lovely to hear "Go Daddy go" as the Wintergold
cheerleaders made their presence heard. A leisurely transition (not
forgetting a handful of chocolate éclairs for comfort and energy)
and it was off on the scenic 4 lap lakeside run. It was quickly
apparent that I had forgotten to pack my running legs so I settled
into a 7'50 mile plod and cheered the other GBR athletes as we
crossed paths (but not in the Scalextric manner of the bike course
thankfully). The pro athletes were simply amazing and were already
approaching the last of their 20 miles at a pace I could only dream
of.
Every lap
the family fan club gave me a boost as I tried to keep the numbers
of people passing me level with the numbers of people I passed. A
helpful Finnish age grouper swapped an éclair for details of the
(totally unmarked and off course) loos. The slightly lighter load
meant I picked up to a heady 7'49 mile pace and rewarded his
kindness by overtaking him with a mile to go.
It was a
really special to finish (and not in last place as I had feared) in
an Olympic stadium in front of your own family.
A lovely
holiday followed where I could spend some quality time with them
and not my wetsuit. The lakes and sea were fabulous as were the Spy
Museum and the Viking Feast. A better post race celebration would
have been hard to find.
So for any
of you dreaming of wearing GBR on your front I say keep on trying
and keep on training - eventually you will be so old that you will
get there!
Event
details:
4k swim,
125k bike, 20.5k run
Drinks -
900ml High 5 and 3000ml lake water
Food - 3
High 5 gels and 4 eclairs
Fans -
5
Blisters -
0
Training
details
3 key
sessions a week for 18 weeks
Result
details
Time
6.53.01 (1.09 swim, 2.00 T1, 3.13 bike, 1.30 T2, 2.28
run)
6th in age group
2nd Brit over 45 (would have been first without
unfortunate loo incident)
61st overall including pros and all age
groups
Number of
medals I would have won in other age groups = Bronze 25-29, Gold
under 20, Silver 50-54, Gold 55-59 (if only I were older or
younger!)
Author:
Loz Wintergold