At the end of my first season in Triathlon, I convinced myself that I had one race left in me - and so I signed up on the day for the Chilly Duathlon at Castle Coombe race track in Wiltshire. It seemed like a great idea with a 2 mile run, 10 mile cycle, and back for another 2 miles running. The course was on the Castle Coombe motor racing circuit - which at 2 miles in length, made the maths easy for the organisers.
I got there early, and was able to blag a quick lap of the track on my bike before they set up. Low lying fog quickly turned my cycling glasses in to a blurry waste of £15 - so they got binned into my kit bag when I got back to rack my bike. A good move as others would find later.
A quick briefing later, and a stern talking to from the BTF official about drafting (where everyone was given their first warning), we were sent off in a mass start. Starting at the back (as I thought I was a slow runner) meant that my ego got a boost as I quickly started passing other competitors. Towards the end of my 2 mile run, the leaders were already completing their first bike lap and envy propelled me into T1. Sodding shoe wouldn't come off - wasted 10s, got on the bike - forgot that I left it in a high gear after my test lap, another few secs wasted - and we're off on lap 1 - smile for the camera on exit.
5 laps later, my legs are still good and T2 seemed to go better. Ripped the top off a gel, and promptly sent most of it over my hands. Started the 2 mile run with sticky fingers - nice. Anyway, I stuck to my race plan and reeled in some more runners - and even caught the two guys that I thought had left me for dust in the first run. A final sprint for the line and home for tea and medals (no t-shirt).
Overall the race was really well organised with chip timing and lots of sponsors on site selling their wares. I'll be back next year.
Run 1: 16:41
T1: 01:14
Bike: 28:39
T2: 01:13
Run 2: 15:53
Total: 01:03:41
Andrew Lennox
Nuffield Health