On Saturday, the 2nd July, there were many different ladies only races going on at Dorney Lake, with Clare, Jean & Sharon in the Challenge triathlon and Fiona in the Sprint. So here are two race reports for you:
Author: Sharon
Left the house at 7.30am which is not too early; apart from my teenage kids thinking that they have been woken up in the middle of the night. My crew in the car were: Gordon (hubby), Sean & Alina - the kids. We were hoping to catch up with the other car - Clare, Jean & Rob (Jean's hubby). Unfortunately 15mins up the road and we are straight back to the house for the forgotten camera.
No sign of Jean's car but the M25 was blissfully quiet and drama-free so we made great time to Dorney Lake.
There were loads of parking and a bit of walk to the boathouse so support crew were handed equipment to carry & off we went. The walk helped to settle the nerves a bit - worrying about all the unknowns for my first open water triathlon; the mass swim start, spotting & getting out of the spray-on wetsuit.
Saw three lovely smiling faces waiting for us outside the registration tent - Rob was trying to stay cheerful as when he had first spotted the large registration tent, he thought it was full of beer.
After collecting my number, we headed for the posh boathouse and upstairs to the balcony & café, which gives great views of the Lake and an excellent place to settle all the support crew who immediately organised themselves bacon sandwiches - oh crikey I'm going to hurl, there goes the nerves again.
As Clare, Jean & I racked our bikes, we were able to watch the first Wave enter the water. The first group were the Relay team and there didn't seem to be many of them so gave us all the wrong impression that the groups were going to be small. Not long before it's our time to wander down to the start position & there were LOADS of us (our wave - under 30s & over 40s). Clare was the bravest - going in without the wetsuit - whereas Jean & I just went "NO WAY - gives us the rubber".
All in the water, treading and trying to find our space while listening to the race briefing - excellent place to tell you the race details - knowing full well that you couldn't escape at this point. Then went the Starting Gun & wow! Arms, legs everywhere, all trying to head for the 1st buoy. Had to stop as goggles were knocked off and then tried to avoid the kicking breast stroker. Going round the first buoy, someone actually grabbed my ankle. First time ever I was actually kicking!
Swim was 2 laps - bizarrely 800m in open water doesn't seem so long or so hard compared to a pool environment. After the race I discovered from the support team that the girl who was leading mistakenly starting heading back to the first buoy instead of the finish ramp & had to be chased by the speed boat to correct her. Even with her extra 200m-ish, she still managed to beat the rest of us.
Hit the finish ramp with my hands, straight up and running (first fear dealt with as I thought my legs were going to be too wobbly). The wetsuit came off so smoothly - shock - (2nd fear dealt with) but then I had to sit on the floor to put shoes on as felt a bit dizzy. Out of T1, next came Jean - who absolutely loved her first experience of open water racing and then Clare.
I loved the cycle ride as it is SO flat, no cars and the surface is lovely & smooth. Its 6 laps around the lake and some excellent corners to take. Only time in each lap you had to slow down was when you return to the boathouse as caution was required from cyclist coming from the T1 slip way and supporters crossing the path. All our support crew were giving us great encouragement as we went past them on each lap - is that bloody ice-creams in their hands?????
T2 was okay, and then onto the run. A bit of a boring route as up & down the same path for 3 laps. Excellent option to check that everyone is okay. Saw Clare (looking strong and happy) while on my 1st lap but where is Jean? - getting worried now! The positive aspect of the run is that it is as flat as a pancake, so my currently sore knees weren't suffering too much (last fear sorted).
Finally last lap & it is so hot, just kept looking straight ahead, counting to 100 and not worrying what other ladies were doing & then finally, I would love to say a sprint but more like a crawl to the finish line. Here I was met by a group of sweet cheering marshals, our screaming support crew and a dodgy looking man with a garden hose splashing everyone with cold water. In other circumstances he probably would have got a slap but this time I was truly grateful. Not long after a beaming Clare & then a smiling Jean crossed the finish line.
Now to hear "what had happened to poor Jean" - to be honest we are not really sure as number of laps are not officially counted, but we think that most probably Jean did an extra bike lap - I told you the bike route was so good - you just want to do more!
After we packed up and were ready to go home we were lucky to have a chance to cheer Fiona as she headed to the finish line - my god that girl can run.
To summarise I think I can happily say from all 4 of us that Dorney Lake is an excellent venue for competing and for your spectators. All the races were very well organised and had a great buzzing atmosphere - but no beer tent - sorry Rob.
Here are our results:
STANDARD DISTANCE (800m, 30km, 7.5km):
|
POS |
CAT POS |
NAME |
TOTALTIME |
SWIM |
T1 |
BIKE |
T2 |
RUN |
|
55 |
2 |
Sharon |
01:56:06 |
00:16:20 |
00:02:10 |
00:55:08 |
00:01:16 |
00:41:12 |
|
110 |
10 |
Clare |
02:18:15 |
00:19:53 |
00:02:25 |
01:10:05 |
00:01:41 |
00:44:12 |
|
115 |
9 |
Jean |
02:19:58 |
00:17:57 |
00:03:09 |
01:13:43 |
00:01:52 |
00:43:17 |
Author Fiona:
Managed to get round the M25 with relative ease so hoped that was a good omen for my 2nd attempt at triathlon.
On arrival the nerves really began to take hold and it seemed an age to walk from the car park to the boathouse and race registration. After collecting my numbers and timing chip there were lots of green hats in the water. Wondering if this could be Sharon, Claire and Jean in the challenge event. The hooter went and there was flying arms and white water.....crikey that's a mass start then!
Racked the bike trying to remember the tips Steve B gave me at East Grinstead and then it was just a case of waiting. This was probably the worst part of the day as thoughts of getting stuck in my wetsuit or further bike malfunctions did nothing to calm my nerves! Standing on the balcony at the boathouse looking down on transition I was trying to spot the others but sadly didn't see them before the start of my wave.
I was glad that I had a couple of Ardingly swim sessions under my belt as I made my way to the water and chatting to some of the other competitors who were first timers I started to enjoy the moment! The marshals friendly banter certainly helped and by the time I'd swam round the second buoy I was really enjoying the swim. Was surprised to get a mouthful of weeds and realised that I'd veered off to the left on the final approach to the pontoon - idiot! I didn't struggle with the wetsuit as I'd thought but my 2:51 T1 will need some work! The bike course was great fun and cycling with two fully inflated tyres makes it all the more easier. I knew I would have been slower on the swim but wasn't sure how many people were in front of me on the bike. It was also difficult to work out who was who as they were different waves out on the course so I just kept pedalling and praying for incident free cycling. At the end of my final lap I was expecting a marshal to point me in the direction of transition but nothing so I was glad that I'd kept count myself.....it was 4 laps, wasn't it? Now for the real test, running off the bike. Dodged past some milling competitors in transition and made my way out onto the run course. Getting off the bike I realised just how warm it was out there and hoped that my legs wouldn't cramp up. I heard some shouts of encouragement, which was a real boost. I certainly found it harder to run a 5k after the swim and the bike, and kept thinking to myself that I really should have practised some more brick sessions. The sight of the finish arch after my second lap was a welcome sight and crossing the line I was very surprised and pleased to be given 2nd place in my wave. I'd completed my first tri and it was worth the wait!
My results:
SPRINT DISTANCE (400m, 20km, 5km):
|
POS |
CAT POS |
NAME |
TOTALTIME |
SWIM |
T1 |
BIKE |
T2 |
RUN |
|
14 |
4 |
Fiona |
01:12:59 |
00:08:34 |
00:02:52 |
00:39:21 |
00:01:33 |
00:20:40 |