Race Report – St Neots – British Sprint Championships

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FullSizeRenderWith over 900 people descending on St Neots and the river Ouse for a triple header for British Championship honours and world & European qualifiers, the best of the best where looking to set a marker at the beginning of the season. I was off in the fourth wave with over 170 across two age groups. In 13.5 degrees the swim was hectic and cold. I struggled over the first 375m to find any rhythm and unfortunately gave away a little distance to a couple of strong swimmers. Not phased I turned back upstream and closed the gap.

With a fast T1 I moved into third place and throughout the course of the ride I could see the top two in the distance. Over the final 5km I closed the gap and moved into second but the overall winner had also pushed on. As we came into T2 I was side by side to the other athlete. A solid transition I looked to exit transition and focus on my run. The other guy flew out and got a small gap. I wasn’t concerned as I was moving well off a hard bike so I was confident I would catch him. Which I did at the end of lap 1. I looked to maintain the pace knowing it was good enough to catch him and save some for the final 1km. I pushed hard and set my best run split to date and came on in 2nd place and AG Silver medalist. I’ve beaten the winner before but on this day he was the better man and well deserved – I will get him next time.
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Although I’d already qualified for the worlds, it was nice gain a silver medal and also my European place for Lisbon 2016. The season now can progress with everything nicely in place

Thanks for your support and I will be back in touch after my next race at Eton Dorney

Mark

Post Race Reflections

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Thought today’s coaches corner would be very appropriate to all those who have raced recently and help aid those racing soon. Today’s coaches corner is about Post Race Reflection.

It’s very easy straight after a race to over analyse your performance and reflect in a negative way. We are all competitive in our own ways, whether with with outcome goals such as winning you age group, event or performance based such as looking to improve on your previous race splits or looking to set a PB at a given race. Taking a step back and a few hours, even days will help you better to reflect upon your performance.

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New Member – Dave Smelt

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0235_25224I live in West Molesey with my wife Debbie, no kids but a very demanding cat. I’ve been racing triathlons since 2009; prior to that I rowed for Kingston RC, and Henley RC before that. After completing my second Etape du Tour in 2012 I decided I fancied a go at Ironman distance, and I now find myself training for my 3rd Ironman in Vichy in August having previously done IM Wales and Austria.

Outside of training I am partial to the occasional Real or Craft Ale festival, and spend most of my spare holiday visiting my far flung relatives in Singapore, Perth, Sydney and France.

Welcome to the Viceroys Dave…

Race Report – Mark Yeoman – Ocean Lake Triathlon

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And so the 2015 season starts…

After an amazing 2014 season which saw me win nice races and culminate with finish 6th overall at the grand final in Edmonton. 2015 is all about building slowly for grand final in the Windy City -Chicago where I have already qualified for based on being the top British athlete from the 2014 final.

Winter has been good with plenty of hours spent in the pool, on the WattBike & running. My focus is clearly my weakness – the run so I’ve worked hard to strengthen up those legs ahead of the season.

On Saturday 25th April i dipped my toe into an icy 14degree lake in Kent for the Ocean Lake Triathlon. I settled into a steady pace in the swim but getting into the cold lake for the first time I was someone rusty and gave away a few metres on one guy. Not getting stressed he exited the water just ahead of me & as I eased out a low 10min swim which was pleasing considering the water temperature. Flying through T1 setting the fastest transition I took the lead and never looked back. I had cycled to feeling as my Garmin zoned out as I couldn’t get my cadence sensor amass the others in transition when setting up. Using the WattBike has help increase my power & cadence so I eased to the fastest bike split on a tricky course due to the windy & damp conditions. I had a little gap over 2nd and looked to settled into a nice pace on the run but with ice cold feet this was hard. On the 2nd lap 2nd place had gained but not as much as I’d presumed.  I looked to overtake those on their first lap to hide but at 4km he pulled alongside. I looked to hold close and over the final few hundred metres he put a spurt on to pip me by  9seconds. A solid 2nd place overall and good hit out to break the season in.

Two weeks to build into the first qualifier of the season where I can see who’s who’s ahead of the grand final.

Mark

Race Report – Colette Kitterhing

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If anyone wants to plan a “bucket list” early season race then I can highly recommend Cannes.

There are 2 distances, I did the “medium” 1k swim, 40k ride and 8k run (half of the distance of the “long”

Swim – My first mass sea start and with about 650 athletes gong off I was feeling very apprehensive and decided to hold back and entered toward the back. Swimming with a friend we stuck together defending each other from the masses and picking our way through the field. I was extremely happy to see so many bikes as we came to T1.

Bike – About 3k of flat and then the climb out of Cannes. Roughly 850m of climbing over the next 40k followed. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, amazing roads, brilliantly marshalled and policed for a safe, fair race. I caught 2 girls and was passed by one in the first half. At 25k the rain started and it began to get a bit hairy on the descents.  A couple of bikes in front of me wiped out on sharp bends, I decided to hold back a bit. The rain  worked in my favour, I’m not he bravest descender but clearly not as cautious as some as I managed to pass a few men 😀

Run – In to  T2 and my legs felt ok. 2 out and backs along  the Croisette.  I was not 100% sure of my position a few had passed me on the bike  I couldn’t be sure if they were male or female… Spotting a girl ahead I chased her down. I felt comfortable and was just enjoying the moment. Pleased to be passing more than passed me, then in the last 1k I pushed a bit and caught the shoulder of a guy from Monaco Tri Club who looked over and encouragingly said “stick with me” it was great help and he paced me to the red carpet.

One final push for a sprint run down the carpet and to a great medal for the collection.

What can I say, what a venue, what a race….Can’t wait till next year.

1st Age Group \ 8th Female

CK2

Zwift Island

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Today’s coaches corner looks once more at how to make those long rides on the training bike / turbo / WattBike more bearable.

In a previous coaches corner I gave you a number of ways to break up that long run alternate on the turbo trainer / WattBike when the weather means you can’t go outside. Yes you could ride outside in the wet conditions, but naturally there’s a greater risk of injury and therefore you might take the session too easy and negate the benefits of your endurance ride. At the moment you have to sign up and then wait for your invite. They are consistently adding new content and they have recently changed the island. Its free at the moment but I guess it will be subscription based at some point.

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Cold Weather Racing

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Today’s coaches corner by Peter Bell asks how we should prepare for those early races where the weather is still cold – both in the water & on the bike.

Racing in cold whether can be more detrimental that you can imagine. Your body will use vital energy to keep you warm. A reduction in the body’s temperature can as we know lead to hypothermia which is not uncommon in races where simple mistakes are made in the name of ‘hardness’. You should always have in your kit bag certain items of kit to help combat those variations in weather so that you can have a great day in the office Continue reading →

Hills & Flat Riding

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Today coaches corner is all about the merits of hills and / or riding the flats. Why and when will aid you towards achieving your goal.

Winter hills: winter is all about building that strong base. Making your legs stronger will aid you come the increase in intensity during the season. Riding hills takes practice, knowing what gear to use, what cadence range, how much power you should be generating. Either way, riding hills will make you stronger. BUT if you only ever do hills, then will lose that cutting edge which riding the faster fasts can do, (see below).

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