The week leading up to this event was a lighter training load, but I did still train as I have a number of events coming up after Skipton. However I did a small session Thursday morning then nothing at all Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday I popped over to see my Brother Tony who completed his first Ironman in Lanzarote last May. He is also taking part in Skipton as part of his final training prep for his second Ironman again in Lanzarote in 6 weeks time. Whilst at Tony’s I mentioned a problem with the gears on my bike which kept and jumping on a previous ride the week before. So he said that he would look at it and give it a service. For the rest of the night I just chilled out had a few glasses of wine and a Chinese take away. I was due to go to bed about 10.00pm but match of the day was on so I ended up staying up until midnight.
On the morning of the race I drove over to my other brother John who was also taking part. He has done a number of triathlons in the past and is a specialist cyclist but in his admission wasnt really match fit for a triathlon but was taking part anyway. John had spent time servicing my bike and said it was all ok now.
On arrival in the car park we soon discovered that the swimming pool was over the other side of a hill. So we had to carry our bikes and kit up a longish country staircase which then came out at the back of Aireville school. It was about 7/8 minute’s walk which was a bit annoying as we were then in a mad rush to get John in for his 9.45am start. I also noticed the wind which was gusting and I thought was gonna make life hard on the cycle route. Anyway, we registered and racked our bikes and tabbed it back to the car to grab further kit and return to the transition area. We bumped into my Dad and he then joined us on the way back.
Time was short now so John went to start his swimming and Tony, Susan and Elaine also turned up and went straight to the pool. I went to the bike area to set my kit out. I was feeling a little bit nervous now as there were a lot of people watching all the athletes getting their kit ready plus there were competitors transitioning in and out of this area all the time that I was there. I set out my gear in order of putting them on. Helmet, shades, top, number belt, socks and so on. I took off my joggers and top and put them in my bag under my bike. I had also put Johns bag down under his bike but didn’t have time to set his kit out as I now had to get down to the pool for my start time. Before going to the pool I had to dodge the runners coming in and out of the pool and kids playing in the park and random dog walkers seemingly oblivious to athletes getting on with their race.
At the pool I found a grassed area round the back of the fire door so I took off my trainers and top and then walked to the pool entrance. It felt a bit weird to do so with just my trunks and goggles on crossing the path of onlookers outside. I was soon called out onto the poolside where a briefing started but I wasn’t really listening as I was doing muscle poses to my watch family sat in the viewing gallery who were laughing. I asked what the swim order again to which the instructor with clipboard in hand laughed and said ‘were you not listening’. In my group were about 24 swimmers split into 6 lanes with 4 in each lane, I was in lane 3. I felt pretty relaxed now and entered the water and waited for the whistle. The guy next to me said in a dodgy Scottish accent ‘Contenders, you will go on my first whistle’ to which I replied, Gladiators you will go on my second whistle’. We all laughed. Then a chap next to me mentioned that he was a bag of nerves. I said to relax and just take it easy and he’ll be fine. The whistle blew and we were off in 5 second increments, I was third out. I soon moved into second but then third and fourth swam straight over me which both shocked and pissed me off so went I reached the third lap I swam passed them and settled in second again. There was a young lady in front of me doing a strong breast stroke and was keeping a good pace. The others had dropped right back now so I was able to relax and just keep it steady. I was really enjoying myself, it was fun. My front crawl was faster than the leaders pace but I couldn’t pass her as the others kept coming the opposite way as I tried to pass which blocked me in and after a few attempts trying to pass I didn’t think there was any point in using the energy to do so with only a few lengths left to do.
Myself and the leader were the first out in the whole group to finish along with another one or two others so I knew it was a quick swim. I exited out of the firedoor into the cool air and put my trainers on and then jogged over to the bike transition area. Tony had run out of the pool gallery and was shouting encouragement. I was feeling good at this point as I made my way over. It does feel a little bit surreal running past loads of onlookers as already mentioned but it both amused and spurred me on. At my bike I quickly dried myself so I could get my cycle top on. I had some tri shorts on so didn’t need any shorts as such. I then looked for my helmet and everything was all over the floor, it looked like someone had kicked my stuff all over. However it was blowing a gale so this was probably the culprit. I found my kit and put it on and took a bit shot of my sports drink then Tony shouted to get a move on, so I did. In the process I forgot to put my socks and gloves on but thought sod it im only gonna be running a 5k which I mentioned to Tony as I left to which he nodded and I started the ride.
On the bike I stopped briefly to get my gloves on and then I was on my way. My legs felt a bit heavy so I stayed in an easier gear just to get some cadence going. The weather was really blowing a gale head-on and I was finding it really tough to get any respectable pace going. Looking down at my trip computer I was only averaging about 14k an hour for the first 6k. Last week without the wind on the same route in practice I was around 20k per hour at the over the same distance. Apart from passing a few route marshalls I was on my own with no one behind me or even close. At around 8k I began to pass some tail enders from an earlier group. I noticed that the first rider I passed was on a heavy mountain bike with full winter cycling kit. It both made me laugh and feel a bit sorry for them as they were obviously hampered by excessive weight. By now I was badly struggling on any incline (or hill as I call them) as my body weight and lack of leg power plus the wind really slowed me down. The gears on my bike were also skipping and jumping all over the place which affected my morale somewhat. I passed the cross keys pub on my right and thought how great a pint of beer would be right now. I took a swig of high5 to wet my mouth. Eventually I reached the junction in the village at Thornton le Craven and I knew the worst was over. Going downhill I gunned it and put in a sprint to try and claw back some time. As I passed an open field a massive cross wind slammed into me and the bike jointed and rattled and it scared the shit out of me. I was lucky, I held on and didn’t fall. I was careful now until I turned left and had the wind behind me at long last. With the wind behind me I was able to keep a good cadence and my morale lifted somewhat as I passed a further 3 or 4 competitors. As I was coming in to transition I spotted Elaine (my sister in law) taking photos on the roadside and I waved. I dismounted and saw John who was on his 5k run, he shouted encouragement and I stumbled over to the transition area with my bike. I began to remove gloves and helmet on the way to save time.
Bike racked helmet and gloves off and it was a quick transition. I crossed a grassed area then onto the roadside to start my 5k run. Tony shouted out ‘1h.22 so far, come on’. My legs were rubbery and my pulse and breathing were heavy, I was struggling again so I dropped to a very steady jog to try and sort myself out. After about 10 minutes everything had settled down again and I was able to increase my pace somewhat and feel good about completing my debut. I passed a couple of runners as I entered the park and through the main body of spectators who all shouted encouragement. When I reached the water station at the bottom of the park at 2.5k I though yes one drink over the head and the other sip it. However, I struggled to get back up the incline so had to do walk jogs until on the flat again where my dad and others spurred me on. On the second lap I was struggling to manage anything other than flat or downhill as my legs had gone. A group of four lads had passed me entering the park again so I tagged along at the back of them just to keep some sort of pace which really helped get me through the last part. On the final corner the marshall shouted out ‘200 meters to go, well done’. The last part is like a funnel as you cross the line and its was good to hear everyone cheering with family waiting and taking photos as you cross the line. Job done, I felt amazing with the exercise high and the adrenaline kicking in. I chatted with family then had drinks and fruit that the organisers had put on.
Both myself and John got our results and he had a better overall time by just one minute. I had done a quicker swim and run, but he is a much stronger cyclist. Looking back at the photos and the expression on his face he was really going flat out and gave 110%. We both got changed and it started to absolutely lash it down and we both got soaked. And I staying that way for the next couple of hours as we then then watched Tony on his turn. Tony put in a solid performance and we kept him aware of times to beat and so on. He was quicker all round than us and finished in a good 1h.26. Later we were amazed to find that I actually had the best swim time by a single second. So I was well chuffed as I didn’t get a complete whitewash by him and it means I have some leverage when the banter starts.
