Caerhays Triathlon- A race review at a stunning location

Coming off the back of a two week break from serious training for me with the Yeovil marathon and then the Namibia trip it was back to business this week…..

I wont lie…..training has been a grind this week…..my swimming felt shite…..like a bear with a stick….but I just got the sessions done!

So today, I wanted to get out there and blow the cobwebs out in a shorter event than usual…..1000m swim, 13.1 mile bike and a run that was around 4.5 miles… (if you don’t decide to do an extra hill rep)!!

New BlueSeventy helix wetsuit felt divine! A “to Me from me” birthday present!

…..my best ever swim pace in a race……came out of the water in 14th out of 100. Then on to the bike, ready to attack it and start clawing my way through the field…….

Until…..I couldn’t change gear……off I get fix a mechanical issue and then onto the first hill like a man possessed trying to make up the places that I lost whilst messing around fixing the issue.

Felt super strong out there….the work I have been doing on the strength with my coach is really starting to show. Finished the bike in 6th. On to the run with 3 or 4 guys around me.

Off we went…..into the field and straight up the hill……when we should have turned right to run along some flat……this mistake not only battered the legs a bit…..it cost me about 2.5 minutes when I look back at the data…..

As I said to the guys around me , “reckon we are lost?” , we turned around to see a stream of athletes making their way the ‘right way’…….flat out back down the hill to try and get those places back! Job done within the next 4-5 mins……but that hurt!

The run was tricky but really scenic in the grounds of the Caerhays estate.

I lost a place in the last ½ mile which annoyed me a little, so finished in 7th place overall……pretty happy with that.

So overall the swim, bike and run were actually all really pleasing just the technical bits got me today…..so onwards and upwards from there…

The great thing about that distance is that it doesn’t wipe you out for ½ a week like a half ironman…. A solid block of training now until my next big race on August 20th.

Big thanks to Barry & Angie , Jo, Charlene, Jenny for the support they gave Dan, Paul and I…… racing isn’t the same without someone there cheering you on!

Also big thanks again to John and John at MHS for organising it…..without these guys there would be very few open water swim/ multi sport events in the Cornwall area, so we as local athletes must support these guys!