Swimin Barnt Green

As my parents are here, I've taken the chance for a photo session while swimming!! The water is quite warm, around 18C (64.4F).

London Olympic tri 10.08.08

Here there is the race report....
Saturday it was preparation day. Train from Snow Hill (Virgin was not running), and arrival al London. Than I've cycled from the train station till the Excel centre, 10 miles (16K), all across London, passing all the Docklands. It was not very nice, to be honest, as there was a lot of traffic, and some roads were close for the race. But it went well.
The place was HUGE, and saturday there were people doing the sprint and superprint. Registration was huge, transition area was enormous. . 13.000 competitors in 2 days. It was impressive, and easy to loose the bike.
Saturday I've ranked Scott, I've taken the pictures and I've studied the swim course, the transition, the bike course and the run. I've also browsed the expo, which was big (bigger than the IM70.3) but not massive.

Than, I've checked in at the Travelodge.
I've eaten a take away pizza, in my room, as opposite to the Travelodge there was a pizza place. The pizza was nice. Night at 10.00 pm. there was nothing worth to be watched on the BBC.
On Sunday, I had my "free" breakfast. I could have eaten whatever I wanted from the buffet , but I was not in the mood for big eating. A bowl of cereals and two sausages were enough!
I returned to the Excel in the late morning, I checked Scott, placed the towels, elmet, race number and drinks in transition, and I've waited 14.10, my wave. that was the worst part, waiting without having nothing to do. I was feeling excited, but at the same time I did not wanted to race, and I thought it would have been the last race. I had my lunch, two Powerbar cookies. I did not wanted to eat more, two hours before the race.
Than the start. I checked again everything and we walked down in the water. Deep water, black, with a diesel taste. very nice! In my wave there were 320 persons. Horn. Start. Washing machine. I was kicked, but not too much. I pushed, as I was determined to have a nice time, this time. This race was all about speed, that was my goal! 1 lap, 1 turn. The turn was messy, a little bit of washing machine again. Towards the end, again. But it was ok.
Water exit, a little bit of dizziness. normal. Wetsuit of, packed it in the bag, bike. The bike was flat, 40K, again I pushed. I was higher with my heart rate monitor than usual. 2 laps, one long tunnel each lap. It was windy, but generally ok. Some parts we were racing on a highway, so we had 2 lanes to race. other parts we had just one lane, and it was a little bit packed, and I found difficult, some time to pass people. End of the bike. Quick transiton. Run
2 laps, each 5K. First lap, pain as usual. This time the pain was at the front, lower left. I coped with it. I run in a slow pace. A lot of drinking stations, with Gatorate and water. Second lap I was determined to increase my pace. and I did it. the pain gradually went away with the end of the first lap, and I increased more the heart rate. Now I was around 170 as average (from 150/160 of the bike/swim as average). I was feeling good, and I was feeling the legs were working fine. I was not breathless.
I finished at 2h and 36min. I found out there were (in different waves) 441 persons in my category, and I scored 221, right in the middle! I was totally pleased with my time. totally. My aim was to finish it under 3h and I was extremelly pleased.
The support during the run was great, the general support was great and the organization amazing. I have to admit, the IM 70.3 support was really amazing. this was great, but not amazing. the atmosphere was really nice, the place huge, and it was totally worth doing it. I'm sorry you've missed it, as I guess you would have really enjoyed it, as it is the biggest tri in the world.
Of course it is not my last race!! but the feelings I had right before it were strange. Any way, I'm planning a marathon and Lichefield sprint, as a checkout of my time.