By Flo Wilson
The Lead-Up
I probably didn’t have the best week leading up to the race due to the rising temperature (which will be a theme of this report!). Late shifts and early rises to help my friends prepare decorations for a stag do meant I never got more than 6 hours sleep all week.
They had planned the stag to be down in Swansea so I could join for some of it – not my decision but I was pleased to be a part of it. It was really fun to be in a beautiful house with all my mates, playing silly games, chatting in the hot tub, and mostly sticking to the alcohol-free beers.
After seeing the weather was going to be 27 degrees by midday, I decided setting myself more of a target than just completion was not a wise idea. So I essentially took my foot off the brake and allowed myself to come at the race with a more relaxed approach – just soak in the atmosphere and gain experience of the 70.3 distance.
On Saturday, after registering and putting my bike in transition, I joined them again on the beach. Probably got involved in a bit too many beach games, 200m walks to the sea for a cool-down dip, and didn’t spend enough time with my feet up. But it was a gorgeous day with my friends on ‘one of the world’s top 50 beaches’ and it definitely relaxed me.
Night Before and Race Morning
The actual night before, I had a very poor night’s sleep. Stuck in a roasting hot Airbnb room despite two fans, a bit sunburnt, and I guess lots of nerves.
On the morning, after breakfast, I managed to leave the house with all my entourage (my parents and our friend and his son). In an attempt to be efficient, as it was 45 minutes till transition closed, Mum and I jumped out the car with a bag with my final bits for transition and Dad would park the car. After a 10-minute walk to my bike, I realised I’d left my water bottles with my dad and our friends!
Long story short, my bottles and I got into transition at 6:45 (transition closing at 7, which the volunteer helpfully reminded me of) and I rushed to get everything sorted. Then quickly realised I’d let air out of my tyres yesterday because of the heat and, as a reflex, swore really loudly – which got the attention of a man with a pump. Crisis averted.
A big lesson from the race: don’t bring your parents with you to transition or the start. Tell them to find a good spot to watch the swim and leave them early! They will only add more stress, especially if they’ve never been to a triathlon before. At one point Mum asked, “Do you have a set place for your helmet or do you want us to hand you things?” 🙄
The Swim
Long walk to the start of the swim, hot in a wetsuit. It was a scramble to get to a reasonable swim start time. Managed to weave past people from about ‘55:00’ to somewhere between ‘40:00’ and ‘30:00’ I think. Made friends with two blokes in the queue – they went through the swim route with me again: which buoys were turn buoys, etc. Not that I’d see any buoys that far away as the sun was very bright and I’d gone for my trusty clear goggles, not the tinted ones, as I didn’t want any flooding.
Lots of people tapping me on the back and wishing me good luck. The lady on the speaker told us to turn to each other and ‘support your fellow warriors’. Big hype.
Finally got into the cooling water and luckily didn’t find myself in a scramble. Navigated my way around the first small loop, then it was an easy stretch to the top of the marina. I tried to be calm and collected on the swim – I didn’t feel like I was putting loads of power through each stroke or turning my arms over particularly fast. It just felt very smooth and easy. With the weather, I told myself it is all about pacing and not tiring myself out!
There were one or two moments where I found myself about to get stuck between two swimmers but I had the energy to pick up the pace and navigate out of danger. I was happy with my sighting too – lots of times I’d look up, navigate closer to the upcoming buoy and I’d be the only one coming up right next to it. So no scramble for the inside line. A few times I did try and chase people’s bubbles, which occupied my mind and probably made me faster.
Overall, a very easy swim which I felt didn’t take out too much effort – and I’m amazed at my time. Just shows smooth and relaxed is often the way!
Transition 1
Off to the bike now. T1 took 8 minutes, which I’m sure is on the lengthier side. Lost my shoe bag after the swim, quickly got the shoes on and ran 500m to my bike stuff. Took my time – sat down, dried my feet, drank some water, ate some sweets, then ran out to my bike.
The Bike
The first 10km were super flat and I had to tell myself not to race people. I was on the tri bars and going 30kph so felt this was quick enough. Beautiful route heading out along Swansea Bay and over to the Mumbles. One of the first big descents and climbs was to Caswell Beach, which looked like something more suited to the south of Italy – very tempted to get off and go for a dip!
We got to the beautiful open Gower roads and started a big climb. As cyclists started to slow down we got closer together. People on the side of the road with cow bells and flags, and lots of cyclists looking tired and standing up in the saddle made me feel like I was in the Tour de France! It felt like a real moment and I was doing something cool that not many people will experience.
The sun was actually fine for most of the cycle. A few bottles of water over the head and a gentle breeze helped regulate my temperature. It got a bit too windy for my liking on the long descent after this ‘TDF’ climb. It was a nice long and swooping road but very exposed with a crosswind and some very fast people flying past me on their tri bars. Definitely could have gone faster on a less windy day – if that even exists on the Gower. We did this climb twice but I can’t say I was any less of a wuss on the second descent. Pleased with how many people I overtook in the climb though.
Overall, I tried to put 6–7 out of 10 effort on the bike. I made a conscious effort to try and eat. Eat and eat and eat, I told myself. 3 bars, 1 cereal oat bar, some sweets, 2 bottles of electrolyte with carbohydrate, and another 2 electrolyte drinks from the aid stations. Navigating the empty bottles on the road was interesting – I saw someone fall off because of them.
The bike felt really good and very enjoyable. I haven’t done many rides over 80k so definitely felt my legs got a bit tired by the end. I’m really pleased with how training has progressed my bike. At the start of coaching back in January I was still having cafe stops every 40km and no rides over 60–70km. In May, I still had gravel wheels/tyres and no tri bars. I had a few tears trying to get used to the tri bars, feeling I’d never get confident on them.
Now I can push for 90km without stopping, I got a Strava 50 mile PR despite the hilly course, I managed 3+ hours in the saddle, I can eat and drink enough to keep me fuelled, and I can spend a significant amount of time on the tri bars – including some downhills and corners.
One final push for speed and a few more overtakes on the flat coastal road got me back to transition. I saw my parents cheering me on which was a great feeling! Especially as I was on the tri bars and looking fast!
The Run
Out we went onto the run. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, as a half marathon felt like a long way – but I wonder if you ever look forward to the run in a triathlon. Especially if you’ve pushed yourself more on the bike.
My pace started at 5:14 splits, which felt surprisingly okay. I was anxious about how bad the heat and fatigue were going to get. I stayed with someone called ‘Roxanne’ for about 5km (I remember because I kept singing The Police song in my head).
I had needed a wee since about 60km into the bike but had missed the loo in transition. I went to the portaloo around 6km in – I must have been speedy and faster afterwards as my split only dropped to 5:22. Bladder empty, time to push on!
Electrolytes and coke every aid station without fail. I made myself have gels every 4km too. I was surprised how well my stomach was taking all the bars/gels and sweets.
Overall, a really lovely run route that I can imagine the locals doing all year round. I tried to use the shady sections to push a bit more and just ‘keep going’ on the sunny exposed bits. There was a nice breeze on the way out so I made a mental note to enjoy that again on the second lap and try and push more too.
With about 10km to go I told myself:
“Only 10km left! Single figures! Less than an hour! These kilometres will start to tick away now” – and I’m very pleased they did.
On the final switchback towards home, at about 16km, I decided to really push. I think my run reflected how disciplined I was on the bike and how my overall fitness has improved.
There was a small moment before the start of the run where I thought sub-6 may just be possible – but after transition I realised I’d have to run a half marathon PB, which I didn’t think anyone would do in that heat. I’m still happy I pushed myself nonetheless and super happy how strong my splits were at the end.
What Went Well
- Kept smooth and relaxed on the swim and my pace was rapid!
- Kept disciplined on the bike – lots of time on the tri bars and managed to keep up my carb intake
- Dug deep on the run, parked any thoughts of being too hot and found ways to overcome it and push through
What Could Have Gone Better
This was quite hard to think of as I think I did really well under the conditions I was faced with. I was happy with all three legs and felt not far off from sub-6, but not too sure where I would have found those extra minutes.
- Better race morning – thanks for coming parents, but next time just head to the swim and find a good place to watch the race
- Quicker in transition (the 500m run didn’t help, I think)
- Maybe push more on the bike? This will come with time and more miles in the legs
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