Race Report

Tri Grand Prix – UK

30 May 2010

This would be the first of three Half Ironman Distance races that I would be doing in four weeks.

Held in the city of Kent, a couple of hours drive outside of London.

Race day started with a gentle ride to the start of about 10km with most of the pro field, who were staying in the same hotel. With overcast weather it looked like it would be a cold day of racing. With weather not looking so promising I decided to race with a “second skin” to help counter the wind chill factor on the bike so I would be able to warm up quicker.

Although it was England and the weather wasn’t great the water temperature was still pretty good, although im not sure of exact temp on the morning it wasn’t as cold as some other races I have done.

Water quality was also great. However all of this didn’t help to boost my swim, being my weakest discipline. Although I felt good in the first half of the swim my arms soon gave in after that. (perhaps a lack of base and strength work in the pool)

Out of the water and onto the bike. I knew I had lost time but I wasn’t sure how much, I also didn’t want to go to hard out of T1 like I had earlier in the year in 70.3 South Africa as the last third of the cycle felt like was going backwards. Pacing myself threw a fairly tough bike course with a few big and long climbs and a few hair raising sections. Another minor problem was the lack of route markings and no full road closure, especially on the narrow streets. However I survived and didn’t get lost, as well as managed to get  a PB bike split along the way.

In and out of T2, I needed to find my running legs quickly to make up as much time as possible as this is the one place I can do it. By pacing myself fairly well I felt great going on to the run(maybe I left too much in the tank). Although the course consisted of a few longish and hard climbs overall it was very quick and a lot of quick times were run, even so I managed to still gain about 5 positions on the run and cross the finish line in 18^th place overall with PB’s in overall time, bike and run splits.

Race Overview

As this was a first time race and series event you would expect some teething problems, however the race organizers stayed true to the word in “athlete care” which was very noticeable at all times. Water quality in the swim was great. Road surface on the bike was good, however not enough route markings and marshalls for traffic control. Run course was good but maybe could have squeezed in an extra aid station. Overall I still thought it was a great race and one to watch out for in the future as it grows in size and popularity. With great vibe and a good prize purse for the pro’s it should attract a few more big names in the near future.

Overall results

Position: 18^th

Overall time: 4:27:09      

Swim: 0:33:14

Bike: 2:35:54

Run: 1:15:35