8 June 2010

(Belated) New Forest Report

This is certainly a delayed race report, however, I have my reasons.  My skills at juggling studying and training were tested to the max during May, where I had 6 final exams for my degree.  Fortunately, they're now over, and I have the next few weeks to devote myself entirely to finalizing my preparation for Ironman Austria.  That's right, I said Ironman Austria!  More on that in my next post.  Back to the report...

Swim - 1100m.  The lake was COLD COLD COLD!  The start wasn't good, as I struggled with my breathing and was unable to get into a rhythm.  At the half way point I was feeling a bit more comfortable, and warmed up a little.  I exited the water in around exactly 16 minutes, which was pleasing considering the start.

Bike - 36km.  I was so pleased to be out of the ice bath that was the lake, and started making up places.  After 30 minutes things were going well, what could possible go wrong... Around the 15 mile point I punctured, and proceeded to spend the next 5 minutes fumbling around with numb hands to replace the tube.  Thankfully the rest of the ride passed by without incident, and I finished the ride in 59m25s, just outside the top-10.

Run - 10km.  Unfortunately this wasn't my day, as I just wasn't able to get into my normal running stride.  Rather than  make up time, I was falling back.  It was a day where I had to grit my teeth to get through it, and I eventually completed the run in 41m10s.

Overall time was 1:58:18, placing 15th/353 and 2nd in the 20-29 age-group.  Congrats to James Gilfillan who dominated and won the race for the upmteenth time!  Whilst the result was disappointing, I learnt some valuable lessons from the race.  I like to look at the positive side of things - there's no such thing as bad races, just good experiences!


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