Photo Album
Name Swim Bike Run Total pos 2006 pos
Jon 28:27 1:12:50 40:39 2:24:17 9th 2:19:16 12th
Abi 28:31 1:12:50 45:26 2:29:27 2nd 2:26:26 5th
Hugh 31:10 1:22:43 49:24 2:47:03
Ant 34:25 1:18:31 52:05 2:47:40
Colin 31:28 1:22:14 58:00 2:56:20 5th 2:51:49 6th
The race at Swanage was excellent thanks (well from my perspective anyway).
Flat sea swim (apart from the run around the pole half way thru and the rest of it - well, wasn't flat!!!
My swim hat came off after 400m and my hair turned into seaweed which stuck to my face which rather reduced my visibility - glad I'd practised swimming with my face covered in strands at Lake 32! Got a few kicks in the face which were entirely my fault as I was basically swimming into people inbetween scraping my fringe away from my goggles. Seem to have a recurring hair problem at races!!!
After that everything went really well for me - got into a "I can't draft so I'll have to pass you" cycle with 2 guys which sped us all up no end as the draft busters were out in force. About 10 people got done - plus another 5 who were DQ for drafting twice. I was not one of them.
The course is lovely but I'd forgotten how hilly the last 1/3 is and used up my legs too much on the first bit.
The run was cool - passed 4 girls going up Ballard's down and figured I then wasn't far off a placing so that spurred me on so that none of them flew back past me.
....and I came third! Really really pleased. Jon dragged himself off the beach to come and clap at the presentation (and sneak a guinness) and I think he got a photo too. Great to have other MAD crew and
family there as well - Theresa and Theo watching on the wall and Viv shouting encouragement in transition.
I said that the RACE at Swanage was excellent - the rest of the trip was a bit of a shocker - no offence Ant because it was marvellous to see you and catch up and goodness knows where I'd be now if you werent there - still locked in the loo on the camp-site I think!
So the low points
1. Took 4 hours in a car with no air-con to get from Hungerford to Swanage because the traffic was so terrible (but luckily Ant was there and registered me - Thanks Ant)
2. All the campsites were full but Ant saved me a spot at his (Thanks Ant???!!!)
3. It was perched on an uneven mound in a field full of ravers (but thanks Ant)
4. We went to a pub for supper at seven, ordered and had a drink and got served after 1 hour 45 minutes. Plenty of time to catch up with Theo and Ant (thanks Ant)
5. At 1am a drunk and high piece of scum who sounded like he was from south london started screaming abuse at people across the campsite, started 2 fights as I could make out, mentioned shooting someone's effing face off with a gun whilst standing between my tent and Ants and
continued for about half an hour berating some poor sod for not showing him respect on his patch and not standing up to fight him (blah blah blah). If I'd been wearing dark clothing I'd have crawled into Ant and Theo's awning to sleep. Glad you were there Ant (thanks Ant).
6. As a result of "5" having to wait an hour for my heart to stop banging out of my chest so I could go to sleep.
I don't think I'll be doing THAT again folks.
Right - I'm off now to look at B&B in Rutland on the internet!!!
Abs
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Yes it was great fun, I am particularly good at picking places to stay before events. I was thinking of heading over to Abs tent for safety, I figured no one would mess with a fully qualified HR specialist. Its times like this you wish Abba was around.
The race was pretty good, definitely perfect swim conditions, I almost cracked that drafting thing until someone put a pole in the way to run round. Bike was ok, maybe could have tried harder and the run was better than expected, especially once I started running. The climb was no great probs and the views were rather special. Finished in 2-47 which wasn’t too special. Overall cracking race marred by the need to go to Swanage to register. Seem to have spent the whole weekend in the car.
If any one need any top travel arrangements just let me know…. Cheers, Ant
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MAD Crew,
Yes Swanage is always a great race and one I would recommend for people to do for their first Olympic sea swim race (interested to know what Hugh thought) - the course follows the bay between the boats moored in the bay and the beach so you never really feel you are too far out to sea.
Also the bike and run are tough so a great race for all abilities.
I cocked up my swim strategy at the begin, started to the right of the group, after about 200m the course turns 90 degrees right around a buoy, so I got completely punched kicked and swum over, phased me a bit and ended up treading walking whilst I pulled my goggles back out of my eye sockets and checked all my teeth were still complete.
Anyway lesson learnt there!
The swim is an out and back course and on the way back I managed to get
onto the toes of a really quick guy who pulled me alone, we passed
dozens of other swimmers, it worked really well for me so thanks Phil
and Sarah as we have been practising this in our lake swims.
Bike was great, clouds turned black at one point and I thought it was
going to cluck it down, but it stayed dry and was nice and cool.
I never really got on top of my bike legs, they felt tired and didn't
seem to be able to push as high a gear as normal. Got passed by six or
eight people which is never good. Normally if I keep them in sight, I'm
confident I will catch them on the run. However, I've had a calf injury
since the previous Sunday so I wasn't quite sure how it would cope with
the hilly run.
Major event on the bike was some farmer bringing his cows across the
road, unbelievable! I was racing against Mike Cox at the time and he had
about 50m lead on me, he went through the herd of cows like he was
trying to catch one for his tea - there were cows stampeding in all
directions - so I just avoided the meddle of galloping cattle and cow
sh*t coming from all direction and cycled on through. Good job there
wasn't a Marshal around, drafting a galloping cow would definitely been
a DQ for Mike.
Run was better than I expected, I was well within my pace and still
passing people. My calf was tight but never painful, I took the climb
easy and the decent at a control speed. I was passed by one guy which
doesn't normally happen and made me decide to throw caution to the wind
and just go for it.
Calf wasn't too bad and as soon as I had finished I had a massage.
Today, my calf feels great, definitely the best it's felt in a week so
on it's way to full recovery.
Vet cat position of seventh so room for improvement there.
Enjoyed watching Abi get her award at the prize giving, third place was
superb, well done Abi. Shame about the actual prize of a radio alarm
clock! Perhaps race organisers have missed the point somewhat with
Rodger handing out radio alarm clocks and Bath Amphibians their boxes of
breakfast cereal, how about sporty prizes for sporty people!
Anyway great event, no issue with camping, I went to a site I had used
before, stick with what you know works well, boring but reliable I know!
Jon G
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Hi All
I’m back. Swanage was fantastic and my most enjoyable tri to date. The B&B was excellent (We’ve booked for next year), beach great, weather great, a good little 4 day holiday which the whole family enjoyed. We should all do Swanage next year!
For a first open water it was ideal and Jon’s advice to take some Lucozade after the swim worked well at getting rid of the sea water taste. The bike was most enjoyable and like Wantage I fell off into the grass bank near the end with the bike connected to my feet. Luckily I got off unscathed (and I don’t think anyone saw me). My top speed was 42.2mph and average 15.5.
The run was a bit like the terminator but I think my 2 gels, 3 jelly beans and 1L of water on the bike made it feel ok. Thanks Abi for the dining on the bike advice.
I beat my Bath Olympic time of 3:03 by 13 mins which I feel good about even though it’s hard to compare the two races.
Well, it’s Vitruvian next or more likely for me Waterloo !
Best wishes team.
Hugh