Aims: 1) a tester before IM Austria, July (aiming for under 12 hours in Austria); 2) do not push too hard in Nottingham as need to continue training through the week.
Results: smashed it. Genuinely surprised and very pleased to finish under 5 hours. Thanks to a fast bike split I came into T2 realising sub-5 was achievable and was able to pace a mostly ‘comfortable’ run to realise this. Woke up the following morning with a slight sore throat but legs absolutely fine, e.g. stairs not a problem. I hadn’t overdone it. Training resumed that evening with the club chain gang. Now wondering whether attempting sub-11 in (hillier) Austria is foolish or greedy. Great to see Flumen doing so well and congratulations on her 3rd AG place. Really good to see David and Joshua several times – thanks for the cheering!
Lessons: I attempted to use my more comfortable road shoes with boa dials for the first time in a triathlon. Practised a flying mount last week beforehand and seemed OK but in the race I couldn’t get my cold feet into the narrower-necked shoes whilst moving so had to pull over to put shoes on. Probably still faster than running through transition wearing cleats and will do this again in Austria. About 1km into run it felt as though something was in my shoe and hurting my toes. Should I stop and sort it or keep going? Still 20km to go so worth having a look. Turned out to be a weird pins and needles sensation as blood was returning to my feet. No need to have stopped.
Comments: I completed Holkham Outlaw Half in 2017. Both Outlaw Halves were friendly and well organised and are recommended. Both courses are nice but the setting of the Holkham Estate edges the overall package.
At Holkham you rack bikes the day before the race. At Nottingham there is a 1 hour window 5-6 am on race day to get in and rack which was more stressful with car park tail backs predicted. The run at Holkham is hillier and tougher, especially in the July heat we had in 2017. The Nottingham bike route was largely on fast roads but with some rougher parts thrown in for good measure, including some unsealed single track with gravel, speed bumps and a cattle grid. Holkham was slightly more undulating but reasonably similar.
