Leeds Sprint Distance – 29th July 2019 by Beth

This was my second time competing in Leeds.I’d loved it so much last year that I’d booked straight away for 2019.It was all very different this year as so many club members were also competing over both distances so it was my first big tri weekend away. I absolutely loved the whole experience (again) although I am a bit biased as I always relish the chance to race “up North”. Felt remarkably relaxed and arrived early on Sat to register just as the heavens opened and as I shivered under a tree trying to attach wet number stickers to an equally wet bike I was questioning my reasoning for doing it! It was great to see all the MTC hats and hoodies around as everone arrived and I could make myself useful holding bikes and peeling off other people’s numbers etc. All back to the hotel and the meal which was a lot of fun and I loved all the chatting and laughing and it made me more relaxed about the race. Great weather on the Sunday for the race. Met some lovely women in my age group as we all chatted about why and how we had started doing triathlons while we sorted out transition. A year of doing races gave me the experience to feel organised and ready for the event. My aim for the day was to improve my swim and bike times,which I did by 3 and 6 minutes respectively. Even my T1 was 2 mins faster along with a small amount of time off the run. Really happy with my ‘marginal gains’. Great to see the elite women start the swim on the big screen as I tucked in to burger and chips. The support was amazing from all the other club members who were competing and those who came along just to support. Thank you all so much. Would definitely recommend Leeds for a first or second open water tri. Swimming in Roundhay lake is still my favourite open water swim. Sure I will be back next year☺