Steve is on fire this season so when the race brief came out and he was starting 15 mins behind my wave, I was pessimistic he might catch me. He was likely to take 5 minutes on the run, probably a couple in the swim, so it would come down to how much he smashed me on the bike.
SWIM: 32:30
I dislike swimming at the best of times but this was “challenging”! Rushed and panicky start….Steve reckoned he saw someone near the back breast stroking, I will neither confirm or deny that occurred. 1k down river and then 1/2k back against the flow, incredibly tough going and according to Strava twice as slow!
BIKE: 1:16:59
Very long transition / clip clop to mount line and then first k must have done 15/20 speed humps before getting out in to the country, well surfaced, straight fast roads, happy days. Standard did a two loop section and I should have read the brief more closely and made a mental note of the turn point. Missed the count down boards and suddenly
ohsh1tfeckboll@x I need to turn sharp left NOW, I then did what can only be described as a spectacular buttock clenching rear wheel skid/drift around the corner, the bloke next to me commented that he was amazed I held it together! I was the wrong side of the road by this point and thankfully an observant BMW driver didn’t spoil my day! Second lap had far more tri traffic but generally fast, particularly last 5k all downhill maxing at 54kph. Last k a bit technical in town and then straight into transition. Overall 31+kph.
RUN: 52:08
3 out and back loops, up hill in to the town and round the Castle and then the best part of 1k up and back “The Long Walk” in front of the Castle. Saw Gail twice on my first lap and a half but unfortunately missed her after that. Probably had done nearly 2/3rd of a lap before I crossed Steve, so a bit of man maths and thought I should hang on without him catching. Saw him twice on each lap and he was definitely gaining but eventually I came in about 4-5 mins ahead.
2:49:37: (including transitions of 5:45 & 2:17) so overall pretty happy, a better than average 41/115 in age group.
Steve beat me by 11 mins (less than I feared) and came a very impressive 8th in age group. And Mrs Durecell did a stirling solo job of creating a Meridian corner for transition and on the run.
