PP Episode 4

I did my first ever Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday morning. As I walked from the race briefing to the swim start I tried not to think about what the next few hours was going to bring.
The swim very hard for the first few minutes and several times the thought of stopping and getting out crossed my mind.

The cold knocked the breath out of me, peoples flailing arms knocked my goggles off and the crowded start knocked my confidence. But after a few minutes the bodies spread out a bit, my head stopped protesting when I put it under water and I really started to enjoy swimming without having to stop every 25 metres.

I got out in about 25th place, managed to get my wetsuit undone but took forever in transition and lost a lot of places before I even got on the bike. I did quite well on the ride though, and just about kept up with the people around me. The run was more like a hike, and the organisers thought it a good idea to include the steepest hill ive ever seen, yet alone thought about running up, about half way in. I got to the top (of the aptly named ‘Murder Hill’ I later learnt) and started to experience my first ever cramp in my quads. It felt like there was a tennis ball being forced between my skin and the muscle, and I could barely waddle along for about 2 Ks. I tried to stop and stretch it off, but this seemed to make it worse and I feared I might have to walk in the rest of the way. After a while though it seemed to work itself loose, and by the time the final mile approached I was enjoying both unrestricted running and the knowledge that I was going to succeed in making it round. Ive thought about doing a ‘proper’ triathlon for years, and now I have.

My legs are knackered, but the feeling is sweet.