The lead up to todays race was important. I religiously follow the phrase “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” so my pre-race rituals and routines had to be perfect. After a long days travelling we had finally arrived in Wales and this meant I had time to check over the course and find out what was different from the previous year. My new Focus CAYD that Pedal Power had supplied me was feeling so fluid and in general a pleasure to ride. I don’t know whether it was because it was a bigger bike or mentally knowing I was on a new and faster machine. Waking up on race day morning I was super nervous, I’ve been using this new technique I learnt from Dr.Kate Hays a leading psychologist in the UK in which you inhale for 10seconds and exhale for 10seconds and repeat 6 times through, it reduces your heart rate and in return calms your nerves.
The race
The swim was a beach start, which meant I needed to get a good run off the line so I didn’t need to hustle for position. I got into the water ahead of my close opponents and managed to pull a slight gap allowing me to swim freely without the worry of being dragged bag or 27uj8dsx6ttpunched. This was short lived as we hit the first boy (dead turn) I somehow went from being in a very good position to being dunked and pulled back. At one point my goggles were horizontal on my face which put me in a position no one wanted to be in, despite the frustration this is the nature of triathlon swimming and sometime it’s the luck of the draw and where you choose to position yourself in the swim (something I clearly need to work on!!). I managed to claw back a few spaces on the 2nd of 2 laps; unfortunately this wasn’t enough to place me in the top group as I just missed out by a matter of seconds. I had to keep my composure on the bike despite having the negative thoughts racing through my mind, I kept saying to myself I need to compensate on this run by making up the places. In preparation for the run I increased my cadence for the remaining 5k on the bike so my legs would feel reasonably fresh. 4 of the lads in my group started taking there shoes out 1k before the dismount line, but I decided to adopt my usual strategy of leaving this to the last minute which paid off in my favour. I had a super quick transition and ran out with the front boys in my group. Despite running being my weakest discipline I managed to stay with the top runners for 2k before they slipped it down a gear and ran off into the distance. I had to keep pushing as the boys were quickly chasing behind me. I managed to increase my speed and finish with a strong pace.
Conclusion:
Overall today wasn’t my day. But I will take the positives and learn from my mistakes. I would like to take the time to say a huge thank you to Fairway Jersey for getting me across to Wales to race and supplying me with top of the range run kit. Pedal power jersey for the continued support with all my cycling needs, especially the new Focus Cayd which by the way felt amazing. TYR sport for my entire swim needs, in particular the Hurricane wetsuit, which glided through the water beautifully. Finally a massive thank you to SportHUB who supplied me with A* recovery session with Ayusha spa (hotel de France) to get me prepared for this weekend.
Ollie Turner - Triathlete 