7 months into the 2018 season and I was still fighting hard to escape doing the dreaded Olympic distance (OD) triathlon. Yesterday that battle was lost…
Unlike other OD races with the standard 1500m swim, 40k bike and a 10k run. The London triathlon had adapted their own twist by shortening the run to 5k. Reasons for this I do not know… but with running being my weakest discipline you didn’t hear me complaining!
The world biggest triathlon with over 15,000 competitors was due to take place on the iconic streets of London passing famous monuments over the sunny weekend of the 4th/5th August.
I raced in the Elite race on Sunday starting at 12:30. Professional triathletes from around the world had traveled to compete which meant I was in for a hard couple of hours. Australia, Canada, and France had all brought a good contingence of athletes to add to the already high standard of the British athlete racing.
Without further or do I’ll get onto how it all went down.
The swim started with a complimentary punch to the nose from one of the aussie guys (cheers pal). The first swim buoy was a long 600m drag. This meant the 46man field had time to stretch out which meant the royal rumble round buoy 1 wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. The race gradually strung out with an obvious group forming at the front. The swim was actually super quick in the end with a time of 18:30.
The transition was a low-key maze. Up the pontoon, left, right, up some stairs through the double doors and then a long slog around the MASSIVE transition to the red carpet where the bikes were racked. I knew a good transition was absolutely key as I had managed to come out with the lead group.
40k bike… I really wasn’t ready for this!! Lap 1,2,3 all felt pretty good. I made myself known by pulling my fair share of work up the front. I even managed to ride off the front on my own for a couple of K! I’m secretly all about that TV time ;). I knew the race was going to plan when I was in a group with the likes of Bowden who then later went on to win the damn thing… enjoy the $10,000! Well deserved, his experience showed here for sure.
The run… boy was it hot! London hit a staggering 31 degrees. Which is just unknown for British weather. I went out focusing on what I had been practicing in the weeks leading up to the race. Leg speed sessions with freedom physio definitely came into play! The idea: Run proud! Chest out, hips forward and head up. What a difference 6 weeks of speed work can do as well. I was keeping up and overtaking people who usually leave me standing! To add this to I hit a massive PB of 15:58 for 5k.
Another fantastic race under the belt. I’m now jetting off to Canada for the second round of the Super League for the second round of qualifiers in Penticton!
Cheers for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
#TeamTYR #IAMSUPERLEAGUE #EscapeSeriesTri #FullBeans
Ollie Turner - Triathlete 