CapitalTri Duathlon

Most importantly, I kept my shades on
throughout the duathlon. 

You know how when you are doing an athletic activity you keep telling yourself "Do your own race..."? Thats really bloody hard to do. Monday night a the Lee Valley Velopark was no different.

I saddled up (pun intended) around quarter to 7. No one was there, I started to get a bit nervous. Did I get the date wrong? I checked my email. Nope. Right date. I asked the lady at the front desk. "They normally come in around 7-7:15". I guess I was a bit too eager! Oh well, now I know.

So they open the gate and you follow the sign to the road track. I checked in with a very lovely man with CapitalTri. He wrote my number on my hand and let me know there was a race briefing at about 7:25. Plenty of time to 'rack' my bike, which in this case was to place it along the fence in the transition zone with the rest of my kit.

Whilst waiting I started chatting to a women who has done quite a few of these. She helped to put my mind at ease about how it was going to work. Big things to remember:

1. You can't be on your bike in the transition zone 
2. Your helmet must be on at all times when you have your bike (even whilst running with it). 
3. When running stay to the left
4. When cycling pass on your right and be vocal about passing to other cyclists

ME: "Are you training for anything?"
HER: "The alpe d'huez triathlon"
ME: "Oh wow!" ::internally thinking Do your own race, do your own race::

Again this sounds so easy, and I felt like I was going OK on my run. I did my 2 miles in 16:34(8:17/mile), which for me is not too bad speed wise. It had some hills (inclines, whatever) but it was good as it gave me an idea as to what the bike ride was going to be like.

Well, thats what I thought.

I felt good on the first few bits. I honestly did, then I hit the first hill, ugh this sucks. Need to drop gears faster. Zoom zoom! People are passing me. That's fine, I have 10 laps to catch up.

I don't think I caught up with anyone. At least I don't remember passing anyone. I would of remembered because I would have gotten to shout "On your right!" I did NOT say that the entire time.

What was I doing wrong? I assume it was partly my form and mostly my gear control. There definitely were times I was spinning with no resistance, which equates to no power. So quite a few things to work on. 31 minutes later, I happily finished my 10 laps.

Oh but we were not done. After that I needed to get off my bike and run another two laps. This sounded beyond not pleasant, but what the hey I am there so I plod through. I didn't do too bad considering, another 2 miles in 18:02 (9:01/mile).

Looking at the results, I was actually middle of the pack for the cycling-- which it didn't seem that way at the time. Maybe had I heeded the "Do your own race" mantra, I would have stopped worrying about others and maybe could have fixed my form/gear issues faster.

Where I was more back of the pack was running... ugh. However, in my eyes I feel I could gain back quite a few minutes if I learned to cycle better, so that would offset my running. I guess this is what they mean when they say usually triathletes are good at one skill, OK at another, and not so good on the remaining event. But which one am I strongest at? I dont feel good at any of them. I would have said running, but the results skew that a bit.

OR--- how about I just stop worrying about comparing myself to others and DO MY OWN RACE.

...and train better. Turns out the Velopark has training sessions as well (and its only £5 a go on the course if you have your own bike and helmet, if you don't you can rent making it a tad pricier).... and considering the event was a mere £13 it my not be my last one with the CapitalTri group.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you stick true to your mantra when you have the niggling doubts?

The sun sets on the Velopark...

Putting in the Miles-- The Dreaded First Long Ride

Everyone remembers their first. My first long bike ride was about 7 years ago when I attempted to cycle around the Bodensee, a lovely lake that is nestled between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It ended a bit earlier than I anticipated with a very sore bum and a burning desire for padded shorts.

Fast forward 7 years later....

I really wanted to do the Sunday Ride with DirtyWknd, a local cycle club that has weekend rides ranging from beginners to expert. However I had work and other obligations so it had to be Saturday morning. Same destination, G!ro cafe just inside the Surrey border in Esher.

Hello Battersea Park!

I set off with some reservations about somehow getting hopelessly lost (I packed a charger for my iPhone just in case). I was pretty fine until getting over Putney bridge. The CycleSuper Highway between Tower Bridge and Battersea Bridge is just wonderful. I love the segregated bit along the Embankment, it really helps you feel at ease amongst the buses shuttling tourists to and fro.

MMMMMM.... green grass and blue sky :D

My GPS told me to take the A3 which straddles Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. I didn't really enjoy that bit. You are careening down the pavement whilst cars whizz by you. I had visions of a tyre popping and me flying over the handlebars into a sign or worse a car. Speed demon I am not on two wheels. My mom is breathing a sigh of relief.

I was very happy to turn into Richmond Park. No cars! So much lycra! No deer observed! Green space! The rest of the trip was very pleasant, with the only hairy bit coming at the Scilly Isle Roundabout. I need to remind myself that it takes me much longer to accelerate than a car. Don't worry, the car reminded me with an very pleasant and polite (of course) honk. >.<

Blimey!

I arrived at G!ro and was beyond pumped. I did my first (well not really) long bike ride! I didn't get (too) lost and have all my limbs intact. I had a well earned coffee and avocado on toast. There were cyclists everywhere (its a cycle shop as well as a coffee shop, they do their own rides from there as well!). I let my phone charge up a bit and got back on the saddle.

So the return route had nothing too big of note except that hills (or long steady inclines as I am sure people argue London has no hills) were terrible on tired legs. I had two bigun's: Kingston Hill (A308) and then the A3 (yeah if going down wasn't fun, going up surely is more fun than a barrel of monkeys). I was so happy to cross Putney Bridge and get back on the lovely, flat, CycleSuperHighway.

This was a big confidence booster for me. An olympic ride is 40km. I did about 60km. I did hills on tired legs. Maybe 'did' is a strong word. I didn't WALK the hills. I now feel confident that I could do a group ride during the week without getting too left behind.

So if you are hesitant about cycling, please find a local group near you and sign up for a ride. Or find a cafe/park about 10-15 miles away from you and head there. Check for quieter routes, cycle routes, etc. if you are not confident on the roads.  Get there. Rest. Relax. Have a sandwich at a cafe. Head back. Take your time, and don't be put off by the other lycra on the journey. You do you.

And yes, my bum felt fine. So I learned my lesson from the last time.