Running Up That Road, Running Up That Hill... by tinabee

Well haven't things changed around here in the last week or so!  I am sure I will get used to it but at the moment I am completely lost - lol!

I was really looking forward to doing the Stirling Triathlon last weekend not least because I had already done the Stirling Duathlon earlier in the season but also because Sandy was home from Nigeria and had said he wanted to come and see what all the fuss was about and then my Dad phoned to say that he would come up for the weekend to watch me too!  Scott also reluctantly agreed to get his butt out of bed before 11 for a change and make it a family affair.

Registration for Tri events always seems to be ridiculously early and this one was no different being between 6 & 7.30am!  The bike transition area was also going to close at 07.30 so we really had to get there for 7 at the very latest!  So it was with bleary eyes that I set off for Stirling at 5.45am!

It was cool, grey and threatening rain while I racked my bike and met up with the rest of the team who were competing, Andy, Alex, Alan, Alasdair and James.  The four A's were doing the sprint event and James and I the Novice.  The cycle route was slightly longer for the novices than the normal 10K at 14K and the run slightly shorter at 2.5K.  Having done the duathlon I had a rough idea of the cycle route and exactly what the run route had in store.

The Sprint heats were up first with the very fastest swimmers going first so Andy and Alex were soon in the pool followed about half an hour later by Alan and Ali.

The Stirling Tri club do a magnificent job of organising this event which is held in the grounds of Stirling University.  The pool is actually a 50m one but they can make it into two 25m pools and use both simultaneously.  A guy with a microphone kept every one right and called out when it was time to muster etc.  Very slick.

I had about 2 and half hours to kill before my heat but it seemed to pass quite quickly.  I was in Pool B and before long I was being called and waiting for the whistle to blow for my heat to start.  I was second off and quickly caught the lady in front of me.  On the third length I was caught by the only guy in my lane but I wasn't caught by anyone else and was being tapped on the head by one of the lane marshalls to tell me I had two lengths to go before I knew it.  I stopped my watch on 9.40 which is the quickest I have ever swam 400m.  Out of the pool and then we had to run a loop of the grassy area just outside the pool to make sure our transition was the same distance as Pool A competitors who came out of a different door to us.  Into T1, on with the cycle shoes, helmet and off onto the roads around the Uni. 

There were a good six or so of us all very close to each other and a game of cat and mouse followed with cyclists passing and then being repassed several times in the first two or three kilometres before things settled down a bit.  I managed to overtake at least five other riders during the cycle leg and it wasn't long before I hit the final hill and then turned into the Uni grounds again.  My Garmin said the distance was 14.6K so even longer than expected. 

Into T2 a quick(ish) change of shoes, whip off the helmet and off for the final 2.5k run.  I felt really good, legs felt strong and no jelly feeling at all.  I soon caught the first two runners a head of me and then up the steep and sharp hill and took another two runners on the way up (always a boost).  I pushed on and took another couple of runners before heading back down the hill and onto the sports field for the last lap.  I could see one girl ahead of me and really pushed on to try to catch her but I had left it a bit too late.  Over the finish line and there it was - all over!

I felt really good at the end.  Too good!  I am still not pushing the run hard enough as I have far too much left at the end.  I guess I will get better with practice.  So my final time was 1:00:51.  Had I known I was so close to being under an hour I definately would have pushed harder.

My splits were

swim & into T1  10:51

 T1 -1:24

cycle - 35:09

T2 -0:57

run - 12:32

I came in 44th out of 116 overall and 22^nd female out of 81 female finishers.  I am more than happy with that although it would have been good to have come in the top 20.

This week I have run once, a 5K lunchtime run, cycled 20 miles both with Rob from the club and taken part in swimming training. 

This Saturday I will be taking part in the Skye Half Marathon and more importantly meeting up with my good friends from the island.  Funnily enough I did this beast of a race last year and am sure I said 'never again'!