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

I did actually post this blog a week ago but it seems RB had issues which meant it was lost!  However, I was clever (!) and typed the orginal in Word so had a copy!  Yee haa!

In my last blog I mentioned that I didn’t expect the weather to be as good for the Kelso tri as it was for Hawick however I did not expect the torrential down pour in the 24 hours before the race.  I went to bed on Saturday evening and looked out of the bedroom window praying that the rain would ease by morning.  Ha!  Not a chance.  I could hear the rain bouncing off the decking roof before I put my feet on the floor.

I sighed and felt slightly more stressed about the race than usual but hey! I thought to myself, you are going to be wet when you get out of the pool, it just means you are going to stay wet!  I decided that it would probably be a case of just getting round the course in one piece regardless of time and trying to keep my kit dry in transition as best I could.  I took copious plastic bags with me and changes of clothes for afterwards and set off in the driving rain towards the Scottish Borders.

It is a good 90 min journey and I kept peering hopefully towards the horizon hoping to see brighter skies.  I was first of our team to arrive with Mandy and Charles not long after and Alex arriving in a rush with a torrent of expletives regarding the weather as is his way!  Unbelievably one of our team, Alan (Sicknote) had taken one look at the weather and text to say he wasn’t coming!  Slacker or what?

To be fair the weather in Kelso was not as bad as in West Lothian.  I think they had had the worse of it over night and apart from the occasional heavy burst it was mainly just a steady drizzle.  I racked my bike and wrapped my cycle shoes in one plastic bag and my running shoes in another one with a pair of socks in each.  I had originally planned to put a t shirt on for the bike leg but decided I wouldn’t bother.  It wasn’t really that cold at around 16 degrees and it was just another thing to try to keep dry.

The organisers obviously had a sick sense of humour as they decided to hold the race brief outside in the rain rather than in the warmth of the pool reception area!  So I found myself in my tri suit in bare feet stood in a puddle listening to a garbled brief about not drafting and minding the pot holes and that there might be a lack of marshalls at some junctions!

I was in the first swim heat and I was quite grateful to slip into the relative warmth of the pool.  It is an old fashioned pool where the water is at least three feet below the poolside.  Just from looking at it I knew there was no way I was going to be able to haul myself out once I was finished!  The race referee took one look at me and the other diminutive girl by my side and said not to worry as we could use the steps in the next lane provided we did not impede any swimmers – phew!

I really quite enjoy the swim leg now (can’t believe I actually typed that!).  When I consider that I was struggling so much with my swimming back in February and now each time I compete I take a little bit off my time and actually feel comfortable with my swimming.  After a couple of lengths I was tapped on the feet by the only guy in our lane and I let him pass.  No one else passed me though and I managed to overtake two other swimmers before I finished.  My swim time was 17:08 which is over a minute better than my swim time at Hawick – so I am well chuffed.

Out of the pool and into transition.  Trying to dry your feet in the rain with a damp towel is almost impossible and trying to drag my Sealskinz socks onto wet feet even more so.  The whole thing took far too long and with the run from transition to where you could mount the bike at least 100m my transition time was woefully slow – 3.20.  The cycle was a two lap course and at times it was like cycling along a river bed so wet was the road surface.  The route was relatively flat for the first 3km but then the hill started and it went on and on for 3km and had at least two false summits.  I managed to overtake a guy who looked like he would be more at home on a rugby pitch than on a road bike just before the first false summit and he shouted well done in between gasping breaths!  A marshall stood at the top of a junction and shouted that it was all downhill from there but to take it easy.  It was a mega downhill with a couple of tricky turns and I did indeed take it easy-ish.  The rugby guy whooshed past me and said that was easier than going up!  Back towards the start but a left turn at the roundabout saw us starting the second loop.  I wasn’t looking forward to the hill again but actually I found it much easier second time around.  I guess I knew what to expect and my legs were warmed up by then.  I overtook rugby guy much earlier on the climb.  ‘See you on the way down no doubt’ I said.  ‘I seriously doubt it.  I am bust’ was his reply.  I didn’t see him again!

Back to the roundabout and I was pretty sure I was supposed to go straight on this time but even though I shouted to the marshall that I completed two laps she sent me and the guy just ahead of me left again.  I was a bit confused and slightly unsettled.  Luckily we came to another roundabout and the marshall there recognised me and told me to turn right and then right again.  I was told by the finishing marshall later that I wouldn’t have done much more than I should have but that I was going uphill between roundabouts – slightly annoyed but hey ho!  Even without my little diversion the cycle leg was 4km longer than it should be.  I completed the cycle leg in 58:44 and looking at my split time at 20k I was still a bit slower than at Hawick but the weather and hills obviously account for this.

I took my cycle shoes off in transition and the water poured out at the same time.  Sealskinz socks are supposed to be waterproof but I am guessing even they have a limit as they were completely saturated!  I pulled on my other socks and running shoes and set off on the two lap run leg.  Somehow I managed to lose 4 mins in this transition which is awful!  I enjoyed the run apart from the set of 20 concrete steps which came within the first kilometre and of course again just after 3km! The weather was just right for running, no breeze and a drizzly rain.  I felt really strong and tried to push myself on the second half of the final lap.  Again the run leg was longer than 5k by a kilometre and I finished in 29 mins.  My 5k time was 25.54 which I am happy enough with.

So, overall a pretty good race apart from my pitiful transitions.  I finished in 1:52:12 but I lost 7 mins in transition.  I was 69^th out of 80 finishers which is ok.  Lots of room for improvement though.  I think I am going to have to get used to cycling and running without socks to try to speed things up a bit in transition.

I saw both Alex and Mandy on their bike leg while I was running and they both gave me loads of encouragement.  I finished in time to cheer them out of transition and onto the run and of course when they finished.  Nice warm shower, a buffet lunch and a hot chocolate or two to warm up before the long drive home.

Despite the weather I really enjoyed the race and look forward to the next one.  Bring it on!