Saffron Walden Triathlon

This was my second weekend of racing after the Nottingham Triathlon last week.
It was a lovely warm day, Such a great venue and the organisation was second to none.  The goody bag also had more in it than many other triathlons which are dearer.  
​ Although my  one gripe was that we had to leave at 5.3 0 (a 1 hour drive) to register at the same time as everyone else - but my race wasn't until 11.10am!    If there was one suggestion Walden Tri Club - it is to have a 2nd registration time for those competing later in the day.

Overall, the race went really well and I walked away with a 1st in my age group and a 3rd overall out of all the women racing.   I even got to meet and collect my trophy from 2 Paraolympic triathletes who are competing at Rio this year.  They were really lovely and it was great to watch them in action - the guide shouting instructions from the back of the tandem as they passed me was amazing.  

Perry told me that my aim for this race was a seasons best swim, smash the bike, and then whatever I have left for the run.  
What I didn't know was that there were no flat roads on the bike route whatsoever, but rather all up or down hills!  
That definitely took some out of me.  But then everyone commented on the difficult bike route - even the predominant cyclists amongst the men!  
Normally One 20k loop around the country roads would have been a lovely Sunday ride, but when you've got you head down and racing, there's no time to take in the scenery, so I can't even comment on how nice the place was!  It was just get over this hill and then get over the next one.  
I got a great idea on how my bike performed though - and I can say that it is by far the best bike I have ever had.  Although I was looking forward to my bike fit Sunday afternoon to get the setup right as it doesn't feel 100% comfortable yet, but with a few tweeks by Bianca at  'FIT MY BIKE', Im sure I will be flying on it.   

The swim went quite well though and I got my seasons best that I aimed for.  
And then came the run..... what I wasn't expecting was for it be cross-country!   It was uphill out of transition and didnt stop for a few kilometres.  You'd get over one hill and think it was all downhill - then another hill would appear.    
Not being a lover of cross country I decided this winter not to train at it ever again as I always tended to get injured.... and now I was racing in it!     But it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting (and I beat my Dad by over 4 minutes so won the wager we had - he'll never live that down at work either!!).   Yes, I hated it during the run, but afterwards I actually think it went well and I secretly enjoyed being pushed... shhh don't tell Perry or he will have me running XC during winter! 

With only the British Triathlon Sprint Champs left before the European Triathlon Champs in Portugal, I've still got some training to do, but I'm feeling determined and ready!            Bring it on!!

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