DekNYD Tri Edinburgh 1 January 2010 WHOO,what a day
NYD tri was a fantastic event this year,so the bike run course was not ideal, but ERC done a fantastic job to make the event work.
There was a real who's the fastest thing going on between father and son (Roddy and Garry)so I thought I'd join in. I've been chasing Garry all year and with the swim being shorter today I might just catch the old guy.
The swim was 300m,I was put in a swim heat that was probably too fast for me,but it probably done me the world of good as I had to push hard to stay ahead of the others.
Once out of the pool it was a case of have a dry down ,run down three flights of stairs and sprint about 100m to T1.
As I ran in to T1, Garry was on his way out which sent me in to HYPER mode. I put on my helmet ,shades, grabbed my bike ran out like Hussein Bolt,went to mount my bike and (DOH),Guess who didn't change into cycling shoe's. I think my small brain had registered that I had shoe's on for the run from the pool.About turn and change shoe's DUMMY.
Out on the bike and got the head down which was a out and back course,so you could see if you were gaining on anybody of interest. Mr Horne said he was struggling on the bike a bit, but I think thats because he was pushing himself quite hard for some reason. Anyway,three laps of the bike course and back to T2 which went ok, and out on he run.
I decided that I would run to the first turn at an easy pace,let my feet defrost,and get my legs into run mode.Good thought!
About half way to the first turn point I met Garry going the other way(OH MAN I'M CATCHING HIM)easy pace no more get the finger out,I pushed on a bit and by lap two I could see the gap was ever decreasing, a final turn and the last blast to the finish line.
The results say it all.We finished in the same order as we started.Roddy was amazing as always in the pool,and he had a fantastic bike split.Garry was still a fast good all rounder for an old guy. And I'm still playing catch up,and made it to the finish line. But 2010, LOOK OUT MR HORNE AM COMING TO GET YOU.
It was a real great atmosphere on the day, and we all had a ball.Well done to Angus on completing his first tri
PS. If only I had changed my shoe's at T1. Gary NYD Tri Edinburgh 1 January 2010 Jan 2010 and the temperature in Edinburgh was just above freezing and the ‘usual’ cycle/run route for the New Year’s Day Tri over Arthur's Seat was still snow and ice covered, so as an alternative the low road was used as an out-and-back, several times, route. This was okay - not ideal - however it did mean you could gauge how you were doing against the competition, and they could gauge your position as you passed going in the opposite direction. In my case I was keeping an eye on a man wearing a pair of groovy compression sleeves – on his calves.
The start and the swim: interestingly, Roddy, Derek and I were all in the same swim wave, a group of about 30 who were dropped into the water at 5sec intervals, fastest swimmers setting off first. Roddy was first in and Derek and I were about 20 swimmers after him, so about 100 seconds behind, by which time Roddy was half-way through the swim – but we knew we would catch him on the bike.. (wrong)
The pool-to-bike transition was even more tricky than the very-cold-tricky we were semi-prepared for. From the swimming pool we had to descend 3-flights of stairs, then get across Holyrood Road (traffic flowing) and run/jog about 100metres uphill on a heavily gritted road to the car-park where the bikes were set up. There were a variety of ways of handling this and most involved some kit poolside and the new skill of run-towelling. Most changed into running shoes poolside which meant changing back to bike shoes at the bike. As if that wasn't enough, as I was leaving the pool, I met a family from Perth who had come to spectate and cheer us on, and not even Perth Tri guys – no dig intended - so I felt I had to stop and have a chat, wish them a Happy New Year, crack a few twiglets, a quick slug of Glenmorangie, a slice of black-bun and I was on my way. Not the optimal transition but it might explain why a 300metre swim plus transition took me over 11 minutes.
So to the bike. I was chasing Roddy and was being chased by Derek – good game, good game. Because of our respective start times, Roddy was ahead of me on the course and Derek was just behind. On the first lap I passed Roddy - going the other way - and could see I was never going to catch him. I then passed Derek “Kamikaze” Halley on his way out and he was flying. I wasn't flying, legs of lead and I blamed the poor weather in December for my lack of cycle training. (it was clearly nothing to do with a December holiday and several xmas nights out and a slight weight gain ..) Head down and look forward to the run. I never look forward to the run.
Running with ice-cold feet could be a new Olympic event. If cowboys ran, I guess they would look like this. The run route was again an out-and-back, twice. I passed Roddy coming in on his last lap as I was going out and youth smirked as it passed. It was now between me and a pair of groovy compression sleeves; they were chasing me - think Hitchthingy – and I could hear them approaching for the entire second run lap. I think that helped my run time.
It was very close, too close; 9 seconds separated Derek and me at the finish! I look forward to the next event. As for Roddy, well I’m having my bike back; he can use his mountain bike next time.
Congratulations to Angus on his début triathlon. Angus, they’re not all like this, really !! If you can do this one in these conditions, and you did, you can do any of them. (and we apologise for misleading you on the bike route) It may not have seemed like it but the ERC organisers did a fantastic job in really difficult conditions, both weather and political – they were under a lot of pressure to cancel the event. Organising and running an event like this in busy Edinburgh on New Year’s Day is a massive undertaking. There were over 60 people who gave up their New Years Day to support and marshal this event and we owe them for our pleasure ..
Anyway, as usual a slightly painful start to the year. Why do we do it ? Don’t know, but will very likely do it again next year. Fantastic day. |