It looks as though my next race is almost upon us – How did that happen so soon? I’ll be competing, or at least participating in the Brecon Triathlon next Saturday. I’m still easing myself back into the world of Triathlon so it’s only a sprint distance event and I’m supposed to be doing them for fun and enjoyment rather than in any competitive frame of mind. The distances are:
- 400m Pool swim
- 20km Cycle
- 5km Run
My training is going OK. I’m enjoying it which is the main thing – although there are times such as the last 5 miles of my 45 mile ride this morning (into a headwind) when enjoyment isn’t really a word that springs to mind. I don’t seem to be getting any faster though, but maybe if I properly taper for a race the training will have paid off. However, I have a race the weekend after the Brecon Triathlon as well, so will only be doing the Brecon Triathlon as part of my training schedule. That means no tapering for the event, just training right through it which could be interesting!
What makes it even more interesting is the info I’ve just received from the organisers. For a start the run route mentions playing fields and shaded groves which all sounds nice, but also refers to running up the ‘Steps of Doom’ – hang on, no one told me about this before!
We’ve also been given our start times. In this event, the swimmers are set off in waves of 12 people (3 per lane) with the slower swimmers first at 9am and then more people set off throughout the morning in waves of ever increasing speed. Then at 10:52am the final wave with only 6 people in it go. Trouble is, I’m in this final wave along with all the really fast people. That’s fine for the swim but then I’ll just get left behind on the bike and the run. Hopefully there’ll be some slower people in the waves before me that I’ll be able to catch, otherwise there’s a possibility that I could start at the back and finish there too, being one of the last people across the finish line.
Oh well, at least it means there are only a few people coming up behind me who can overtake I suppose, and if I am last across the line I might even get a cheer!