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Dorking Duathlon
At last, I thought when I opened the race
instructions, a sensible start time. To start a race at
9:00am on a Sunday morning is just so civilised,
especially at this time of year when the sun doesn't make
its sleepy appearance too soon. Have I ever mentioned
that I don't like getting up in the dark? Too much like
going to work for my liking. It was even better that the
good weather card was still in play.
When I signed up for this event I selected the 1k swim
and 10k run option over the half distance on the basis of
value for money rather than ability. I tried to ignore
the fact that I'd never covered 1000 meters in a
pool-based swim before. I had no doubt that I could go
the distance after all the Saturday sessions but a first
is a first after all.
The day started well with some friendly banter amongst
the other competitors but all too soon it was time to don
the swim cap and get don to business. You know how a
chance comment sometimes makes you realise the obvious?
The guy in the next lane was not wearing a swim cap as it
made his goggles leak. Suddenly it came clear why I'd had
problems in the Sevenoaks Tri. Maybe I should put my
goggles under the cap. Of course a race is not the time
to experiment and as I was getting into the water at the
time it was too late anyway. The push off confirmed it.
Swim cap plus goggles equals eyebath.
Note to self: experiment with swim cap and goggles
sometime.
The nice thing about a long swim is that there is time to
experiment, add a bit of roll here, kick a bit more
there, Stretch out a bit, relax a bit and lose count of
the lengths a lot. It wasn't until another swimmer passed
that I remembered that I was in a race. By some miracle
of mathematics the number thirty-eight popped into my
head just before the two lengths to go sigh was waved in
front of my nose. Sub conscious length counting, way to
go!
My poolside transition proved a bit troublesome. How hard
can it be to pull on a running vest and a pair of
trainers? Add water to the mix and the answer becomes
"very". My vest is made to give maximum
"crumple factor" when applied to a wet body.
It's never like this on a swim bike transition. Maybe
that's how triathlon came about? People got fed up trying
to pull on running gear and looked for a sport with
slightly looser clothing or maybe I'm just incompetent.
The run was a two loop cross-country course that
meandered though autumn trees and across fields until a
steep hill ruined the party. The hill divided the
competitors into two, runners and walkers. I was most
defiantly in the latter, knowing full well that my fast
walk would beat a slow trot hands down. Once at the top
the only way was down but the thought that I'd have to go
up the hill again lurked in the back of my mind. More
importantly I was gaining on the man in front, the same
man who had over taken me at the beginning and then
stayed 20 yards in front. It's always nice to over take
someone; it's even sweeter when they had overtaken you in
the first place. What's more it confirmed that I'd finish
in my favourite position: not last
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