Since Adrian was persuaded to sign up for the Calfman standard triathlon in Milton Keynes, I thought I might try the Cowman Middle Distance Aquabike. I really enjoyed the recent Aquabike at Upton. I have been doing regular long rides in preparation for LEJOG, and the swim at 1.9km was not that much longer than the standard 1.5km.
Unfortunately during the previous week I developed a little infection which had me needing to wee with alarming regularity. Then on Thursday evening I developed pain in the kidney area. By Friday evening it was getting worse, so on Saturday morning in the midst of packing, I decided to visit the pharmacy for advice. I was fortunate to be given some antibiotics which did help calm things down!
We decided to camp so as to be on location. In former days when camping with our kids, we would usually have a little barney when putting up a tent, but this time we didn’t! We settled down for an early night at around 9pm only to be woken at midnight by some party-goers returning to camp! It turned a little cool overnight but we managed some sleep and got up at 5am to get ready.
My race started at 7am, whilst Adrian’s started at 8am. As usual Adrian was chatting to and supporting a nervous first timer, whilst I was struggling to get into my wetsuit! We made up for not bickering about the tent!
The lake swim was balmy. We were assured of ‘very good’ water quality but there were a lot of dark flaky bits in the water! I did a fair job of not swallowing or inhaling too much and reflected that perhaps the antibiotics would mitigate against anything in the water! I soon relaxed into a steady pace and was quite pleased to exit the water with quite a few others so not completely at the back.
I had quite a slow transition as I decided to put on proper bike shorts for the long ride. It was a tricky change and fortunately the ref didn’t spot any minor nudity violations!
The bike was on a lovely scenic course. I still had a bit of an issue and had to have a couple of pit-stops during the bike. Each time I was overtaken by the same guy, and then overtook him again. We had a laugh at the end!
Does anyone know why photographers always position themselves on the steepest hill? “Was it a smile or a grimace?”, I asked.
It was great to see Adrian and Michelle Cassell as I passed the end of bike lap 2 and then at the finish.
I seriously underestimated the difference between a 90km ride at a social pace, and a 90km at race pace. My right knee was quite sore by the end. The Aquabike competitors were supposed to rack their bike and then run or walk through the run finish for a final photo and to collect the medal. I asked the TO what was the quickest way to get to finish with as few steps as possible! It’s tricky to run on grass with bike shoes but I made a good effort and had a big genuine smile for the camera.
It was a further effort to pack up the tent but we managed it still with no disagreement about how to do it, which we had a laugh about and I apologised for my stress in transition. Overall a very enjoyable if challenging weekend and my first Middle distance event albeit Swim, Bike and Done!
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