Name: Thorpe Triathlon
Date: Sunday 16th August 2015
Venue: Thorpe Park Water Ski Centre, Thorpe, England
Distances: Swim: 750m, Bike: 20km, Run: 5km
My first race after returning from holiday a week ago. We did a lot of cycling and running, but not much swimming so I was keen to see where my swimming was at. I had never done the Thorpe Triathlon, but team mates from RG Active said it was a good race having done it last year. It was also well placed in the calendar, three weeks before my final race of the season.
The course was fast. A straight forward swim, short transition and flat bike and run. The swim was in a nice warm 21C lake and a deep water start. The bike was on quiet roads being early in the morning, however a few unplanned roadworks meant we had to dismount and run past them. A set of traffic lights could also play a big part, however if you were stopped at them, you would get that time taken off your overall time. The run course was on a mixture of concrete and a trail path but due to the recent rain, it was a bit muddy and slippery in places.
I placed myself well at the swim start aiming for the straightest possible line to the first buoy. Three men immediately set off creating a large lead on the rest of the field, finishing almost a minute ahead of everyone else. I managed to get myself clear water in fourth and kept this position all the way round. As this was the discipline I had not done much of, I was very pleased to come out in a time of 11:34, considering I had to struggle through a large amount of weeds in the last 100metres. My transition was brilliant, one of my fastest ever and recorded the fastest T1 on the day.
I mounted the bike smoothly and set off on the 20km bike. Fifth place out of the water overtook me in the first couple of kilometres, but I managed to keep with him for quite a while. I was overtaken and dropped to 6th place around 13km into the bike and then got stopped at the traffic lights loosing sight of 4th and 5th. Knowing my abilities on the run I was confident with these extra couple of seconds I would be able to make up a few places.
A nice flat run into T2 and a fast dismount gave me a good transition and I set out on to the final 5km run. After the first 1.5km I caught sight of the next man and upped the pace. The final 2km included an out and back giving me a chance to see how far away my rivals were. To my surprise I saw 3rd, 4th and 5th all within 25m of each other and just ahead of me. I upped the pace again thinking about the possibility of 3rd overall. In the final 500m I managed to overtake 4th and 5th finishing six seconds behind 3rd, however I knew time had to be deducted from my finish time due to stopping at the traffic lights on the bike.
Results published and 3rd place was confirmed, 2nd in U30 and 1st Junior. This training race couldn't have gone better as I also recorded a time of 18:33, the second fastest run split. I would definitely consider doing this race again, it was well organised and a great course. Next up is the U20's Festival on the 6th September at Mallory Park. This will be the final race in the British Junior Super Series.
Race Times
Swim: 11:34mins
T1: 00:29mins
Bike: 34.31mins
T2: 00:26mins
Run: 18:33mins
Total: 1:05:24hrs
Date: Sunday 16th August 2015
Venue: Thorpe Park Water Ski Centre, Thorpe, England
Distances: Swim: 750m, Bike: 20km, Run: 5km
My first race after returning from holiday a week ago. We did a lot of cycling and running, but not much swimming so I was keen to see where my swimming was at. I had never done the Thorpe Triathlon, but team mates from RG Active said it was a good race having done it last year. It was also well placed in the calendar, three weeks before my final race of the season.
The course was fast. A straight forward swim, short transition and flat bike and run. The swim was in a nice warm 21C lake and a deep water start. The bike was on quiet roads being early in the morning, however a few unplanned roadworks meant we had to dismount and run past them. A set of traffic lights could also play a big part, however if you were stopped at them, you would get that time taken off your overall time. The run course was on a mixture of concrete and a trail path but due to the recent rain, it was a bit muddy and slippery in places.
I placed myself well at the swim start aiming for the straightest possible line to the first buoy. Three men immediately set off creating a large lead on the rest of the field, finishing almost a minute ahead of everyone else. I managed to get myself clear water in fourth and kept this position all the way round. As this was the discipline I had not done much of, I was very pleased to come out in a time of 11:34, considering I had to struggle through a large amount of weeds in the last 100metres. My transition was brilliant, one of my fastest ever and recorded the fastest T1 on the day.
I mounted the bike smoothly and set off on the 20km bike. Fifth place out of the water overtook me in the first couple of kilometres, but I managed to keep with him for quite a while. I was overtaken and dropped to 6th place around 13km into the bike and then got stopped at the traffic lights loosing sight of 4th and 5th. Knowing my abilities on the run I was confident with these extra couple of seconds I would be able to make up a few places.
A nice flat run into T2 and a fast dismount gave me a good transition and I set out on to the final 5km run. After the first 1.5km I caught sight of the next man and upped the pace. The final 2km included an out and back giving me a chance to see how far away my rivals were. To my surprise I saw 3rd, 4th and 5th all within 25m of each other and just ahead of me. I upped the pace again thinking about the possibility of 3rd overall. In the final 500m I managed to overtake 4th and 5th finishing six seconds behind 3rd, however I knew time had to be deducted from my finish time due to stopping at the traffic lights on the bike.
Results published and 3rd place was confirmed, 2nd in U30 and 1st Junior. This training race couldn't have gone better as I also recorded a time of 18:33, the second fastest run split. I would definitely consider doing this race again, it was well organised and a great course. Next up is the U20's Festival on the 6th September at Mallory Park. This will be the final race in the British Junior Super Series.
Race Times
Swim: 11:34mins
T1: 00:29mins
Bike: 34.31mins
T2: 00:26mins
Run: 18:33mins
Total: 1:05:24hrs