Grab yourself a cup of tea...... this will be lengthy!
Having qualified for the World Triathlon Championships back in July at the Deva Triathlon and deciding to go, I worked hard in those last couple of months with regards to training (apart from going to South Africa of course!) to the point where not only was my body at breaking point, but my mind as well. I had been making very regular visits to the physio up until I went to NZ with problems with my back, with the physio keeping me going. I was also making quite a few visits to my sports therapist as well! Anyway the point being that I was literally waiting like a coiled spring ready to race, with the race being on 22nd October, making my season exceptionally longer than most other triathletes. The pros also had this to content with having the grand final race in Auckland on the 20th/21st October.
Having packed my bike up and finally getting to the airport on the Monday morning in the M25 rush hour traffic, I was on my way! It was to be a mammoth journey via Kuala Lumpur with the usual anxiety and nerves about the bike making it there safely.
Arriving into Auckland on the other side of the world, I was lucky enough to have a few others that I knew racing there and we kept each other company for the rest of the time there. The first day I decided to check out the race expo and the race HQ which was down on the waterfront. With sunshine but harsh gusts of wind, it was very similar weather to what the UK had been experiencing a few weeks earlier.
Meeting my friends, (some of whom I hadn't seen in a long while) was really great and we settled down to watch Kenny compete in the Aquathlon.
Below shows Kenny in action out of T1.
This picture shows how the swim was sheltered between two piers. For the Olympic distance triathlon, we swam far beyond the shelter of these wharfs into the swell beyond!
With the chance for a bike recce on Thursday, Kenny, Dean and myself took to our trusty steeds to try out a lap of the bike course. We soon found it to be fairly testing with three pretty sharp hills and descents along with one of the fiercest head winds as you came back into the city. It was a case of put your head down and get on with it!
Thursday was the Parade of Nations, and after a LOT of hanging around, we were walking along the waterfront into the Cloud (built specifically for the Rugby world cup 2011) to have a dinner of pasta and salad. Luckily my friend Sara who had just landed managed to find us and we scoffed the dinner and it was early to bed for the both of us, with jet lag looming.
Friday's plan was to give the swim course a bit of a try and having managed to get our wetsuits on, Sara and I made our way to the swim pontoon to give it a go. The water temperature was really not that bad, but it was the waves that began to hit you as you swam beyond the piers. Anyway, we gave it one lap before deciding that we had tried our best. By this point I had started to sneeze quite a bit and my nose was running on an almost permanent basis, it was then that I realised that I had caught a cold. Be it the long flight with an ill person, or the air conditioning on the plane, or simply that my immune system was low due to the fact I had been training so much, I simply didn't feel all that great! Saturday for me was to be a bit of a day of rest. After initially planning to do another swim down at Mission bay (the turn around point on the bike course), I decided that it would be better for me to rest and get better. Sunday was to be a similar affair although the weather had taken a real turn for the worse. Saturday involved sunshine and burnt foreheads watching the elite women battle it out, with Lisa Norden winning the champs and a stirling performance from Jodie Stimpson coming 5th in the race and Annie Haug putting the pedal down in the closing kilometres to take the win. Sunday for the men was a real battle through the elements and this was to be one of the closest races yet for Brownlee (Johnny) and Gomez. Sara and I found shelter in the Cloud to watch the race on one of the big screens. As you can see from the photo the conditions were really awful and I was glad to be sat inside rather than out on the streets!
The organisers had decided to plan that all GB athletes were to rack bikes on the Sunday. This was fine, however being from 3-4pm, at the end of the elite men's race was to cause quite a bit of traffic with all the closed roads and specific crossing points! Racked and ready to race, but with a huge thunderstorm that night, all I kept thinking about was the poor bike sat on the pier getting blown about!
Monday morning dawned and the weather had improved although the wind was still quite gusty. We made our way through the HUGE transition, which by the way added around 1km total to our running from swim to bike and bike to run, and sorted out bits out ready to rock and roll. Wetsuit donned and three toilet trips later it was time to get in the holding pen. Unfortunately I then decided that I needed the loo yet again, but already in the waiting area for the swim it was too late and I would have to wait until the swim to do my business!
Getting onto the pontoon and then into the water, we were literally elbow to elbow and this was really going to get tough. The hooter went off and I held back for a brief moment before setting off. I really managed to swim quite well initially and held my own, drafting from many feet before edging my way forwards. Then it hit............ after the shelter of the wharf we soon had to turn left. We basically swam in the formation of a capital T but withe the 3 metre swell, the buoys became impossible to sight, and it was a case of fight against the crashing waves and try my hardest. The swim across the top was absolutely shocking. I sat up a couple of times to sight and literally swam into a couple of lifeguards who proceeded to tell me I was going the wrong was. I was about to tell him what for, and looked across to around 10-15 other girls in red hats all next to me, grumbling I set off again for the tiny red buoy in the distance. It was an absolute fight to the very end with the buoy seeming to get further and further away not matter how hard I swam. Finally coming back into the sheltered water, green hats of the next wave began to pass us. It was then that my heart sank, as they had set off a full 10 minutes later. Finally making my way out, I was wobbly as anything and my heart sank even further when I noted my achingly slow time of over 32 minutes. Running the 400m or so into T1, wetsuit off pretty much, I had a couple of other girls come through with me into T1 and all I heard was, 'that was totally awful- we were well off course!', and believe you and me, I was then relieved to see so many bikes still racked next to mine!
Setting off on the bike and trying to make up lost time, it was off onto the course with grit and steely determination. Or so I thought! I was making quite good progress with the wind behind me. It was on the turn around that the full force of the wind stopped you in your tracks. I had been going at a steady 44kmph with the wind behind me on the flattish parts. The support on the hills was phenomenal, parents had their kids out on the streets in their PJs, the hills were covered in chalk names, and having your name on your trisuit meant that people were calling out your name. Coming back into the city against the wind was tough, and on the start of lap 2, I called out to the crowds for some cheers, they were mainly there for the Kiwis and Aussies, so I tried to rally them up! Coming back into T2 was a bit of a relief, I had not began to even try to go in the swim for my 'toilet break' and therefore the entire bike ride became a race against myself trying to get back into transition to relive myself. I honestly didn't know whether I would make it! My T2 time was abysmal, luckily having the long run into T2 meant my time wasn't too bad, but I had to dash into one of the conveniently placed portaloos. I was then very glad that they were there as I doubt I would have made it around the run course without stomach cramps! The pancake flat run course was 2 laps of 5km. 
I thought initially that I was OK on the run, however the bonk and fatigue kicked in around 4km into the twisty turning run course. Lots of dead turns and it never seemed like you ran further than around 100m without turning a corner which really broke up your rhythm!
It was all going so well until nearer the end when I really struggled to make it back.
I finished the race well down on my expectations but was immensely relieved to have it finished and done and dusted!
Having time to reflect on my efforts now post-race, I was able to see that my preparation running into the race was not the best, with a 2 1/2 week holiday 4 weeks prior to the event and also coming down with a cold a couple of days before. Also having the tightness in my back and not really functioning properly was another blow. However these are all excuses that I should try to see past and really I should be pleased that I was there in the first place! Which I honestly am! I think that it was a great event, although honestly speaking it was possibly the worst event I have ever done with regards to conditions, and that is speaking from someone who has competed in 9 events this year with our British Summer!
On the whole a really worthwhile trip and something that I think I may want to try and repeat for years to come, but not next year with London being the final race. I have entered the Vitruvian Middle Distance event held on my home turf here in Rutland on the 31st August 2013, and have just entered the Dambuster Triathlon (22 June 2013) as a warm up.
For now it is R & R (Rest and recovery) as well as my upcoming birthday to enjoy some time away from training, get my body back to a good base and begin my London Marathon 2013 training. I have downloaded a very handy training plan that begins in the middle of November, so that will mean lots of running, lots of core work and the occasional swim/bike to break up the monotony of running. I plan to still blog about my training, but it might take on a slightly different format of documenting my actual runs. The plan is really to build up slowly and surely with mileage not really exceeding half marathon until January when I begin to increase my long runs. I have also entered the Silverstone Half marathon on the 3rd March so that will be a good gauge of how I am doing in my prep.
So for now, get back into that winter gear and happy training everyone!
PS I hope that you enjoyed reading!
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