tri talk with ....
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On Sunday 13th September John Picton competed in the Fowey triathlon (Cornwall). John finished an excellent 6th place in a time of 2hrs 03mins. Here is John's account of the race. |
The Fowey triathlon has been running for 25 years next year and is a popular race in Cornwall amongst both locals and competitors from further afield. It is run by the lions club and the organisation is second to none, with plenty of marshalls and a relaxed atmosphere. I originally entered in 2006 but due to personal reasons (or rather fear of not training enough) I didn’t start the race. So 3 years later and a lot “triathlon wiser”, I jumped at the chance when my sister, Lisa, said I could try for a late entry and turn up on the day to fill any drop out places. I was already going to be in England for my 30th birthday so it all worked out well. I know the area very well but got a good brief from Lisa the night before. We arrived nice and early, about 9am, even though the race wasn’t due to start until 11am (a refreshing change!) I had to wait until the cut-off time of 9.30 before I found out that I had managed to get a place. The strange thing about this race is that the start is in Fowey, T1 is in Polruan (across the river) and T2 is in Lostwithiel, so 3 different transition areas. I was given two different colour bags, green for T2 in Lostwithiel, which was taken there for you, and white for T1 in Polruan. Organisation for T1 involved going with my bike together with about 6 other people and bikes, across the river on a little 10ft boat (no Condor Express!) T1 was a rather cramped tarmac picnic area and was a bit of a squeeze but I found a spot leaning against a bench facing the right way. Then it was back on the return boat with plenty of time for the race brief at 10.30. The race also involves going off in waves of 4 at a time in 1 min intervals, rather than the usual mass start. I was given race number 11 and therefore went out in wave 3, so I was in the water ready and had a good warm up. The start of the race totally embodied the relaxed atmosphere and the varied ability of all athletes. You can dive from a pontoon or choose a water start and one of the first starters did a very amusing “bomb” which all the spectators enjoyed, including the photographer. I lined up for my water start (no swan diving for me I’m afraid) and away I went. The swim is about 600m across the Fowey river. You head straight across the main river towards a large silver metal buoy. On reaching it you take a hard right and sight through all the private boats to the harbour. Finding the right line is important but luckily Lisa gave me a great sighting point, a monument way up on the top of the hill. It was funny because as I was sighting, I swear the 2 breaststrokers I passed were side by side having a chinwag! Anyway I had a great swim in a time of 11 mins 4 secs and was 5th fastest. Then into the tightly packed T1, I caught the first wave at this point. You then have a short 20m run-up to the first hill out of Polruan which is a ½ mile 20% hill (aagh!). There was only 1 person in front but the funny thing was she nearly stalled on the hill, bounced off a wall and almost took me out! Then I left her behind and that was a good feeling because I realized I was leading the race....in a way. So after the hell of that first hill, it’s nice undulating hills with a few short, sharp country lane hills for about 10 miles. Then you’re on to the main roads towards Lostwithiel with very fast long undulations (just the way I like it). I felt strong which was a surprise after nearly killing myself a week before at the Granite Man. It was all going well til 2 miles from the end when, at the bottom of the last hill, my chain came off.! I tried to put it back on whilst coasting but had to stop. I was passed by only 2 people until that point but then a third went past whilst I playing mechanic which forced me to push it the last 2 miles downhill to T2, coming in at a time of 1hr 47secs and 11th fastest rider. T2 is in the car park of Lostwithiel fire station. Your number is called on arrival and your bag of trainers etc is brought to you and your bike taken off you! The run consists of 7 miles of hills, with 4 big ones, the first I could definitely compare to the Val des Terres and just as long. I had caught the 2 guys in front by then and they were just ahead of me coming out of T2, so I buried my head for that first hill and dug deep to go past them. I didn’t see any other competitors for the whole 7 miles, just hills, hills and more hills and then a short off road section up a field. It was tough and quite hot but I felt good, especially on the last mile which was fast downhill and then through the town for about 500m to the finish line, which I finally fell over in a very respectable run time of 51mins 32 secs, 5th fastest run and an overall time of 2hrs 03mins and 6th place. I had a great race! It was just a shame that I didn’t get to see my family after T1, until the end because Lisa was in one of the much later waves and there just wasn’t time to get around the whole course to support 2 people. They always try their best to support and I never give them enough credit! I must also say how well Lisa performed; she was 1st lady and 11th overall. When it’s all over, your swim bag is brought back across the river and put in the race brief area for you to collect but you have to collect your bike etc from the fire station. We did this on our way back to my parents’ house in Torpoint. To summarize, the Fowey Tri is a short but very punchy triathlon and I would recommend it to all triathletes, but I must apologise if you are now thinking....”I’m there next year because I’m fed up of 6am starts”...well I did say it started at 11am but they are bringing it forward to 9am next year...sorry.
SAM'S DIARY
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For those of you who don't know Sam Herridge, Sam is Guernsey's elite female triathlete. She won the GTC's Novice Triathlon back in 2005 and from then on there was no stopping her. Sam represented Guernsey in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and won individual gold and team gold in the Island Games in Rhodes last year. Not to mention her successes as an elite athlete! Sam is aiming to compete in the following races this year: |
Sunday 3 May 2009– Steyning Sprint Triathlon - 00:54:53 - 1st lady
Sunday 17 May 2009 – Pontevedra ITU Premium Cup, Spain - 2:06:21 - 18th lady
Sunday 7 June 2009 – Blenheim Sprint Triathlon
Sunday 14 June 2009 – Ferrol ITU European Cup, Spain; or Windsor Triathlon
Saturday 18 July 2009 – Athlone ITU European Cup, Ireland
Sunday 26 July 2009 – Guernsey Inter Insular Tri (hopefully!)
Sunday 2 August 2009 – London Triathlon
Saturday 15 August 2009 – London World Cup, Hyde Park (dependant on qualification)
Sunday 6 September 2009 – Guernsey Granite Man???
Sunday 20 September 2009 – Perranporth Surf Triathlon, Cornwall
Sunday 25 October 2009 – Alanya ITU European Cup, Turkey
24 May 2009 - update
Competing in my first main Triathlon event of the season in Northern Spain, I managed to complete a solid performance in the Pontevedra Premium ITU Cup. My performance in the 1.5Km river swim, 40Km bike and 10Km run managed to elevate my European ITU ranking to 41st and my World ITU ranking to 176th. I am now currently the 8th female British Triathlete according to these rankings.
The race, although productive in terms of gaining points for my ranking, did not go all my way. Although I had a good swim and a really solid run, my bike wasn’t quite up to race standard, which was slightly disappointing. With water temperatures of around 13.5degrees; an air temperature of around 11degrees; and torrential rain throughout the duration of the race, the day was never going to be easy.
I had my usual strong swim, although for a change was not first, but third out of the water. The swim was a two lap course in the local river, with athletes having to get out and run around transition before diving in for the second lap. It was a very cold and long course. Two swimmers managed to get away from the pack, but it wasn’t an insurmountable amount to catch up later in the race.
The bike course was described as being hilly and technical, and although not hilly compared with my usual training ground in Cornwall, the technical sections proved difficult in the treacherous conditions. I made a very elementary error on the bike course and managed to lose the front bike pack which I was originally in. So after a lap on my own, I tagged onto the chase group and set about trying to hunt down the lead pack. However, on one of the trickier turns across a metal grate in the middle of the road, my back wheel slid out from under me – I managed to control it, but was a little more careful after that!
A quick transition saw me heading out onto the undulating and narrow run course through the town of Pontevedra, and thankfully I reaped the benefit of having a winter of injury free run training. Going onto the run I felt quite strong, but had underestimated the effect of the cold – I couldn’t feel my feet for most of the run! Completing the run in a personal best time of 38:15, I managed to beat many of the people who had beaten me last year in European Cup events. My overall time was good enough to place me in the point scoring top 20, in 18th place.
Although a solid performance, I was disappointed not to be quite race ready on the bike, as had I have kept with the lead pack I would have probably made the top ten. However, that should be easily rectified for races over the next couple of months. Triathlon is a constantly changing sport and you have to learn that things do not always go your way on the day – that’s part of the fun of the sport.
I will now be making my way to Oxford to compete in the Blenheim Sprint Triathlon on Sunday 7 June, before travelling to Spain the week after to compete in the Ferrol European ITU Cup on Sunday 14 June – hopefully in better conditions than those experienced in Pontevedra!
Thanks
Sam