RACE RUNDOWN: Newbury Duathlon

After months I actually have a race review to post. One I am also very proud to have been a part of.

Entering a duathlon seemed like the natural step to take for triathlon training. A nice double brick session to get the body familiar with transition is much needed and I opted to take part in an event in my home town. For two reasons: a) price point and b) stunning countryside views.

Advance entries for Newbury Duathlon are £20. A decent price for an event that normally comes with a higher price tag. But this one didn't involve road closures which meant it guaranteed a low cost fee. Turning up on the day at Chieveley Town Hall (the main base), there is a huge start and finish point located in the field and just behind is the transition area where you rack the bikes. Numbers are not sent in advance so after collecting mine from inside the hall, I headed over to the racks to position myself under my race number - 20.

I felt so nervous as the whole set up was alien to me. Luckily, I was positioned on the far outside rack which meant I only had bikes in the left aisle to worry about. I opted to line my bike up by the saddle pointing the other side away from the bikes so I had a faster entry & exit, avoiding the mayhem of other competitors running out of transition with their bike. Well at least I hoped.

(just before the race)

Looking around at everyone setting up - the field was very small. 165 entries to be exact. That's less than a regular parkrun! A sudden fear of coming last loomed over me, especially as it was dominated by men in all the fancy gear. But, coming last isn't the be all and end all. I had to do this for myself, regardless of the position so after shaking off my fears of potentially being the last to join the finish party, I lined up at the start with the others acting (and hopefully looking) as confident as them all.

After a few announcements from the race director (the event is organised by athletic club Team Kennet), the start gun was fired and we were off! It all started with a run around a large field on grassy terrain which was followed by exiting the town hall grounds to cheers from friends and relatives who came to watch. I had my best friend and running pal cheering from the side lines, along with her sister. Their screams and shouts of support sure got me through it all!

The 5K run was simply stunning. A trail run through huge open fields, there isn't a whiff of civilisation until the last half mile running through the quaint village of Chieveley back to the transition area. The weather was perfect - sunny but with a breeze and I found the first run fairly comfortable. I was running 7.30s and kept with two other women trying to remain steady.

(on the run!)

Next was the cycle and I did get a small case of butter fingers in transition. It was my first time after all, so I wasn't expecting a speedy change. I was a big jumbled changing my shoes and as I ran out of transition with my bike, my road bike shoes weren't on tight enough so I had to briefly stop to alter them. Still though - I made it out in one piece and was on the saddle cruising out of the village and into the 25K cycle.

The course was tough. It is incredibly undulating with a few steep hills. But it comes with the most incredible countryside views. Lots of men overtook me. I accepted it. Expected it even. I'm not a strong cyclist. But then two women overtook me. That I could not accept. I still managed to keep it steady and paced myself, I think, very well. My friends had driven round in their car to the halfway point to cheer me on which was super motivating. 

(coming into the second transition)

When I came back into transition, I knew I had to be quick to catch the two girls up. I managed to be 15 seconds faster which was great and I stormed out of transition for the final 5K run. My legs were so heavy. It was a strange feeling. Not painful, but neither comfortable. As I entered the fields for the main part of the run, my pace felt really slow. Like 11 minute miles. When my Garmin bleeped after the first mile, I was shocked to see I was at 7.30 pace!

The first girl was up ahead. Got her! The second not much further on. Got her too and a lot of the guys that had bombed it past me on the cycle. This is when I realised that running is by far my strongest discipline. By the last mile I felt like I was sky high and as I came down the road to the village hall, I knew the end was in sight. Crowds had lined the street cheering and I was pushing it.

(on the second run)

When I turned into the entrance of the town hall, I was buzzing and the finish was right there. Sprinting up the slope there was a marshal who was shouting 'there's still the lap around the field to go!'. 'What!? S**t! I didn't realise that.' 

Panic flooded through me. I had bombed it so much down the road that to hear the unexcited news on a lap around the field wasn't the best but I managed it round and felt invincible as I finally crossed the finish line in a time of 1.45 (15 minutes faster than I had predicted).

My friends were there for a big group hug at the end, including another who had come to surprise me at the finish. They really were the best cheering squad ever!

Was I tired? Yes, but not as much as I thought. My adrenaline kept me going and when I went to print off my results (this was handy to get so soon after), it came to my attention that I finished sixth senior female and 88th overall. No where near last. Phewph!

Elate, ecstatic and beaming are just a few words that would describe my feelings this day. It was by far my best race ever and I was smugly proud of myself. 

Overall, Newbury Duathlon will be a fond memory for me. A race I would recommend to anyone, especially as an introduction to duathlon and multi-sport. The only downside is that you don't get a medal or goody bag. But for £20 and the size of the field, I guess the event isn't at a decent size yet to dish this sort of thing out.

RACE OVERVIEW

Course: 5/5

Scenery: 5/5 

Facilities: 5/5

Water Stations: 5/5

T-Shirt & goody bag: 0/5

My time: 1.45.04 (5K run 22.27, 25K cycle 58.07, 5K run 22.12)

LIPSTICK RUNNER'S OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Find out more about Newbury Duathlon here.


Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: Countdown to Blenheim Palace Triathlon

My first triathlon is 14 weeks away. Wahh! Where has the time gone from when I entered back in August!? If I look back at my training, I oddly feel like I have progressed a lot but at the same time feel like I am flagging a bit behind schedule.

Truth is, I can't really gage how well I am doing because I have never done a triathlon before. My problem at the moment is that I am looking at each discipline and criticising myself, especially for running. A lot of my fellow club members are all half or marathon training so are clocking up lots of miles whilst little me over here is popping in a couple of short runs each week. It almost feels inferior but at the end of the day, I don't need to be out doing 10 mile training runs at this time. The run of my Sprint distance is 5.8K and I know I can cover this with ease. What I need to do is cover this with ease off the back of a 13 mile bike ride.

So this is where the introduction to brick sessions comes in. To this date, I have attempted mini versions after work on a Tuesday evening - cycling home 4.5 miles and then going straight into a three mile run. It doesn't seem a lot but starting off this small is really important. If I can nail this, I can slowly add on the miles and build up to Sprint distance standard (or near enough). My first brick session was interesting. I battled through rush hour traffic to get home and then I lobbed my bike in the hallway, quickly stripped down to my running gear and heading straight back outside. For the first 200m, my legs felt like jelly as they didn't have a clue what was going on. The first half of the route I take is also all uphill so they really didn't like the situation I was putting them through. However, by the final mile, it was a nice downhill slope, my legs had awakened and pace was on top form!

I felt fantastic when I walked through the door with this time in the bag. Not bad for a first timer and I must say, I slept soundly that night so it must have exhausted my body. The couple of sessions that followed this have been just as successful and slowly my body is learning to cope with back to back multi sport challenges.

To top off the success of my running, I have also been very fortunate to bag a course PB at my local parkrun. I attended not even expecting a new and improved time (at that point my PB was 23.30). I had also spent the night previous to this guzzling gin punch and dining on Indian tapas at Dishoom so my body sure didn't feel on top form. Yet, out of nowhere, I pulled off what is probably my best ever 5K run. Taking on the deadly steep incline of the two lap course, I still managed to hold an average pace of 7.13 per mile and crossed the finish line in a gobsmacking 22.26. 

(Above: Dinner at Dishoom. Below: new 5K time for Finsbury parkrun)

The realisation of this fancy new time didn't hit me at first - my initial thought was that my Garmin must had lost signal at some point. I really couldn't believe I had done it. When the results from the race came through later that day (confirming my time), I was also chuffed to see I placed 3rd lady. I must say I did feel slightly smug and the celebratory Nandos for lunch that day was totally deserved.

As I have been so busy with work lately and travelling to lots of different parts of the country, finding time to fit in speed and hill sessions has been tricky so to bag myself this parkrun time, I really have to thank these mini brick sessions. They have really built up my strength and stamina and when I run, my body does feel stronger and firmer.

Along with my brick sessions, I have also incorporated daily sit-ups and crunches into the mix. I took on the 30 Day Abs Challenge throughout February and whilst I must admit I can't psychically see a huge difference, I can feel it. My core engages with the rest of my body so much better now and I have especially noticed this benefit when cycling uphill or running at quicker paces. I plan to continue with the sit-ups, switching to doing them every other day. Now I know I can bosh out 50 sets, it is a workout that barely takes up any time. I tend to do mine whilst my dinner is cooking in the oven!

So, what's next for me in the final weeks of training? Well, if you read my latest Operation Bridal Bod post (see here), you will notice my rather attractive wetsuit has arrived. This can only mean one thing - time for open water practise! The days are getting lighter and the air is a tad milder so it will soon be an appropriate time to don the suit and get used to swimming in a lake. I have definitely nailed the front crawl technique in the pool, now I need to hold it up in open water without the security of sides to push off every 30m. I hope to carry out a few sessions in my local lido first before moving onto the Serpentine. I'll also be cycling to this location so can attempt a brick session of swim then cycle which will be extremely beneficial!

Along with this next phase in my swimming, I am also taking on my first duathlon in April which I have purposely positioned as intense brick training in the lead up to the big race. This is approaching really fast so I need to stay focussed on my current brick sessions in order to complete the run-bike-run course. Inside, I am hoping to pull it out of the bag come race day - luckily I have never done a duathlon before so whatever time I get will be a huge achievement for me.

Are you training for your first triathlon? What training are you doing to prepare for race day?

Lipstick Runner.