World Sprint Triathlon Championships, 14 Jul 2023
I’d been thinking about this race pretty much since I qualified last year and have been carefully walking the line of training as much as I can without cracking. It’s a small miracle I made it to the start line in one piece! The swim was chaotic, as expected, with arms and legs everywhere and barely any clear water to swim in. The clear water materialized a few minutes later when the race leaders swam into the distance. After successfully making it round a buoy, through a tunnel and up some steps I had a solid couple of minutes’ run to get to my bike. Running in a wetsuit isn’t much fun! I found my bike, ran the rest of the transition area, and smoothly did a flying mount, conscious that there would be copious video evidence of a wipe-out.
I had a blast on the bike leg, and quickly found a small group of 4 to work with. When the pace wasn’t high enough I dropped them – but they caught me again a few minutes later. Joining a large bunch headed up by some strong German cyclists I manoeuvred my way to the front, staying 2nd or 3rd wheel as long as possible. I had great fun taking some ambitious lines and unearthed whatever remains of GCSE French my muddled brain could find to get the other women in the group to take the front for a bit. With no packs visible ahead I didn’t fancy my chances escaping solo against what felt like a horde of cyclists so I held my position and waited.
After a smooth dismount I found my shoes (quite an achievement I’d say) and ran. It didn’t go to plan – and honestly this is disappointing for me. I’ve run 20k at a faster pace than I ran that 5k. It’s easy to pick holes in retrospect: perhaps my run training hasn’t been tough enough, perhaps I worked too hard on the bike, or biggest of all perhaps 6 months of feeling useless at my job has affected my mindset more than I thought. Confidence can be a delicate thing it seems. Having a goal like this to train for has been hugely positive when many other things have not, and while I’m sorely tempted to give up, quit my job and ride my bike all day, I’m still curious to see what I might be able to achieve. With a new job, new flat, new club(s) and new training partners all coming next month, I’m hopeful that once the dust has settled, this time I really will be faster.
Lizzie Fox