2013 European Triathlon Championships, Alanya Turkey - Final Part
Tales From Turkey - Race Day and Beyond
Saturday 15th June
I think it's fair to say last night was the worst pre-race sleep I have ever had! Nerves are one thing but waking up having full on panic attacks about nothing in particular are quite something else!
I woke about 3am and then no way could I get back to sleep! I had to lie there waiting until it was time to get up. All I can say is thank goodness for strong coffee and adrenalin to help me feel slightly more human and like I have had some sleep!
Breakfast is a bit on the small side but I knew I had a good meal last night and can top up with a bit of a bar and a gel prior to the race.
We head down to the race start everyone is chatty and happy that the weather gods have been kind and the sun is shining, it's warm but not too hot, yet!
Lots of last minute faffing in transition with most people just milling about and chatting, the nerves seem under control at this point.
I have everything for the race so it's just a case of pumping up the tyres and making sure everything is still working okay and that I'm in the right gear for the start! Shoes have talcum powder in them, drink bottle on bike, shades for the bike and run, gel (just in case!) and I'm pretty much ready to go to the warm up area!
I start to feel a bit nervous at the start and go for a warm up swim and then a short run up and down the beach and I feel more relaxed. My body is fine, I'm ready to race and then it's time to go to the pen for the race start!
Here we go!
Swim
I've gone for close to the middle of the line on the pontoon close enough to the fast swimmers but not so close I will get swum over!
We get into the water and hold onto the rope off the pontoon ready for the start!
Then BOOM we are off. I start swimming as hard as I can to get into a good group and try to maintain the pace. The pace feels hard but my breathing is controlled, this feels like race pace and I try to focus on staying in the moment. I start to forget to sight regularly, then I am not focusing on where I am, are these feet fast enough, am I working hard enough? I've drifted off the line to the first buoy and I'm being overtaken on the inside, very annoyed and have to swim off the line I'm on to get back on course. Wasted time and extra swimming. I know I've lost the feet I could have stayed with and now have to work hard, alone to get to the turn around to the beach. This I feel is from my lack of racing. I would have done this earlier in the season and corrected it and this swim could have been better. I've started really working hard on this. Too late for Turkey but never too late to improve.
I get out the water and I am disappointed with my swim. I try to focus everything now on hammering the bike leg. A flat and fast course should play to my strengths and those horrid turbo sessions are hopefully all going to pay off today!
Bike
I have a good transition and get out on the bike ready to really push hard after my swim. I find my cadence and my HR and work to where I know I need to be. I feel comfortable, breathing is a bit too heavy to start but I know it will settle when I get into my rhythm. I start to catch girls and that boosts my confidence and I start to work harder, looking for girls ahead to catch and overtake. I settle at a pace I think I can sustain but there are girls ahead of me and behind me and I worry about drafting. I put in big surges to pass them but they do the same but then slow down. I'm now at the half way point. I'm frustrated with the girls overtaking me and slowing down so I decide it's time to leave them for dust and push much harder for the last 5k. It's taking it's toll but I've dropped them and they are not interfering with my race, I'm happier and continue to push much harder.
I have a smooth transition and I'm out onto the run, ready to give everything I have. I am smiling wildly inside, it feels so good to be able to run and enjoy working hard without fear of my body breaking down and having a dreaded DNF!
Run
I know from my training that whilst I am not injured (woohoo!) I am not yet able to run at a speed that I would like to. Staying injury free was the priority, getting faster would have to wait until I had a consistent injury free period. So I know today's run is not going to be the speed I'm capable of with some real speed work under my belt.
It's now pretty hot and thankfully there is a water station right out of transition. I take a couple of sips and then pour the rest over my head. I feel better!
The course is pretty flat apart from a short and sharp hill which comes quite soon after transition. The first time up it feels tough but not horrific. I am working and pushing as hard as I can and trying to feel light on my feet. My legs don't feel too bad at this stage and I'm enjoying being able to work hard and push myself harder than I have been able to.
The second lap is coming up and I'm running through the streets feeling great, legs are holding up great and I'm very happy inside. There are some of the Oxford Tri guys cheering from the side lines and that really helps me to keep pushing.
The 2nd time up the hill isn't so pretty but I work as hard as I can and then once I'm on the brow it's all downhill towards the finish! There are lots of people cheering go on GB and Smith as I run through the town for the last time and it really makes me smile and think what a great bunch of people the GB Age Group athletes are.
I'm finally onto the blue carpet and finding a little GB flag in my hand :) I run through the finish line, very, very happy, tired and hot!
There are lots of very smiley faces around and it's a huge buzz at the finish line with lots of athletes finished racing and the guys still hard at it.
There is an ice bath which I get in and oh it felt so good! When I started to get the shivers I got out!!!
We head back to transition to get our stuff and head back to the hotel for beer! It's only 10am but it definitely feels like beer o'clock!
We find out that our amazing coach and lovely friend Jane Bell has a silver medal and that one of the other girls from Oxford Tri Sarah Kerswell has won a bronze medal. There were a lot of GB medals at this championship!
So lying by the pool with a beer and the race feels like a long time ago! It's great to be surrounded by people who have had a great day and are happy with their race.
A lunch which included more chips than anything! Well you need the sodium after a race so what are you going to do! A few more beers and I'm feeling quite squiffy and it's good to be able to relax and not worry about the million things you do before a race!
We head off to pack up our bikes as we head home tonight :( Bad move in the end. It was great soaking up the atmosphere of the race and I'm really regretting this decision now!
Once bags are packed we head to the shops to buy some last minute gifts and we also see the Elite men out on their bikes. With not much shopping to do after we have a ton of turkish delight we go to watch the men. They are now out on the run, going very fast! Some are making it look easy, others look like they are having a very tough day (or maybe they always look like that when racing!) we cheer on Adam Bowden who I saw early on in his triathlon career at Hillingdon. Where he totally dominated the duathlon run element but my husband Chris proudly beat him in the bike! I wonder if he could do that today?!
We arranged to meet up with some of the guys from Oxford at dinner and had a really great meal and a few glasses of wine to celebrate a very successful trip.
Race holiday over and it was back to the airport for an over night flight back home. I was asleep before we took off and woke up with 20 minutes to land at Gatwick! That's a first and I think just about sums up how tired I was!
Arriving at 5am it was time for coffee to ensure a safe drive back to Oxford. It was great to be home and great to have a race experience which exceeded my expectations.
It's made me hungry to do it all again. The atmosphere the camaraderie it all made for just a really fun trip and one I'd really love to do all over again in Kitzbuhel next year. Here's hoping!
Next post: What next?
Saturday 15th June
I think it's fair to say last night was the worst pre-race sleep I have ever had! Nerves are one thing but waking up having full on panic attacks about nothing in particular are quite something else!
I woke about 3am and then no way could I get back to sleep! I had to lie there waiting until it was time to get up. All I can say is thank goodness for strong coffee and adrenalin to help me feel slightly more human and like I have had some sleep!
Breakfast is a bit on the small side but I knew I had a good meal last night and can top up with a bit of a bar and a gel prior to the race.
We head down to the race start everyone is chatty and happy that the weather gods have been kind and the sun is shining, it's warm but not too hot, yet!
 |
| Hilary all smiles before the race! |
I have everything for the race so it's just a case of pumping up the tyres and making sure everything is still working okay and that I'm in the right gear for the start! Shoes have talcum powder in them, drink bottle on bike, shades for the bike and run, gel (just in case!) and I'm pretty much ready to go to the warm up area!
I start to feel a bit nervous at the start and go for a warm up swim and then a short run up and down the beach and I feel more relaxed. My body is fine, I'm ready to race and then it's time to go to the pen for the race start!
Here we go!
Swim
I've gone for close to the middle of the line on the pontoon close enough to the fast swimmers but not so close I will get swum over!
We get into the water and hold onto the rope off the pontoon ready for the start!
Then BOOM we are off. I start swimming as hard as I can to get into a good group and try to maintain the pace. The pace feels hard but my breathing is controlled, this feels like race pace and I try to focus on staying in the moment. I start to forget to sight regularly, then I am not focusing on where I am, are these feet fast enough, am I working hard enough? I've drifted off the line to the first buoy and I'm being overtaken on the inside, very annoyed and have to swim off the line I'm on to get back on course. Wasted time and extra swimming. I know I've lost the feet I could have stayed with and now have to work hard, alone to get to the turn around to the beach. This I feel is from my lack of racing. I would have done this earlier in the season and corrected it and this swim could have been better. I've started really working hard on this. Too late for Turkey but never too late to improve.
I get out the water and I am disappointed with my swim. I try to focus everything now on hammering the bike leg. A flat and fast course should play to my strengths and those horrid turbo sessions are hopefully all going to pay off today!
Bike
I have a good transition and get out on the bike ready to really push hard after my swim. I find my cadence and my HR and work to where I know I need to be. I feel comfortable, breathing is a bit too heavy to start but I know it will settle when I get into my rhythm. I start to catch girls and that boosts my confidence and I start to work harder, looking for girls ahead to catch and overtake. I settle at a pace I think I can sustain but there are girls ahead of me and behind me and I worry about drafting. I put in big surges to pass them but they do the same but then slow down. I'm now at the half way point. I'm frustrated with the girls overtaking me and slowing down so I decide it's time to leave them for dust and push much harder for the last 5k. It's taking it's toll but I've dropped them and they are not interfering with my race, I'm happier and continue to push much harder.
I have a smooth transition and I'm out onto the run, ready to give everything I have. I am smiling wildly inside, it feels so good to be able to run and enjoy working hard without fear of my body breaking down and having a dreaded DNF!
Run
I know from my training that whilst I am not injured (woohoo!) I am not yet able to run at a speed that I would like to. Staying injury free was the priority, getting faster would have to wait until I had a consistent injury free period. So I know today's run is not going to be the speed I'm capable of with some real speed work under my belt.
It's now pretty hot and thankfully there is a water station right out of transition. I take a couple of sips and then pour the rest over my head. I feel better!
The course is pretty flat apart from a short and sharp hill which comes quite soon after transition. The first time up it feels tough but not horrific. I am working and pushing as hard as I can and trying to feel light on my feet. My legs don't feel too bad at this stage and I'm enjoying being able to work hard and push myself harder than I have been able to.
The second lap is coming up and I'm running through the streets feeling great, legs are holding up great and I'm very happy inside. There are some of the Oxford Tri guys cheering from the side lines and that really helps me to keep pushing.
The 2nd time up the hill isn't so pretty but I work as hard as I can and then once I'm on the brow it's all downhill towards the finish! There are lots of people cheering go on GB and Smith as I run through the town for the last time and it really makes me smile and think what a great bunch of people the GB Age Group athletes are.
I'm finally onto the blue carpet and finding a little GB flag in my hand :) I run through the finish line, very, very happy, tired and hot!
 |
| Wonder if the cat had a tough race too? |
There is an ice bath which I get in and oh it felt so good! When I started to get the shivers I got out!!!
We head back to transition to get our stuff and head back to the hotel for beer! It's only 10am but it definitely feels like beer o'clock!
We find out that our amazing coach and lovely friend Jane Bell has a silver medal and that one of the other girls from Oxford Tri Sarah Kerswell has won a bronze medal. There were a lot of GB medals at this championship!
 |
| Smiley faces from Jane and Fiona :) |
A lunch which included more chips than anything! Well you need the sodium after a race so what are you going to do! A few more beers and I'm feeling quite squiffy and it's good to be able to relax and not worry about the million things you do before a race!
We head off to pack up our bikes as we head home tonight :( Bad move in the end. It was great soaking up the atmosphere of the race and I'm really regretting this decision now!
Once bags are packed we head to the shops to buy some last minute gifts and we also see the Elite men out on their bikes. With not much shopping to do after we have a ton of turkish delight we go to watch the men. They are now out on the run, going very fast! Some are making it look easy, others look like they are having a very tough day (or maybe they always look like that when racing!) we cheer on Adam Bowden who I saw early on in his triathlon career at Hillingdon. Where he totally dominated the duathlon run element but my husband Chris proudly beat him in the bike! I wonder if he could do that today?!
We arranged to meet up with some of the guys from Oxford at dinner and had a really great meal and a few glasses of wine to celebrate a very successful trip.
Race holiday over and it was back to the airport for an over night flight back home. I was asleep before we took off and woke up with 20 minutes to land at Gatwick! That's a first and I think just about sums up how tired I was!
Arriving at 5am it was time for coffee to ensure a safe drive back to Oxford. It was great to be home and great to have a race experience which exceeded my expectations.
It's made me hungry to do it all again. The atmosphere the camaraderie it all made for just a really fun trip and one I'd really love to do all over again in Kitzbuhel next year. Here's hoping!
 |
| The end of one journey and the start of another? |
Next post: What next?
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