Canary Wharf Triathlon 2012

Men in suits, women in heels and us in compression tights..a triathlon right bam smack in the central business district of London. The GE Canary Wharf Triathlon is a Super-Sprint Eliminator race. There will be 2 heats for men and women with faster finishers progressing to the finals. The race format is fast and furious with each racing lasting just 30 minutes. The multi-lap course offers spectators and coaches to watch through the swim, bike and run. The course is flat with 36 corners in 9km! To be honest, this race was not one of my favourite last year, having a negative experience learning the hard way with my cornering abilities and lack of fast twitch fibres. I was determined to change this and make this race show what I was capable of now. I wasn’t feeling that good all week, feeling alittle flat and maybe tired from the weekend race. With about half a bottle of oil to make sure my wetsuit came out quick, it was time to race.

Heat:

Ranked 3^rd, I could a great place next to Liz Blatchford  on the pontoon. Diving in, head was down going straight out to the first buoy. Before I knew it without any knocks to the head, we were already turning. I had clean water and 2 peoples feet ahead of me to sit with. 400m means no time to muck around. Climbing out the water was abit of struggle as it was so slippery and you had to become a seal and slide your way up or crawl. Luckily being near the front I had time by myself to get up. Transition had to quick otherwise the pack would be up the road.

Coming out onto the ride we quickly formed a small pack with about  5 girls. No body wanted to roll through and I was stuck on the front for more than what I really wanted. Although this did happen, it gave me a chance to see how the other girls holded wheels. I am confident in skills this year – looking through the corner, lots of weight on the outside foot and hands off the brakes. Some times I found myself off the front having a few metres coming out of the corners.. could we use this to our advantage in the final? Coming off the bike, I had a shocking T2, getting my glasses stuck in my helmet.

We had a pretty big lead on the next pack so the first lap of the run, I took out strong to keep my position and by the second lap I knew I had made the final comfortably. It was time to relax and finish in 5^th place.

We had 2 hours between the heat and final- compression tights on, fueling up and keeping relaxed. We had a chance to watch the boys heats from the big screen in the athletes lounge which was so much benefit. Warming up for the final, the temperature had dropped, the calves had good extremely tight but I was excited to race again

Final:

Once again, 400m is no time to try and get comfortable. You have to make the uncomfortable, comfortable. Head down, I once again found some pretty good feet, exiting the water in 3^rd. My transition was much better and got out onto the road ready to ride the first lap hard. On the front again, we quickly had make a bunch of about 8 girls. Ashlee, Tamysn and myself did have a plan on the bike to take benefit of the girls skills and try and get a break away. Unfortunately our communication skills struggled and we didn’t achieve the outcome that we wanted to do. The bike being a short 9km, its hectic and fast from the get go.. being in and out of the saddle. Spending again, way too much time on the front, it had a negative influence on my run. I had a good T2 coming out 3^rd but the pace was already on. Sprinting is not my forte and 2.2km is giving it already you have got. I tried to keep with the other girls but they are just way to fast and amazing runners. Improving dramatically on last year finishing in 8^th I am very pleased with the experience and the outcome.

I would like to thank British Triathlon for providing us with such a great event. It is different to ITU racing and shows your skills in these short and sharp events. You are always on the rivet and excited to get out there to do it again! Thanks to Lisa Dent the Event Coordinator and John Muddeman for getting us to the event and providing us with accommodation so close to race sight. London put on a cracker of a day with the weather being a stunning 27 degrees finishing with the atmosphere of all the supporters and spectators in the heart of London.