So there I was talking to Dan Grey the other day and he asked me if I would consider racing in the London Duathlon in the Elite drafting race.
Although flattered, I said to him to be honest it isn't really what I've been training for over the last 9 months. Anyone, who knows me, knows that Ironman has been my only goal this year. I entered Brazil with a view to using it as stepping stone for Hawaii in October, and all the races I have done this year have just been sharpeners to keep my motivation levels up.
I haven't done any track sessions and consequently have lost all the top end speed that good quality track yields.... but it didn't take much time for me to dwell over this decision and re-consider. I've never been one to shy away from a challenge. But the fact was.... I could end up coming in last and that really scared me!! The guys that specialise in these sorts of races are really fast and I had no right to be racing along side them. Especially considering the Ironman distance I’ve been conditioning myself for.
In longer races I will normally catch the fast runners on the bike leg, but not over this distance... it was too short. So for the first time in years approaching the start I felt genuine fear. Vinces words kept running through my head.... 'You need to kill yourself on the first run and stay with the pack', but all I could think was... Don't be last..... Don't be last....... Don't be last!!!!
I knew that I would have to be really fast off the start, probably run faster than I had run all year and even so might still come in last to T1.Then, I would have to try to get on the back of the bike group to draft and recover. I planned to put in a dig to get a bit of a lead into T2 because I knew I didn't have the speed to keep these young whipper snappers at bay on the second run leg.
The gun went off and I caned it off the start. All of a sudden I realised I was in the lead but only for about 20m.... (Never one to miss a photo opportunity) I relented very quickly unable to sustain my 100m sprint pace and let all the fast boys pass…. including Tristan who bolted off ahead!!
2km in and I was now practically last…. I hit T1 having run a 16.19min, 5km with an average heart rate of 187bpm. I had serious lung burn and felt a little lightheaded. I grabbed my bike and surged through a group of guys in the mounting zone trying to get their feet in their shoes. There were now three bike groups. The fast runners had well over 40 seconds on me. I passed directly through the third group with no one being able to hold my wheel and caught the second with Tristan in it. Tristan shouted to work together, but we were unable to get it rolling. I momentarily rested and then broke away on the left hand side and put in a dig trying to get away…. Not this time!! I was caught straight away....
I was now towing the second group with no one willing to share the work……I hadn't really got the hang of this drafting business.... my heart was beating so hard I could feel the pressure behind my eyes... they felt like they were about to explode!!! I caught the first group and sliced through the pack hitting over 75km per hour leading on the front downhill from Richmond to Roehampton gate.
As we approached the roundabout at Roehampton I broke left preparing to take the roundabout on the left as usual…… but everyone else didn't!! They missed out the roundabout altogether taking the racing line and sweeping round the bend. After taking the long route around the roundabout I hooked on the back of the group, and came in last….. But I still recorded the fastest bike split of 16.46mins (1 lap 11km)
A quick T2 and we were off for the second run. I had missed the group again, as most of them had Pyro Speed duathlon plates and were much quicker in transition. As I ran through transition I heard words of encouragement…. Go on mate you can catch them!!! Go Pre.... Go Pre...!!!! - were the words of encouragement from Vince and John. But still, all I could hear in my head was.. Don't come last... don't come last... don't come last, stay with them, stay with them, stay with them!
I dug in and held my position. The last run was 2.5km and I ran it in 7.44mins. My average HR was 183BPM
1st – 12th all arrived at the finish, within a little over a minute of each other. Tristan came in 8th, I came 11th …. out of 25 ' Wanabee Elites' . Final time 42.35mins.
It was a great race and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Put me down for next year...
And finally, thank goodness, I wasn’t last !!