Woodhall Sprint Triathlon

14th June I took part in a local sprint triathlon at Woodhall Hall Spa. I was really looking forward to this course as I knew the course was flat and fast and I was hoping to get a good result at this race. The morning of the race for once I didn't have to get up too early as to thanks to my swimming going really well I put in a fast swim time which gave me a late start.

After waiting for a while to be aloud in to transition It doesn't take me long to get set up in transition and one thing I have learnt is not to over think it when setting your bike and gear up. Get in set up bike in transition and running kit then walk away and leave it and not worry about it.

My race gets going and I'm straight away on to a friends feet tapping away, second length in I pushed as hard as I could and got by him. He is a quicker swimmer than me when we train together but I felt good and nothing was going to stop me today. A few more lengths in to the 400m swim I start to feel my timing chip working itself loose. I get to the end of the swim in just over 7 mins, not my quickest 400m but I know I pushed it too hard at the start.

In to T1 and in less than a minute I'm already on my bike and got going really well. My plan was to get round the first corner and put my feet in my shoes and crack on with the bike section. For some reason I could not get my feet in my shoes. I started flapping around and losing all the speed I had picked up. Finally I get my feet in my shoes and I quickly get in to a good rhythm. I catch up with the people that over took me whilst whilst I was messing around with my shoes and one of them tells me my race number is about to come, so quickly I tuck it in to my race belt. Approx 1 mile later I can feel my race chip getting loose on my ankle, I reach down and try and reattach the strap. Another mile in timing chip works itself loose and this time as I reach down the strap comes off and I grab it just in time. With out thinking I put the timing chip down my tri suit and try and concentrate back on the task at hand. I get the bike done in 45:32 and I knew I was behind my plan thanks to my feet not working and my timing chip causing me a few issues.

In to T2 and my bike is racked I quickly grab my timing chip and sling it back round my ankle to make sure my time is registered. The run is my favourite discipline, if I was to gain some time back it would be on the run. I soon get in to a strong running pace and straight away I'm feeling happy again. my plan was too push as hard as I can for the last 1km and see what happens. When I picked up the pace in the last Km I feel my timing chip coming loose and not wanting to have to stop and grab the chip, I ease of the pace and  I managed to do the run in 18:54.

I for some reason finished the race feeling a little disappointed with how the race went, but overall I was pleased that I was able to handle the small issues that I had and was still able to enjoy the race. The one thing I took from the race was to put a safety pin on my timing chip to make sure that it is secured so wont have a chance of losing it in the future.

Woodhall Spa Triathlon is a great local race and is a very popular event that is organised by One Step Beyond. It is very well organised and the bike course is clearly marked and well marshalled.