Tighnabruaich

So on Sunday I was back at Tighnabruaich for the second Tighnabruaich Sprint Triathlon, and what a lovely event it was! The weekend didn't start so well; work commitments meant I couldn't meet Duggie to sail round, then driving up after work I was sent on a detour after Arrocher, then due to being a bit scudded convinced myself to go the wrong way at Inverary, adding an extra detour meant that I finally reached my destination exhausted & wire to the moon at half past midnight. The Grim weather on the Saturday monring did mean that I took a leisurely lie on on the sofa bed as people came and went from the cottage, before lunch, setting up transition and the car park, then a cheeky wee course reccie (which put me in good stead for the race the following day it has to be said, thanks to being well aware of the dodgier road sections).

It has to be said, the local wildlife can be a bit brutal, and not just the midgies - having a swan attempt to pick my pocket than start hissing and snapping at me as I tried to get my bike set up outside the door of the cottage was not what I had anticipated doing at 6am. But food was sent out to lead them away and we made our escape to the race.

Competitors and marshals roamed around with far to much energy for that time of the morning (or were they just trying to prevent the midgies swarming?) and in no time at all I was signed up, the bike was racked and I was sporting a brand new Glasgow tri top, the only thing left to do then was get into the wetsuit and line up for the briefing.

The water was a bit nippy, but I've been in colder at Loch Lomond this year, and getting in early for a longer warm up did help me get used to it. I was also sporting a new pair of Speedo Rift goggles, and the larger lenses felt great on my face for sighting - I felt the benefit during the race, and reckon I managed to stay a bit better on course for it.

As for the swim itself, I started out steady and stayed reasonably comfortable throughout, though again I was producing plenty of snot and phlegm out of my nose and mouth. Yep, triathlon is glamorous for sure.

Out of the water and a fairly slow transition ensued, based partly on the reduced feeling in hands and feet out of the water and my continued inability to get out of a wetsuit quickly. I tugged on some socks  then wheeled the bike out to the mount line to attempt a moving mount which worked! Huzzah! Apart from the fact that I squished down the velcro straps such that I couldn't get my feet in. Boo. Still, you live and learn, and today was about learning.

Once I stopped to sort that out (out of view of transition and the spectators), I got moving again a bit too hard as I was frustrated at the mess up. I blasted along for a while, then realised I was going to blow up, so trimmed the speed back and got on with enjoying the ride whilst picking out a few targets for over taking. The kilometers disappeared, punctuated by the cheery calls of the marshals around the course (thanks guys) and before I knew it I was slipping my feet out of my shoes and chickening out of a rolling dismount (I bottled it as I felt I was coming in too hard and as there was a crowd of people who would see an epic failure were I to stack it), but running into transition without the bike shoes on is way easier, it must be said.

On with the run shoes, tie the laces, then out for another less than epic transition time the run was a relatively flat out and back along the start of the bike route - if anything, there is an overall height gain on the out leg - and it was clear from the get go that my legs just weren't going to be up for a fast time, my cold feet and calves off the bike were just not responding quickly and given the closeness of Roth, I was in no mind to force them to, so settled into a steady pace and let the final section unfold, cheering on at first the leaders and club mates, but as I neared the turn point, I started cheering on everyone I went past. I hope some of my enthusiasm rubbed off on a few people :) My run may not have been my fastest, but for the area in the field I was in, it was fast enough, as only one person went past me early on and I managed to take maybe 8 or 9 people on my way round. My legs finally started waking up at around 3km, so I pushed on harder, until I caught up with Alex, about 400m from the finish line. I could've headed on past her, but given my goal for the day, to have fun and enjoy myself, crossing the finishing line with my running buddy seemed the best way to do it.

Very enjoyable race, made by the scenery, the organisation and the cheery support of the locals. I'll see you all next year!

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