Now that my season is back into full swing, I intend to be posting more frequent updates on performances and feelings and all things triathlon. Here is my latest offering from the Racing this weekend.
Fresh from last weeks performance, my second place podium finish at the Stokesley Duathlon, the racing was a little closer to home on Sunday gone. The Sun City Duathlon was an event that I won last year, and saw my first victory of the 2013 season. I was keen to replicate the performance on a course that I knew so well and realistically speaking suited me right down to the ground. In a nutshell this course was flat as a pancake.
Located on the seafront, in Seaburn, there were a couple of testing drags on the 5km run course, and leaving transition out onto the 18km, 3 lap bike course, there was only one drag to contend with. Other than that, the course made for some fast and furious racing once again.
Last year saw me tussling out on the bike course with my coach Elliot Gowland if you remember and exiting T2 together, I was left to run it out alone. This year was to see further battles to see the lead once again exchanging hands throughout the race as it did at Stokesley last week.
Lining up alongside many familiar faces including Paul Brown from Godleys Cycles Racing Team and Colin Robson from NE31 Tri Club and my club mates from Coalfields Racing Team amongst others it was quick from the outset.
As I did last week, I started fast to stretch the field out before settling back into a comfortable rhythm. I'm not really sure I realise how quick I did start off and possibly live to regret it but arriving into transition in around 6th place, I was a little far off the pace to make any immediate impacts initially on the bike.
It was wet, being right on the coast, the local sea fret had not lifted all morning and made for some spectacular photographs coming out of the fog. I started to catch a group of faster runners immediately and settled into my task of reeling in the run leaders. This was made more difficult by the pedestrian speeds that we had to take the turns at due to the slippery conditions. A mixture of damp sea air, sand and diesel make the roundabouts exceptionally dangerous as many found out at the corresponding triathlon last season.
There were only two out In front by now, including Paul Brown, whom I held off into third last week, he was closing on the run leader and was once again riding exceptionally well. By now, I knew that this was going to be a hard chase. I was soon joined on the bike by Colin Robson and our positions over the remaining two laps were to change hands on a number of occasions spurred on by each passing and we both soon passed the early race leader from the run, riding ourselves into second and third respectively, with Paul still out in the lead.
It was myself who arrived back into transition in second place ahead of Colin, and with a quick change of shoes I was out on the chase once again. My dad shouted there was about a 25 second gap to chase down, and with the way that Paul had run on the first leg, I think I had at this point resigned myself to a foot race for second place once again with Colin. Holding him off wasn't going to be easy, we were both running strong and with around 1km to go I could hear his labouring breath gaining ground on me.
This was going to be tactical, there was no way I was giving up on second place without a fight, I eased off, I let Colin pass me and immediately sat back just off his shoulder. This was a pace I was comfortable with and knowing, or feeling that he was labouring, if I could reach the final turn with around 400 to go, I had the legs, I was ready to sprint.
Reaching the turn, we saw Paul round it and ready to close in on the line for a great well deserved victory. The time was now, i had to go for it. There was no holding back and no thinking of past injuries. I had the legs, I kicked and crossed the line with seconds to spare over Colin in third.
So.... 3 races down. A 4th in age category at Dambuster and 1st qualification to 2015 Euros Duathlon, followed by two 2nd place podium finishes! I can't complain at that. I'm training through all of my races at the moment in preparation for the big one in two weeks time. That's when it is all going to count. An opportunity to get back into the Union Jack again and travel to Horst in Holland for the European Sprint Duathlon Championships.
This coming weekend sees me having a weekend off racing to give a little back and marshal at the Morpeth Duathlon on Sunday, then, we travel to Holland.
See you all on the other side.
Thanks to the guys at SunCity Tri club they did a grand job of not only ensuring the event went off without a hitch and providing some great racing at the weekend, but they also recorded the whole thing and provided us worth the link to the event video! Click the link below and follow the hyperlink to the video from the web page! Well worth a watch.