As I sit here, six hours after crossing the finish line of the questionably named 'Cowman Triathlon', my body is a symphony of aches and fatigue. It seems like every muscle is protesting, and the prospect of sleep feels elusive due to persistent cramps. Yet, for some reason, I can't help but feel absolutely amazing.
Let's rewind and recap the thrilling journey. Going into this event, I had set myself several ambitious goals:
- Cross the finish line without any serious injuries or giving up.
- Finish in less than 6 hours, a target I had calculated eight months ago when I signed up.
- Aim for a sub-5-hour finish, a goal that many might have deemed overly ambitious given my swimming and running background just a year ago.
Setting these diverse goals, ranging from attainable to challenging, gave me the drive to push myself without taking it too lightly.
Now, let's delve into the race itself!
Pre-Race Preparations
I had diligently prepared everything the night before, following a checklist to ensure no last-minute panic. At 5 am, after a somewhat restless sleep, I was all set and headed to the race venue. The transition area was well-organized, and despite some initial cramping, my excitement trumped any nervousness.
The Swim Leg - 1900m - 32 mins
Having learned from past experiences, I positioned myself at the far right at the start of the swim, allowing a few seconds before picking someone at my level to follow. This tactic worked well, sparing me the need to sight constantly and setting a comfortable pace. While the swim isn't my favourite activity, I managed it better than before, enduring some kicks and punches but staying focused.
Transition 1 - Swim to Bike
Learning from my one previous triathlon, I ensured I knew exactly where my bike was in the transition area. I did cramp up a little getting the wetsuit off (tensing my legs too much during the swim?) so definitely some potential future time savings to be had in T1 for the future.
The Bike Leg - 90km - 2hrs 28mins
My biking strategy was to average around 235 watts, adjusting slightly for headwinds and hills while keeping it easy on descents. My predicted time was 2:35 but I managed to improve on that by 7 minutes, partly due to averaging around 7 watts more than expected, but mostly due to better-than-expected aerodynamics. Part of this improvement could have been my new lower (and much more uncomfortable…) position on the bike, but I think a good amount of it was the effect of ‘drafting’.
Now drafting in triathlons is a contentious issue, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think that making all triathlons draft-legal would reduce safety and make the sport less accessible, so I understand why the rules are in place. However, I did have some issues with people on super aerodynamic triathlon-specific bikes going past me on the downhills before going much slower than my intended speed up the hills. The rules of the sport say you must pass someone or drop back to 10 meters behind them if you are overtaken, but sometimes this meant putting out quite a lot of power to get past. In the future, I think I will prefer the dropping back strategy and cap my power to avoid the leg cramps I had later on…
Overall though the bike went pretty much as expected. The course was good, hilly enough to be interesting but not too hard, and though there was some traffic which slowed me down, it wasn’t as bad as St Neots.
Transition 2 - Bike to Run
As soon as I swung my leg over the bike frame to dismount my leg cramped up. I hobbled over to the transition station and very carefully put my trainers on (elastic laces helped a lot and are definitely recommended!). The leg felt pretty tender but looking at my watch I realised I had a full 1 hour and 55 minutes to finish the run in order to get sub-5! This was pretty encouraging but I decided to stick to my plan and attempt to run at 5min/km pace.
The Run Leg - 21km - 1hrs 55mins
5min/km pace was not feeling great, my quads were in quite a lot of pain with every step and I was getting constant twinges of cramp. Nonetheless, I managed the pace for about 3km before a particularly wet and muddy downhill section caught me off balance and I very nearly ended up face-first in a muddy puddle. However, despite avoiding a muddy doom my legs saw this unusual movement as the last straw in the abuse that they were willing to take, and every single muscle in them decided to cramp simultaneously. I’ve struggled with cramps in swims (part of the reason I dislike swimming so much) but never running. I had made sure to supplement myself with plenty of electrolytes and water, but I guess muscles will only take so much abuse before they start to freak out.
It took a good two minutes of barely making any progress before I could run again, and the only thing that kept me from giving up then and there and deciding to walk/jog the rest of the 18km was a rather inspiring performance I had seen the night before from Kristian Blummenfelt. Despite suffering seemingly identical cramping problems to my own, he had powered through them to come 3rd in the PTO US open.
Knowing that it was possible for a human to power through cramps early into a long run kept me going, and though it was extremely painful, I somehow managed to maintain a steady 5:20/km pace, ensuring I met my sub-5-hour target. The finish line came into sight, and I mustered a final burst of pace, although more cramps discouraged any risk-taking. I had done it - achieved my sub-5-hour goal!
The Aftermath
Despite the triumphant achievement, my body had other plans. My legs, arms, shoulders, back, and neck formed a coalition against me, going on strike and rendering me immobile on the sofa. Tomorrow's day in the office seems like an unattainable destination and this time I may take a break from attempting to achieve the unachievable and work from home 😅. Nevertheless, amidst the discomfort, I couldn't be happier. The feeling of crossing that finish line and seeing my time was really quite special and I was able to chat with several amazing athletes who have inspired me to continue my pursuit of this sport.
I have yet to decide on a new goal or direction, but I do know that I want to continue training in all three sports, even swimming.
For now, my immediate focus is to summon all my remaining energy to move from this sofa and replenish the 4000+ calories I've burned. Despite the challenges, I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying and rewarding experience at the Cowman Triathlon 2023.
