Too cold to get up in the mornings? This is cold....

My friend Lucy, is one brave lady. 

Not only has she completed her first ever triathlon, she competed in 3 degree weather conditions on a chilly London morning. The Thames Turbo Sprint Triathlon has been a goal she has been talking about for a while now and after she sent this race preview to me on Monday, I knew I just had to share it with you all. 

Inspiring and funny, if you are complaining about the cold at the moment and using it as an excuse to NOT exercise, think of Lucy...I do!!

 "Yes I made it to the finish line - albeit with a few bumps and bruises, but my god what a buzz - it was such an awesome experience, everyone was so friendly and it was a superbly run event.

The weekend meant rest and fuel, I was suffering various training aches and pains, mainly a trapped nerve in my left glute (sciatic type pain) and a strain in my left collar bone from a recent swim so I was not feeling 100% and knew that rest was the best option.

With the exception of practising transitions by running from one end of the house to the other, plunging both feet and hands into a tub of ice cold water and then attempting to put socks, shoes, gloves etc on before running back again. Not quite the real deal but helpful nonetheless and quite amusing for Pete with a stopwatch in hand.

The nerves kicked in at 4.20am when my alarm went off - no time for snoozing, quick breakfast and into the van for the 40 minute journey to Hampton. The weather did not bode well and was predicted 3-5 degrees with rain, I set up my transition area much to the amusement of others around as my bike was the smallest and once the saddle was hooked, the front wheel was a foot off the ground with nothing to stabilise it - looked very funny hanging in mid air! Easy to spot amongst the other 600 bikes though!

It was time to be off with the Ugg Boots, tracksuit and extra layers and headed off for the swim (brrrr), however luck was on my side and as I entered the swim area the sun came out briefly. Only my swim did not start well, I somehow misjudged my first few nervous strokes and didn’t stay straight my hand hit something hard, I banged my head on my shoulder, goggles filled with water and I had to quickly re-adjust and get moving again - eventually calmed down, found my rhythm and concentrated on not swallowing too much water and keeping my breathing in sync (bearing in mind I'd only started having lessons to get to grips with the stroke in March)

Next it was into T1 and time to get into my socks and shoes, top, jacket, buff, helmet, gloves and all whilst soaking wet, dizzy and shivering - I had to giggle to myself (following the in-house practice runs yesterday) but I was loving this! 

Onto the bike for 21.5km - hmmm wind on wet body makes riding a bit on the cool side - it was time to pedal harder and warm up! It felt tough going by about 12km, I'd eaten a banana which was already peeled and in a sandwich bag tied to my bike, but panting and eating on a bike is not easy I realised - was just hoping a photographer was not about to pounce from the bushes and snap me open mouthed with a mass of mushed banana rolling around in it - bet I looked a real delight!

Seeing everyone on slick road bikes flying along made me envious as I pedalled in my trainers on my trusty specialized hybrid road bike, I am definitely buying cleats for the next race!! I imagined I was in one of my spinning classes and made each push, climb and sprint count telling myself it would be over in an hour and to make the most of it.

Back into T2 and I had trouble racking my bike and getting it to stay put - huge bruise on left forearm from my brake, but that was least of my worries as the wet and cold on the bike had numbed my feet to the point of thinking they had been swapped for frozen chicken breasts!

Off I ran/hobbled hoping they would soon ease up - but no chance, the jelly legs were as predicted and practised but to add to things the banana and water on the bike had caused a stitch - I NEVER get stitches - ever or rarely, I was only 1km into the run, it made for a tiresome and unpleasant first 2km but then I saw Pete and he ran along with me, the stitch would not let up and I knew this would be my slowest ever 5.5km run in my life!!!

But I decided not to stress and instead to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Bushy park - it was off road and even a few deer around - and the sun came out again! At 4km my right foot finally defrosted and flooded with heat, the stitch eased and I pushed that bit harder for the last 1.5km and the finish line!!

It was such a great feeling - I didn't care about timings - today was about finding out if Triathlon was for me, how it would feel and managing the 3 disciplines back to back and experiencing transition. As a complete novice all I wanted was NOT to come last but do it under 2hours - hoping for a 1hour 50min and to improve on that over the year in my next 3 races in the lead up to Olympic Distance London Race in September. 

I managed

1 hour 33mins and 6seconds

not bad a for a novice who did not ride or swim that well at the start of the year - I can't wait to get back to training and smash that time in my July race!"

I wrote about Lucy here and here, she was the child feeding expert on UK ABC program Fast Food Baby. Lucy lives in London and runs her company Mange Tout Kids and in conjunction with Organix, Taste for Life Nursery

So how cool is that? Doesn't it just make you feel motivated to just get out and make something of a goal? 

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