This was it, the big one of the year - my debut at GBR age group level. Representing my country had been a dream I'd chased over the past couple of years and my time at Outlaw Half last year enabled me to put myself up for selection in the Autumn and I got my place in December. It has been a hard training slog since then,especially with the calf injury over winter, but somehow I managed to get myself to the start line in the best condition that I have ever been in - this is how my weekend went then...Pre race
Had a couple of days with the folks in Antwerp and then we all travelled up to Center Parcs at Limburgse Peel which was a handy 20 minute drive away from the venue at Parkhotel Horst - a lovely four start hotel which backed onto a massive lake surrounded by park paths - a perfect venue for a 10km run. I met up with the GBR team on the Saturday morning where we did a course recce on both the bike and the run.
Had a good sleep the night before, with beds akin to those really nice ones you get at a 'Lenny' so felt in really tip top condition when I racked my bike and joined the thong for the 9.30 start.
Run 1 - 10km
As a newbie, I positioned myself at the back with the intention of feeling my way into the race. the advice had been to run the first 10km at a pace of 2 mins slower than my PB. I tried to do this , but saw a sea of national colours before me going down the first straight and wanted to keep in the mix. The course was a figure of eight shape of c.2.5k and had me in mind of parkrun - especially with the twists and turns and quality of the paths. I ran the first mile in 6.53, so not my best, but at a very good pace and seemed to settle well into it. I was enjoying the run and the course and of course the competition as first myself and another Brit wound in and passed a Dane, and then caught and passed a Dutch guy. We sort of formed a foursome and took it in turns to pace the group around. The mile splits only topped 7 minutes once, and kept pretty constant. The course seemed a little shorter than 10km and an average pace of 6.59 meant that the first run was completed in a PB 40.46.
Bike - 60km
A smoothish transition with no real issues and we were out on nice flat country roads of the Netherlands. Not very wide roads and like the run course there were lots of turns and you were bever really on a long straight for very long. There was one dead turn on the course and a couple of no overtaking coned sections - quite a technical course then but nothing to worry about. Having come off the first run down the order, I was anxious to make up some ground and some places on the bike and rattled out of transition looking for the first athlete to hunt down and it didn't take long to find and reel in the first carrot. I was flying along and in hindsight maybe it wasn't the best decision to treat it like a 10, but I felt good and wanted to make the most of my strengths. The course was flat, but exposed and though the wind wasn't too strong at 12mph, it did seem like every turn was into either head or cross head - although I know that that is just not possible !!
I fuelled with chopped up flappy with some jelly babies thrown in for being so good, and washed it down with a bottle of zero. I didn't want the bike leg to end, but all too soon I was being diverted off the loop and back into transition with a time of 1.35.36 which stacked up well against the field on the day. Now the bit I wasn't overly looking forward too.....
2nd Run 10km
OK, just four laps to go - out of transition (another decent one) and onto the run course. No legs whatsoever !
I was struggling for speed and didn't have either the legs or the engine to go any faster. Most of the guys I took on the bike came steaming past again on the second run and I knew where I would need to improve right then and there. the distance wasn't a problem, but I was edging to a minute a mile slower than the first run and at this level of competition it is always going to find you out. I was enjoying it in a twisted way and didn't mind that it hurt so much. All I kept thinking about was keeping going and registering as quick a time as possible so that I could be considered for selection next year.
Releived to finish with a second run time of 46.50, however those six extra minutes had lost me some ten places. 3.06.28 and my GBR debut completed.
What a great experience, and one I want to repeat in the future.
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