RTCracereport Teesdale Triathlon 2023
I was almost not going to do a report but thought maybe I should so I can look back next year for things to remember.
Last year I remember Teesdale being a slog of a bike and run course. I had questioned why on earth I signed up again. I read last years race report and it reminded me I had invested in a bigger gear cassette for my bike so the hills should be easier. Even though I haven’t felt very fit lately I hoped I would beat my time.
Nothing much to say about the swim, each participant started 1 minute apart. I felt lucky when it was my turn to go as the other swimmers were at the other end of the pool. Uneventful swim but one thing to remember is take a swim hat. You don’t get one in this race. There were some spare by the pool side but I’d prefer my own.
Bike
I had a plan for the bike, don’t hold back on the first 10K. I knew I would hit the hills around this point so I wanted to make the most of the faster section of the course. Weather was awful, it was raining and I could hardly see out of my glasses. When I took the sharp left turn the weather seemed calmer. Not long after this the long hilly slog was about to start. I had decided I’d do the hills in my little cog and just spin up the hill. As soon as I changed gear my chain came off. It had happened last week so although it might cost me a few seconds I thought it would be a quick fix. I was wrong! The chain was stuck, there was nothing to stand my bike against and I needed two hands. Hands and legs covered in oil I got the chain back on. As soon as I started peddling it came off again! The bike Marshall came behind me which I was glad of because it allowed some shield from any cars and other bikes that were now going past me! I hoped the Marshall would be an expert in bike chains but he wasn’t. At least he could hold the bike though. To cut a long story short the chain coming off cost me 10-11 minutes. As I was in the middle of nowhere I had no other option than to keep the chain in the big cog and crack on. I knew I had 7 miles of hill to go. I thought if Shaun can run 60 miles I can get up these hills! I channelled my inner Shaun and got through it. I saw a woman walk her bike up one of the hills and this gave me a little boost to know I could get up. I did actually pass a few bikes but knew they were the ones who had passed me earlier. I was pleased when the bike was over. In transition I tried to get as much oil off my hands as possible as I was absolutely covered!
I’ve been so disappointed but I did actually beat last years time on the bike by almost a minute. My moving time was 1:08 which had I not had issues I’d have finished 10mins quicker than last year.
Run
It was lovely to see Nigel F and Peter on the run marshalling. In fact this was the only good thing about the run! It is mostly on grass and more of a trail run. There were very narrow paths and all I could think was I will need to check my ankles for ticks when I get home!! It was not my best run. I had seen Laura in T2 so when I was coming to the end I thought I’d do a sprint finish thinking she’d be videoing it! Probably the best sprint finish I’ve ever done and guess what, she couldn’t sort her phone out in time so missed it!! She did buy me a nice latte at the finish which made up for it.
I feel I will need to do this again next year as I have unfinished business!
Even with all the issues I finished this 6 minutes quicker than last year.
Well done to Stu and Trevor who also competed. Thanks to Laura for supporting and Nige and Peter for marshalling.
Almost forgot, the goodie bag from Teesdale is one of the best. A lovely cycling top, High 5 products and Yorkshire Tea Bags!!
