Geepers Creepers. I think that it is fair to say that I did not enter the race thinking that I would end the day on the top step of the podium. In the week before the race we saw both Raffa and Murray exit from Wimbledon, not that I am comparing myself to Raffa and Murray, but at the time it reminded me that there are no guarantees or certainties in sport and I shouldn't be writing myself in or out of the race beforehand.
The numbers:
08:52:40 Total 00:54:23 Swim
00:03:19 T1 04:49:06 Bike
00:01:14 T2 03:34:08 Run
No fastest time split for swim, bike, run or transitions this time, and yet my finish time was 1min off the course record which I'm totally surprised by. Of course records are made more possible by favourable conditions, and while the wind did pick up steadily through the bike leg and was blowing a good stiff breeze by the 2nd lap return from Friedberg, the weather was pretty good for racing. The temperatures also picked up through the day and was about 34* around the time I was finishing the marathon, but by throwing water over my head and ice down my top at every feedstation, I wasn't really aware of it getting hot.
My swim time is continuing to improve bit by bit and I'll keep putting in the yards to try and keep this 'trend' moving in the right direction! It is clear however that I need to get more open water swim training in and be more familiar with swimming in close proximity to others. I'm lucky that I am able to work with some great coaches who are all willing to work together to help me improve. David is my 'triathlon' coach and I know that it makes his role all the more complicated for me to work in this way, however the eyes on coaching and specific run programme put together by Tim as well as the technical work with Darren in my swimming, (in conjunction with David's work) has been invaluable to my development and progression. A big thank you to them all!
There were a few ripples of controversy post race with regards to the bike section, and the impact that it had on the rest of the race. The gist of the complaint was that there were groups of riders who were not the legit. distance of 10m apart and that there was some advantage gained by some of the female pro athletes by this. This scenario comes up time and time again, it is well discussed, the race organisers know about it, and the solutions have been presented. Separate start times for the male and female pro racers, and a longer time gap until the start of the age group athletes. The time to bang the drum and push for change to the start times is in my mind, before the race and not after it. Until that changes, we pro women have to play with the hand of cards that we are dealt with and manage the situation to the best of our ability. Unless you are of the mindset that you wish to gain advantage from sitting in a pack of guys (by cheating), it is mentally frustrating and physically demanding to get yourself out of group. Either you have to sit up and let rider after rider drop in in front of you while your power, speed and position in the race drop like a stone, or, you have to put the hammer down, keep putting it down and try and ride your way off the front of the pack and stay out of trouble. Smacking the heck out of your run legs at the same time. I was kicking out some serious chunks of time way over Wattage trying to get clear off the front, sometimes on my own and sometimes with other guys, working within the rules to try and drop the drafters. Inevitably things would bunch up again on the climbs and through town where rider strength and skill caused a shifting of position. Typically on technical sections of the course, riders will ease off the power. Here I like to try and step ON the power and gain as much time as I can while others are snoozing and cruising. There are towns and villages every 5-10k on the course and if you are not 'on it' and attacking the course you are going to loose a lot of time. It was a very different race for me compared to something like Melbourne where you are TT'ing it nearly all of the way.
The spectators are AMAZING at races in Germany. They just seem to love the sport and are all around the bike and the run course, cheering you on the whole way around. The volunteers were also phenomenal, it is like no other country to race in and makes for a fantastic atmosphere. If you are looking for a race experience, you'd not go wrong in choosing a race in Germany.
I had huge amounts of support out on the run course and was able to work my way to the front of the field by the second half of the marathon. Having made it there though, there was no kicking back and cruising. You just know that none of the other women are just going to let you walk off the course as the winner, they are going to chase you down the whole way. The spikes in my bike power did take the sting out of my run legs and I wanted to make sure that I had a reasonable buffer between me and the next runner so that I had time to change gears if I needed to. This also allowed me time to throw water over myself at feedstations, grab sponges and ice to keep as cool as I could.
So to summarise:
Lots of love for: The volunteers, the atmosphere & local support for the race
Not so much love for: Start times of pro male, female & age group athletes being too close together
It was an amazing feeling to finish the race in first place and receive the European Championship title. Absolutely fantastic and brilliant to be able to share it with Rob and my Mum and Dad who had driven from the UK to watch me race and holler their support from the sidelines. They've been the people who have inspired me the most and given endless encouragement through the highs and the lows. There are no three other people I'd rather have at the finishline on such an occasion so that made it even more special.
I can't finish without saying a huge thank you to the Uplace-BMC Pro triathlon team, their sponsors and partners and the physio work that I do with Alex. Their work has changed the way that I can train and race, and I'm delighted that I can finish on the top of the podium by way of return!