Southam Sprint Triathlon 2022

April 24th 2022

400m swim, 25km bike, 5km run

Just for fun! Mrs Mills persuaded me into this very last minute entry into what turned out to be a blustery but fun sprint tri. We have fallen into an annual tradition of doing a sprint tri together, normally involving some sort of weather extreme, but always a good day out.

I've done absolutely no training on the bike and had no aspirations of placing, so I was feeling a little nervous when racking my trusty road bike (without my TT bars due to pure laziness and a lack of recent practice with them) next to some swanky looking TT bikes.... However, I popped my trisuit on and ambled over to the swim start.

I watched Jenny do a remarkably solid and consistent swim, noting that she had gone off 3 mins early. By the time it came around to me, they were running 6 minutes early thanks to a large proportion of DNS', but I was ready to go! The swim was a very awkward affair, changing lanes every 4 lengths, and not being able to tumble. Touch-turning I find touch, and I was very glad to exit the pool after having to overtake the same (breast-stroking) three times due to the bizarre lane change scenario!!

Outside I was feeling chilly, so I wrestled on some gloves (not the fastest transition....) and set off. As predicted, my bike leg was not the best, but I kept others in site and didn't get overtaken by many women, which was a relief. I did see one guy miss a left turn and fly off in the wrong direction. Thankfully he realised pretty soon, but having overtaken me just prior it did take him a while to catch me up again, despite the big hill - just what one wants to come across after a slow left turn....

Back in transition and I was grateful to get onto the run. Unlike when I was actually racing triathlons regularly, I felt confident I could run. I soon found my legs and the lappy, grassy, bumpy course suited me. I got to see Jenny a few times too - bonus! Trying to keep an ex-squad mate in sight, I ran around the three laps, pleased not to be overtaken too much.

I do miss tri sometimes, with its varied tactics and the need for pacing in each discipline. The equipment faff I do not miss at all though, and neither does my car.

I was astonished to come third in a small but well-practised field (as often is the case early in the season, it didn't seem to be a novice affair), and even better, first in my age category! Wow! Overall an enjoyable day out, finishing with a visit to the Southam food festival and some baked goods treats.