Blenheim Triathlon Review 2016 |The complete beginners guide

[social_warfare]

Blenheim Triathlon Review 2016: My First Triathlon

It was Christmas 2015 and it seemed a great idea to plan a challenge and train for something for 2016 so I booked The Blenheim Triathlon taking place on June 4th and 5th which was just over 6 Months away.

So for those who do not know, here are the distances you can take part in for the Blenheim Triathlon:

Sprint 750m Swim / 19.8 km Cycle / 5.4 km Run

Super Sprint 400m Swim / 13.2 km Cycle / 2.9 km Run

5

I can run and I love running – I can do a Half Marathon in 1hr 30 minutes

5

I can cycle too….well, I’ve never raced but I love spinning!

5

Swim……yeah, I can swim (when I have to)

The problem is, I’ve never done all 3 one after the other before…

Fast forward 5 Months…

I’d dome my regular running and had my personal training sessions at the gym.

Other than biking to work, I hadn’t trained or cycled further than 3 miles (the last time I did a decent ride was last summer cycling 40 miles and sustaining a ligament injury!)

Swimming….I hadn’t done any training and never swam in a wetsuit before! So just over 3 weeks before the Blenheim Triathlon I thought I better try some open water swimming (you can see my first Open Water Swim here at Ragley Hall Lake!)

3 x attempts at open water swimming and finally overcoming my calf cramps I figured I could at least complete 750 metres by mixing front crawl with breast stroke!

The Blenheim Triathlon was now just days away, it would have to do…



LESSON NUMBER 1:

Plan ahead and set a proper training plan together. (Basic I know but I was so busy here at Chilli Technology, I ran out of time!)



LESSON NUMBER 2:

Open water swimming in a wetsuit is very different from swimming in a pool! Again, you need to plan ahead and train properly..

MY GEAR

I borrowed a wetsuit!
I had a hand-me-down Cannondale 1991 (or so) Saeco by a Team GB Triathlete (thanks Richie Long)
Bought a new Giro Helmet
Chris from Henty Cycling Bags gave me a bag to put all my stuff inside (it keeps a wet wetsuit sealed off away from everything too after the event)
Bought some Cycling shoes and cleats from my local cycling shop last Summer
Bought my Tri Suit from Amazon UK (£35)
And some Goggles! (£12.90)
Packet of Jelly Babies for some sugar energy….they melted in the heat 🙁
80’s style Sunglasses for the cycle / run (I forgot to collect them at Transition 1 for the ride)

Race day

The Blenheim Triathlon at the Blenheim Palace is truly a beautiful spot and place to hold a Triathlon. I couldn’t have chosen a better 1st Triathlon to start. Not far from home and a beautiful location.



The Blenheim Triathlon is held over 2 Days and you are allocated a time and wave number (basically there’s so many entrants they start in the morning and have people setting off at different time throughout the day).



My Race was at 14:55 Sunday and the sun was up and it was going to be a hot one (23 degree’s – that’s hot for me)



You arrive and collect your ankle timing chip which captures and logs your time for each stage during the race. DON’T FORGET PHOTO ID TO COLLECT YOUR TIMING CHIP – YOU NEED THIS!



Race Number sticker goes on your Bike and one on your helmet.



I purchased a Tri Belt there for £4.99 so I could easily clip it across my back for the cycle part and switch to my front quickly during the run (the requirement)

You’re allocated a time you’re allowed to drop off your bike and set all of your gear down at Transition area and whatever happens….



LESSON NUMBER 3:

Get yourself familiar with where your bike and gear is so you go straight to it after the swim (I couldn’t find my bag at T2 and lost nearly a minute finding my spot. I think the sun and heat got the better of me!)



LESSON NUMBER 4:

Make sure you know where you ride out and also where to go at Transition 2 for the run

20 Minutes before the start of the race you go down to the lake area, collect your Swimming Cap and ready for the race briefing.

You then all have to shout “OI OI OI” (after OGGY OGGY OGGY) and then jump in to the water and swim out to the starting line.

You’re waiting up to 5 minutes in the lake just bobbing up and down getting used to the temperature (it was fresh!)

BOOOOM – Then you’re off.

THE 750M SWIM

It’s a bit mad at the start with feet and bodies all over the place. If you keep to the outside it’s quieter or at the back (I chose to stat further out).



LESSON NUMBER 5:

Get some proper swimming technique lessons and don’t leave it until 3 weeks before!

After 250m of Front crawl and carnage of bumping in to people, I reverted to breast stroke (not the most efficient or fastest way to make your way to the end of the first discipline). My breathing was all over the place – I’m no fish.

Finally, the swim is over and it’s the run up to T1.

The T1 Transition is a run up a hill and around to the area and to be honest, this helped me. You see, I’m a runner and this was the point I could now start making the places back up after my slow swim…

I did it in 15:52 Minutes (I beat Mel C aka Sporty Spice just….by 24 seconds!)

The T1 Transition I did in 4 Minutes 37 Seconds (which was my best stat of the day – at that point I was stat position 541 out of 3917 Athletes there..)



LESSON NUMBER 6:

Get some help to get unzipped as soon as you’re out of the water with the officials there helping…I did 🙂

THE 19.8KM CYCLE



LESSON NUMBER 7:

KNOW WHERE YOUR BIKE IS & MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS LAID OUT

Loved the cycling part. As soon as I was off, I had my head down and tried to pass as many other riders as I could.

The course was undulating with some slight hills both down and up but nothing to worry about.

You do 3 x laps of the course so make sure you count them if you take part.

My Total Time for the Cycling was 0:40:26



LESSON NUMBER 8:

Make sure you leave a bright coloured bag so you know which place is yours at T2! Not sure whether it was the heat or what but I lost where I placed my bag when switching to the Run…lost about a Minute there 🙁

5.4KM RUN

Now I’m a runner – I love running BUT going straight in to a run after swimming and the 19.8km ride hit me like a tonne of bricks.

My legs were like bricks!



LESSON NUMBER 9:

Get some training done where you get straight off a bike and go for a run. I did zero training and didn’t do any cycle and run practice sessions and I felt it.

The course had a hill near the end (and you have to do this 2 x

My stats said this was my better discipline (well I am a runner so this was my only hope to gain some time) and I did it in 0:26:35

OVERALL

I loved taking part in the Blenheim Tri 2016. I will be back. This was my first ever Triathlon and at aged 43 my overall position was 662 out of 3917.

What I loved most was the atmosphere – it was just fantastic and the grounds / location, a great place for beginners starting out their first Triathlon.

I wished I had trained more and prepared but I’m glad I booked this back in December 2015.

My body afterwards

I’ve been sleeping like a baby ever since 🙂

It’s taken me 3 days for my body to start feeling normal at 8pm again without wanting to go to bed and I’ve ached a little.

Was it worth it?

YEP!

One thing that struck me was how many people took part of all different ages, sizes, abilities and there was such a just a buzzing atmosphere.

Well done to everybody who took part. To all those Beginners who took part in the Blenheim Triathlon, you got off the sofa, away from the TV and challenged yourself….YOU ARE AWESOME.

Blenheim Triathlon Review 2016 |The complete beginners guide

[social_warfare]

Blenheim Triathlon Review 2016: My First Triathlon

It was Christmas 2015 and it seemed a great idea to plan a challenge and train for something for 2016 so I booked The Blenheim Triathlon taking place on June 4th and 5th which was just over 6 Months away.

So for those who do not know, here are the distances you can take part in for the Blenheim Triathlon:

Sprint 750m Swim / 19.8 km Cycle / 5.4 km Run

Super Sprint 400m Swim / 13.2 km Cycle / 2.9 km Run

I can run and I love running – I can do a Half Marathon in 1hr 30 minutes

I can cycle too….well, I’ve never raced but I love spinning!

Swim……yeah, I can swim (when I have to)

The problem is, I’ve never done all 3 one after the other before…

Fast forward 5 Months…

I’d dome my regular running and had my personal training sessions at the gym.

Other than biking to work, I hadn’t trained or cycled further than 3 miles (the last time I did a decent ride was last summer cycling 40 miles and sustaining a ligament injury!)

Swimming….I hadn’t done any training and never swam in a wetsuit before! So just over 3 weeks before the Blenheim Triathlon I thought I better try some open water swimming (you can see my first Open Water Swim here at Ragley Hall Lake!)

3 x attempts at open water swimming and finally overcoming my calf cramps I figured I could at least complete 750 metres by mixing front crawl with breast stroke!

The Blenheim Triathlon was now just days away, it would have to do…

LESSON NUMBER 1:

Plan ahead and set a proper training plan together. (Basic I know but I was so busy here at Chilli Technology, I ran out of time!)

LESSON NUMBER 2:

Open water swimming in a wetsuit is very different from swimming in a pool! Again, you need to plan ahead and train properly..

MY GEAR

I borrowed a wetsuit!

I had a hand-me-down Cannondale 1991 (or so) Saeco by a Team GB Triathlete (thanks Richie Long)

Bought a new Giro Helmet

Chris from Henty Cycling Bags gave me a bag to put all my stuff inside (it keeps a wet wetsuit sealed off away from everything too after the event)

Bought some Cycling shoes and cleats from my local cycling shop last Summer

Bought my Tri Suit from Amazon UK (£35)

And some Goggles! (£12.90)

Packet of Jelly Babies for some sugar energy….they melted in the heat 🙁

80’s style Sunglasses for the cycle / run (I forgot to collect them at Transition 1 for the ride)

Race day

The Blenheim Triathlon at the Blenheim Palace is truly a beautiful spot and place to hold a Triathlon. I couldn’t have chosen a better 1st Triathlon to start. Not far from home and a beautiful location.

The Blenheim Triathlon is held over 2 Days and you are allocated a time and wave number (basically there’s so many entrants they start in the morning and have people setting off at different time throughout the day).

My Race was at 14:55 Sunday and the sun was up and it was going to be a hot one (23 degree’s – that’s hot for me)

You arrive and collect your ankle timing chip which captures and logs your time for each stage during the race. ** DON’T FORGET PHOTO ID TO COLLECT YOUR TIMING CHIP – YOU NEED THIS! **

Race Number sticker goes on your Bike and one on your helmet.

I purchased a Tri Belt there for £4.99 so I could easily clip it across my back for the cycle part and switch to my front quickly during the run (the requirement)

You’re allocated a time you’re allowed to drop off your bike and set all of your gear down at Transition area and whatever happens….

LESSON NUMBER 3:

Get yourself familiar with where your bike and gear is so you go straight to it after the swim (I couldn’t find my bag at T2 and lost nearly a minute finding my spot. I think the sun and heat got the better of me!)

LESSON NUMBER 4:

Make sure you know where you ride out and also where to go at Transition 2 for the run

20 Minutes before the start of the race you go down to the lake area, collect your Swimming Cap and ready for the race briefing.

You then all have to shout “OI OI OI” (after OGGY OGGY OGGY) and then jump in to the water and swim out to the starting line.

You’re waiting up to 5 minutes in the lake just bobbing up and down getting used to the temperature (it was fresh!)

BOOOOM – Then you’re off.

THE 750M SWIM

It’s a bit mad at the start with feet and bodies all over the place. If you keep to the outside it’s quieter or at the back (I chose to stat further out).

LESSON NUMBER 5:

Get some proper swimming technique lessons and don’t leave it until 3 weeks before!

After 250m of Front crawl and carnage of bumping in to people, I reverted to breast stroke (not the most efficient or fastest way to make your way to the end of the first discipline). My breathing was all over the place – I’m no fish.

Finally, the swim is over and it’s the run up to T1.

The T1 Transition is a run up a hill and around to the area and to be honest, this helped me. You see, I’m a runner and this was the point I could now start making the places back up after my slow swim…

I did it in 15:52 Minutes (I beat Mel C aka Sporty Spice just….by 24 seconds!)

The T1 Transition I did in 4 Minutes 37 Seconds (which was my best stat of the day – at that point I was stat position 541 out of 3917 Athletes there..)

LESSON NUMBER 6:

Get some help to get unzipped as soon as you’re out of the water with the officials there helping…I did 🙂

THE 19.8KM CYCLE

LESSON NUMBER 7:

KNOW WHERE YOUR BIKE IS & MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS LAID OUT

Loved the cycling part. As soon as I was off, I had my head down and tried to pass as many other riders as I could.

The course was undulating with some slight hills both down and up but nothing to worry about.

You do 3 x laps of the course so make sure you count them if you take part.

My Total Time for the Cycling was 0:40:26

LESSON NUMBER 8:

Make sure you leave a bright coloured bag so you know which place is yours at T2! Not sure whether it was the heat or what but I lost where I placed my bag when switching to the Run…lost about a Minute there 🙁

5.4KM RUN

Now I’m a runner – I love running BUT going straight in to a run after swimming and the 19.8km ride hit me like a tonne of bricks.

My legs were like bricks!

LESSON NUMBER 9:

Get some training done where you get straight off a bike and go for a run. I did zero training and didn’t do any cycle and run practice sessions and I felt it.

The course had a hill near the end (and you have to do this 2 x

My stats said this was my better discipline (well I am a runner so this was my only hope to gain some time) and I did it in 0:26:35

OVERALL

I loved taking part in the Blenheim Tri 2016. I will be back. This was my first ever Triathlon and at aged 43 my overall position was 662 out of 3917.

What I loved most was the atmosphere – it was just fantastic and the grounds / location, a great place for beginners starting out their first Triathlon.

I wished I had trained more and prepared but I’m glad I booked this back in December 2015.

My body afterwards

I’ve been sleeping like a baby ever since 🙂

You arrive and collect your ankle timing chip which captures and logs your time for each stage during the race. DON’T FORGET PHOTO ID TO COLLECT YOUR TIMING CHIP – YOU NEED THIS!