
Back to the cold - The Maldon Triathlon
12/08/2017 22:19A couple of weeks ago, I woke up at 3am to a violent storm. I stayed in bed for a while longer and tried to sleep again.... unsuccessfully. I got up just after 4am, had breakfast and got dressed.
Before 5 am, just as the worst of the storm was subsiding, 91 other triathletes and I arrived at the Promenade Park in Maldon in the dark and the rain. My Mum and Dad arrived at the edge of the water just before 5:45am - it was lovely to have their support. While we were waiting for the floating start, my teeth were chattering. I tried to swim around a bit to keep warm, but I was not used to cool water and I still felt cold. As the sky lightened, just 20 minutes before high tide, the 59 of us starting the Sprint distance triathlon set off for a 750 metre swim around buoys in the estuary.
I felt a bit disorientated during the swim. My face was cold, so it was hard to feel when my mouth and nose were in the water or not, and I had to concentrate really hard on my breathing and lift my head a bit higher than I should have done ideally. There was absolutely no visibility under the muddy water and I thought I ended up rounding one extra buoy (of course, I didn't) on the course. As I ran up the ramp out of the water the commentator said I was the first woman out - a nice surprise!

I had a slow T1 getting my wetsuit off from around my ankles then putting on a jacket before I ran out. The drizzle stopped as we set off for a 28km cycle on the quiet and scenic roads of the Dengie Peninsula. The conditions were better than I expected but I was glad I had taken the time to put on an extra layer - I was still feeling the cold.
A few men overtook me on the bike and I went past a couple too. By the time I had finished the bike I had warmed up a bit, so when I got off, my jacket came off too for the run.

The run was good, my feet were very cold and my legs felt stiff but I must have seen Mum about 6 times around the two lap course and there were a few more spectators out enjoying a stroll and the sunshine! I was pleased with my run, especially considering my (lack of) training, and I managed to increase my lead on the last leg.
I won the race, the boys loved the trophy and I got a few nice prizes for my first triathlon in about 2 years and my first on my new bike!

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