Other than the early morning chill, the day must be an organiser's dream - the low sun creating a photogenic air, and very little breeze to frustrate the cyclists. Of course the indoor pool was the first discipline, and I duly lined up on the poolside, rather calmly; possibly even complacent. Maybe that was my undoing, as the first two lengths were undertaken rather quickly and the last 200m was spent surviving rather than thriving. The girl I had overtaken early on kept snapping at my heels (figuratively) until I let her pass, thus taking that zing of adrenalin out of my stroke.
Outside, grapple with my shoes, on with the gilet and helmet and away. I suppose I should be pleased that I overtook loads of people and nobody overtook me, but I really felt as if I was on my way home from a hard day at the office rather than racing with gritted teeth. Likewise the run - my transition was good; I was glad that with such a short event I hadn't bothered with cycling shoes but stuck to running shoes and plain old pedals. I cruised along and barely pushed myself at any point. Nobody was challenging me and I had only a few to run down, so just ran. No sprint for the finish, I just ran through it barely out of breath.
Looking at the results, I finished in the top third but my swimming was way below my normal time - the rest of the event was spent recouping my losses and moving through the field.
Well, hang on, top third sounds good, doesn't it? Surely it is all about just enjoying the competition? That wouldn't explain my rather hollow feeling about the day - a superb event and a great introduction to competing in triathlons, but nothing there for me to take home with pride. What I need to do is continue pushing the swimming, incorporate some speedwork and ease back on the grazing between meals. What I need to do is this, is that, to improve, to move forward, consider my targets, take it more seriously, make training sessions hurt, go out with people faster than me....
Woah! Stop Neddy. None of this matters, really. Graeme Obree (more on him later) said what helps him is to look in as if he is a stranger. So, what would a stranger see? A good event, a first triathlon, plenty of overtaking, kit worked ok, but a slight sense of not having tried. How much is that worth? 2 places? Worth worrying about? Don't think so, so take pleasure in the event.
So then, on to Graeme in the afternoon of the same day. A fascinating film about his attempt on the world land human powered speed record, plus a question and answer session with the man himself afterwards. He is a human whirlwind with ideas and actions pouring out of him unchecked; a tsunami of change.
It was clear that the film only presented a viewpoint - for instance there was a bit where he didn't go fast enough to break the record and the film showed him sitting dejected - the audience were drawn into his apparent devastation after everything that had been achieved. But, then he said that in a situation like that you just have to move on - it didn't work? well, there you go. So is he right, or was the film maker right? Of course everything is subjective and all viewpoints are valid, so I guess both are right. His drive to achieve is nothing short of amazing, but as he said, you need to be obsessive to get that far, and that just isn't comfortable.
He used the record attempt as a vehicle to tell his story of redemption from mental illness, and as he spoke in the bar afterwards I saw a man who had found some sort of peace with his brain, even though the same brain was still chucking out thoughts and energy like a firework.
But, targets, aiming high, what a dangerous game. Why not dump the programmes, the race calendar, and just do stuff? I have often thought this, but having set my mind to this huge triathlon in June have bound myself to a tight schedule. And who likes being bound? No, we like freedom. Leisure time is time for us to do what we want at our own pace rather than being dictated by someone else, and here I am comparing myself to the times of others so they dictate my training. And Mr Obree - wanting to be the best, get a world record.
A hurricane comes, Wizard of Oz-like and spirals you off to a desert island , all on your own. What do you do for leisure? Train to beat a record? Set targets? Or enjoy going fast, just for its own sake?
Yes, this is him inside that tiny thing, with his shoulders squashed into a frame made out of a saucepan to make him more aerodynamic
Image; http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/review-battle-mountain-graeme-obree-story-219699
If you want to contribute to my triathlon based fundraising, please click on the following link; St Peter's Hospice
