My 1st triathlon, please don't make me do another one

Whilst going to exotic places works for some, doing races on my doorstep has always been attractive to me.

I have friends who do triathlons and they are always trying to persuade me to do them. I’ve completed bike legs and even a ski leg for teams in the past, but there’s an awful lot of waiting around for your teammate, whilst racers race by. That just isn’t appealing to me. So, the idea of doing the whole triathlon has nagged me for a while. It’s the swimming bit that puts me off. All the tales of getting kicked in the water, whilst partially drowning, is off putting to say the least.

So, when some local lads came up with a run, bike, ski formula, that went past my front door, I thought; what the heck. I'd already raced up and down hills with skis, so finishing with my favourite discipline, on my race kit, should work in my favour. I borrowed a friend’s mountain bike for the mostly uphill bike through the woods and even got in a practice ride, minus carrying my ski’s and ski boots (rookie mistake). The run was only 5km, so it was going to be faster than I like to run, but hopefully I wouldn’t loose too much time. I was set.

The snow melted off almost all of the bike route and the forecast was for perfect conditions. At the start, there was lots of nervous pumping up of tyres, so I joined in. I now know, that perhaps less pressure would have given me more traction on the steep, gravelly sections, but hey-ho it killed time, before the gun went off for the run. Two laps of rolling single track and the run was done. The early parts of races are always the worst, for me as race nerves take a bit to settle. I worried about my pace; was I going too hard? It certainly felt unsustainable, but pride and the desire not to be last, spurred me on to keep pushing hard. Ski mountaineering racing has taught me the value of quick transitions. I might not have the lungs of an olympic swimmer, but I do like a quick transitions. So I was out of T1 quickly, with skis and boots strapped to a rucksack, and on my back. For the next hour or more, on each pedal stroke, my skis would knock my helmet, but having secured a couple of extra places on the transition, I ignored this persistent knocking & pushed on, with grit in my clenched teeth (literally). At least I knew this climb better than most. This secret knowledge made me smile inside & helped me pace my effort before the bike carry at the top. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we popped out of the woods into my village. Along a back road and past my house. The temptation to stop, was incredibly strong, the climb had been tough and my energy was seriously flagging. I think I inhaled a mars bar, but to be honest my memory is a bit blurry here. With relief, I slithered my way, to T2, along a snowy, but fairly flat section. In all the build up for the race, I’d looked forward to the final segment, imagining a fast skin and ski, where I overtook half the field. The reality, was a little different. Transitioning into boots gave me a much needed breather. So far I'd raced each part, as if it existed on its own, so was right at my limit. I'd underestimated the fatigue you feel in your legs, after running and biking hard. As I shuffled off, on my skis, slowly up hill, my brain kept asking; why was I going so slow? I had light gear after all. Thankfully, there’s a flattish section out of the transition zone, before the inevitable steepening. I tried to just chill & relax, to get my legs accustomed to doing something different. It partially worked, and for the first time in the race I felt joy as I skied the final summit ridge, the end was getting palpably closer. My last transition took around 30 seconds on well practised, automatic pilot; bend, adjust binding to ski mode, strip off the skins from the ski's, lock boots into ski mode, stand up and go. In my memory; I flew down the hill I’d just ascended, with barely a turn, cheerily shouting 'Courage' to other racers still toiling upwards. The snow was a bit sticky but it was still the most fun I’d had by a long way even on my matchstick skis. The finish was in my grasp and i couldn't wait to get there. A short uphill skate to the finish and I was done.

I did just squeak onto the podium, but that’s probably because it was the races' 1st edition, so not well known. I certainly remember this one, as one of the most painful races I’ve ever done and once, was definitely enough.

Velopodole, St Cergue, Swiss Jura

Stats: 24.5km +1310m -675m

Run 27min, Bike 1hr 35, Ski 1hr 3     Total 3hr11, 3rd overall female, oldest by a loooong way.