The 2000m open water swim was in lake bala, I did not see any of the creatures that are meant to be in the lake. It is a big lake 4 miles long by 1 mile wide but I still ended up zig-zagging a bit even though it was a U shaped course. There was a bit of a breeze which produced some waves which seemed to be bigger near the turnaround point.
Coming out of the swim was a bit tricky as it was really shallow so you could not do a normal stoke but it was rocky, so you where slipping a bit when trying to get before you got near the helpers and run or walk along the jetty to the transition area.
My Swim time was 58:19 but this included about 7 minutes that I spent in tranistion (T1) , I am not sure why it took me that long. I did put on some additional layers of a cycling top and cycling shorts.
This was also my longest ever continuous swim.
The cycle route was hilly especially within the first 15 miles and then there was lots of undulations. The route was basically a rectangle shape going in a anti-clockwise direction.
I was trying to keep my cadence higher than I normally do, so I had some energy left in my legs for the run.
My Cycle time was 2:45:26 this also included a few minutes in transition (T2), this was an average speed of 16.4 mph and I had a top speed of 37.2 mph!!! That was going down in to a valley after a long climb.
The run was an out and back route over 6 miles each way. Only the first and last miles where flat the rest all 10 miles where either undulating or hilly. I started of the run at a fairly good even pace however as I got to about 5 miles I was starting to get stomach aches due to what I ate and drank on the bike. This made me walk a few times from this point on. You could see the Lake Bala Railway a few times on the run down below you towards the lake, that would have been a much easier way to take in the scenery!!
My Run time was 1:58:22
Me on the run in to the finish with less than 100m left to go. Photo taken by another Pirate supporter.My Overall Time was 5:42:07. I was pleased with this as it was 31 minutes quicker than the only similar distance triathlon, although this was slightly further on the swim, a few miles shorter on the cycle and less than a mile shorter on the run. However this course was a lot more hilly.
There was a lot of support at the start/finish area as it was next to the bala leisure centre. There was also great Pirate supporters out on the cycle and run at about 3/4 of the way round where you where starting to struggle a bit. There was also great camaraderie with the other 20+ Pirates and triathletes. Another review of the race by another Pirate is available on RunnersWorld UK and there is also some photos at various stages of the race.
I was glad the weather remained dry, it was slightly cool with a light breeze. The forecasts all week and the night before where for heavy rain all day, this only started when I had left venue and driving back to the hotel in the evening.
I really enjoyed the race despite the hills, it was the most scenic race or training that I have done. Plus the sausage and bacon barm (roll) with brown sauce afterwards tasted great and helped settle my stomach.
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