On Sunday 24/6 I took part in the inaugural Fritton Lake Triathlon, at Fritton Lake which on the Norfolk/Suffolk Border to the west of Lowestoft. Their was also a sprint distance triathlon at this venue.
The swim I quite enjoyed it as I had already done a practice swim in the lake a few weeks before. Apart from the bit of lake water that got into my goggles at the start I could have quite easily done the swim again. Out of the swim their was a slight incline and 100m run to the grass area where the transition area was. I picked and end closer to the swim exit although it would have been better to pick a space nearer the cycle and run exit. This area in a slight valley where the supporters could stand on the embankments on either side. This was where the pony rides used to be when I last visited here some 15+ years ago.
Including my normal siesta in transition (T1) I managed the swim in 34:09, although my brother timed my swim (start to out of water) in 27 minutes, I planned for about 40 minutes so I was impressed with that time.
The bike was a two lap course which I had practiced the last few times I was back in the area. Parts of the course I used to bike as a child to my grandparents and back. Despite being in east anglia their was one significant hill on each lap which was fairly near the start and their was some undulating parts. I did not push it to hard on the bike and did not get to use the aerobars much due to the slight wind in places which where fairly exposed places. I was trying out eating more solid food on the cycle instead of just sports drinks and water which went well. The only problem I had was with my cadence sensor not sending a value to my GPS device. My time from the cycle including T2 was 1:17:03.
The run was 10km which the first part was on grass and gravel that was for just the first 1.5km. For about the next 7.5km it was off road through the woodland area next to the lake. The previous few days their had been some heavy rain and some light rain started as I was getting in to the transition from the cycle. This section was worse than the cross country league races I do in the winter. Their was numerous places where I thought I was going to lose my shoes and socks in the mud as it went half way up to my knees. In some places it they had covered some sections with boards to help. I ended up going through the woodland in places to avoid the worst mud sections but had to dodge the various undergrowth and low hanging tree branches. The last 1.5km was across a grass field and finally a short section (0.5km) of road. From T2 I took a bottle of Lucozade Sport Lemon with Caffeine Boost out as I know their was only 1 water stop which was within the first 1km. This was quite useful as I took sips as I went round the course until I finished it with about 2km to and give it to the next marshal, I felt it helped me on the run. My run time was 54:32 which given the conditions I felt it was a good time.
I was pleased with my time of 2:45:44 as I had not pushed myself but did have good sections and learn about more about various nutrition options.
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