Quick report on the Stowe triathlon on 3rd July.
I entered the Stowe triathlon at least partly because it starts at a sensible time - 11am for the sprint event so none of this setting off from home before 6am for a 7.30 start!
The organisers sent an email the day before warning of a weed infestation in the lake which meant they had to change the swim route from one large lap to 3 smaller laps that they tried to clear. I hate to think what it must have been like before they cleared it because it was very weedy. I think perhaps a narrow path had been cleared on the direct route between buoys but because I am not a strong swimmer I tend to keep to the outside where it was not clear and not at all pleasant. Once it settled down to single file after a lap, progress was easier.
The start of the bike leg was on an unmade pot holed track that I would normally only have cycled on a mountain bike. It was also uphill and I was about 3/4 of the way up when a competitor in trouble on the way down asked me to go back and get help. If there is such a thing as a reluctant Good Samaritan then it was me as I went 500m back, raised the alarm and then cycled back up. If I had been thinking straight I would have carried on to the next marshal who was probably nearer anyway.
I felt that I was going very slowly on the run but actually my time was not too bad and I was satisified with my overall time of 1hr 48m 59s. This was 9m slower than my time at the same event 2 years ago but the run was 6.7k compared to the traditional 5k last time out so with that and the extra cycling I was probably marginally faster. I finished 28th out of 77 in the sprint category. Overall, an enjoyable event in a fantastic location.
Next one for me is probably the Bedfordshire triathlon at Box End on 17th July.
Steve Clough