Besides training, work and other life commitments, it has been a quiet few weeks since my last triathlon adventures.Training has consisted of a lot of swimming recently which has meant some really early morning swims over in Datchet. I’ve also taken in a new open water swimming venue near to me in the Royal Docks. That has been good prep for the recent Great Newham Swim which was completed on the 16th July. It is a relatively new event but travels around the country holding swims in various places.
The event ranged from 1/2 mile distance up to 2 miles. I chose the 1 mile option as I covered this last year and wanted to compare times of course!
The swim went well and was fairly straightforward. Not much argy bargy but measured slightly over a mile at 1.1. Last year I did the swim in 36:32 and this year in 33:29. Certainly quicker but there was a little more in the tank.
The following day I moved on to another event – the Great Newham Run. It’s the same company that run the swim and is held in the Olympic park with a finish in the Olympic stadium. The event is growing. I think there were over 15000 taking part across various distances. The 10k distance was the biggest of the lot and the one in which I had entered. One thing that wasn’t planned – the incredibly hot weather. Summer had finally arrived.
It is a great event but not the easiest or flattest 10k you can do. It wasn’t a day for PBs either. I really enjoyed everything about it but my only gripe was the fact that there were no water stations after 5k!!! Bad planning particularly as it was so hot. A very kind woman gave me her water at 8K as I was so desperate. I had even contemplated walking and had dropped to a snails pace at 6 min km. I eventually got around and finished in just over 52 mins. Funnily enough, this was still quicker than last year. I was glad it was over though to be honest.
So this leaves me with my summer break and nearly 6 weeks off. I am in Majorca for two weeks and will complete some riding out there. It would be almost criminal to go to Majorca and not ride. I will post soon about my exploits as I take on some of the famous climbs such as Lluc monastery and Sa Colabra. My next event will be the Hertfordshire Triathlon and hopefully one more which I have yet decided before the season ends. Enjoy the summer people…while it lasts 🙂
tri.to.be.iron 