Chasing dragons and taming the hills
Nyall took part in the 226 Weekend which was based around the Cotswold 226 event. The Saturday he took on his first competitive 3.8k swim and just came in under the 1hr 41minute mark after a dodgy start and massive cramp attacks at 3.4k. Sunday saw the bike leg of either 90k or 180k, due to the leg cramps on the Saturday he opted for the 90k which was completed in 3hrs 26min (16.3mph) after suffering with a chain coming off and stopping to assist with a fellow competitor with a flat.
Four TTCers took on the Cardiff Triathlon, the third time the event has been held. It's all based in the Bay and features a closed road bike course and looped run course along the water's edge and a choice of standard, sprint and super sprint races. Caroline and Mark took on the Olympic distance and Pete and Mike went for the sprint distance. It was Mark's first attempt at the standard distance so he was hoping his recent trip to the tri camp in Malaga would help him with the extra distance on the bike! He found the third lap of the bike in the wind and rain hard and was very pleased with his finish time of 2:49. Caroline was keen to finish inside her previous best of 3 hours for a standard distance and the fast flat bike course - like a TT with a few hairpin bends - set her up to cross the finish line in 2:45. The way the start times were set up and the looped course meant all four caught sight of one another several times particularly on the run course which is when you need the encouragement most to push on! Pete overcame a recurrent calf injury to stay strong on the final sprint to finish the race in 1:29. Mike wasn't far behind on 1:32 and claimed victory against all the Cardiff four with the fastest transition 1 in a time of under two minutes!
Also in Wales, Jason completed the Mikes Bikes Pembrokeshire Tri at Broad Haven. It's a Standard / Olympic Distance Tri set in the stunning scenery of Pembrokeshire Coast. Approx. 250 entered the water on a mass start, the weather was kind but there was still a swell of about 2-3 foot waves which along with the schools of jellyfish made the swim very interesting. Nevertheless he was very pleased to complete his first 1.5km sea swim in 33mins - so a PB!
A hilly bike course with some technical twists and turns was completed in 1:42 followed by a coastal path run which started and ended on the beach in front of an enthusiastic crowd which was completed in 59 mins. This meant an overall finish time of 3:20. Jason described the event as great fun, very well organised and friendly.
Tracey, Jo and Terry rode the Sue Ryder 'Ride for Ryder' 90km sportive. After the hot weather of the previous week the weather swung from wind and rain to bright sunshine. There were some challenging hills around Campden and an annoying headwind on the return leg but it was completed in 3 hours 44 mins. They also became media stars when they were asked to do a short promo for next year's ride! Thanks to generous sponsorship from members and friends, Tracey and Jo qualified for the Sue Ryder cycle tops which they are modelling in the photo.
Finally, congratulations to all TTCers who ran the Cotswold Way Relay race for a number of different running clubs over the weekend. Always a tough challenge over that terrain. I know of Elaine, Elaine, Ed, Becky and Liz. I'm sure there were probably others too.
