I trot gently along the matted path and out to the road, pop on the bike and I’m away quickly. From the off I’m taking over people and feeling good. The legs feel ok but a quick look at the Garmin and my heart rate is a bit high.
My plan was to keep the heart rate down to Z2 for the first 5 miles and then move into z3. But the first section is uphill, I feel fine and just keep going. After 3 miles I’ve lost count how many people I’ve passed and only one person has passed me. OK, I can’t swim but this is alright now.
The climb up onto the plain is over and now its cruise control. The speed is good and I’m chalking people off. Down the Ornamental Route and I’m flying, I can see the road is clear so I’m off the breaks and belting it. My heart rate seems to be back in Z2/3 so happy days. This is easy.
At the bottom we’re onto the main road and again it’s a steady climb back up. No issues and all is good. I’m easing off on the climbs and nailing folks on the descents and straight lines. Cool.
Along the plain and I’m still passing people when all of a sudden I notice that I just passed Rob. I ease up. We chat. All is well with him but he’s having some food. I move on and I’m chasing the pack ahead, 1hour of the ride complete, over 17miles done.
A few more miles and I’m getting a funny sensation in the stomach. I think my drink is a bit too concentrated. Crap. It’s not very nice. My gels are going in but I’m not sure I’m digesting any of this. I switch bottles and its better but I’ve got to drink the strong stuff too.
I relax into it, I’ve got my heart rate going from z2 to 3 and at mile 28 its halfway in 1:34. Great stuff. My target is 3:15.
Just then we start a long hard climb. People are struggling around me but I stay in the seat and offer words of encouragement as I go passed. Not sure it was appreciated but I wasn’t trying to rub it in.
From the top we’re into the wind, so its down on the aero bars and find a rhythm. No problem.
As I approach the end of lap 1 I suddenly hear a bike coming up fast, it’s the race leader, finishing his second lap! Then the 2nd and 3rd place come passed too. Unreal, they are flying. Impressive.
I carry on as they turn into transition. Lap 2 is shorter but still 20 miles to go. I take a few on the downhill, I’ve good speed and so far not seen anything to make me get on the brakes.
The second lap is good. I climb well, get good speed on the plain and although the muscles are starting to ache a little it isn’t too bad. I’m slightly worried about my guts though, that drink is way too strong and I might be sick. Not part of the plan.
I approach the last 4 miles and ease off a bit. I am getting ready for the run. I zip into transition, get changed into my shoes, stop at the toilet and then I’m off. The race results tell me it was a 3:17 bike leg including transition. I made up 112 places on the bike so that’s quite pleasing. Lets get the run done.
New Forest Middle Distance Triathlon, 56mile Bike by kdmurray65 at Garmin Connect - Details
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