almost there again..but first a race

here we are then....just over a month to go...and the fear has gripped me in a big way.....i've not a lot to post really other than 2 very contrasting race reports...one a DNF of what was my B race at Bala...and one a great race at liverpool OD,,i'll start with Bala and then do a new post for liverpool.....these are long and if your in the BCTTT...you've already read them
Where: Bala, North Wales
When: 12th June 2011
Organiser: Wrecsam Tri
Distance(s): 2000m Lake swim, 80km bike and 20km run
Marshalling: excellent
Facilities: portaloos - leisure Centre toilets and showers
Technical: Bala Lake swim , out and back bike 900ft climbing each way, out and back run almost 500ft climb then back down
Freebies: towel, Gel, goodness shakes recovery drink!

Right then, first time i've done one of these so i'm trying to follow others examples with some detailed information about the race, the conditions and my feelings...although my race experience only covers the swim....cause i canned it 5 miles into the bike ride.....anyway....

Bala Middle distance triathlon is listed as one of the 10 toughest triathlons and was featured in a recent issue of Triathlon plus...here's a couple of choice excerpts from the piece

Even in June jumping into the picturesque Lake Bala ...will knock the breath out of you and make your head ring with cold.

The pain only increases with 993m of long arduous climbing over 80k bike

The run is 'so steep in places that you can hear you legs screaming in protest

Soooo.i thought it would be a good practice race in prep for IMUK.....i wanted a no pressure situation (no strict cut offs etc) where i could properly test my race plan....it didnt go to plan.

we rocked up to Bala on saturday lunchtime....wanted to give myself plenty of time to find it...check into hotel...meander down to registration....have a look at the lake and watch people doing a charity swim etc (but OMG the swim turnaround looked like it was a long way away)...meet up with a few people and have a beer and a meal etc...then get an early night...good sleep and be raring to go on race day....weather saturday was great..but the forecasts for Sunday didnt look good...although the forecasts did seem to be improving suggesting the rain would stay away till about 3pm....all good!!
We'd elected to stay at the white lion hotel on Bala high street...and out room was lovely...four poster bed...great bathroom...loads of room for me, Cat and the trek madone...happy.
Met with my mate simon and Andy and his Mrs Mandy (fellow IMUKers) and had a wander round then settled in to have a couple of beers before our meal....this is about where it started to go wrong!!
we booked our table for 8pm...promptly sat and ordered at 8.15 all feeling hungry and drinking water (being very good)...9.20 our meal finally arrived...and tbh it wasnt great...but hey ho...ate and up to our room at 10.
Nice bottle of NUUN before bed sat watching a bit of TV and then turned in about 10.30 feeling tired and thinking i'd sleep just fine...then about an hour later it started!
Bala isnt a big place....i reckon there are 3 pubs...and right next to the white lion is a kebab shop...and over the road a pizza place....this proved to be the meeting place for wave after wave of drunk people singing every song (glory glory man utd.....or even heartbeat...were once i could recognise) and shouting which to me sounded like they were in my room! This continued till about 4 am and every time i nodded off another wave came....it was seriously a bad night and i guess i managed 2-3 hours sleep max...

RACE DAY.
woke up incredibly reluctantly at 6.30 and realised it was going to be a bad day right away...i simply had NO INCLINATION at all to go and do 6-7 hours of exercise....we met for breakfast and everybody was saying the same things....although simon and Andy both said they had managed to sleep through most of the commotion...i was so tired i couldnt even get down scrambled eggs on a single piece of toast.
so we decided to go get our kit and head to rack our bikes and get numbered up etc.....walked out of the hotel (8.15am) and the rain was teaming down!!!
Brill!!!
the next couple of hours were spent either complaining or hearing people complain about how crap the weather was and how much they couldnt be arsed!! and i really have never felt i didnt want to even start before...but i really did not want to race on this day!!

THE MOST EXPENSIVE TRAINING SWIM EVER!!
my race plan was to treat the whole thing as a long training session......my target times were modest....swim and T1 in one hour...Bike and T2 in 3.30.....run in under 2.30....so 7 hours finish.
I was in the 3rd wave with the gun going about 10 and stood around in my wetsuit i was freezing!!!! finally the time came to get into the lake and it wasnt as cold as i anticipated so i was happy...i positioned myself out to the right but not at the back...i figured the swimmers there would be similar to me...not looking to swim over each other but also not wanting to be last....then the gun went!
I read an article last week that suggested the key to swim success in a long race (for people like me) is to concentrate all the way round on technique...and if you feel your technique wander....to slow down...so i did this....and i have to say i was well chuffed with myself on the out leg the pack had spread (though was bumpy at first but i didnt give any of my space away and didnt stop if i got bumped) and i was into my stroke and seemed to be flying along....my sighting was going ok and i swam over to the left to go round close to the bouys as my confidence grew!!! brill....got to the turnaround and it got rough...really choppy....really cold and this seperated the men from the boys...so the field split massively and i was convinced i was dead last (which i was nowhere near)..i got my head down and just got to work...my stroke was proper knocked off but i plugged away and finally arrived at the banking up to the jetti.....i must have looked like a new born lamb trying to get out of the water....got a bit of cramp in the left calf and under foot it was agony (rocky and freezing feet) but i made it out and went to get changed.
AT this point the rain was bucketing down (i hadnt noticed in the water) and when i got to my kit i was freezing....got my wettie off really well (for probably the first time ever) and shivered into my cycle top, tried to put on my arm warmers but as i couldnt dry my arms (raining too hard) that wasnt happening so put on my jacket, hat and shoes and exited T1...1.01...Not bad!!
Waved at Cat and Mandy under their brolly and realised my hands were so cold i struggled to move the gear leavers...and at that point realised my gloves were still in the box...i did not want to be here at all...i went through the town and turned left up the first hill where people were already on their way back (not the leaders...people retiring) and i passed about 4 people on this little hill alone....down the other side where 30mph would be easy....did about 14 as there was a river of water keeping pace with my tyres and making aquaplaning a real possibility....i kept going actually passing people but came upto the second climb (its up up and up till about 12 miles) and it was going into cloud/fog etc.......Sod that...i've had enough...i pulled in..got my phone and text cat to meet me back at the car.
It wasnt a difficult decision and wasnt one i felt i would regret...the race was supposed to be something i would enjoy (its a beautiful part of the world) and a chance to practice....but i was only practising riding carefully and ignoring the cold...and finishing just didnt mean that much to me.

Watching people come in and make it through the Bike leg not one person had a smile on their face and i felt no regret or shame that i had canned it...i was GLAD...over 200 (so i heard) people DNF'd this race...the highest in its history.....the lack of sleep didnt help...and the weather didnt help....its just bad luck really and without one or the other (ie. i'd slept...OR the weather was nice) i may have felt different.

Its not knocked my confidence at all.....in fact the swim went great...so i'm still well up for another bash at IMUK...just a shame my other big race this year turned out like this!!