Well, that was basically a bit shit.
Here is a link to the results.
The weather was cold and I was drawn as the slowest swimmer in the fastest heat. So with 19 faster swimmers and no idea what my GB suit would be like in the cold I decided to wear my club suit and to add a jacket and gloves on the huge run between the pool and T1.
I actually had a good swim. I should be really pleased as I PB-ed for 750m, despite it being a longer swim. I had a nice clean swim. The other four people in my lane were all very similar swimmers and we all stayed nicely in order and while the four of them bunched up a little I couldn't quite get close enough to get any real drafting benefit from them. So basically for a 760m time trial I went 30 seconds faster than last year. I am actually happy enough with that. Officially missed my target for the year by 4 seconds but no doubt that will come in any race where I can throw out those extra 10 metres.
I had a fairly average T1 as I tried to get dressed during the long run. I decided to add socks against the cold and then actually got a decent mount and in to my shoes first time.
About 2 miles in to the bike I used the brakes on little twisty descent and they didn't come off again. I tried a couple of squeezes of the lever and nothing happened. This wasn't the annoying rub that I have had on and off since I have had the bike but was a consistent drag on the wheel. I kept on it until I reached the marshal at the crossroads turn and did a quick dismount, unlocked the wheel, misaligned it on purpose to stop the rubbing side from contacting the wheel. I gave it a spin and the squeak was gone, hopped back on and did about two turns of the pedals before it returned.
I had purposefully stopped next to the marshal incase the problem wasn't repairable I could just get a lift back, but then I changed my mind and decided to persist. I did about another 3 miles before I came to what should have been a fast downhill section and the lack of rear brakes was giving me control problems as the rear was locking anytime I touched the brakes. I had another stop, pulled the wheel, wiggled the brakes, got them to squeeze and release and then put the wheel back in. I tried to hop on put my hips seized and I couldn't get back on the bike. Fortunately the slight downhill was enough to roll it in to motion and get back on. The brakes were still on, maybe slightly less but not enough to actually ride it properly.
This time there were no marshals about so the option to quit wasn't there so I carried on to the end of the bike leg. As I reached the last mile I started passing the other competitors from my heat, already halfway through their run, or in the case of the leader, actually coming in to finish.
I then wandered through transition having decided that I would go out on the run anyway, but not being in any mood for it.
I was about 3 minutes down on last years bike time and nearly 6 minutes down on the year before. Those are bad enough stats on their own but the weather and wind direction made for fast times this year and everyone else went between 3 and 7 minutes faster than previous years. In one case I gave up 15:20 compared to one racer from last year.
I didn't have a good run either. Nothing like the bike disaster but I just didn't care so I took it as a training run. I did put some effort in, just to get up to 4min/km pace and tick along at that. That gave me a run of 18:08 which I was quite pleased about until I uploaded it and found it was half a mile shorter than previous years.
I finished a full 20 minutes behind the winner in 32nd place and 10th Vet.
Swim 12:04
Bike 45:47
Run (Only 2.6 miles) 18:08
Total 1:19:58
(Last year was 1:18:31 in terrible winds with an extra half mile on the run)
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