The day started with Claire and I getting up at 04:00 Sunday morning and leaving for the Excel Centre in London! Ben and I had a wave (start) time of 06:30, which suddenly seemed very tight after arriving in the main hall at Excel with only 30 minutes to spare. We found our designated bike rack and laid out all the kit we would need in the right order to ensure a quick, mistake free transition. Last on was the wetsuit with a splash of baby oil to help with getting it off after the swim. Fortunately there was a 15 min delay to the start for Ben and I to talk tactics!
We jumped into Victoria Dock at 06:45 and surprisingly it wasn't cold but was slightly salty and quite brown?! About 250 25-29 year old guys set off on the 1500m swim as the above picture shows. It was pretty exciting and rough at the start but soon things calmed down and I could get into a rhythm. Due to my lack of freestyle ability I did a mix of breaststroke and front crawl, which served me well. I scrambled out of the dock and began taking off the wetsuit to some greatly appreciated cheers from Claire and Annie! As people staggered into the main hall to get their bikes I ran, as I thought this was easy time to save! The first transition went well, with no slip ups and I headed out on to the bike route and my favorite discipline of the tri.
The 40 km bike course comprised of 2 laps, with the final lap taking competitors up to Big Ben and back to the Excel centre, I have never travelled through central London as fast as Sunday morning! My aim was to keep an average speed at 20 mph, which I could see from my computer as that would put me close to a certain Mr.Cameron's time! It was quite a push but just managed it. I arrived back at Excel in 1hr 8 mins and tried to locate my bike rack, to pick up my trainers for the run. Eventually I found it and did a quick change and set off on the 10 km run.
As I exited the Excel centre Al was on the sidelines cheering away shouting "Pull your socks up Summers"! I was a bit confused as I wasn't wearing socks but appreciated the support anyway and gave him a thumbs up.
When I got outside I realised just how hot it was and it was only 09:00! The run was tough, really tough, I hadn't done enough bike-run practice and I really felt it. The course was 2 laps round the docks and mostly in the sun! Thankfully I had great support and loud cheers from Claire and Al and that kept me going and helped push me on. Strangely I found the second lap a bit easier and to back that up, my time for the 2nd lap was a minute quicker than the first! The first time I've done a negative split.
I crossed the finish line in 2hrs 30mins 52 secs and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and it won't be my last tri!
You can see a breakdown of our times here - http://olympic.triathlonresults.co.uk/ResultODMale2529_2.htm
Claire took some great pictures on the day (please excuse all the sweat!), which are on my Flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksummers
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