First of all I need to thank Katy, Morgan and Charlotte who have had to
put up
with me disappearing for hours on end to train for this race and also
the week
before when my nerves were becoming a bit on edge with the realisation
of
what I had set myself up for.
Thanks also has to go to Chris for the training plan which got me to
the start
line and round to the finish, plus the support all day and on the final
leg up
and down Snowdon. Tom was a great help in being a kit man and sorting
out
digs for the night before and Ian for turning up and joining me on the
last lake
lap and trekking up Snowdon with me and Chris at the end.
The day started out clear and cold (frost on ground) and in the dark at
5am
as I loaded up the bike with food (too much it later turned out) before
heading
into the heated tent to set up transition bags. The two hours before
race
start disappeared very quickly and it wasn’t long before I was stepping
into
the mist covered lake at 7am (just getting light) which was at 13 –
14°C and
given the low air temperature did not feel too cold.
The first lap of
the swim was spent hopping from pod to pod of middle distance swimmers to try
and conserve energy for the second lap which I knew would be swum pretty
much
in isolation due to the lower numbers of competitors in the full and
double
(insane) races. Due to mirrored glasses I could not see too well on the
first
lap as the light levels were still quite low and just followed the feet
of the
swimmers in front. I exited the first lap feeling good and warm and
begun the
second lap. Due to the lower numbers of swimmers the lake was now like
a
mill pond due to the lack of wind, as I turned the top buoy to head for
the swim
exit the sun had come up quite a way (glad now for the mirrored
glasses!) and
was silhouetting the mountains at the end of the valley and made for
the most
amazing sight every time I lifted my head to sight. I exited the swim
feeling
pretty good and headed off down the field (still with frost on!) to the
nice,
warm tent to get changed for the bike leg. In the tent marshals were
handing
out warm drinks whilst you dried off, so a few minutes later now dry
and in
bike gear and with a cup of tea inside me it was off to start the bike
leg, with
Sam doing an excellent job on the bike exit stopping traffic.
The first lap on the bike was still quite cold as due to shade in the
valleys and
from trees, etc but the spectacular scenery took my mind off the hills
and cold.
The long climb up to Pen-y-Pas was not as bad as I had thought, just a
case
of getting in the correct gear and keeping a steady pace all the way to
the top
before the descent into Llanberis. The first two descents were
disrupted by
traffic, the third was ok except for the traffic light in Nant Peris
being red, but
the last descent was brilliant, no moving traffic, traffic light on
green and being
able to sweep around bends with out fear of hitting something was great
and
meant that I reached transition with my legs having had a nice rest on
the way
down. Overall I was pleased with the bike, but did have to adjust my
nutrition
as the gels started to affect my stomach and give me a headache, so I
had to
lay off them for a while and rely on my other forms of nutrition – a
sausage roll
and flapjacks.
The run started off with three 5 mile-ish laps of Llyn Padarn, which
included a
climb after about 2 miles, which I had decided before the race I was
going to
walk up to rest the legs for Snowdon. This strategy worked pretty well
as the
legs felt strong and with the aid station being just after the top of
the hill gave
chance for a short rest for some cake and water. Ian joined me for the
last lap,
which seemed to go quicker than the previous two.
After the lake laps it was then back into transition to pick up Chris
and
mountain kit and head up to Snowdon. Ian also went to grab his mountain
kit
and joined us for the last leg. This again was always going to be
walked and
we kept a good pace, stopping for a minute to speak to Matty Roberts
from
Eryri. At the last bridge under the railway it was getting a bit chilly
so extra
layers were donned for the last push. The view from the summit was
amazing
with Llanberis lit up below and a steady stream of headlamps lighting
up the
path below.
After punching my wristband at the summit (whilst Ian wound up some
fellow
competitors) it was time for a brief check-in with the medics at Bwlch
Glas,
and off down the hill I went.
Even though I had now reached the point that finishing was priority I
wanted
to put some distance between me and the runners behind so began running
the less technical areas of the path as my legs felt surprisingly good.
After
Halfway House on the way down however my racing instincts got the
better
of me when I saw two other runners just ahead and set off after them,
with
Chris reminding me not to take any risks as I was catching them, which
we did
and carried on to put distance between us when I could. We finally got
off the
mountain path and onto the final bit of tarmac into Llanberis when we
heard
the gate behind us open with another runner and his support bearing
down
on us. At this point the pace really picked up as we rattled down the
steep
tarmac, blocking the way for those behind us, I was finally caught just
as it
flattened out, but managed to kick again and go past them, before Ian
pulled
alongside to pick up the pace, followed by Chris who just told us to
keep going
until we heard behind us “I’m not keeping up with that F*****G pace!”
which
pretty much meant the pressure was off and it was onto the main road by
the
train station and then across to the finish and slump into a chair
whilst I was
fed cake.
All in all it was an amazing race, which was helped by the glorious
weather
and having a fantastic support crew, especially for the unexpected
sprint finish
at the end!
Dibber.
