I took part in the London Triathlon on Sunday, August 8th - and it was amazing!!!! Two years since my last tri, and I’d been enjoying the training, but I’d forgotten just how much fun the triathlon event is.
Now go and make a cup of tea...
I was a bit worried in the couple of weeks leading up to it because I wasn’t sleeping at all well, and lack of sleep has a big impact on my performance. I even considered not going at all at one point. But I thought I’d just push myself through as much as I could, and see what happened! It was my first Olympic triathlon, so if I could make it through to the end I’d be guaranteed a personal best 😎
It was certainly quite the test though 😂
The first ordeal was hiring a van to drive me and my bike up to the London ExCel centre. I hired a mini van, but when I rocked up at Enterprise on the Saturday the young chap who met me said “There’s good news and there’s slightly less good news…”. It turned out that they didn’t have a mini van so I go one the next size up, which looked huge to me! I figured I could fit 10 bikes in there. Anyway, I secured the bike and got on my way. Took a while with all the traffic, so I was pretty tired by the time I got to the hotel.
I had been pleased to find out the previous week that I could register for the event and rack my bike on the Saturday (it was a two day event and I was racing on the Sunday). The London Triathlon were not terribly generous with information, but we got there in the end. So I rode my bike from the hotel over to the ExCel, and found my way to the event hall. It actually took me longer to work my way through the ExCel than it did to ride over there, the ExCel is a seriously big place! I got my numbers and timing chip and racked my bike. The hall was pretty quiet - although there was a steady stream of people coming though registration, the Saturday events had finished by that time (it was about 5pm by the time I got there). It felt actually pretty spooky! I wandered around for a bit, trying to figure out where I would have to exit and return, then ambled back to the hotel for some food and an early night.
Up at 6 the next morning, I was feeling pretty well organised, and not too tired considering I’d had yet another poor night’s sleep. This is always the way of race day morning! I had loads of time to get ready because my wave didn’t start until 9:15, so I relaxed over tea and breakfast. Checked out and headed over to the ExCel, where I had a bit more than an hour to get my stuff laid out by my bike and to struggle into my wetsuit. I don’t know if any of you have seen a triathlon wetsuit, but they are mighty tight!! Wetsuits were compulsory at the London Tri, but actually they are a great help because they add buoyancy and streamlining, so they make you go faster! I chatted with a woman from Oxford who was also doing her first Olympic tri, and I think she was talking to me because there REALLY were not many women taking part in the event - I only saw a couple more in our wave. I also spoke to the man who was next door to me on the rack, because I spied his Ironman tattoo! He said he had done Ironman Lanzarote, but that it had been a long time ago…
In case you didn’t know (although you may have seen the actual Olympic Triathlon taking place on tv recently!), an Olympic Triathlon has a 1500 metre swim, a 40 km bike ride, and a 10 km run. In between the disciplines we have a thing called “transition”, which in the case of the London Tri added to my times considerably because, aside from general ineptness on my part, it was a jolly long way from bike rack to swim, and bike rack to run! (bike rack to bike was actually not so bad). I was just in it for the experience this time anyway, having no idea how long it would take me to complete (and I was in the 3.5-4 hour wave) - but notably my swim-bike transition took me three times as long as that of the man who won on Sunday! I’m a work in progress 😁
But anyway. Just before nine, my wave started to congregate at the swim start in our lovely yellow swim caps, inching the zips up the backs of our second-skin suits. We filed rather quickly through the funnel and headed outside to the dockside, where the wind was picking up, and the rain was lightly pricking the water surface.Started to feel a bit cold as we waited, and nervous! We were doing a Covid-safe pulsed start, so when the wave started we moved through to to the end of the funnel, and “you… now you… now you…” were sent down a ramp into the water. So I was suddenly swimming! Had to stop and adjust my goggles a couple of times because they leaked (sorted that out, thankfully!). I had never swum in a river, and found it brown and opaque and… lovely! They told us it was 18.6 C, which was just the most gorgeous temperature, and felt glorious!! I passed a few people to the left and the right - my swim stroke is a plodding front crawl, quicker than some folk, slower than more. I’d got myself on the right rather than the left, which I came to regret towards the end of the swim. Things began to heat up in the water, because the wave behind us, the sub 2.30 men with the red caps, began to surge past us, but it wasn’t too bad except at one point I got elbowed under my chin!! Luckily didn’t lose my goggles or bite my tongue, so no harm done. We went round the large red buoys at the halfway point and turned into the wind, which made the going more difficult because the river started to chop up. Further along we went and I started to feel tired - where I had just been enjoying my swim, at that point I started to look forward to finishing it! And then the second wave of sub 2.30 men, with the white caps, started to come through, and they were a bit of a menace! I had got too far to the inside of the lane, and couldn’t move over because there were too many bodies in the way, and these white-hatted guys just swam over us!!! It was alarming and I had to pause and lift my head a few times because sighting got more difficult. I even saw a couple of blue caps go past - the sub 2.40 women’s wave! Go women!!! Anyway, it was fine, I dragged myself round the final buoy (note for next time -- keep left!!) and out of the water. Whew!
We had to remove our suits, caps, and goggles, at the water’s edge, presumably to help keep the indoors bit as dry as possible. I wriggled out of my stuff respectably quickly, stuffed it into the proffered plastic bag, and trotted off along the route back to my bike. The floor was covered with some sort of woven carpet and it was cold and uncomfortable to the feet! Once off that part, the floor was concrete and slippery, and I didn’t even try to run on it. Back at the bike (once I’d found it - not easy!), I sat on the floor and scoffed down a home-made energy ball (recipe here if you’re interested, but with the addition of 10g finely ground coffee: healthunlocked.com/marathon... ), and a bit of banana. Put a t-shirt on over my tri suit (to help protect me from the sun, ha!), donned my bike helmet, dragged on my socks and shoes, tri belt with number round to the back (rules), sunglasses (ha!). Stood up, couldn’t think of anything else to do, so off I went running with my bike!
I exited the ExCel and almost immediately went sharply downhill under a flyover. Braking like mad (chicken!) people on tri bikes flying past me! My bike is a very lovely road racer from Decathlon and is very speedy, but when it comes to speed I have a lot to learn - and a lot I certainly learned on this trip!! We went through a long tunnel (my memory is already a bit blurry of this bike ride I’m sorry to say), and my speed started to build, as did my grin! I’ve said it before, but to me there are not many things as purely lovely as getting straight out of the water and onto a bike!! The feeling of air and space is tremendous. Once out of the tunnel it quickly became apparent that sun protection of any kind was very much NOT going to be needed on this ride! The sky was heavy with dark, threatening clouds. I slowed down, removed my sunglasses, and stuffed them into my top bar pouch, which luckily had just enough room for them! There was already a substantial headwind as we rode out to Westminster, and there was nothing to do but get down onto the drop handlebars and fight the wind. The road was full of puddles and my feet were pretty soon soaked through.I caught loads of spray in my face from people overtaking me. But I didn’t care; it was just lovely! I felt really sorry for the volunteers though, and made sure to give them all a big smile and some thanks. As we headed into Central London we passed all sorts of London-y landmarks like the Shard, the Gherkin, the London Eye - It. Was. So. Fabulous!!!! The route is ostensibly flat, but in fact there were a lot of bridges and flyovers to cross, so it had a nice rollercoaster feel to it - and gave me a chance to do a bit of my own overtaking 😄 I may have started out a bit of a coward going downhill, but I could make up for it going up, and caught quite a few people that way! A sharp turn at Westminster sent us back the way we’d come, and it was a little bit easier with the tailwind (although there’s always something of a headwind on a bike, sadly!). We then had to ride on past the ExCel for a couple of km, then turn, then back against the wind as far as Billingsgate Market, then back around the previous turn, then head back into ExCel. As we took that turn back into the wind it really hit, and it was filled with rain that felt almost as hard as hail! Didn’t care though 😊
Towards the end of the ride I started to feel tired, and although I was looking forward to the run I started to wonder how well I would cope with it! When I first dismounted I had the usual jelly legs, and with the wet concrete I didn’t do much running with the bike. But the worst of it was that my feet felt just like blocks of ice! I had not suspected that I would get so cold at this event in August. What a fool. Anyway, there was nothing to be done and in the end my feet felt thawed out pretty quickly. I racked my bike, switched my helmet for my cap, twizzled my number round to the front (rules), where it refused to stay, and I was off at a very light jog until I got clear of the ExCel.
The run leg was a simple three loops up and down the river. I quickly regretted keeping my t-shirt on because the sun started to come out and it was warm! But I’m confident about running, and just got on with it. I always find that when I switch from bike to run I start off rather quickly - I think I just relish being able to move parts of my body that have been still for a good while. This day was no exception, so I got off to a good start particularly with the nice tailwind. My only plan was to run the 10k in under an hour, and I wasn’t worried about it being only just under an hour 😊 I’m not quite sure when it happened, but it was probably just after the first turn back into the wind, but I started to notice a small zigzaggy patch in the centre of my vision. Oh for f- sake I said out loud. Migraine! 😨 As expected, the patch rapidly expanded to obscure about a third of my forward view, plus my peripheral vision to the left was gone. Luckily, I had had this happen to me on a run once before, so I knew it was likely to be fine. These days I don’t get a headache with a migraine, just the visual disturbances, which are manageable on the run (although it’s a good job it didn’t happen during the bike leg!!). So I pulled my cap down over my eyes and set my teeth. I walked through the water stations to make sure I got a good drink, and after 15 or 20 minutes my vision had mostly cleared. So I prevailed, fantasising about the food I would eat when I’d finished (made the run in under an hour too), and eventually I was running under the finishing arch with a big whoop!!!! I heard my name being announced, and a tiny spatter of applause - nearly everyone had gone home 😂 I didn’t mind though, and did a little dance for the few die-hard spectators as I collected my medal and t-shirt. Another symptom of my migraines is euphoria, and I was already feeling pretty amazing, so by the time I got home I was bouncing off the ceiling!
I caught up with some of my new pals back at transition, ate all the food and drank all the coffee, and made my way home. It took me about 3 hrs 20 minutes to complete the triathlon, I'll definitely be back to beat that 😁
The moral of this story is, if you can do a bit of swimming, cycling, and running and you fancy having a go at a triathlon - just do it, it’s AWESOME!!!!!!!
Written by
roseabi
Ultramarathon
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Well done roseabi that sounds exhausting but rewarding at the same time! I’m sure a lot of organisation goes into these events but there’s always something they can improve on for next time, like signs, directions and time allowances. I hope you had a great time and get to go back there soon! 😃👍
That was an amazing swim, bike ride and run for you Roseabi, I once spoke to a tri athlete when I was half way through a 40K bike ride, he told me the worst of the three disciplines for him was the bike ride when he did a triathlon, for you I think the run would be your favourite, once again congratulations 🏊 🚲 🏃🏾.
On two occasions I did a 5K, the first time I 🚴 cycled it then got off my bike a ran 🏃🏾 it, a week later I ran it first and then cycled the same distance, in my case those 2 BIEathlones I would say in my opinion the the run then the bike ride was the less tiring.
What an adventure! How proud you must be. I’m sure you’re still on cloud 9 😃. The nearest I’ve been to a triathlon is watching one when I was on holiday in Portugal - I was mighty impressed. Well done you! 🚴♀️🚴♀️🚴♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏊♀️🏊♀️🏊♀️
"a small zigzaggy patch in the centre of my vision"
Oh my! I get those visual aura occasionally (about once every 2-3 years) but without any headache or euphoria, and they spread from centre to periphery over about 15 minutes. Not pleasant, and that certainly would have put me off doing a run.
Well done! Like many reading your report, I'm thinking there's no way I could have done that. 👍👍👍
Whoop whoop Roseabi, what a brilliant post on your Olympic Triathlon. Greatest respect to you on a fantastic achievement. It seem rather strange that they didn’t let the fastest waves go first rather than you getting mowed down by them. I hope you have recovered well .
I've had a couple of people say that to me about the waves, but I think the reason is that with such a large field there would not be time to wait for the fastest people to go first (the cut off time was a bit stiff as it was), so we just had to put up with a bit of mowing 😊😊😊 Next time, though, I will make sure to be in an earlier wave!
I usually don’t like even reading about migraines!! But …..the rest was so brilliant it was a real IPad turner. You are an amazing athlete….just awesome Roseabi👏👏👏👏👏👏🥇
This is amazing, inspiring stuff!! What a fantastic write up too! Well done!
Have to admit, the swimming and and biking and then the running sounds very daunting but I can’t quite get over the the fact that you drove a hire van, through London- WAT! Legend!
It's not really a bad drive from Brighton to the London docklands as they're so far South - the queues for the Dartford tunnel were pretty tedious though! 😊😊😊
Woohoo! That was fabulous! One tough cookie I reckon. Sounds scary as heck to me 😀. My migraine headaches aren't as bad as they used to be, but the nausea is always there ... would happily swap that for euphoria!!! I bet the winning guy had his bike racked in pole position, hence his speedy transition, nothing to do with his athletic ability. Can't wait to read the next PB report 😍
Eh, we all had the same problems really, it was just such a big place - and a lot of people in it! I'll think about faster transitions when I get a bit faster on the bike (and maybe the swim, who knows!!), but for now I'm perfectly happy 😊😊😊
I've been lucky to never have had nausea with migraines - and I know you have run with one before, so you are definitely a superhero!!!!!!!!! 😍
Luckily only once or twice a year. They knock me out for a good few hours but I know the signs and as soon as it starts I pump down the paracetamol and find a dark quiet place to rest.
Wow what a ride! Sounds like you had such a good time in spite of the challenges. I’d no idea migraines had euphoria as a possible side effect! Bonus! Amazing effort on pushing through as you were half blind too! Congratulations on this epic event Roseabi! 🙌🙌👊👊👏👏👏🏃♀️
Yes, it's pretty sweet! I have wondered about it before so I looked it up - a lot of people experience euphoria during the migraine "hangover" 😎 I must say, though, I think it took me extra long to recover as a result of the migraine! I felt suuuuuper tired for several days afterward, and didn't do any running for almost a week 😂
Yes there will be more, in fact the whole reason I did this race was because I found out about a triathlon called Castle to Coast that starts in London and finishes in Brighton - it's a half Ironman type distance (😲), so I thought I should try an Olympic first 🤣
And yes, people do breaststroke, the only thing people don't do is backstroke which isn't allowed.
I take my hat off to you girl. That takes such guts. Awesomeness personified. You should be immensely proud of your achievement. The logistics of just getting there would flummox me, let alone all the other myriad things to worry about and deal with. It made my head spin just to read it.
I thought you’d done at one point til I realised you’d still got to run. Ruddy ell! Ooooer 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
I was in the swim with you there 😱. Getting knocked about in water and pushed under sounds awful but it is what it is and you surfaced and kept pushing. What competitors 💪😃. It’s very exciting and awesome, I think it shows what guts women and girls have. The cycle and tri races we watch always amaze me. Such strength and fortitude from the women I think tri is a great spectator sport, especially the mixed. New one to me but i loved the olympics one
Gawd no! Zigzaggy migraine 😱. I get that. Sometimes just the visual disturbance but it’s still sick-making. Maybe Cos you’d ditched the sunnies 😎 ? So pleased you shrugged off. I yawn like mad when it happens to me, so maybe it’s lack of sleep and/or fatigue🤔
I can’t imagine running and being wet. It just sounds and must feel odd. In winter it must be tough. Fortunately it wasn’t 🙂
Having to get yourself and the van back home as well afterwards. Crikey me😨
I hope you’re taking a few days off 😀 well done shug, you’re a star 🌟
The swim is pretty rough! At the Brighton Triathlon I was talking to a woman who said she'd been kicked in the face three times!!! 😳 But as you say, it goes with the territory!
Yes, I think it was lack of sleep that brought the migraine on this time. I often suspect bright sunshine as the cause, but there wasn't any of that this time! 😂 It wasn't ideal having to drive back afterwards, but I had a good rest first, and plenty of food and caffeine, so I felt OK.
I had almost a week off (except for a bit of windsurfing). I'm back to running now, got the Brighton Marathon next month - no rest for the running junkie 😂😂😂
I saved reading this until this morning as I was darting around yesterday and didn’t have time to read it properly.
Oh wow Roseabi, that sounded amazing! You’re a true all-rounder. I don’t know how you manage it, especially the swimming part! I could manage doggie paddle or a pathetic breast stroke and that’s about it! 😂
I love your in depth analysis. Apart from the migraine part - I’m so glad it didn’t end up affecting you too much by the way - it sounded like it all went to plan and you absolutely smashed the event. 🏊♀️ 🚴 🏃♀️
For the swim, I just tried to relax on the day and not worry about speed - this helps so much with breathing! I really should apply that method to more areas of my life actually 😂
Wow! That's an epic event. Huge kudos for pusing on through all the hurdles.
Something I've been wandering about FC in open water: how do you stay on course? I'm used to lines on the bottom of the pool and tend to go round in circles without them.
Bilateral breathing helps, but the main method is to use a technique called "sighting" whereby you regularly take a quick peek up over the surface of the water, having picked a marker to swim towards.
Oh wow! And double wow! Did I say wow? You are simply amazing! You must be so fit and strong. Many, many congratulations! 👏🎉🍾🥂 And to think that you found it awesome! Just wonderful! 😊 I almost daren't ask how many hours of training you complete each week and perhaps also work full time. A superstar 🌟 I read your report once and then read it again to my husband. Fantastic thank you very much for describing your experience. Brilliant! 😊🏊♀️🚴♀️🏃♀️
Wow back at you - thank you so much!!! I feel a bit shy now... 😊😊😊
I am very lucky because I don't work full time, but I also try to make the most of any training session so I can have at least a couple of days off every week. Triathlon is particularly fun to work towards, it really is the definition of cross training!!
That's was quite an event! I'm exhausted just reading about it. Not only the event but also the challenge of the van driving and finally a migraine to cope with too!
I can't imagine running with a migraine-I am lucky in that I usually only get the visual disturbance and very rarely a headache but I've never had euphoria afterwards just a feeling of total exhaustion!
OMG aren't human bodies amazing!!!!!
Congratulations thanks for such a fascinating and inspirational read.
WOWSERS!! great post!! I loved reading it. well done u, I'm in total awe!! Pleased the elbow in the swimming wasn't too bad, when i watch it on the TV I often think everyone looks too close and think it looks scary!! same as the cycling, I'd be worried in case got too close and caused a crash!! so well done. very brave in my opion
The swim is just crazy! There are strict rules about getting too close on the bike, which made me very nervous when I first read them, but it does mean that most of the time we keep away from each other 😊😊😊
Oh, what a great report roseabi ! I saw this post a few days ago and have been meaning to come back and read it!!
Just amazing - I love watching triathlons on tv but as someone who is clearly made to sink…I’m afraid I am a rubbish swimmer!🤣 Despite this, I was with you every step of the way whilst reading your write-up. I don’t know how you can run a sub-one hour 10k after the swim and bike ride …you truly are the Superwoman of our forum! Wear your medal with pride!🏊♀️🚴♀️ 🏃♀️🏅x
Hi RoseAbi - my friend sent me a note that you had found a winter Triathlon maintenance plan - could you share where you found it - I've just completed a half Ironman - need some rest time but also need to keep going through the dead season. I'd be very grateful for your information. Well done on the Olympic by the way - once you've got the bug, you've got the bug. I didn't start until I was 62 - then Covid took away the races, so 64 now when I did the HIM
Thank you SO much - this looks really good as it incorporates rest days - I have been training 7 days a week and a lot of the time 2 sessions a day so this will be a welcome break and get me through the winter - keep us all updated with how you get along
What a phenomenal post, how on Earth did I miss it originally!? You've done such a great job, I know those areas and could 'feel' how you felt. Brilliant, well done, sounds absolutely amazing! Go you!!!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
London Vitality 10000
London marathon training update
London Marathon Volunteering