Llanelli Triathlon, 23 May 2010

Report By Darren Evans

2 long years in the triathlon wilderness came to an abrupt end at 5am on Sunday morning as the alarm went off. Having got my kit ready the night before (I’m ashamed to say there was dust on my race wheels!) a quick bowl of porridge and a mug of tea was all I had to get through before the drive to Llanelli. I thought I would arrive a lot earlier than necessary but even then the place was packed with people preparing their bikes, registering, racking. I’ve missed the sight of athletes in transition, alongside a lake, preparing for the start of a race. I haven’t missed the frequent toilet trips and the battle with the wetsuit! On a positive note the weather was glorious!

The hooter went and was immediately followed by the usual flurry of limbs, the punching, the kicking, the swimming over people... but once the melee was over I settled into the swim. It’s a rectangular course of 500m and is great for anybody looking to take their first dip into open water triathlon. It’s not the cleanest water I’ve ever swam in but it isn’t the coldest either and for that we could be grateful. At halfway I could see I was just behind Ian and that was basically how we stayed all the way. Another 200m later and I was reaching for my wetsuit zip and heading into transition. The wetsuit came off easily, the helmet went on with no fuss. All was going well and my post-race ice-cream was getting nearer. Oh how things were to change...

The bike course at Llanelli is an out and back course to Kidwelly and is basically flat. What was odd was the first thing I did when I sat on the bike was fall off the saddle onto the top tube. This was unexpected but I just put it down to sitting too far forward. Things felt fairly good on the way out. I was travelling reasonably quickly, I picked off a few people (including Ian- sorry mate!) but I still couldn’t get over that nagging feeling that all was not well with my saddle. What I must say is that the new club kit is great. I could see the other club members either in front of me or passing in the opposite direction and it really stood out! Just before the turning point I was passed by Scott who advised me to put the hammer down (I promise it was down!) and as I sat up off the tri-bars to take the roundabout to turn around and head back to Llanelli I realised that there really was something wrong. My arms cramped up and it seemed that I’d been pushing back off the bars to keep myself from falling forward off the saddle. I couldn’t see anything by looking but my saddle was obviously pointing down which was making life difficult and I really felt it on the way back. There was a bit of a head wind which didn’t help but my inefficient position and, if I’m honest, my total lack of training meant it was a long way back to Llanelli...

Transition went reasonably well. I heard after that Dr. Kev took a bit of a tumble at T2 so I hope he’s ok! I have never enjoyed a 5k run off the bike as much as this one. Normally I run really poorly at Llanelli but, although my time was some way off my best, I felt really good. I picked off the few people who’d dared to pass me on the bike and felt as if I could run like that all day! Again I was able to spot team mates by their kit and the 2 lap run meant there was plenty of opportunity to see them.

And like that it was over. Our guys went home with a significant portion of the silverware in many of the categories. There was much post-race laughter and much post-race ice-cream. As for my bike, when I checked it out after the saddle really was pointing down. I’ve tried straightening it with my hands but can’t get it to budge without loosening the bolts. It was fine the night before the race so it’s almost as if some sabotaged it...

I guess we’ll never know!