If you haven’t read Norma’s previous blog, find it here.

The date for the Vitruvian half iron man arrived quickly.

I had been doing a structured 4 week training plan in the lead up to the event. This involved going to both ELT swim sessions during the week with a long Stubbers swim on a Saturday. Two turbo sessions during the week and a long ride at the weekend. Two runs during the week and a long run at the weekend. So the weekends were quite busy!

We traveled up to Rutland Waters on the Friday and registered on Friday evening as it was an early start the next day. I was in the first wave (6.25am) so we needed to get things set up in transition ahead of the race briefing at 6am.

The weather was good (quite cold but dry) and the sun started to come up just as we were starting the swim.

The swim went well – it was warmer in the water than waiting on the edge! The bike was something I had been focusing on in my training and I felt a lot better during the event. However, I was careful to save some energy for the run. The bike course was hillier than expected but through some very nice countryside. I felt strong doing the run which was my best discipline of the three. The good thing about the course is that runners are going past each other in different directions so there is plenty of opportunity to see other people from the club.

Overall I finished in under 6 hrs (5hr 55 mins) which I was really pleased with. But I still need to work on my transition times!

I didn’t know what to expect with it being my first middle distance race but overall I really enjoyed it. Especially as there were so many people from the club there either taking part individually or as part of a relay team or helping out at food stations. The support from familiar faces made everything a really good experience! Everyone from the club has been very helpful and supportive in giving advice and encouragement which I have really appreciated so it was good to be able to finish the race with so many members from the club there. Special thanks to Chris Tait for his advice in relation to training and to David Lawrence for lending me some fast wheels!

I’m not sure what my next event will be. My main events this year were the marathon in May and the half ironman in September. I have really enjoyed the training with the club and it is amazing to look back at how much I have improved over the last couple of years since joining. I have achieved things that I did not think would have been possible. 

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