Sunday 6th June, I competed in the Cotswold 113 middle distance triathlon. 1.2 mile (1.9Km) swim, 56 mile (90km) bike & 13 mile (21km) run.
The run up to the race wasn’t ideal in my eyes, after falling off my bike on bank holiday Monday and my bike shifters not working on Friday, I went into the race a little sore and apprehensive if I should race or not. But I decided to race anyway…
Just a big thank you to Spinavita for fitting me in on a days notice to get my body in shape for the race!
My swim start was at 6.20am and the lake was a lot warmer than a couple weeks before at the #51fiver, about 4 degrees warmer. So this time after getting in there wasn’t a big shock, it was a good temperature. After only 6 weeks of swim training, I know my swimming isn’t where I personally want it to be, but I was happy with my overall swim on the day. It was very busy and I had to swim around a lot of people and unfortunately I swam over the top of some people too. Sorry!
My transitions were quite slow, I probably need to practice these! But I got onto the bike and pushed hard early. It was a 2 lap race, the first lap I settled into the higher end of my race power goal and was averaging 25.5 mph.
The second lap I slowed up a little and my power dropped a little bit but I kept an average of 25mph so I am very happy with this. I finished the bike and got straight into the run.
I set off quite a bit quicker than I was planning, which wasn’t a bad thing but about 5 minutes in we came onto a grass section and one of the other competitors accidentally tripped me up and I managed to twist my ankle and fall over. This made me drop the pace a little but I couldn’t feel my ankle ( I am guessing I have the adrenaline to thank) So I quickly got back into my race pace and did 2 out of the 3 laps at that pace. Then at the start of the last lap my ankle started to hurt so I dropped off my pace gradually. But I still came through with my best half marathon split off the bike so I can’t complain too much.
I completed the race in 4 hours 16 minutes and 41 seconds. This placed me 7th overall and 1st in the 20 – 24 age group.
I would like to thank my sponsors, Smith Heath for their continued support in me, Infrastar for the amazing race and training kit that I get to wear and Veritable Solutions for all their support. Spinavita for keeping me in shape and able to race and also Chloe Witts for my ongoing sports therapy and recovery sessions. Finally my coach from T3, Mark Threlfall for all the coaching and support! It has made a massive impact on my triathlon and I couldn’t be more grateful to you all.
Please don’t hesitate to email me any questions or advice that you have for me, and follow me on Instagram and Facebook (see link at the bottom of my page) so we can go through our triathlon journeys together.
Email me on: ryan@ryancoombstriathlon.com
Ryan Coombs Triathlon 