Vitruvian Race Report 2nd Overall - 4:01:15
The Vitruvian is one of the most Iconic races in the British Triathlon Calendar. Its a race that I've always wanted to do, and because of its notoriety always sells out. I raced the Dambuster (Triathlon England Olympic Champs) a few months back, which gave a good insight into the race route which is all based around Rutland water.
My Girlfriend was racing too, which makes the race all the more fun. We had a crazy early start as my wave (wave 1) started at 6:30 in the morning! Fortunately we were staying close to the race HQ (thanks Jo).
Swim - 28:04
Not my best swim. after loosing the feet of the front boys I had a lonely splash round Rutland water. It was a two lap swim with a little run between. It took a lap for me to wake up as my body still thought it was wrapped up in bed. I tend to get stronger each discipline, so was more than happy to get out the water and start working my way to the front.
Bike - 2:15:19
The 2 lap bike was a tale of two halves. the first of which wasn't that eventful, didn't feel that great, but picked off a couple of guys. The wind was blowing, so some sections you were flying at 30+mph and others you where fighting against it.
The 2nd lap was quite frustrating it was going well until i hit the back end of ‘The Rutland Ripple’. It was here where i learnt why they have the race on so early. On the 2nd lap the fast guys from the early waves were overtaking the slower athletes from the later waves (just starting their 1st lap). This isn't that much of a problem until you throw in a few massive lorries. The lorries were struggling to overtake the slower athletes and thus backing up the traffic. I was 4th at the time, but was soon joined by 5th and then 6th. We could do nothing but sit in the slow moving traffic jam. It was like the race was nullified, my only hope was that it was the same for everyone.
Run - 1:15:16
Having been held up for some time on the bike, i thought the win was going to be well out of reach. However upon leaving T2 without my Garmin (I seem to leave it on my bike every race!) somebody shouted “3:30 down”. I was expecting to hear 10min! Only 3:30 down i thought game on!
The course plays into the hands of a runner. There are sections where you can see quite far ahead and its a 2 lap, out and back circuit, so you can see exactly who you are chasing and how far they are ahead of you.
I started the run in 4th (from the first wave!) and i set off at quite an aggressive pace, once i hit the first turn around point (5km) i knew i was going to catch the guys in front, so backed off a little and settled into a more sustainable rhythm. I caught Luke Pollard who was leading the race at about the 12km point, he was still running well so i couldn't just cruise it home. From this point i was just thinking don't blow up. I was feeling great, apart from the burning sensation from my feet, turns out i had a rubber band (from the national relays the week before) lodged in my shoe! Lets just say I've some interesting blisters.
Leading the race it felt easy, the pain melts away and loads of other athletes were cheering me on. I kept my foot down all the way to the line. Little did i know that Charlie ‘The Marine’ Pennington of Team Freespeed and the Royal Navy had been crushing it from a wave back! He crossed the line 8mins after me, which meant he had finished 2mins in front!
I was gutted that i was beaten from a different wave. Im just glad that Charlie beat me by a significant margin it would have hurt a lot more if it was seconds rather than 2min.
I'm still chasing that 1st win of the year and not many chances left. Im starting to feel like its the end of the season. The Outlaw (Iron distance) took a lot out of me, both physically and mentally. Ive got Challenge Weymouth in 2 weeks and then the Cambridge Triathlon. I just hope i can get my body, mind and blistered feet together to see them out.
My Girlfriend Lauren did fantastic, finishing 5th overall in the female race. She is getting stronger and faster at every event. Still cant convince her to do a full Ironman, but who knows what Santa may bring! ;)
Tom ‘Triple Toe Blister’ Vickery
The Vitruvian is one of the most Iconic races in the British Triathlon Calendar. Its a race that I've always wanted to do, and because of its notoriety always sells out. I raced the Dambuster (Triathlon England Olympic Champs) a few months back, which gave a good insight into the race route which is all based around Rutland water.
My Girlfriend was racing too, which makes the race all the more fun. We had a crazy early start as my wave (wave 1) started at 6:30 in the morning! Fortunately we were staying close to the race HQ (thanks Jo).
Swim - 28:04
Not my best swim. after loosing the feet of the front boys I had a lonely splash round Rutland water. It was a two lap swim with a little run between. It took a lap for me to wake up as my body still thought it was wrapped up in bed. I tend to get stronger each discipline, so was more than happy to get out the water and start working my way to the front.
Bike - 2:15:19
The 2 lap bike was a tale of two halves. the first of which wasn't that eventful, didn't feel that great, but picked off a couple of guys. The wind was blowing, so some sections you were flying at 30+mph and others you where fighting against it.
The 2nd lap was quite frustrating it was going well until i hit the back end of ‘The Rutland Ripple’. It was here where i learnt why they have the race on so early. On the 2nd lap the fast guys from the early waves were overtaking the slower athletes from the later waves (just starting their 1st lap). This isn't that much of a problem until you throw in a few massive lorries. The lorries were struggling to overtake the slower athletes and thus backing up the traffic. I was 4th at the time, but was soon joined by 5th and then 6th. We could do nothing but sit in the slow moving traffic jam. It was like the race was nullified, my only hope was that it was the same for everyone.
Run - 1:15:16
Having been held up for some time on the bike, i thought the win was going to be well out of reach. However upon leaving T2 without my Garmin (I seem to leave it on my bike every race!) somebody shouted “3:30 down”. I was expecting to hear 10min! Only 3:30 down i thought game on!
The course plays into the hands of a runner. There are sections where you can see quite far ahead and its a 2 lap, out and back circuit, so you can see exactly who you are chasing and how far they are ahead of you.
I started the run in 4th (from the first wave!) and i set off at quite an aggressive pace, once i hit the first turn around point (5km) i knew i was going to catch the guys in front, so backed off a little and settled into a more sustainable rhythm. I caught Luke Pollard who was leading the race at about the 12km point, he was still running well so i couldn't just cruise it home. From this point i was just thinking don't blow up. I was feeling great, apart from the burning sensation from my feet, turns out i had a rubber band (from the national relays the week before) lodged in my shoe! Lets just say I've some interesting blisters.
Leading the race it felt easy, the pain melts away and loads of other athletes were cheering me on. I kept my foot down all the way to the line. Little did i know that Charlie ‘The Marine’ Pennington of Team Freespeed and the Royal Navy had been crushing it from a wave back! He crossed the line 8mins after me, which meant he had finished 2mins in front!
I was gutted that i was beaten from a different wave. Im just glad that Charlie beat me by a significant margin it would have hurt a lot more if it was seconds rather than 2min.
I'm still chasing that 1st win of the year and not many chances left. Im starting to feel like its the end of the season. The Outlaw (Iron distance) took a lot out of me, both physically and mentally. Ive got Challenge Weymouth in 2 weeks and then the Cambridge Triathlon. I just hope i can get my body, mind and blistered feet together to see them out.
My Girlfriend Lauren did fantastic, finishing 5th overall in the female race. She is getting stronger and faster at every event. Still cant convince her to do a full Ironman, but who knows what Santa may bring! ;)
Tom ‘Triple Toe Blister’ Vickery