220Triathlon Edição 334

WWW.220TRIATHLON.COM

FEBRUARY 2017

FEATURE

THE BIKE & RUN

Swimming fears conquered, now let’s tick off the rest, which can include

everything from potential kit conundrums to toilet troubles…

NOT HAVING THE BEST GEAR

We’ll hand this one over to

220

’s resident weekend

warrior, Martyn Brunt: “It wasn’t until I saw everyone else’s

bikes and kit that it dawned on me how out of my depth I

was, and how much of a *&S% I would look. I overcame it

in my usual fashion by putting my head down and hoping

for the best. The reality was that nobody minded. Those

that did give me a second glance were very encouraging

and I had people in the crowd exhorting me to run – and

cheering when I did, God bless ‘em.”

If Martyn can style it out, then so can you, and just

imagine how good you’ll feel gliding past a £15K Cervélo

on your old shopping bike.

USING CLIP IN PEDALS

Practise, practise, practise – in a safe place!

“I worried about using clip-in pedals, whether I could go

the distance and cycling in a swimsuit,” admits Rachel

Joyce, who has achieved multiple podiums in Hawaii. “To

overcome this I practised in a car park clipping in and out

of the pedals and only toppled over once – embarrassingly

very close to a bus stop!”

NOT BEING ABLE TO

COMPLETE THE DISTANCE

Completing a triathlon is an epic feat, whatever the

distance. If you don’t think a super sprint of 400m

swimming, 10km biking and 2.5km running is far, challenge

one of your non-sporty friends to take part… and duck

when they respond. Not being able to finish is a natural

fear, but helps you push your boundaries and learn about

yourself. As for practical steps, race simulations a few

weeks prior to the event are a great confidence booster.

You may not wish to complete the whole distance –

especially if it’s Olympic distance upwards – but ticking

off some element of swim, bike and run on the same day

helps prepare you both physically and mentally.

FINISHING LAST

Most races have a field of at least 100, so the

chances of tailing in last are incredibly slim. Even if you do,

you’ll have still finished ahead of the DNFs, DNSs and DNEs

(Did Not Finish/Start/Enter!). Triathlons are not like

running races. With competitors often starting at different

times it’s more of a perpetual cycle – and celebration – of

“There were somany things I

had no idea about: What the

heck do you do in transition?

If I puncture, what happens?

And people do this in one piece

of Lycra? But asking people

for advice really helped. And

competing in races with a high

percentage of first-timers –

confidence in numbers!”

DavidMcNamee, fastest Kona

Brit to date

MY FIRST

RACE