Tomorrow I will be flying to Spain. In 4 days time I will be lining up with a bunch of other ancient old bags at the start line of the European Age Group Duathlon Championships.
Nervous? You betcha. More than a little daunted? Definitely.
It has not exactly been a straightforward journey to get to the start line.
Early in the year I was floored by a flu type bug which took weeks to get over but after that my fitness levels improved and my running speed increased and I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing.
Then about 6 weeks ago while warming up on the treadmill before a gym session my calf muscle seemed to go into spasm. I stretched it off and carried on with my session but by the time I had my shower I was hobbling and it felt like I had a ball trapped in my calf muscle. Turns out I had torn my gastrocnemius muscle. No running. For 5 weeks…
So I did lots of cycling – until my rear mech sheared off 30km into a 60km ride one Sunday at the beginning of April. So I gave it to a mechanic to get repaired and serviced. Two days later he phoned to say he was having issues with the cabling, that there seem to be something blocking the path of the cable inside the frame. After a phone call to Boardman they advised that it should be sent back for repair. Which was fine, except I had 3 weeks until my race and 2 weeks until my bike was being collected for transport to Spain. Boardman couldn’t guarantee it would be returned in time.
The hubster was like International Rescue – he said we couldn’t take the risk of not having a bike to ride and I should get a replacement bike. Once Boardman returned my old bike we could sell it to recoup some of the money. Another lovely person, Laura, a club colleague also stepped up and lent me a bike until I could find a replacement – top person especially as she really didn’t know me.
I am now the proud owner of a Liv Envie Advanced 1 which is a dream to ride – I managed 4 decent rides and a couple of shorter ones and now it’s on the way to Spain.
The other stress making factor came from BTF. We were told way back before Christmas that the kit sponsor would be changing and that we should hear in January when kit would be available. January came and went, so did February and March and still no sponsor announcement and the previous sponsor kit, which can be worn this year only, was in very short supply. I took the decision to buy one of the last unisex tri suits in my size in March and I am glad I did as the new kit has only just become available. The other disappointment is that apart from a polo shirt which arrived today, there is no other kit like hoodies, or tracksuits. One GB athlete has designed his own hoodies and tops and some of us have bought that instead.
It’s a shame as part of the kudos of being a GB athlete is wearing the kit.
So it’s been a bumpy ride to this point. I am nervous, I hate the fact there is limited information about the event as a whole, course information is contradictory for example and some people are now finding that their accommodation has been cancelled. Soria is not a big place with limited hotel accommodation and I think some hotels have probably over booked or decided they could get more money.
Anyhoo, we fly out on tomorrow, meet up with a fellow competitor, Irene at Madrid airport and then drive the two hours to our accommodation which as of today was still confirmed.
I put my tri suit on again today and took a couple of photos, then packed and it all became very real. Exciting, nerve wracking and daunting all in one go.
I hope my nerves will settle down once I get there and see the town and that the whole weekend turns out to be the amazing, exciting day I dreamed off.
IM UK (Iron Mum) 2013 
Hopefully you’ve had all the bumps in the road before and you’ll have a smooth experience when you’re over there! Massive good luck x
Thanks petal
After the stress of the last year with injury, bike malfunction and other issues you will have a great race and do yourself proud although you should be very proud for what you have achieved so far.
Good luck x