Lisbon European Championships 2016

Delta-Simons Aquathon Lincoln 
On Wednesday 18th May it was the first round of the Delta-Simons Aquathon series at Activities Away in Lincoln, the series is held on a Wednesday evening each month from May to September. I would definitely recommend the events - fun, well organised and a great way to get in some open water, transition and run practise. The event is an 800m swim and 3km run round the lake with prizes for the top 3 male and female competitors and this year there is also a free junior Aquathon.

Angus (my boyfriend) and I met at the lake after he finished work then a quick change into our wetsuits for a 7pm start. When we lined up between the buoys I started next to Angus with the aim to beat him out the lake and had my friend Sofie on the other side who is a very fast swimmer also. I only managed to keep with them for about 200m and felt a bit sluggish as I lost sight of them up the lake. I was out the water about 20 seconds behind Angus so just got to work on maintaining my speed for the whole 800m. Sofie had a great swim and showed everyone up but had a bit of trouble in transition getting off her wetsuit. Angus was just leaving transition when I arrived and for once I had a fast transition as my new Zone3 Vanquish is nice and easy to slip off. The 3km run seems like hard work and felt longer but I managed to keep my lead to the finish and didn't get lapped by Angus (phew!).
      

Angus won first male and I won first female so a good evenings work for both of us ahead of going to Lisbon on Sunday.

European AG Championships Lisbon 
We had a busy weekend before flying to Lisbon as Angus was racing Grafham middle distance on Sunday 22nd May. We had a early start of 3am and I was looking forward to supporting Angus. He was up in the top 10 out the swim and a quick transition to then go out on the bike. I took the opportunity to drink my hot chocolate and sit down for a couple of hours as Angus powered round the 90km course.

Angus came in off the bike (yay no punctures today) and looked very tired as he went out on the run. I waited at the finish for Angus to finish and I was greeted by a very sweaty hug. Was very proud of Angus for getting a silver medal. Check out Angus' blog - https://angussmithtriathlon.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/british-middle-champs/

After a busy day we arrived back at loughborough at around 5 and still had lots to do before flying to Lisbon in the morning. Angus packed away his bike as I cooked tea and then it was a joint effort packing everything up but we still didn't finish until 11. Two hours later our alarm went off and with little sleep it was time to travel to the airport. 

When we arrived at the airport we met Angus' mate Henry who was coming with us to Lisbon and checked in 3 bike bags and 3 suitcases before relaxing and getting some breakfast and waiting for our gate to open. 

When we arrived in Lisbon it was a nervous wait to see if our bikes had got there too but luckily all three had made it safe and sound. After collecting our luggage we headed to the metro station just outside of the airport. Angus then decided it was a good idea for us to take our bike bags and suitcases down 3 flights of escalators and that is something I am never going to be repeating. 

After 3 stops on the train we arrived at our stop and just had a long walk to go with our suitcases and bike bags. About half way there of struggling with the weight of my luggage I was surprised I'd made it this far my arms and back had given up. Angus then took my bike bag off me in exchange for his suitcase which was quite a bit lighter. Finally we made it up the massive hill to our apartment and could sit down after a busy and tough morning. We then spent the rest of the day getting organised and looking round the area. 

On Tuesday we both woke up still pretty tired and achy form Monday so decided to not do any training and just relax. We started off the day by painting my nails, where we found Angus has a secret nail art talent haha!

The next day we decided to check out a local swimming pool near to our apartment. It was a lovely pool and they had two lanes reserved for triathletes so we decided to do a broken swim set and I got to try out my new Zone3 bikini :) After swimming we had lunch outside in the sun before going to register and get our race packs.

 We woke up early Thursday morning to plan our day as there was plenty to do before race day

• 10 bike recce
• 12 race briefing 
• 2.30 bike racking 
• 4.30 swim recce
• 6.00 parade of nations
• 6.30 pasta party 

It was going to a busy day with plenty of walking which probably wasn't the best thing the day before your race.

The first thing on our plan was the bike recce. Angus, Henry and I rode down to the Arena where everyone met for the bike recce. We couldn't ride the course any other time as it was on very busy roads such as a 4 lane motor way, the only opportunity was a police escort bike recce so there were hundreds of people there - no exaggeration!

The bike recce was lots of fun and it was quite exciting having the police escort. Angus and I rode together not far from the front police car and motorbikes, the route was an out and back and was very flat apart from a slight graduate hill half way but was going to be very fast and I couldn't wait until race day now.

It was a quick change at the apartment before going to my race briefing. The briefing was just over an hour and went over how everything was going to run and a few rules and a time for people to ask questions. Angus went for a run while Henry and I were in the briefing as it was just for sprint distance competitors only.

After a busy morning we had a late lunch back at the apartment before going to rack my bike. A quick check of my trisuit, race belt and helmet and putting my bike on my rack and it was time to go to the swim recce. It was my first sea swim so when I got in it took me a while to get used to swimming in salty water. We did an easy lap of the swim course and took a few snaps before going back to have a shower and plait my hair ready for race day.

Race plaits all done we had a quick change and went to the arena for the parade of nations. Angus and I got to the front of the line with the aim of getting into the pasta party quicker. Our plan worked at we were near the front of the line to get pasta. They gave us a good portion of pasta and a bolognese source with some fresh bread (mmmm).  

Finally race day (Friday 27th May) was here and like every other race the day started with a bowl of porridge. My wave start was at 11.04 so a later start than most races. I got all my stuff together at the apartment before heading to transition at 8.45. 

The weather was dull and pretty windy but luckily there was no rain. I set up my transition and then went down to the swim start with Angus. We had to be in pens 30 minutes before race start so Angus and I just sat on a wall and I drank a bottle of water with High5 summer fruit energy powder in and by this time I was extremely nervous.  

At 10.20 I started to get ready for my race. Baby oil on my wrists and ankles, put my wetsuit on, put some body glide on my neck, have a High5 X'treme IosGel, have my Asthma inhalers, put my timing chip on my ankle and put my swim hat on and goggles on my head.

11.00 - The boys wave were off. We are all stood in a pen waiting to get into the sea. A race official quickly went through the swim route and we all rushed into the sea. We were all squashed in between two yellow buoys and I tried to get myself in a good position. 

11.04 - We were off! It was very crowded and I got swallowed up and spat out in the crazy swim start. I know swim starts aren't my best thing but I was determined to be in front pack out the swim, I ended up on the left side and spent the whole swim overtaking people all the way through the swim. I felt good in the swim and was happy to make it to the back of the front pack, just a steep ramp out the sea and short run to transition.

I pulled my wetsuit to my waist so when I got to my place in transition I just had to take my wetsuit off my legs and put in the basket next to my bike with my hat and goggles. Helmet on, bike shoes on and sunglasses on. A short run in cleats over the cobbles and I was glad it was only a short run as I tried to stay on my feet. I mounted my bike and went over all the speed bumps and was glad to see the tarmac road at the end. 

I pushed down on my pedals as fast as I could and with a nice backwind I did the 5 miles in 12 minutes. It was great to race on closed roads on a nice road surface. Soon I was at the roundabout and half way through the bike course all I had to do was go back the way I came. It was good to see competitors on both sides on the road so you could see cyclists all the time. 

The route back was definitely a lot harder on the way back with the headwind and there was a big drop in my average speed but I critted my teeth and made my legs hurt all the way. 

I was pleased with my bike, it was tough coming back into the wind but I was happy that I pushed through it and looking forward to giving everything I had left on the run. 

I haven't yet learnt how to do any fancy transition tricks but its something I want to learn for next season. So it was a simple clip out and trying not to fall off over the cobbles and another run in cleats to transition.

After racking my bike, putting my helmet and bike shoes in my box and slipping on my trainers it was just a 5km run to go. The run was a 2 lap course and it went through the arena each lap. It was a great atmosphere in the arena, a noisy and motivating atmosphere. 

The weather had warmed up and the sun was out and I was glad there were so many drink stations on the course. I gave it all I had on the run and was glad to run to the finish which was also in the arena.  

I wasn't sure how I'd done when I finished, I know I'd given it all I had on the day so was happy with myself and now relaxed in the athletes lounge (area for the finished athletes) where they had some fruit and bottles of water.

Soon the results were up and I was happy to find I'd come 6th in my age group. This was a big improvement from coming 12th last year at the European Championships in Geneva. I was also very pleased with my times as they were the fastest they've been this season so it was great to see my progress showing, especially in such a big race. 

After collecting my bike from transition and taking it back to the apartment we went out for a celebratory meal (Thanks to henry's dad) which was well deserved. Just want to thank my sponsors (High5, Threo, Zone3 and Swimzi) for all their support, wouldn't have achieved this result without all your help. 

Later in the day we went to watch the Para-triathletes who were racing for the last spots for the Rio Olympics and then Angus had his swim recce.

Soon Sunday arrived which was race day for Angus and an earlier start than my race on Friday. We headed to transition at 5am and Angus set up his transition with a torch haha! 

Soon Angus was off at 7.15 and I got myself a good view of the swim exit ready to watch him run up the ramp. The swim was very spread out and Angus was one of the first few people out the swim. I sprinted to the bike out and just saw him go out on his bike. Angus looked strong as he finished his first bike lap and went out onto his second. After a fast bike Angus went out on the run and I went into the arena to watch him come in. He came 5th in his age group which was a great result and I was very proud of him. We went and treated ourselves for food after and relaxed for a few hours before going back and packing up our bikes ready for the flight in the morning. 

Just want to end by saying a massive thank you to everyone for your support, a big thank you to my amazing boyfriend for all that he does for me, I wouldn't have achieved what I have without him.


Thanks for reading!

Emily