The good, the bad and the DNS…

• Posted onjofrancis
• in thetrilifereporters
• onJuly 13, 2016
• No Comments.

Matthew Gwenter – #thetrilifereporter – month 5

This last month has involved the good (Cardiff Triathlon), the bad (Swansea Tri) and the DNS (Ultimate Half!) so it’s been pretty mixed. The focus has largely dropped off training as I’ve had a good few races. I’ve had a mix of sessions during the week but nothing too heavy due to races on the weekend.

Away from the sport I’ve had other things going on too including a friends wedding and an attempt to sort out a house move due to job relocation! So it’s fair to say it’s been action packed!

So, here we go. The Swansea Triathlon was an interesting old race. It’s the first year they’ve done it and it was in an absolutely stunning setting and also stunning weather. Perhaps even too hot! It was just a sprint race on closed routes based around the City Centre. It’s probably a reflection of how far I’ve come on with the help of thetrilife coaching given I was placed in the “elite” wave. However all didn’t go well on the day. It’s fair to say I didn’t race well. Swim was average and this carried on into the bike and run legs. Which was strange as my training had been going well. There were a couple of things that didn’t help most notably a lot of waiting round in the heat and also a boozy wedding 36 hours earlier (note to self!). I’ll put that one down to experience.

A couple of weeks later I followed it up with the Cardiff Olympic Distance Tri. Again it was a cracking setting, based in Cardiff Bay. This race involved a crazy early start but this time I managed to execute a much better race (still stuff to work on though!). Came home in 2:21 which was a 6 minute improvement on last year, on a longer course, admittedly in decent conditions as last year the race was held during a Welsh monsoon. I was pleased with that result but admittedly would like to do better again and have things to work on, particularly the run leg where I felt flat, I also need to get better at swimming in a straight line!! To be in with a realistic chance of an age-group spot I need to go a good 5 minutes quicker. Things are coming along but more hard work is needed!

The week after Cardiff was meant to be my half ironman race. Rather disappointingly I picked up a bug a few days before race day and decided it was best to give it a miss. I’m hoping to get another half ironman in the calendar towards the end of the season. It’s something I’d like to achieve and the base fitness is there.

So the next phase with thetrilife involves a build up to Worthing Olympic distance at the end of August. I was hoping to get an entry to Liverpool but it looks like I’ll miss out on that one. I’m hoping with some hard work over the next few weeks I can pick up some extra speed. If not I’ll just have to look at getting an upgrade on my bike