We're
bouncing about all over the place in our household at the moment.
There's so much energy and physical activity being spent, we should
brand our household as a motivational
tool!
Following
on from our half marathon weekend, Dylan and I travelled to Anglesey in
North Wales a few weekends ago so he could compete in the Sandman
Full Distance Triathlon. This
is an 'iconic' triathlon held around Newborough Forest and the beautiful
coastline at Llandwyn Island, in the shadow of the Snowdonia mountain
range.
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| I felt like the luckiest person with a camera, in the world when we arrived - the whole area was bathed in such beautiful light |
Dylan
has wanted to enter this triathlon for a few years and we both love the
area. I bought him an entry for his 40th birthday this year.
We
checked into the Anglesey Outdoor Centre on Saturday afternoon. This
was beautifully located in the North of Anglesey, at the foot of
Holyhead mountain and amongst the
fields dotted with rocky outcrops. From the centre we could see the
sea and Snowdon and due to our early start on Sunday morning, we were
treated to a stunning sunrise over Snowdon and across the whole of the
island. The previous evening we'd sat at Southstack
Lighthouse with pie and chips and watched the sun go down. There's
something about watching the sun go to bed and then rise again, which is
very good for the soul. It made me resolve to get back to a beautiful
place in the West before too long and to share
the sun-setting experience with our children. I regularly see the sun
rising when I go out for early morning runs. If you're someone
who is usually in bed until the sun is up, you should make the effort
one weekend, get up early, go to a place where
you can't see concrete buildings and man-made creations.. find a field,
a woodland, a mountain, a lake.... anything and look East on a
cloudless dawn as the sun rises.
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| Sunset over Southstack Lighthouse |
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| Sunrise over Snowdon |
We
arrived at Newborough Forest with the masses, early on Sunday morning.
The triathlon was taking place in the sea at Llandwyn Island, the
forests of Newborough Forest, the
dunes around Newborough and the roads around the South of Anglesey.
Nestled between the coast, the forest and the dunes, was Sandman
HQ and transition area. There were over 2000 competitors taking part,
in the full triathlon, a sprint distance and junior
races. Channel4 were there to televise the event and there was a buzz
about the place. In complete contrast the coastline was calm and
serene. The sea was calm and without a ripple. The skyline was framed
by the Snowdon mountain range whose outlines were
crisp and clear against the perfectly blue skies. The forests were
green as was the marram grass amongst the dunes and the sand was as rich
as the sea was blue. To say it was the perfect setting would be an
understatement.
Dylan
was swimming in the first wave of competitors and they started from the
beach. 200 men ran into the sea with an almighty roar.. it was a start
which made the crowds
cheer and grin and wave. I was very tempted to run in after them... I
was having a tinge of 'I wish that was me'.
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| Roar! |
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| First swimmers coming home |
The
1 km swim followed the coastline back along the beach. I walked to
keep pace so I could watch the first swimmers climb out of the sea. I
had to make the effort to
walk at a pace which kept up with the front swimmers; the pace the
elite men set was amazing.
Dylan
exited the water and I ran up the dunes after him to capture his
transition to the bike stage. Unfortunately for him, as he left
transition, he had a puncture. He was
doing everything he could to get a quick time, so this was very
unwelcome, but this kind of bad luck is part of cycling, whether you're
racing or out for a slow pedal to the shops or racing in a sportive! It didn't stop him
pulling an amazing cycle out of the bag though and he
passed many cyclists along the 60km route, and took his position
back from many. He averaged 20mph during the cycle leg and that
includes the time it took him to fix his puncture. That's a pretty
quick puncture fix!
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| Transition 1 |
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| Off for a wee ride |
He
was out on the bike for over an hour so I took advantage of the peace
and quiet while most of the athletes were out. I had a jog along the
beach, though admittedly I stopped
after 1 mile. It was so peaceful and beautiful, I wanted to just look
at it and enjoy it. Running could wait.
Dylan
came in and transitioned to the run. Despite the 24 degree sunshine,
he looked strong as he started out. The run was a 10km trail through
the forests and sand dunes.
The Sandman running route is notoriously
difficult as it undulates throughout the forest and up the sand dunes.
Any runner will tell you that a run along a beach can be a challenge. A
run up, up and up soft sand, to the top of a dune.... and then a
finishing
straight along a pebbly beach in the scorching sunshine. It was
punishing and many runners had to give in to the conditions and drop to a
walk.
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| T2 bike-run |
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| Finish in sight |
Dylan did fantastically though and finished in 3 hours 8 minutes. He was 119th overall and 40th in his age category.
Afterwards
we ate frozen yogurt and strawberries and I reflected on my own goals.
I've been tempted to do a triathon many times, and this was exactly the
sort of event which
may just one day push me to the darkside..!
While
we were in Wales, our eldest daughter was competing in a swimming gala
for City of Leeds. She has recently been asked to join the City of
Leeds development squad which
is a testament to her dedication to swimming and she was competing this
weekend in breaststroke, freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and Individual Medley (IM).
My Dad went along to support her and she managed to secure pbs
times in all four strokes and just missed it on the 100m IM. I am very
proud of her, especially in
the 50m butterfly event as this is the first time she has competed in
butterfly and she managed to knock 3 seconds off her pb.
This
will be her last gala as part of the development squad. She tried out
for a local swimming club this week, and she made their top squad.
She'll now be training with
them between 3 and 5 times per week and no doubt representing them all
over Yorkshire in future galas.
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