Weymouth Middle Distance Tri report by Adam
On Sunday 8th June, Adam Clarke and supporters travelled to Weymouth to take part in the Weymouth Middle Distance Triathlon. Similar in distance to the triathlon completed three week prior in Devon, Adam was hopeful of breaking the 5 hour barrier and taking 18 minutes of his PB as the bike route was much flatter and the previous years times suggested a faster course.
So at 7.30 am it was systems go for a 1900m of swim in a very still and pond like sea, but Adam had to work hard to make it into the leading group and completed the swim in 35 minutes and 34 seconds, which would suggest the swim was longer than 1900m.
The swim placed Adam in 19th place onto the bike leg, which began with a predominantly uphill first 8 miles away from the coast.
It was then onto dual carriageways for about 30 miles, of flat fast time trialling, with the back end of the course being contested over country lanes. Adam completed the 56 mile bike leg in 2 hours 34 minutes and 42 secs, which gave him a great chance of breaking the 5 hour barrier.
The 13 mile run started well with the first 4 miles being covered in 33 minutes however thats when the wheels came off. A combination of heat and forgetting to put a pair of socks on, Adams feet began to cut up in his shoes and reduced the back end of the first lap to a walk. Completion of the 6.5 mile lap was followed by a detour off the run route back to the car to collect a pair of socks and cover the cuts in Vaseline! However the damage was done and Adam plodded home in 2 hours 10 minutes 43 secs and an overall time of 5 hours 20 minutes and 59 seconds to place him 147th out of 297 competitors. A disappointing outcome but a lesson learned for the future!