Bexhill Sprint Distance Triathlon

Yesterday I took part in the Bexhill Triathlon - my first attempt at a full Triathlon (the last one I entered ended up being a Duathon due to rough seas) and something of an experiment...........

I am a firm believer in the effectiveness of Kettlebell and Bulgarian Bag training as ways of developing high levels of total body fitness which translates well to other sporting activities.

With this in mind I chose to opt for a Kettlebell and Bulgarian Bag only approach to the Triathlon, the only Tri specific training being 1 interval based running session per week for the 3 weeks leading into the event. That's right, no cycling and no swimming was done at all!

Historically I have been both a competitive swimmer (when I was a child/teenager) and competitive cyclist (from 1999 until 2003) but since then have hardly done anything of either.


The distances for the event were as follows:-

Swim 500m in the Sea
Bike 25km
Run 5km

The Big Day
The day started over cast and breezy, 250 competitors were ready to go and I was in the 3rd Wave. The sea conditions were choppy with a strong current running from right to left across the beach. The marker was a simple case of swim out and back.

After watching wave 1 go in and subsequently get washed along the beach meaning they had to swim back against the current to get around the marker I planned to start a little further up the beach and swim out and use the current to carry me over.

As I looked around at all the other competitors I was the only one in my group wearing a "shorty wetsuit". Mistake on my behalf? I would soon find out.

When the klaxon sounded we rushed into the sea, gasped at the cold and got stuck in.
Once I got into the water I became more aware that actually the sea was fairly rough and getting half way to the marker seemed to take an eternity.

Its a funny thing racing in the sea, you are acutely aware of breathing while trying to avoid a mouthful of salty water and trying to maintain a good stroke. It was essential to "sight" frequently to check the location of the buoy all at the same times as trying to avoid being kicked in the face by those around.

After a good 5 minutes of swimming hard I became more aware of feelings of the need to survive and not just race. I admit, there was a moments fear and thought of "I don't think I can do this" before letting the thought go, telling myself to just keep going and soldiering on.

On reaching the marker the beach looked a long way back and we were now swimming diagonally against the current trying to get back to shore.

Half way back I could feel my hands and arms getting numb and had to really focus on the "scoop" of my front crawl stroke to ensure I was swimming as effectively as possible.

Eventually I made it to shore and saw I was in the lead group with many still behind.

The Transition to Bike
I was so glad to get out of the sea and trying to get the taste of salt water out of my mouth I ran back to my bike ready for the bike leg. The bike I was riding was an old mountain bike with road tyres, not ideal but would do the job. Once my trainers were on, helmet done up, number displayed on my back I ran with my bike and jumped on.

To get rid of the taste of salt in my mouth I took an energy gel, an act that was later cause me issue.

It seemed to take an eternity for my legs to get going, they were just so cold and hamstrings and glutes felt tight. The bike leg had a series of drags and flats heading out into a slight head wind and coming back with the wind slightly behind, not that I noticed!

One of the issues I found after the swim was my legs just felt totally pumped. I wanted them to "spin" they wanted to drive.........I lost several places quickly and it became apparent that the gearing on my bike (relatively small front chain ring compared to a road bike) combined with lack of tri bars meant I would be struggling all the way round - and struggle I did.

My mind kept telling me to just soft pedal for a short while, yet my heart kept telling me to dig deeper. 9 times out of 10 my heart won but sometimes it felt good, oh so good to just stop the pain and free wheel for a few metres.

During the bike ride I drank 750ml of energy drink which was my second big mistake. The energy gel at transition had brought more fluid into my stomach and I felt more thirsty. Thus I drank.......

The Transition Bike to Run and Finish!
By the time I finished the bike I couldn't wait to get to the end. I racked my bike and left transition starting to run. Legs felt like lead and after 500m or so I felt incredibly uncomfortable. My stomach felt bloated and full to the point that I couldn't breathe deeply. I thought to myself that I had drank far too much and was now paying the price. The run out to the first marker was 1250m and into a slight breeze. Running back was into the sun with no breeze - oh how the sweat rolled.

The run was by far the least enjoyable section but purely down to my own doings........had my stomach been less full and able to empty correctly it would have been a much smoother ride.



Was I pleased with the result?

Yes I was, as I had proved that kettlebell and bulgarian bag training can carry you a long way for a multi sport endurance based event if your aim is to complete such an event over relatively short distances.

For those looking to put in faster times there is no substitute for sports specific training.
I now have my sights set on next year. Kettlebells and bags will again feature as a key part of my preparation but I will also ensure I do more in the way of Swim, Bike, Run training, practice transitions from one event to the next and look at getting a better bike!

Lessons learned, forward I move............