Race report - 21K solo SwimRun @ Bewl Water

Well I did it... My first SwimRun event and first proper race for many years.

I was a little nervous but enjoyed the overall experience. Nice venue and well organised.

A little disappointed with the overall result - 3:16 finish and middle of the field effort, although I was probably unrealistic in my goals - the winner only just got in within 2:40, so tougher than I expected.

The good news was my swimming (normally my weaker discipline), which was quite decent. On many of the swims I was overtaking other swimmers, sometimes the athletes that had previously passed me on the run sections. My arms didn't feel too bad from using the paddles the entire route and the pull-buoy worked well.

The bad news were the runs (normally my stronger discipline), which were really quite poor. The first 1-2 shorter distances were OK but the longer 7K and 4K sections were pretty awful - I found myself walking on some sections and not just up the hills. I simply struggled running in the wetsuit and couldn't get my heart rate down (constantly in the 150-160 range). My legs were OK, as were my ankles (although a little stiff today) but I just didn't to have the energy. I don't think it was anything to do with going to hard at the start or nutrition but more about lack of training running in the wetsuit and the compression effect.

So what did I learn and what would I do differently - I would like to have another crack. Well, number one is to train more running in my wetsuit. I think I should also cut off the arms on the wetsuit to release a little of the upper-body compression and provide more air. Losing weight would have helped - less compression, better wetsuit fit and easier to run. Maybe better pacing strategy, subject to the course and longer run sections. Possibly the swims took more of my energy than I thought.

Anyway I am certainly glad I gave it a go, although it is getting harder to wing these races - I am no longer Ironman fit (and haven't been for a long time!). Note to self... you cannot wing races anymore so there is a greater need for quality and consistent training.

So I am going to give myself a couple of recovery days then will be back on it. My next race is the Bath half-marathon. I need to get in a couple of longer runs, hopefully no ankle issues, and would ideally like to be 1-2kg lighter to make my life easier.

Will keep you updated.