Race # 6 for Tri The World took place in Wimbleball National Park, Great Britain.
We had just enjoyed about 10 days off after our first European leg and were keen to get back at it. We knew from planning for this event that we would be in for some land travel after our 6hr flight into Heathrow, but were unsure as to the "how and where".
We arrived at the Ottawa Airport in just the right amount of time and settled in for the long flight over the pond. Given we were celebrating Heather's birthday in the air, we took advantage of the in flight service! After 3 movies and a bit of sleep, we touched down at Heathrow and began the journey to Porlock, UK.
We got to the rental place and climbed into our Vauxhall which was an up grade from what we ordered...one of the luckiest breaks we had. Now, if we could just master driving from the wrong side of the car AND on the wrong side of the road!
Remember the upgrade? This baby had GPS! Wow....if you ever head to the countryside of the UK, GET GPS!!!
Our drive to Porlock was about 360kms west of London. We headed out towards the west and took in all the scenery. We got our first taste of the high cost of living in the UK. We stopped for two English breakfasts and two bottles of water....$36.00 on the Visa!!!
We arrived in Porlock at the Ship Inn.
This was a 13th Century Inn that only had a few rooms and a pub. It was the closest place we could find to the race site which was only another 45 min away to the south. After a quick bite and of course one of the local beverages, it was off for a well deserved sleep.
Saturday:
It was race check-in and bike/bag drop off so we took off from Porlock early to head to Exmoor National Park and Lake Wimbleball. Now, this sounds like a simple concept, but we are talking about rural UK. This was a trip that I could not even imagine in my wildest dreams! We had Google maps AND GPS that took us the same way....down some country roads/paths that were hedge lined and so narrow that our side mirrors touched them at the same time.
We decided once we got to the race site that we would find an alternative way back to the hotel cuz on race day morning at 4:30AM, this would NOT be a great idea.
While we waited in line to check in our bikes and bags to transition, we were approached by a local triathlete who asked if we were "those two Canadians who were doing the 16 half’s". We STILL are not used to the notoriety we are receiving at some of the races. It is entirely welcomed as it makes us feel like we have friends everywhere. He heard about us through a New Zealand webcast that featured us as the "website of the week". It's working!
After we racked our bikes side-by-side, we hung around for the mandatory pre-race meeting. As we were being called to the meeting, the announcer had an accent that was certainly not local. I asked him where he was from...."a place called Vancouver" he says. I introduced myself and before I could say any more, he says "I saw you and your girlfriend registering and was trying to figure out what "Tri The World" was all about. So I gave him the low down and then abruptly took my seat. Sometimes being the motor mouth I am pays off. The meeting started in a unique way. Don Ryder, the announcer for the weekend, said that hey had some racers celebrating their birthday that day, so they wanted each birthday guy/gal to be acknowledged.
Well, when they came to me, I stood up and acknowledged my day and they completely stopped the entire briefing and said "Wait, wait wait...you guys gotta hear about theses two fellow Canadians". Don told the entire field about our journey as we stood and absorbed the competitors’ applause. As we were filing out of the tent and walked toward our car, it was shocking how many people approached us and chatted about TTW with us. We DID make it back to Porlock safely and called it an early night.
Race Day:
The alarm was set for 3:30am, as we had a good drive and a 6am start. Given our new driving route, getting there was no worries….all in one piece.
The Swim:
This was a race where we actually started at the same time...we have only seen one other race like that. We decided earlier that we would race this day as a team. So, down to the lake we go. The air was about 13 degrees with a water temp of 17 degrees. As we approached the water, we realized that our feet were indeed frozen BEFORE we touched the water. Gun went off, and in we went for a 1.9km swim in Lake Wimbleball. All went fairly well with the swim, but given the mass start, the fists and feet were flyin!!! Sighting was a bit of an issue given the rising sun and mist off the lake, but before you knew it, we were crawlin out of the lake and heading to transition. As we have said in other race reports, the presumption that all IM 70.3 races are mirrored but for the location, we were again proven WRONG. There was a 400m field run from the lake shore to the transition area....UPHILL!
The Ride:
Once in transition and yet another trip to the potty for Brian (his 4th tri since the start of the swim), we were off on the bike....named the course with "52 hills in 56 miles". This is a two loop course and yes indeed the hills were tough. However, equally difficult on race day was the road surface and weather....cold and rain! The surface shook our Blue's like they have never been shaken before. We had to stop twice to inspect the rides and tighten things up. When you are headed down a windy road at 55kph, you do not want your handlebars or bottle cages coming off! It was still very cool out, so feeling feet was an issue for the entire 56 miles. Heather wore leggings and her wind jacket and Brian opted for the wind vest and sleeves.
We had a bit of a surprise when we dismounted at the end of the bike. We had missed the cut off time by less than 2 minutes and were told to hand in our chips. We were completely puzzled by the head refs comments, but knew that our races are not about PB's or even finish times...its about suffering and being out there in order to get our message across....besides...those with Cancer or ABI don't just quit either!!! So after sharing a moment or two in transition, we grabbed out transition bags, dressed and headed out to the 3 loop run.
The Run:
As stated before, we were a tad surprised to hear that this 21km run included paved up hills, gravel downhills, bush trails and field sections, to be topped off by running across a huge dam! We started the run together, but Brian was clearly holding Heather back. We chatted for a bit and after some pushing, Heather took off with a ton of steam left. Where we parted was on a long 300m uphill. Brian legs seemed to come back shortly after that, but certainly not back to Heather’s speed. We both noted how many folks ran with us for a bit chatting about TTW...sharing kudos and stories. This was why we pushed on.
With Heather having run a solid half, she was done in 7:27:46. I was rounding the final corner after running what turned out to be a great half for me, hearing Don calling me in, finishing the day in 8:08:27. When we crossed the finish line, we were presented with our finishing medals...as according to rule makers, we did indeed finish the race!
6 down....10 to go!
Back in Porlock, with the bikes broken down at the race site and still packed in the car, it was a HOT bath that was at the top of our TO-DO list. With that done and a glass of red to accompany our Cheesy Doritos, we snacked and chilled until both of us slid into a "quick nap". Woken by a noise...which was probably Brian's belly YELLING for food, we got up and decided that a quick pizza from the pub down the street would suffice. Brian drew the short straw and ventured out. The pizza place quickly advised him that they were done serving pizza!!!! He walked back to the pub and begrudgedly asked for "pub fare", as it was better than nothing. He got nothing.....we had slept till 9:15 pm and the town was CLOSED!!!!! AGHH!!!!!!
We have never ended a 7-8hr day of competition with 2 glasses of red and a bag of DORITOS!!!!
The day after:
The first stop in the AM was just off the highway for a much needed FULL English breakfast...SWEET! Then it was back to Heathrow to catch our 1pm ride! Thanks to this dude who was some sorta VIP, our flight was delayed close to 2 hrs as he needed "secured airspace"....so we sat in our plane while this "George Bush" guy took off.....sheesh!
Back in Otown for some rest and actual training before we head to the west coast on July 4th for our race July 6th in Seattle.
This HAS TO BE by far the best race for TTW in the sense of PR. Its hard to enjoy it too much as you can not help but be reminded the true reason we are there and that those back home are suffering and not getting any of these "at-a-boys". It's our job to bring those back for those who deserve it. Word is spreading ALL around the races and the rest of the tri community....we could not be happier!!
6 down, 10 to go!!
Bman and Stella
www.TriTheWorld.ca
Not only are you on the wrong side of the car (how many times did you go to the wrong side of the car?) and the wrong side of the road, but the traffic circles go in the other direction and have a lot more lanes than ours do. We used to always say that any tourist that rents a car out of Heathrow is very brave - so kudos on your driving guts!
early and 
