Bedford Duathlon, 15 Mar 2020

I stood on the start line knowing that I probably hadn’t done enough training but I wanted to see if I could manage the 5k run, 20k bike and 2.5k run after my ankle injury. It felt like I have been out of training for ages but I was just happy to finish.

The first run felt good - it was really windy so was hard running into the wind but on the way back it felt so easy. The first run was 2 laps so I tried to pace myself so that I still had the energy for the bike. It was draft legal but I knew that I would probably have to do a lot of the bike by myself because my running wasn’t that strong compared to the other women. I came in off my run into transition and got my helmet and bike swiftly.

The cycle course was hard. It felt like a lot of it was head wind and the first section of the first lap I was out by myself. I pushed hard to try and get a good start on the bike. That first bit by myself though destroyed me. A small group of women went past and I tried to slot into the back of the group. I sat on the back of them for a little bit but when they changed leader they increased the pace and my legs could just not move fast enough to stick with them. I finished the rest of the first lap by myself. On the second lap going into the wind the same thing happened again - I tried to stay with the group that overtook me but my legs were getting tired. The third and fourth lap I did alone - the third lap I took a bit slower to try and save some energy. On the last lap I pushed myself, started to overtake a few people and I managed to get round a bit quicker.

Off the bike into transition 2 I managed to overtake some of the ladies. I went off onto the 2nd run with jelly legs. I wasn’t moving fast but I was moving. It was getting harder to run as I was tired but I managed to run the whole 2.5k with a sore ankle and tired legs.

Although this wasn’t my best race I know where I need to put in some more effort. I need to let my ankle heal and then I need to work on running off the bike and cycling into the wind.

Sasha Vail