Grafman Middle Distance Triathlon, 6 Jun 2021

I am so proud to have completed my first middle distance race! My only aim was to finish the race so to win my age group was a bonus. The swim was a time trial start with an Aussie style exit which was great fun and I was really pleased with my time.

I had great fun on the bike, the first 75km flew by but I got a little carried away and went considerably faster than I had planned. Training round Hertfordshire made the undulating course seem fairly flat and I definitely used my climbing legs to my advantage. 75km into the bike I was starting to realise I had gone out too fast and my thoughts started turning to the half marathon I would have to complete.

The run was a struggle. I found a very slow rhythm and tried to settle in but at no point did I really feel like I was running. After almost two hours of "running" I finally crossed the finish line. My overall time was about what I was expecting but the split times were very different. So many lessons learnt and I can't wait to put them into practice next time.

Maddy Henderson