Eton Sprints ETU Qualifier, 14 May 2023

My first ever triathlon was here at Eton Dorney - it was especially memorable because I crashed when trying to dismount my bike. Hoping to avoid a re-run of that scenario, I went to the park and practised getting on my bike. And off again. And on again. And off. And on. And off. Just in case, you know?

It was a fresh morning - well really it was cold. After the inevitable last minute preparations and race briefing we got into the water and it did take my breath away. Once the klaxon sounded to start the race I was working hard enough to be nicely warm and avoid the face-freeze situation you can sometimes get when open water swimming. There were 66 people in my wave of under 40s women and after the chaos subsided I found myself in the top third so as I got out of the water I was aware I had a lot of work to do to make up some places.

With frozen feet my perfectly practised flying mount didn't go to plan: I got on the bike but my feet didn't go into my shoes! That part of the course was hidden from spectators behind the boathouse I'm glad to say. Channeling my frustration into the bike course I had a blast working together with a friend, Issy Rayner, to chase down some of the women further up the road. It was hard work but a lot of fun, and we caught the main pack after a couple of laps and then stuck with them after this.

After a wonderfully smooth flying dismount transition I set off on the run in a much better place. I'd taken time out of training this week with a cold so my aim was to run a respectable time without coughing up my guts. I'm glad to say I did - and even ran faster than planned while feeling very much in control. I'm looking forward to getting a bit closer to that red line in the next few races!

The highlight was having my Dad there to support me and chatting in the sunshine afterwards over an icecream was glorious!

Lizzie Fox