Sunderland Super Series, 3 Aug 2023
Standing on the Sunderland super series start line, I was full of nerves. I’m usually extremely chatty before a competition and excited by the buzz of a race but this time round I was wracked with anticipation. Mum turned to me ‘Lilly you’re going to be fine’ - apparently I’d gone white and looked like I was about to cry. The truth being, I probably was.
If you’d read my last report, I’d crashed at BUCS after what had already played out to be a pretty rocky start to the season. Thankfully the confidence and the power on the bike were still In a pretty intact condition. I’d spoken to Tim after the race and a little pep talk later meant I wasn’t about to let it set me back. However, I’ve been struggling with a torn rotator cuff since the accident, meaning that pool time had been limited. I felt pretty unprepared for the swim and this left me with an uneasy feeling before the race.
I stepped onto the start line, far left of the first buoy having had the lowest start number and hence last selection on the pontoon (beach). I looked at the positive in this moment. I only breath to the right, this meant I could see everyone in the race and get a good start. It also meant I had clear water and wouldn’t get bashed around too much as the swim arrowheads at the start. However the extra distance that I had to swim to get to the buoy became more evident the closer I got. I was very much in the mix for the first few hundred meters, and mum, who can tell my distinct stroke and sighting pattern from a mile off, agreed that the first part of the swim looked very promising and strong. Around the first buoy I started drifting further and further back within the group. I stayed calm and realised there wasn’t anything to gain by surpassing the red line trying to keep up, instead I kept the stroke long and strong into the shore. I came out of the water with a small group tucked in behind me. I wasn’t sure what the deficit was to the group further up the road but wanted to try and make up some time.
A slight cramp in my calf distracted me for as second as I mounted my bike, so I focused on spinning out the legs as I climbed the first hill away from the beach front. Then it was time for some power. The first dead turn on the course allowed me to clock the amount of work that needed to be done to catch the next group. Round the dead turn, I used the gradual incline to my advantage to work up to the next group. One group caught! I was working well with two other girls and we continued to rotate as a three. We had 7 laps and used each of these to catch a few more riders and simultaneously increase the gap with the riders behind us. The next lap came around and again the dead turn enabled us to assess the gap- yes we can do this, I thought to myself. And we did! One group after the other we worked our way up the road. Unfortunately the larger working packs up the front, who had some more senior athletes, were moving a bit quicker than us. I knew I had done the best I could considering where I’d finished the swim but would loved to have been in the mix with the stronger riders up front to show what I can really do on the bike where it’s a bit more noticeable!
On to the run. By this point I’d already achieved what I’d wanted to do for the race which was a strong bike using the hill and the long drag to make inroads and to come out with a group on the swim (although I’d like this to have been a tad quicker). I had two very simple aims for the run:
keep the breathing controlled and comfortable
work on the 70.3 pace I’ll be using for Ironman Weymouth in a few weeks time (hopefully!)
Although I had athletes passing me every few hundred meters I was not phased. It seems like an odd thing to do in a race, by not racing it. But my health was my priority in this Instance and finishing was all I had wanted as an outcome for this race. I knew after finishing the race I had a lot more left in the tank for the run. But there’s more races left in the season to show this. I considered this race a stepping stone in the right direction.
I left Sunderland feeling like I’d redeemed myself a bit. There’s plenty to work on but I proved to myself that I can still race to this level even if I can’t always put the best athlete version of myself on the start line! Hopefully this is the first race of a few good ones to come… next up 4 weeks back to back racing:
Eton Dorney Super Series
French Grand Prix div1
Mallory Park Super Series Final
Weymouth Ironman 70.3
Lilly Gibbs