Grafham Standard Aquabike, 16 Sep 2023

I'm writing this race report exactly a year after my hip replacement which was the 2nd major op of last year, having had my knee replaced 6 months before. Ten years ago, I first did a standard triathlon aged 50, also at Grafham (I came 2nd to last). I have come a long way since then.

The race bike had a face-lift whilst I was on holiday and has been converted to full TT bike on Tim’s recommendation, and I wanted to try it out. I was having a crisis of confidence leading up to race day. Having done my A race a few weeks before I was unsure whether I could perform. Seeing Tim and meeting Catenary team members Lupe and Becky before the race helped.

Rolling start swim isn't my favourite but the water was a nice temperature. Two laps of the course with an Aussie exit between. I got a bit close to one of the buoys and had to stop and get the rope off my neck. I ended up with 31 mins for the swim including exits which was about right.

Then possibly my worst transition of the season. The guy next to me knocked my stuff off my bike so I was scrabbling around looking for my glasses which threw me off. I managed the run to the mount line much better than previous races (and it was quite a long way) where I could only walk.

I set off on bike ready to get a bit of speed in before the steep sharp hill. I was thwarted by a caravan which was stuck behind a slower cyclist so had to ride a lot slower than I wanted for the first couple of km. After that I settled into riding as best I could. I overtook a lot of other riders and tried to keep to a sensible power output. The bike was riding OK although gears a bit rattly and I'm still getting used to the gear changing on the tri bars. After the turn round at St Neots it was harder work with a headwind, so the speed dropped off. The last hill was a real struggle, but I knew there wasn't far to go. Hubby and Tim were cheering me on just before the turn into transition. I was nearly done, bike shoes off and jog round to finish line. I was aiming for a time of 1 hour 10 but was slightly slower at 1 hour 13.

Hubby brought me coffee and I asked how I had done - "no idea " he says. I grabbed my phone to check the results page, and found I was the only lady back in Aquabike, so I had won!

It might be a low-key local event but I had never won before, so I was delighted. What a great end to a season that has totally and utterly exceeded expectation. Of course, I still want to swim and ride faster!

Julia Dolman