The only date available to me was the final qualifier in Stockton, so no pressure.. With four slots up for grabs, ideally a top four finish in my age category was required, although due to the complex qualification system, sometimes a top 6 or 7 can also be enough to seal a spot at the championships.
So, 6 months on from that sunny day in Ibiza (seems like 6 weeks), i dug the time trial bike out and headed north for a rare solo race weekend away.
I entered Stockton way back in December to give myself a training focus through the winter, basking in the delight that all my training partners were prepping for spring marathons and i was not. Marathon training requires a fair commitment in terms of mileage, something I've always struggled with, plus I'd done London for the past three years and so fancied a different focus this year.
Despite repeated self reminders all winter, that the event was on the horizon, my brick sessions never happened, and my race bike lay in its post Ibiza bike box up until a week before Stockton!
At the other end of the scale, I was far too interested in racing on Zwift on my road bike, and doing probably a bit too much running. Ironically I'd done more running mileage this winter than any of my previous marathon winters, not so much in terms of long runs, but consistent daily running. I guess this was partly due to running with the guys who were doing some killer weekly mileage, but also because I had a grand experiment on the go to see if more road miles would result in faster running times. Every week since the new year, I've packed out a training week with plenty of 8 mile easy runs in addition to the key sessions.
So back to race week. A hastily bike rebuild and some new pedals was followed by a couple of sessions on Zwift 'assuming the position', followed by a local 10 mile time trial in race day kit. All went well, and i was pleasantly surprised with my time which was around 45 seconds faster than my usual time at this time of year. I wouldn't say flying, but race effort and breathing all felt fine, with possibly a slight wattage deficit as a counterbalance. Maybe Zwift had been worth it after all?
Roll back a few days and I ran a Parkrun at race effort followed by a longer recovery run a day later. On that recovery run, both knees felt very heavy, aching just below the kneecap. I'd had this pain before and just put it down to a heavy training load. A couple of days off had sorted it. The following day i ran 7 miles with the lads. The knee pain was worse. I almost stopped after 2 miles and should have, but after loosening up, decided to carry on. Bad move! The next day i was limping with the left outer kneecap throbbing with pain.
A day off followed by the time trial on the bike which involved some pain in the knee when pressing hard at the start, and a couple of easy running days, and the knee was not much better. Decision time. I spoke with the lads who said that the pain would be forgotten once the race starts, and so i decided to go. I'd already spent a fair amount of cash on the race, and it was the only chance to qualify for the Worlds. Even if it rendered me useless afterwards, phase one of the sporting year would then be complete with only Vyrnwy and Eryri as other races entered for 2019 which were not until September and October.
A short run on grass in the 3 day lead-up to Stockton was the only exercise, and the knee was a tad better. A short 6 hour drive did wonders for the joint, and i arrived at a lovely 9 week old hotel in plenty of time to catch a decent evening meal and lights out at a reasonable hour.
The hotel was bang in the middle of the race area, and I even had a Grandstand view of the start line from my huge fifth floor room. Nobody blinked an eyelid at me wheeling my bike through reception and into the lifts. Times have certainly changed.
My own race was the Standard distance duathlon, a 10km run, a 40k non-drafting bike, and finally a 5k run was not until 1pm meaning i had the morning off to relax, prepare and register with ease in plenty of time. I also watched the Sprint and Super-Sprint races to check out the entry and exit to transition - more about that later...
The knee felt bad, but better than it had done on the previous Monday, as i warmed up on the course. As the first 10k began, i decided to start slower than usual, just in case something popped!
Mile 1 was still the fastest of the day despite it feeling like half the field had sped off in front of me. What it did mean though was that i picked my way through the field as some others began to fade. My splits were pretty consistent with only one being slower than expected, mile 4 where i was in no mans land between groups. The knee pain did indeed fade just like James has said it would, but towards the end of the 10k, it reared its ugly head once more, not enough to put me off my stride or slow me down as i came in with an estimated 10k time of a low 37. T1 was pretty solid although a guy I'd spent ages catching in the 10k did get out ahead of me which was a bit frustrating.
I'd struggled in Ibiza with the first few k's of the bike as the legs adjusted and today was no different. With this experience, I didn't panic and just waited until the green light came on. The bike course was pretty special.. a 4 mile circuit which contained three U-turns and a fair few sharp roundabout turns was both challenging and enjoyable. It was better for technical & punchy riders like road racers rather than all-out time trial specialists. For that reason, the gaps between the stronger riders and the slower ones was not as big as they would normally be, in my opinion. I put myself in the slower rider category as some of the specialist TT guys passing me looked very sharp but could not take full advantage due to all the dead stops and tricky corners.
My bike leg ended up being ok, 4th in category, which was enough for a qualification place on its own. I held a solid pace, perhaps not as fast as i could maybe do later in the biking season, but its the same for everyone. It was also cold and windy - typical northern English weather. I raced in a skinsuit and was fine apart from fingers not really working properly in T2.
T2 was a disaster. I hadn't practised since Ibiza and had even forgotten the procedure. Feet out of shoes, on top of shoes and hop off the bike from a standing position on the pedals. I did the opposite. Foot out of one pedal, let show hand roadside down whilst turning cranks to opposite foot. Bike rattles in disagreement, eventually get other foot out and again hit the road with said shoe, correct all of this whilst totally missing the dismount line. Instant penalty. What would it be? 2 minutes was what i thought of, and so I racked my bike and headed out on the 5k run thinking that i may already be out of contention. It ended up only being 10 seconds thankfully.
The knee, having had time to seize up a little on the bike, was now hurting properly. I hobbled into the run and coupled with the usual 'duathlon shuffle', i was not in a great place. I looked up and saw a competitor i had again spent an age catching on the bike, pass me with ease in the early run stages. I used him as a gauge. He was faster than me, but not by much by now. My legs were coming to, and the knee has loosened up a little. My stride was back to normal. All systems go in terms of trying to peg back the guys ahead and also hold off some threats from behind.
The front guys were gone but i managed a final surge to creep home in 20.01 for 5k, which is not far off the norm for me in a final run duathlon 5k. Certainly work to do here as when i came to see the results, i had come 6th in category with the runs and transitions letting me down for a top four position rather than the bike!
I'll put that down to the knee and lack of brick training sessions. I felt sooo fresh in run 1, and was probably in 3rd or 4th place in my category at the time.
That evening as i drove home, i stopped for fuel half way and literally fell out of the car as my knee had swollen up massively. A guy at the next pump accused me of being drunk. I somehow managed to limp to the kiosk to pay, and at the time of writing one week after the race, i am still incapacitated with a semi swollen knee, nightly icing and lots of limping. Was it worth the sacrifice? We'll see when i get a diagnosis and when the qualification is announced for the 2020 Worlds.
It looks like my time will be good enough to earn a place on the team. Let's just hope that all the grinding metal hasn't ruined the knee beyond repair!
