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{"ID":146,"SpaceID":6,"PageID":60,"HasCommentsThread":false,"SeoTags":{"OpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"og:title","Name":"Cardiff Triathlon"},{"ID":"og:type","Name":"website"},{"ID":"og:url","Name":"https://www.petersfieldtriathlonclub.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NA24/Cardiff+Triathlon"}],"NonOpenGraphTags":[]},"Path":"Cardiff+Triathlon","Title":"Cardiff Triathlon","Author":{"ID":72,"Name":"Joshua Lahiri","CompanyName":null,"HasEmail":true},"Version":2,"IsDraft":false,"IsOldVersion":false,"PublicationDate":"24/02/2025 14:09","VersionDescription":"v2 - Joshua Lahiri","HideHeader":false,"IsFullWidth":false,"ThemeCode":null,"BackgroundColour":"rgb(182, 47, 61)","JumpLinks":[],"Blocks":[{"Columns":[{"Width":8,"WidthClasses":"col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12","Elements":[{"ID":876,"Type":"HTML","Content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eJuly, Summer is here (supposedly!) and the season is really starting to hot up with action across all distances and disciplines! This time out, its Julie Gadsden, Flying the flag for PTC at the Cardiff Triathlon, a qualifier for the 2025 Sprint World Championships!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI’d entered the Cardiff Sprint Triathlon when I’d thought I might fancy trying to get into the GB Age Group team for the 2025 World Championships. But then they announced that they would be in Australia, and there was no chance I was going that far to race (I went off long-haul travel during my working years). So I was left with the strange situation on the morning of Sunday 30 June of a race that wasn’t really important – and it’s years since I did a race that didn’t matter. So what would I do with this race? I could just try to enjoy it – but I had a better plan: enjoy the swim, take it easy on the bike, and then see if I could get a sub-34 minute 5k run which would put me in with a chance of getting into the 2025 GB Aquathlon age group team.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eThere was another challenge for this race: having recently been diagnosed with IBS it would be the first race on my new diet – would it work out; would I eat something that disagreed with me in the days preceding; would I be able to sleep; and what about nutrition on race day itself? It was going to be a bit of an experiment!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI’m glad to say that the day of the race dawned very overcast and slightly damp – ideal racing conditions for me, particularly as the women’s race start wasn’t until 1215. So race-day nutrition started with as much Premier Inn breakfast as I could manage. Then it was off to set up in transition and back to chill out in the hotel for an hour or so – with a couple of energy bars to top up the carbs. I’d met up with some age group friends and we walked over to the swim start and briefing. Cardiff is a lovely location for racing: swim in the harbour (surprisingly it’s fresh water), a closed-roads flat bike course with a couple of tight turns in each lap, and then a flat run out along the harbour wall and back. The swim was really nice, although quite a bit over the 750m distance. I just concentrated on my stroke technique (lots of rotation to compensate for my very immobile shoulders) and emerged in what turned out to be a good time.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI wasn’t going to rush in transition as my overall time really didn’t matter, but I was soon out on the bike course trying not to go too hard (which isn’t easy when you’re in the middle of a race). I tried focussing on dropping a gear and keeping the cadence high to give my legs a chance of surviving on the run. Being one of the oldest in the race I knew that I was going to end up last on the course and by the time I’d done three of the four bike laps I was being kept company by one of the motorbikes, with my closest competitor a couple of hundred metres ahead of me. I told myself it didn’t matter and that it was part of my race plan. The bike section was nice and then I was back to transition to get ready for the rather more important run. (I later found out that my bike time was the same as last year so I think this low gear, high cadence approach suits me.)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eAgain I took it easy getting my running shoes on, getting some water on board and having a puff of my asthma inhaler. Then it was a gentle jog across transition until I hit the timing mat. Now was the time to test myself. I wasn’t sure how it would go as I’d had many weeks over the winter and spring of not feeling 100% - would my training pay off; would my body respond? I’d promised myself I would not look at my watch as it wouldn’t help – and might be mortifying if I found I’d taken 20 minutes to get to the turnaround point at the end of the harbour wall. I just knew that I was at my limit and that was all I could do. All the rest of the field were either already over the finish line or working their way back along the return section of the run route. A few “well dones” were exchanged as I saw my friends going in the other direction heading for the finish and then my focus was on the turn point. Once round it at least I could now see the Millenium Centre which was right by the finish line. By the time I got to the part of the run around the back of the Centre I knew I was nearly there and could afford to push my breathing pattern beyond the sustainable level and do my best to push hard for the line. I knew I was last but what about my time? Last year I’d done 33:52 on the run – imagine my surprise when I looked at my watch for the first time as I pressed the stop button and saw the magic figures 31:39! Over two minutes faster than a year ago. The weather helped but my coach was the real star for the training programme he’d set me through the winter and spring – I think he had more faith in me than I had in myself.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eCollapsing over the finish line I was met by my fellow 70-74 age grouper who had finished a few minutes ahead of me – and the course photographer who insisted on taking a photo of three of us 70+ year olds for the official photographs. I was fourth in the age group (out of four of course) but was really pleased with my swim and run times. They might be enough to get me into the aquathlon team for the Europeans next year, but the rules are quite arcane and I may have been too far behind the winner even though I did get well inside the times they quote for qualification.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eWhat now? Onwards to Eton Dorney on the 13\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e to see if I can make the AG team for the 2025 European Sprint Triathlon Championships! Oh – and the diet did work out, so that gives me more confidence for the future.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","ContentConfig":{"Caption":null,"Icon":null,"IconColour":null,"CaptionColour":null,"UnderlineColour":null,"TextColour":null,"FontSize":null,"LineHeight":null,"RequiresLoggedInUser":false,"BottomMargin":0,"PaddingLeft":"0px","PaddingTop":"0px","PaddingRight":"0px","PaddingBottom":"0px","PhoneVisible":true,"TabletVisible":true,"DesktopVisible":true,"CssClass":null,"PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null},"ComponentCode":null,"ComponentError":null,"BottomMargin":"0px","PaddingLeft":"0px","PaddingTop":"0px","PaddingRight":"0px","PaddingBottom":"0px","CssClass":null,"ResponsiveClasses":"","PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null,"Background":{"Colour":null,"ImageURL":null,"Filter":null,"IsParallax":false,"Image":"","Tint":""},"ImageConfig":{"ImageURL":null,"ObjectFit":"contain","ImageHeight":null,"FrameStyle":null,"BorderRadius":null,"Caption":{"IsActive":false,"Text":null,"SubText":null,"Font":{"Size":null,"Colour":null},"SubFont":{"Size":null,"Colour":null},"Alignment":null,"Position":null,"Margin":null,"BackgroundColour":null,"Blur":false,"Hover":false},"AltText":null,"LinkURL":null,"BottomMargin":0,"PaddingLeft":"10px","PaddingTop":"10px","PaddingRight":"10px","PaddingBottom":"10px","PhoneVisible":true,"TabletVisible":true,"DesktopVisible":true,"CssClass":null,"PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null},"IgnoreCache":false}]},{"Width":4,"WidthClasses":"col-md-4 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