B is for Best Day Ever at Barony Park

Sometimes in life, you reach a point where you have to make a decision. Is it worth it? Could you live without it? These two conflicting questions have fried my brain over the last week or so, as on Tuesday I received the most horrible news ever, and the following day I was within maybe one second of ending up under a 4x4 in Ince Woods after some silly kid on a MTB leapt off the footpath and across the carriageway (the Honda hit him but luckily he missed me and no oncoming car collected the kid). You can sometimes wonder if it's all worth it in such situations, but the alternative stance is that doing what you do best, namely racing as best you can, suddenly becomes the most relevant thing in the world. And it was with this conviction that I headed off at 6:30am this morning for Round 9 of my 2015 race season at the Mornflake North West Classic Triathlon, held as ever at Barony Park in Nantwich. After a quick loo break in Christleton I arrived just before 8:30am to pick up my race number and have a good gander at a Fuji Norcom owned by one of the race directors, by that I mean a 2014 St Helens Red one with Di2. Both of us agreed that base bar Di2 shifters are a big plus, and more so on a rolling course like in Nantwich. With thoughts of "how do I justify four and a half grand for an electric-powered P3 or Storck Aero 2 Comp" ringing in my ears I set about assembling the race belt. That's because you have to use two numbers at UK Triathlon events, with numbers on front and back for both bike AND run. And of course, this was the soon-to-be-launched Chinook Race Days enterprise, feat. Rusty Pin Laden. That's right, I know I'm useless at putting pins on equipment efficiently but worse still, I got the rusty orange ones reserved for those of us whose luck really isn't in. But thereafter, I would enjoy the most memorable day's racing ever - and what a weekend to get it.

I didn't really travel well after shovelling down a bit too much breakfast and needed a pick-me-up, but I got it in the form of Chia Charge flapjacks. These badasses are over 350 calories each and I found some in that triathlon shop in Appley Bridge the other day (the main reason I went in was to enquire about bunkhouses for the Ulverston Triathlon on Easter Sunday next year, what was I saying about race day weekends away again) and it turns out this company sponsor an up-and-coming girl I did track sessions with (read; tried desperately to cling onto the back of) at Leigh Harriers a few years back when we shared their run session on a Monday night. The banana and sea salt flakes are great to taste, but of more interest is the use of the chia seeds - an excellent way to convert eaten food into energy. After all, who eats a whole box of Mornflake at 6am? With this powerful punch ready to launch me I went to the race briefing having just quizzed a Trek Speed Concept owner from the South Lakes about the Ulverston area. Turns out they know about as much as I do......Finally, at 10:03, the countdown began and I set off like a rocket with what felt like the energy of my whole family behind me.

My first few lengths were pretty trouble-free but I couldn't catch the Rochdale bloke who started 20 seconds earlier and in fact my first victim was accounted for halfway down Lane 2. This was just before the halfway mark where I ducked under the second rope and began Lane 3. Here, I got into quite an arm wrestle because I was rounding up my second victim just as someone coming the other way was completing a pass. Just as well it was arms and not heads clashing or my luck might well have run out a few days late, but upon saying "281" to the lady with the clipboard at the end of Lane 4 I was off to my bike shoes and running on them through T1. I was delighted to see I'd got a new 500m PB, as it turned out by 17 seconds, and after a methodical if rather steady T1 with the CATLIKE and number belt, I could set off through the cones for 13 miles of rolling roads.

My first victims were all on MTB's but in the mile approaching the infamous left-hand-turn from back in May, I rounded up the Manchester 100 sportive riders and two TT bikes, including Rochdale Man who obviously had a much better swim than me. He was dispatched swiftly and so was the left-hand turn where I was lucky not to end up under a bus last time. The westerly segment is usually the least eventful, but on this occasion I went to pass Fuji Man and landed squarely on a pothole. If that tube had gone down I think the sky would have fallen in on me, but to my amazement the power of latex proved unstoppable and I could set off from the next left-hand turn onto the southerly, headwind segment of the course, where the sportive riders were now coming the opposite way (there had already been a directional sign for them to turn off our route, who wants to draft a chaingang anyway) and the main hazards over the next few miles were the deteriorating road surface, an ambulance coming the other way and a cute kitten! Two overtakes I completed were particularly hairy; the first one was on Planet X Man just as he went past another, much slower, rider. Shortly after this I was passed by a Vauxhall Corsa just as I saw another rider ahead. The Corsa driver didn't seem to want to attempt a pass on this very slow moving cyclist and I'm not actually sure if this rider was even in the race, but I thought better of it and did a double pass on both of them.  Next up was the coned lane onto the A51 back to Nantwich which I missed during the May edition of this very race. This time, I kept it under control and, after picking off two more triathletes before the final double-roundabout I could dive for the finish line and shout "281" to the clipboard and go straight to my Asics Hyperspeed 6's in T2.

This changeover wasn't my best, indeed I think I really need to work on my running shoe change technique in time for Ulverston 2016 if I'm going to join Chris and Phil on the podium in South Cumbria (I assume you're both up for it?) but now all that remained was four laps of Barony Park. At this point I was already over the 46 minute mark and I didn't think I had a hope of beating my 1:06:09 from 2014 as the heat was now rising. But I did the first lap in under 5 minutes and, strangely, the raised aerobar position I adopted for the summer 10's really helped with my flexibility off the bike. After rounding up yet more slowcoaches ahead, I could start believing. I did enjoy a nice little duel with Chris Green's "little brother/body double" for a while on lap 3 but as he was number 230 he soon realised the game was up and I went past him too. Later on that lap someone who started much earlier than me pulled over, seemingly out of energy. I patted him on the back as I passed him and said "stick with it". Hopefully that gave him all he needed to get over the line, but for my part I was busy focusing on the pit straight where the final lap would begin, and at last I could think "no more grassy knoll to climb". Sure enough, I kicked out of the hairpin at the back of the course and quickly checked my watch. I was under 1:05 with just 250 metres to go, and on for an all-time Nantwich PB! So I roared past Trimarket Man (who sadly didn't offer me a swim coaching package or a cheap pair of Reynonds wheels as sponsorship) but with the crowd getting louder as the local favourites homed in on the finish line I fed off their energy just as my batteries threatened to run out and flew across the line in 1:05:46, a new course PB by 23 seconds!

I already knew this time would put me well up the rankings but what had already been an emotional day just sent me into near-hyperventilation when I checked the results board (after spending a couple of minutes sat down unable to move, reflecting on what I'd just pulled out of me). Not only was it a course PB, I was 8th overall, having blitzed the M30-34 division by 9 minutes and 23 seconds and I even set the fastest bike split of the entire day just two seconds ahead of the next quickest man! After all those times I had come third, then two second places this year most recently in Llanrwst (another one I'm busy researching bunkhouses for, watch this space travellers) I had somehow survived a terrible week, a near-death experience and THAT pothole on the bike course to achieve the prize I've always wanted. So I headed off to Enzo in the town centre for a spicy pepperoni PIZZA plus chocolate heaven cake and tropical cooler smoothie. An elderly couple even offered to look after my bike while I used the loo; I don't think either of them could have got their legs over the top tube somehow or I think Grandad would have rode off with it...... I then rode back to Race HQ, put the bike in the car and awaited the prize presentation, where I joined the other eight age group winners on the podium. Of particular note was the strength in depth among the young entrants, with the overall winner being just 19 years old and many young female swimmers outperforming even the best men in the pool. How about mixed doubles tandem team triathlons in Windermere one day? Thought so. After receiving my goody bag and paperweight which is now sitting on my worktop as the most precious thing in the house, I swapped photo duties with Matthew Crimes, a Scarab Tri member from Alderley Edge. Apparently he was at the 5:30 game last night and enjoyed it rather more than I did sipping on alcohol-free drinks in the pub, but today I was quite happy that a Manc got what he wanted as he received one of the top prizes from the supersprint race. Hopefully we'll race together again in the future. I slowly headed back to my car just as the on-site music system blasted out Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer (you just couldn't script this could you?) and I headed for home, stopping briefly at my favourite café in Claughton Village on the Wirral, where the owner was so impressed with my result that he even gave me an Oreo cookie milkshake for nowt! What a day it's been, and now comes the hard part; squeezing all the St Helens Triathlon results plus the Barony Park Blowout into 150 words for the paper..........

Now for the results, powered by Leah Peploe's choice, Chia Charge Flapjacks:

Distance: 500m/T1/20km/T2/5km
Time: 1:05:46, splits to follow
Final Position: 8th overall, 1st M30-34 by 9:23 and fastest bike split of the day
Cute Kittens: 1
Potholes: too many not just the one I landed in
People Overtaken in the pool: 2
Rusty Pins: 4
Best Moment of the Day (and year): The prize presentation as an age group champion!

REJECT OF THE RACE: Rusty Pin Laden
(Who would have thought you'd put more lube on RACE PINS than your actual chain?)

Time to plan a few autumn races as the leaves start to fall. Only five weeks to Helwith Bridge - no swimming required, and that pub does pizzas and real ale too. Go on, you know you want to!