In the run-up to the race, I was riddled with doubts, had I trained enough? Would I make the swim and bike cut-offs? What if the mass swim start overwhelmed me? Or I had a mechanical on the bike, despite putting poor Willy Beans through three services just to be sure everything was perfect (and spotless)?
But deep down, I knew I’d done all I could, training, nutrition, hydration, prep, all in place. The night before, we racked the bikes, packed our transition bags, and got an early(ish) night.
Race Day
3:45am. Alarm. Grim. I forced down four spoons of porridge and half a banana, then made a peanut butter sandwich for transition and fuelled up with some chews and a gel.
The National Watersports Centre was buzzing. In transition, bags dropped, wetsuit zipped, and off to the swim start with nearly 900 others. The water looked calm, warm at 21.8°C, but the smell was very like Southport, very smelly, and the weeds were next level. Still, when the hooter sounded, elbows out, head down. I stuck to my rhythm and just swam. Ignored the chaos, dodged the drowning attempts, and powered through what felt like a shag pile carpet of weeds.
Coming out of the water in 1hr 28mins, a new PB! I was buzzing. Took my time in transition (a very leisurely 14 mins), fuelled up and hit the road.
The Bike
The plan? No red mist. Start steady. I settled in with a group riding a good pace, and soon met Debbie, who became my motivational shadow through 40 miles of cat-and-mouse. Things were going well (18.2mph average!) until cramp and backache hit. Lap two was tough. A quick stop for a gel and paracetamol helped, but hills triggered more cramp, so I eased off, spun the legs, and managed the pain. Lap three definitely felt better in terms of energy levels, but the cramp still remained. I could push it a little more on the flat but just not on the hills. Frustrating but not the end of the world as my aim had always been just to be able to finish whatever that looked like.
When I hit mile 111, I thought I was nearly home… but the signs kept coming, more turns, more pothole warnings, until finally, finally, at 113.5 miles, I reached the dismount line. I’d done it! My first full-distance Aquabike: 2.4-mile swim and 113.5-mile bike.
Donna was already tracking me (thank you, tracker app!), and I was ecstatic to hear my stats: swim in 1:28, bike at 16.1mph average. Absolutely delighted.
Post-Race Reflections
The weather had been perfect, mild, a brief shower, but nothing dramatic. Sharing the day with Julie and Michelle made it even more special, as it was a first for all of us.
And best of all? My daughter, Abi was so inspired tracking me, she’s decided to do it next year!
I’ve warned her, it takes months of graft in the pool, open water and on the bike as you can’t arrive on the start line for an event of that distance without having put in the miles, but if she’s in, I’ll happily line up again too.
Bring on 2026!
