A cold morning woke me after camping over night for the bala triathlon, and may I say never again. Went with Barker and Smith on the Saturday, and went for a short bike ride and run which loosened up the legs.
Sunday Morning was cold at lake bala and the mist made the start delayed. 728 competitors took part in the event most trying to qualify for the European Championships 2010 in Ireland.

Once the Mist lifted it was perfect conditions for the race I came out of the water in 73rd position from my wave and was disappointed with my 24 minutes swim time.
The bike was a undulating out and back loop, with a slight tail wind going out and a head wind on the return leg. I managed to get my leg turning at a good pace and rhythm. I managed to enter Transitions 2 in 24th. After putting a bike time in of 56 minutes 41 seconds matching the top athletes.

The run followed the lake and was slightly over 10km I think I set off abit to quick as with 2 miles to go I began to suffer and I faded on the pace towards the end. The event was race excellent and their was good support from the local villages, its always nice to cycle and run on closed roads.
I managed to take the 1st Qualification spot for my age group (20-24) and came 2nd overall in my Age Group. Which means I have qualified for the 2010 European Championships which will be held in Athlon Ireland. Where my aim is top finish top 3 in age group.
I came 19th overall out of 728 starters
My times where:
1500 meters Swim: 24:42 (104th fastest)
40km bike: 56:41 (9th Fastest)
10.5km: 37:32 (18th fastest)
Overall Time: 2:00:25
The winner was Pro athlete Dann Brook from team Activinstinct.
Time: 1:51:37
Andy Mac x
Posted on
Sun, September 20, 2009
by Andy Mac