Stirling Championship Duathlon and Age Group European and World Qualifier

James raced at Stirling at the weekend & here is our first race report of the year ......

 Now that the race is over I can honestly say it was great!

Lining up alongside Catriona Morrison and the other 'pros' was quite a treat! Even if that was the closest I got to them.
The day started with a little bit of a scare as my arrival at Stirling was delayed somewhat by those on-going roadworks and diversions around Stirling. But I still got there in plenty of time - unlike some.
So after registering and putting my gear together I headed off for the transition area. That was packed. Wider handlebars make for a neat fit of all those bikes. Bags and boxes were definately forbidden.
I was keen to try out my new aero-bars and their bespoke extensions. The saddle was 2 cm higher too, so a new set-up all round.
With porridge, cornflakes, an energy bar, and banana inside me I felt quite good. A short warm-up including a look at the 'hill' was all I needed.
I decided that pacing would be crucial, so set-off at a nice steady pace, completing each 2.5km lap in 12 minutes or so. Coming home bang on 49 minutes I felt the race was just beginning.
I set-off on the bike and had the benefit of a tail wind as I turned left out towards Alloa. The bike felt good as did I and I stepped up the cadence. The first 6 miles flew by and I turned two sharp lefts into the wind for the return journey. Ah THE WIND!! Gusting at 20 mph, head-on, it was tough. The aero-bars helped by forcing me into an aerodynamic position and I continued to make decent headway.
A second outbound section saw another fast 6 miles followed by another painful return. I resisted the temptation to get-off and knuckled down to get to the finish.
Coming back into the university after 1 hour 17 minutes I was glad it was over, had the wind not been blowing it would have been a very enjoyable ride.
All that was left was the 2 x 2.5km loops including the hill!!!
It's at this time that my brain had to force my legs to run uphill otherwise they simply wouldn't have moved.
A 13 minutes first lap and 12 minutes second lap saw me home in 2hrs 35 minutes and 27 seconds.
I was hoping for 2 hrs 45 mins and with 2 x 1m 30s transitions it was a pleasing first attempt at the full duathlon distance.
Now I'd better put in a few sessions in the pool ahead of Cupar!!

James