Windsor Tri by Ian Barter

Mitre Tri by Caroline Barter

What does one do on the hottest weekend of the year = so far?=20 Do what is possibly the hilliest triathlon in the south of England - the = Winchester to Salisbury Mitre Tri.

I was attracted the to Mitre = for=20 several reasons:
The bike and run sections are classic standard = distances,=20 but the swim is only 600m in a pool (great if you can't swim)
The = novelty of=20 doing an A to B event
A little nostalgia as my first student digs = were in=20 Winchester when I was at Art College there

So the morning of 13th = July=20 finally came. Due to the A to B nature of the event it made sense for = Ian to=20 come. Although buses were ferrying people, bikes and kit back and forth, = they=20 had to be pre-booked. So when Leah proudly announced she'd been sick = just an=20 hour before the off, and continued to be poorly, I thought the worst. = Would she=20 be fit to travel, could I do it alone, should I cancel? =

Fortunately Leah=20 perked up and we finally set off. I did, however, arrive too late to = have my=20 running kit transported to Salisbury. This was not too great a problem, = as I=20 tend to keep transitions to a minimum, and it's amazing what one can = carry on a=20 bike if you have to.

The swim was slow as usual (joint last = split).=20 However I did feel it was my best ever swim as it was rhythmic and I was = calm. I=20 did then get lost trying to find my way outside to T1, loosing 22 sec. = T1 was=20 longer than usual, as I slapped on the sun lotion to protect against the = blazing=20 sun which was now high in the sky with it being noon!

Finally I = mounted=20 the bike and looked forward to the 25 mile ride to Salisbury. I knew = that it=20 would be hilly to start with (the first mile of the route was on my old = bike=20 route to college) but something strange had happened over the last 20 = years.=20 Maybe, as a geologist, Eric could explain how the hills had increased to = such a=20 size in a relatively short space of time. There were NO flats, the whole = route=20 was up, up and down, with the first 10 miles being like the Alps. As we = neared=20 Salisbury the gradients reduced but still no flats were to be seen = (where was=20 Salisbury plain). Finally the spire of Salisbury Cathedral came into = view, and=20 after 1:29:40, which I felt was quite respectable under the = circumstances=20 (fastest womens' split 1:19:42) I entered T2.

Wouldn't a nice = flat fast 6=20 miles be nice to finish with? Yes it would, but instead we had more = hills. The=20 first 3 miles were 'undulating', before we hit the mile long hairpin = climb.=20 Fortunately there were water stations at both the bottom and top of this = monster. And finally what I had cycled 25 miles and run 4 miles for, a 2 = mile=20 down hill stretch to the finish after 2:43:35 of heat and = hills.

It=20 didn't break world records, but I was pleased with my time. It was not = just the=20 hilliest and hottest event I've done but also the longest. It was a = great=20 experience which I thoroughly enjoyed, and certainly a personal high = point on=20 which to take a short break from Triathlon. I will miss the sport = greatly as=20 they haven't hit Cyprus yet. Once we've sorted ourselves out we will = look to see=20 what is around and hopefully start competing again, although we will = have to=20 travel. We will also be leaving a bike here, so that we can take in the = odd=20 event when we're back in the UK. Although I've done my last Tri for a = while, I=20 do have one last Du @ Castlecoombe to look forward to. Hope to see you=20 there.

Regards Caroline