The Chocolate Box triathlon - Challenge Walchsee

Not sure you will ever find a prettier setting for a triathlon, nestling in a valley of the Tyrol mountains in Austria, lush green mountains all around. Picture perfect and so easy on the eye.

This was a "holiday race" for me really -  just happened to be on the way home from our summer break - and of course the other prerequisite that it was a proper bike course, none of this boring flat nonsense.  

Having been away for six weeks and not really done any training of note I wasn't really expecting miracles from this race - but nothing ventured, nothing gained etc.

Swim was in Lake Walchsee, the water is drinking water quality and lovely and the perfect temperature too. Yet again though I set off too hard and my heart race goes bonkers, spent the first few minutes trying to calm it all down. Total swim time for 1.9km 42 minutes, a little down on usual, only having swam once in the last two months could explain that one...

Bike was as ever a blast. All my previous races I had ridden the bike leg within myself, deliberately leaving something in the legs for the run. Here, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained... I decided to ride it pretty much to my limit. A tough-ish course, 1,100m of climb over its 90km, and the climbing was generally short and sharp, persistent rolling - not really my best terrain but as ever we sailed past a perpetual string of other riders, until I suffered the humble-pie moment of being lapped by the race leader... and then by most of the other male pro's.... But 2hr 54, happy with that for a proper bumpy course.

The run, well, I always say I am rubbish at running, but yet again relative to the other competitors it was my strongest discipline - go figure... swim I was 501st out of 900 ish, bike 423rd, run 395th... A run tinged with a little sadness when my girls shouted out that Lucy had had a tough day at the office - still, second place ain't none too shabby Lucy - still bought a tear to my eye though mid run - so so wanted Lucy to win. Sadness soon turned to happiness though, a 1/2 marathon run of 2hrs 5, a bit down on usual, the blat on the bike no doubt to blame for that -  finished in 5 hrs 49 - very very happy with that time on a challenging bike course -  and fab to be able to run across the line with two of my girlies. 

Onwards, upwards, Ironman Mallorca next stop. A few pics of the pretty pretty course: