What a way to wrap up 2023! Natasha Harris-White, the first HOT Tri member to race for the club and wearing our stand-out bright pink race suit, managed to finish 9th in AG at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland at the end of last season... and, you wouldn't believe it but, it was Natasha's first Triathlon season! Bravo!
Natasha was kind enough to write a race report for us:
"I qualified for the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Finland by winning my age group in my first 70.3 in Aix en Provence in May 2023. Initially my training concentrated on basic fitness in all 3 sports/mileage and training more off my hr. As Finland approached I worked hard to improve my swimming technique and bike power whilst maintaining running fitness.
As this was my first season, I felt that I went to Finland prepared, but in reality I had been so excited by this new sport that I had raced one too many times during the summer and was fatigued. I gave myself 4 days off before the race to try and combat the fatigue and on race day I knew that I had done as much as I could. Lake Vesijarvi looked beautiful and the swim was very straightforward. I was very excited to race in my new HOT TRI kit and really enjoyed the swim although I felt a bit flat energy wise. I finished the swim a bit slower than I would’ve liked at an average pace of 1:40/100m.
The bike was my favourite part of the race. The rolling non-technical course suited me, the scenery was lovely and the road surfaces were good. I cycled well and was only overtaken once. I finished the bike in a time of 2:25.21 36.95km/hr.
Unfortunately the run, which is usually my strength, was disappointing and I was extremely happy to finish. The course went around part of the lake and there was lots of support and the atmosphere was still amazing despite not being able to feel my legs. Run 4:15/km average.
I am happy with my top 10 in AG finish it was the best I could do on the day and I’m now looking forward to having some rest and hoping for a good solid block of winter training with the great group of athletes in Henley.
Swim- 32:20mins 1:40/100m
Bike- 2:25.21 36.95kph average
Run- 1:29.30 4:15/km
Overall- 4:34.17"
Epic! Well done Natasha! Just the sort of inspiration we all need during this cold and wet winter. Here's to next season!
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