Weekender: North Yorkshire
When Sam Johnson decided to compete in his first-ever triathlon, he and wife Rose found their caravan the ideal base for a trip to the north
Sam Johnson heads north to Castle Howard to take part in his first-ever triathlon, and enjoy the scenery
BACK IN MARCH, I can only assume that I became very drunk. I can’t recall this happening, but I can think of no other reason why I – who got through two years of sixth-form college and three years of university without going to a single sports class – might suddenly have thought it a good idea to sign up for a triathlon in July, less than four months later. I was aware of two main reasons for choosing Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, as the venue, however. First, this event was to take place later than many similar ones at other locations. This left me some more time for training – and I was going to need every opportunity I could get. Second was the thought that if the effort did kill me, at least I would take my last breath looking at a great view! The Castle Howard triathlon is one of a series held throughout the year in castle grounds in England, Ireland and France. A range of distances are offered for people of varying athletic ability/ insanity (delete as applicable). I chose the ‘super sprint’ (the shortest), which comprised a 400m outdoor swim, a 23km cycle ride and a 4km run. These were distances I could just about complete individually. I had just never tried to put any of them together before. Over the next months, I kept up with my training and, with a week to go, I was feeling quite confident that even if I didn’t finish quickly I would at least finish.
Off to Yorkshire
However, with a day to go, and as I towed our caravan – red wine had also played a part in my buying that, come to think of it – towards Yorkshire, I realised that all of my confidence had evaporated and I was quite simply terrified. This tense, nervous state continued until the morning of the event – let’s just say, trying to eat breakfast proved pointless. On arriving for registration, it became clear to me that the Great Lake in front of Castle Howard, in which the swimming part of the race would take place, was a 450m uphill run away from the transition area, where our bikes would be waiting. The organisers had not mentioned this. No time to dwell on it, though, because
the time had come for me to struggle into a wetsuit, force a swimming cap onto my head and enter the lake to start the swim. The first problem was my beginner’s error in positioning myself in the middle of the crowd on the start line. The second was my decision to pause for a moment, to let the people in front of me start swimming without kicking me in the face, which just meant I got flattened by people starting behind me, instead. My third problem was that this year’s long, hot summer had caused the water level to fall by at least 30cm and the lake to become infested by algae. It felt like swimming through slime. But thankfully, it was a fairly short distance and I was pleased to discover that by maintaining a reasonably steady pace, I had enough energy left to overtake some competitors on the uphill run to transition.
On your bike
Now for the bike ride, and here I identified another flaw in my training regimen. Living in the Midlands means that ideal places for me to cycle are canal towpaths and dismantled railways, a common feature of which is their flatness. Yorkshire, though? It’s many things, but flat isn’t one of them. It turned out that there wasn’t a single part of the 14-mile route that wasn’t either uphill or down dale, and also that the final uphill climb was almost 3km long. But I stayed on the bike for the duration and returned to transition only slightly blinded by sweat. Finally, the run. The first 400m, back down the hill towards the lake, was quite comfortable. The next 1km or so stayed at a similar level and it seemed that perhaps we were on the most level piece of ground in Yorkshire. But then the course turned to the right, climbing up a rather steep embankment, and I experienced what I believe marathon runners call ‘hitting the wall’. Sweat gave up trickling down my forehead and started to pour continuously from every gland. My breathing became rapid and loud, and a muscle in my left knee began screaming in protest. “What, in the name of all that’s holy,” it seemed to be saying, “are you doing to me?” I gritted my teeth and resorted to part-running, part-walking and partstaggering, and I was quite amazed to find myself still going after a further 2km. Eventually, a pleasant man in a marshal’s vest told me, “Just 400m to go, and all downhill from here!” Annoyingly, though, he was not being completely truthful, and after a steep 200m descent, it became clear that the rest of the way to the finish was most definitely uphill again.
Over the finish line
My heart sank to the soles of my trainers, but I summoned a last burst of energy from who knows where and ran for the whole distance before collapsing over the finish line in pain, exhaustion, relief and, I will confess, a little bit of pride. It hadn’t been quick – my time of two hours and four minutes placed me 260th out of 299 finishers – but I had completed my first triathlon.the next couple of hours were spent walking – very slowly – around
Ideal places for me to cycle are canal towpaths and old railway lines, a common feature of which is their flatness
the beautiful grounds of Castle Howard, which have been wowing visitors ever since their creation in the early 18th century, and featured in the 1981 TV series and the 2008 film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. In the evening, we visited The Bay Horse in Burythorpe – which brews excellent real ale but doesn’t serve food on Saturday nights – and the Half Moon Inn at nearby Acklam, where the food is excellent, but the beer was less to my taste. Lavender fields The following day was spent exploring Yorkshire Lavender. From its humble beginnings with a few experimental rows some 24 years ago, the farm now has several hundred lavender varieties, which grow in swathes of white, blue, lilac and deep purple against the spectacular backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales. Lavender – as well as being photogenic – is widely used in scents, cooking and alternative therapies. A range of products, made using oil from the farm’s lavender, are available in the gift shop; we came away with lavender-flavoured marmalade. The farm also has a deer park, which adds a new dimension to the enjoyment. As we started our journey home, neither Rose nor I were in any doubt that we would return to this part of Yorkshire. We were fortunate to visit on a glorious summer weekend, but this is still one of the most beautiful places we’ve seen. Would I, however, attempt a triathlon again? Well, if I can be given a month or two for the memories of this one to fade, and then plied with red wine, I could perhaps be pursuaded... My other, more important reason for attempting a triathlon was to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, which has helped my family in recent years because they have been affected by dementia. This is a progressive, degenerative, incurable and ultimately terminal disease. Donations to the society can be made online at www.alzheimers.org.uk.