Slight caveats to hopefully perk up @Poet
- IMUK was pretty much my first proper year of tri, I’d made some good improvements by time of Helvellyn, and borrowed a tri bike for it. Extra year of fitness and the tri bike and I’d have been in 5:59 bike shape by then.
- I don’t think Helvellyn shows the fitness difference between us - different weather conditions and from what I’ve read it sounds a bit like your heart just wasn’t in it that day.
- And from sound of things new IMUK is a bit quicker than 2019 course.
- I was quicker on the day than any recce and still conservative enough to run well.
- You’re sandbagging.
That said, you’re in the right ball park to not just assume that 6hrs is a standard “good” target time which was my perception before raceday. I underestimated how slow everyone else would be thinking my 6:30 estimate would be nowhere near competitive even with my swim-run. Still wonder if was one off slow year or if the course was genuinely that slow.
I don’t know Wales at all but I think most people who knew both seemed to think IMUK19 was a slightly (~10min) slower course once they’d ridden the Bolton course - very slow descents was the deceptive problem on paper just comparing elevations.