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After such a crazy week going into this race – with Wiggle shipping me a replacement Focus bike frame from the UK to the Caribbean in two days [more on that here] – I was extremely motivated to put it all on the line here in Nevis. I always love to race and race hard, so doing so and scoring my first pro win was all the more satisfying.

Brazilian Fernanda Keller, a 22-time Ironman World Championship finisher, was the woman to beat and, with no knowledge of what sort of shape she’d be in, my race plan was simple: swim hard, bike harder then just run – fast! I’m pleased to say the swim was a whole lot easier than last weekend’s 2.5mile Nevis to St Kitts race and in what seemed like no time, I was soon in T1 not too far behind Olivier Marceau. The bike course here is arguably one of the toughest I’ve ridden: it consists of three 30km loops around the island with a 10km mini-loop tagged on at the end. Don’t go thinking it’s some gentle ride with stunning scenery. Nope. Shortly after leaving T1 you head straight into a 15km climb which is nothing short of quad-zapping, lung busting hell. And you get to climb this delightful beast three times. Once over it, you then have a truly amazing descent where you can clock up 45-50mph without even thinking about it. The winds here make that all the more interesting (especially if you’re riding with deep section wheels on!).

With the heat and humidity bound to play a part, I had a robust nutrition strategy which I was diligent in sticking to. You can have all the fitness and conditioning in the world, but if your body is dehydrated and short of carbs and sodium, it just isn’t going to do what you ask of it. My High5 4:1 energy drink and High5 Isogels seemed to work well for me. I think this was one of the reasons why I felt reasonably OK going out of T2 [the word "reasonable" is used relatively here, of course!]. The bike course combined with the racing conditions meant the run was never going to be pretty, but on the whole, I was surprised at how good I felt. The three-lap run course had a little bit of everything: a stretch through town where the crowds were amazing, uphills, downhills, dirt tracks and trails (complete with a cow – livestock played an interesting part in this race!) and even a few hundred metres along the beach with the tide almost lapping up to your feet.

Running the final lap knowing I had almost certainly done enough to secure the win helped take the edge off some of the usual pain and it was superb running into the finish chute and charging through the finish tape. Now that’s something I could get used to time and again!

Athletes often say “I couldn’t have done it without X, Y or Z…” and one thing is certain in this case: if it hadn’t have been for Wiggle’s awesome support and service in sending me a replacement frame so speedily, I really wouldn’t be lying in my hammock today as TriStar Nevis female champ. Huge thanks once again to the Wiggle team.

I have a couple more days left here before returning to Blighty so I’ll be making the most of this beautiful island. It really is a unique place to train, race and relax. The people are extremely friendly and welcoming, the weather and scenery are amazing and the race – well, it goes down in my book as one of the toughest yet most fun events I’ve ever done. Slickly organised by TriStar and Winston Crooke’s local team, it has an atmosphere which events 10 times its size would do well to bottle and keep. And this was only the first year! As Big Arnie says, I’ll be back…

See you back in Blighty
EK