70.3

Ironman 70.3 World Championships 2024

Taupo in New Zealand and the 70.3 world championships marks the end of an era for me in triathlon and WOW was it great event to end on. The following wraps up a decade of training and competing, I hope you enjoy the story…

Final dance…

I stated this journey 10 years ago to lose some weight and get in shape. This evolved to trying to get to Kona and breaking 9 hours for an Ironman. Over those years I have had some great achievements, experiences as well as some lows in the form of injuries (broken back, broken clavicle, torn meniscus blah blah blah), COVID and simply not performing to the best of my ability. It’s the injuries that has been a real issue in recent times as I am now in the 50s and I need to take some time to strengthen up the body and let it heal from the years of wear and tear.

With that in mind the 70.3 world championship would be my last race. I had made the decision just before the European Champs in Tallinn, so wanted to try to get over the back issues so I could get some quality running in before the worlds.

“Chance favours the prepared mind”

Always makes me chuckle this old quote, it was from a misspent youth watching Steven Seagal movies. But in the case of triathlon, it could not be more apt. After 70.3 Tallinn and a shocking run due to little run training, I needed some time off to let the 3 herniated disks heal. So, I took 6 weeks of almost no running, and this allowed me to get back to run training for Taupo without any run pain.

After this I had almost 12 weeks of prep time and with my coach (Mark Pierce from ITT) had a good program to deliver me to Taupo in solid shape. After looking at the course the idea was to go in quite light in body weight as the course would have some long climbs at the start and end, with a total elevation of over 2000ft. The run was predicted to be flat and the weather about 17^oC. At least that was the prediction given this was the 1^st time this course had been ran at Taupo.

Come race day I had managed to get down to a pretty lean 68kg (See photo 1) and I was hoping this would release a good run and help on the bile if I can maintain the bike power from my heavier weight, which I did…Note: Don’t get caught up in the bodyweight game of thinking people are this lean all year. To keep this level of leanness means poor recovery from training and risk of illness. Those athletes trying to hold this type of shape probably have an eating disorder and over the long term are causing themselves some real issues. Of course, long course Ironman and similar ultra endurance events are a hiding place for such body dysmorphia.

12 weeks of solid training

At the start of the 12-week block ( a few weeks after Tallinn) the bike was in pretty good shape I just needed to lift the run and not get re-injured or set my back injury (slipped disks) off again. We held back the higher end run speed and looked to build threshold and add in the volume on long run day. I purposely also limited swimming to twice a week and max 3 times a week until I got into the last 4-6 weeks before the event.

Ely – half feeling good & Pain free

Come October I jumped into a half marathon but would not push harder than a 1.20 pace as was just a hard training day with no taper pre and post the event. On October 13^th I competed in the Ely half marathon. It was local event and covered my usual weekend long run route. The morning was freezing but was possible to park just a few hundred meters from the race start so as not to get too cold.

The race was fine, and I came 3^rd (in 1hr 21mins) with a very controlled effort and importantly no back pain. This would give me some confidence with 8 weeks before the worlds in Taupo.

Travel to NZ and final Prep.

My sister lives in New Zealand although in the South Island (Methven). She has been over there for about 15-years, so it was about time I visited right 😉 . I was really looking forwards to it, but we had some pretty tragic news of a close family member about a month before we left. So, it was touch and go if we would get there. Anyway, after some second opinions from specialists for the family situation, we decided to cut the holiday short by a week and be back to the UK for xmas. Although not what was planned at least I would get to go see my sis and do the race.

After the mega flights from London -> Dubai -> Sidney -> Christchurch-> drive to Methven it’s a pretty long trip.

What I will say is the Flight out was a nightmare as Emirates are total assholes. I had a video recording of booking the flights to make sure no other fees where due on the bike, but we still got hammered and they refused to watch the video footage I had with me. We had no choice to pay £400 for the bike cartridge out. Now given I have been taking my bike and competing internationally for 10 years, you would think I had seen everything. But the dick at the airport was a whole new level and the issue is now at the small claims court.

Anyway, back to the journey…Despite the usual precautions of a mask, no training a day before flight departure, upping the vits, 1^st defence etc a few rows forwards was a family with what sounded like whooping cough. Sure, enough next day after getting to NZ and the firsts night’s sleep I was ill. The day after that a temperature and chest infection. Lucky for me my sister is a GP, and I was pounding every drug going to try to be well for race day. To cut the story short I only missed 2 sessions of training in the run into the Worlds and come 4 days out was feeling good and as my nephew Oliver is pointing out I managed to get a tan and some wheels.

Me & Nephew post run!

The roads in NZ are as stated not smooth but also not full of potholes and in Methven the drivers where respectful and gave lots of room on the road. I also had some great trails and almost empty swimming pool to train in. Amazingly, there was a heat wave whilst there which made training very good prep for race day.

RACE MORNING

We travelled from Christchurch to Rotorua, which was £100s per person cheaper than trying to get a flight direct into Taupo. We simply got a hire car for the 2-days pre and 2 days post event to get to and back to the airport.

We had a great apartment in Taupo as it was just around the corner from the race venue. The registration and staff at the venue and indeed the whole event was the best I have been to. They were so helpful and just happy for what was an inflow of over 6000 athletes with their families. Estimates had total intake of people over race weekend to be between 20-25k. That’s a lot of bodies to swallow for a small town.

So, the day before the race and time to get the bike and gear all racked and packed.

As an oldie… race start was late (from memory I think about 9.50am) giving me lots of time to get to the race event although I still had to get the bike checked early as the pro’s started at 7.30am. Transition closed at 7.30am and the apartment was some 20mins walk from T2. Everything went smooth and by the numbers on the morning I was up some breakfast then on route to transition.

Almost go time – Lean mean tri machine!

Got to the transition and bike tyres needed very little air, loaded the bike nutrition and Garmin and attached the bike shoes then it was back to the apartment to grab a coffee and get down to transition for that pre-race swim warm-up. Whilst you could not get into the water near the course, not far along was a small section of water with some boats and myself and 3 others managed a quite spot to get in. After 10mins run I did a quick swim of circa 5-10mins.

Supporters at the ready…

ADVICE: I have never been able to translate pool to open water and had tried down more open water sessions, had tried more pool work and the key for bringing the swim time from pool to open water in 2024 was twofold. First, and most important get in that water before the swim, get you face in the water and grab the feel swimming in open water. Second, I tend to switch of in open water, so I started to swim with a tempo trainer in the cap. This allows me to at least make sure my arm turnover was on track but more importantly something to focus on. Whilst not every swim was close to the 30min mark (still 2 mins of pool times), over the season I was just much more consistent and closer to the 30 mins than 33-35mins mins in each event.

SWIM LEG

The swim start was the usual, self-seeded crush fest of which they released us in groups of 4 or 5. The water was a little choppy, but the course was simple (a rectangle), so very little thinking needed. The swim was uneventful, and I held nice easy stroke and just concentrated on maintaining good form and key is sighting.

Out of the mixer…

The water was busy with bodies and about halfway through the swim we were already picking up those from earlier age groups. Out of the water we had a huge transition; maybe 800m long including a bridge. Transitions especially T1 is also a weakness and again I wanted to get through as quick as possible. I had none of usual issues of finding the bike bag but did struggle finding the bike (what a dick) on fist effort as the place was still stacked with bikes. This lost me some time, time that in the end I could not afford to lose.

BIKE LEG

I had done the homework, and I use best bike split so had a good idea that at 230w would get me circa a 2.20 on what was a course with some undulations and climbs. The course was one you needed to pace correctly as not to destroy the legs or ease off too much on the flats. Most of all the poor road surface was going to make the ride slow. I had consider pushing another 15-20w higher but was concerned after walking some parts of the run the day before. These where some long drags and a pretty sharp climb just before the turn point back to Taupo. It’s always a choice on how much to give on the bike vs. the run. For me the run can be my weapon, but it depends on my back and like everyone – if you have the legs on the day. Given the training I believed a 1.25/1.27 was on the cards, so made the decision to back the run and hold back on the bike.

The bike ride was smooth going but you could feel the temp rising. The climbs and undulation kept the course honest. There was 2 draft groups made up of 6-10 athletes that past me over the course of the race with one cheeky enough to state jump on. Fucking grinds my gears but after all these years I try to ignore it and stick to my own headspace. I did see a few nabbed for drafting which cheered me up no end. Probably slightly under done with the fluid intake maybe by 500mls but not too bad. By the end of the bike, I had done 228w (3.4w/kg), so I had stuck to the plan almost to the watt. Time was 2.23 so quite close to the predictions of Best Bike Split. I would say looking at the power profile some time was lost over last 20mins, and this was down to a build-up of athletes making keeping distance and avoiding drafting risks.

RUN LEG

Got to the transition and felt pretty good, handed off the bike and to get the run bag and out onto the run. Was a solid transition and set off out on the run. Was pretty hot by this point and temp was in the high 20s (28-29oC). Started out at 4.10pace, which in my brain was conservative and was thinking if I felt good could pick it up in the last lap.

Into the fryer…

The course was 2 laps, and the 1^st lap had held about 4.15 pace, but this dropped of over the second lap as needed to make a few hydration stops (see attached 4 stops each loosing me about 30seconds a pop). Over, the course of the 1^st 10k the pace was 6.49/mile (4.14/k), which would have brought me in just under 1hr 30min (and as I found out later what would have given me a top 10) but the stops hurt the overall placing. I was simply too hot to push harder on the run and it took all I had to keep running coming in with a 1hr 33min half. Those stops and the few mins they lost me moved me outside of the top 10 – so a costly decision. But these are the decisions are what we all have to make, no aid breaks and risk popping and walking back or hope others are also getting fried and take the breaks to ensure no blow ups or cramps.

Conclusions

Overall, I was really satisfied with my race and although this was not an amazing time it was everything I had on the day, over a tough course with solid competition. It was the worlds of course so why expect anything less. I had a great experience, and it was time to call my time in triathlon quits, whilst still in love with the sport. Since hanging up the bike and swim cap I have been asked many times, why have you stopped racing especially since the last 2 seasons have shown great improvement with medals and being competitive at the sharp end of age group racing.

A happy ending…

This is easy one. I simply don’t have the time to put in more hours needed to get higher up at worlds and to guarantee the win at age group 70.3’s. I already train 10-12hrs a week and up that over last 4-6 weeks pre-event. I cannot do more hours than this as enjoy spending time with my family and have a busy business. Doing 14HRS + a week is just not possible for me. I would say most that have that time are either single, no kids or kids left home or semi-retired. The alternative is they have very unhappy relationships or taking important time away from raising their kids. That’s simply not me. I also don’t want me identity to be ‘Mark the triathlete’. I have other goals I want to achieve while my body lets me and doing the same thing year in year out for the next few years to do what? Get another AG medal, get a shot a podium at worlds, hope I don’t get injured etc etc.

Some takeaways from the last decade to help you in your training:

Get a coach. Ideally a good coach. This will save you time and cash if you’re really looking to excel in the sport. A coach worth their salt will ground you in the realities of whats achievable. You are not a pro and they will stop you racing your Ironman or 70.3 like you are. Remember, you’re a doing a solo time trial, consistent pacing, sticking to your prescribed pacing etc are all things a good coach will help you with. Over the decade I have had 3 coaches. Dr Garry Palmer (SportsTest). He taught me to run. Mark Livesey (xhale). He taught me to suffer on the bike and be mentally strong. Mark Pierce (Intelligent Triathlon). He put it all together. If any are reading, then I appreciate all your efforts in getting me to achieve some dreams.
Get a bike fit and learn to hold the position on a TT bike. Then refit and again work to hold the position. I worked with Matt Bottrill (Matt Bottrill Performance Coaching) his input made my speed for power significantly improved but only once I integrated the drills into training. I did my work on a turbo and then only a few weeks out from event on the road. Everyone will be different with some needing more time on the road to make sure they can do TT position outside as well as inside.
Do listen to the bull shit about nutrition. This 100g per hr of carbs is a joke and I see pros who should know better following the same shit. Most of the time because they won’t invest in a real nutritionist but are happy to spunk cash on a few tyres and bike parts every few months. Also, just because a brand is successful don’t believe they know anything about sports nutrition. They are in the business to sell you product. They will pick the science that fits their brand and that means more is better, the bullshit about hammering grams of sodium etc. These are fallacies.
Get best bike split. This will help you based on your real power out on the road of pest power from indoor testing have a good prediction of what you can do on any given course. Stick to the power profile you make before the race and/or have a backup in-case you’re having a bad day. Don’t think come race day you’re going to find 20 extra watts, or you will end up walking. Stick to your plan and in almost all case come the end of the run you will be finishing strong and those uber bikers will be walking. You’re doing a triathlon not a time trial on the bike.
Don’t try to beat your program. Some days you will feel great and other not so much. What’s important is consistency and sticking to the program. On a day you feel invincible remind yourself before you try to beat the watts, pace or reps in a program this is one day. Tomorrow, next week or a few weeks you may pay for overdoing a session. If your coach is watching and you are at the top end of sessions consistently then they will amend the program to adapt to your physical improvement. Stick to the plan.

I hope those few pointers are of some use as these gave me the biggest bank for my buck and buy following that template you can shave years of the journey.

Next for me is to strengthen my body with some weights then to maybe make a slow return to doing some running with half marathon and maybe a marathon…I will keep the blog updated as I make some decisions. I will also be posting a few blogs the first being my experience selling on BuyCycle!

Who doesn’t love a medal!

Thanks for tuning in and all the best with your own journey…

STATS:

SWIM: 30.58 (93^rd AG)

T1:5.44

BIKE:2.23.26 (12^TH AG)

T2:2.13

RUN: 1.33.41 (34^TH AG)

TOTAL: 4:36:00 (19^th AG)(1^st Brit)

70.3 Poznan – Qualifying for 2024 World Champs

It’s been a while since I have posted and like everyone work and life catches up with free time. However, after a nudge from a colleague who used a review to help prep for an event I realised there are some benefits in the written word as many move to video based reviews.

I am going to upload all the events done on the blog and times and try to get a brief review on each but today will talk about my latest even with was 70.3 Poznan.

Cutting down the distance!

My goal since getting into triathlon was 2 fold – sub 9 hour Ironman and /or making Kona by right (so not roll down but top 3 in AG race). I will upload about my last attempt at this at IM California 2022. To note the big issue in getting fast for the FULL Ironman means being able to find a big block to put away 150-200mile bike weeks for at least a month. For me with my currently personal and business commitments I simply don’t have that time. However, I do have the time to build the endurance needed for 70.3.

As such a focus for 2023 was to get in 70.3 shape and qualify for the worlds in 2024.

Running into 2023

After a few easy weeks post IM California (see blog on Cali + Covid) I wanted to start doing something so running was what I always enjoyed and to get my head back in the Endurance game some early season half marathon focus seemed to be a good direction. I signed up for a few races the ‘Brass Monkey’ in Yorkshire and my now local Cambridgeshire half.

I am and have been (as you will see when I update the last few comps) working with coach Mark Pearce from Intelligent Triathlon training and we have built a great relationship over the past few years. As an oldie it takes time to lear how best to work with a coach and importantly for them to understand how your body reacts with the time available and mindset. We put a lot of eggs into the Cali basket so this reset was really a toe in the water to see if I could get my head back into anything competitive.

Skip forwards a few months and I picked up in part sciatic pain and also piriformis syndrome (PS) which creates some issue with being able to push off in my case the left leg. The PS creates a numb feeling when it comes on and pretty much nothing you can do. But it was manageable and training went great. However, during both halfs it kicked off and I struggles to get down to 80mins, when on much less run specific training I was into the 1.17 halfs at Cambridgeshire just a year later. Despite no pay off we would push on with the some early season goals of the Graffman Middle distance triathlon and then the Outlaw holman.

Early season racing

The Grafman middle distance triathlon in June was the 1st foot back in the water and the results were not to bad despite a flat tyre and loosing 8-10mins on the bike. I ended up with a 4.37 but of that was a 30min:39sec swim, 2hr:33min bike and 1hr:28min run. Suggesting without the flat it would have been a pretty good race. Next up was Outlaw holkham which this year was national chaps. In 2022 I was 3rd in my AG so knew the course so was hoping for a OK race. The result was a 4:33:22 (32min swim, 2:25bike, 1.31run). Not a great day with 7th in AG but I would say a day with no drama but also no fireworks. Just felt a bit flat but it was another in the bank and a good block of training so time to step it up for next race 70.3 Poznan.

Poland here we come!

Although I have done 9 Ironman and many marathons and a lot of half marathons I have done in the scheme of things very few 70.3s outside of those in the UK. They have really just been used as training for IM full with the exception being 2 events in Samorin (Challenge Champs), 70.3 Swiz, and a half Challenge Salou. So I was looking forwards to the race and was in good shape in fact the lights I had been (68/69kg) and was injury free with even the back and the glute issues going into hiding.

We had a great build going into the race but on the week going out I had picked up some bug and had spent a few days with gut and poop issue. However, 3 days before we went out it had got out my system so really just needed to re-feed.

TRAVEL MADNESS

We where flying out of the UK the day before registration and we had a 3hr flight delay the result was we had no pre-paid car to pick up when we arrived as the rental office had closed. So we had to find a cab and we were lucky and ended up with a great driver. We had a great hotel (Saint Martin Residence by Y3 Hotels) that was pretty close to the centre but also just a walk away from registration. Despite not getting to the hotel until after 1pm and a mega day of travel we had arrived, and as we all want the bike was undamaged but would need to put it together in after registration and some work (Even this like many races are tagged onto what are business trips covering food law and regulations).

After registration at the expo centre in Poznan (the same place race finishes) we put the bike together then headed out to bike racking. In hindsight I wish I had put the run bag in straight after registration as after dropping the bike which was totally different place (some 30mins drive) we had then to come back to drop the run bag.

So after you arrive at the checkin just on the outskirts (yes you need a hire car in my view and makes race morning also much less stressful) there is a massive transition. With the exception of IM Mallorca this maybe the longest transition I have seen and all uphill when you get out of the swim (see pics above – That shows about a 3rd of the transition distance)

RACE DAY

Race morning was all good as start was about 9ish and we had already considered the route the day before. In essence you cannot pack in the same car park on the day of the event, which is some sort of outdoor hotel place. However, if you stop just a few hundred meters from the race start entrance you can park up on the side of the road. It’s pretty busy but enough spaces provided you get there say 30mins before your bike access closes.

At the venue there are facilities for coffee, good space for warm-up and toilets. There was also an 5i50 (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) event that set off before the 70.3 so gave a good view of swim route. Suggest bringing something to sit on and a some drinks etc as you’re sitting around with not many seats before race start. If it was a rainy day would have been a tough start so consider something warm and umbrella etc if its forecast rain (for us weather was perfect).

So I had racked and was ready. I had some gut problems again so had taken on little food on race morning but was here in Poznan so decided to roll the dice hoping gut issues that had been with me the week or so running into the race would go.

SWIM START

The swim was supposed to be by AG and self selected but it ended up being a free for all with groups in 6-8 getting released into the water. This was my 1st mistake of the day and I wish I had got into the start pen a good 5-10mins earlier but hey maybe they told everyone this in the race briefing which I did not attend due to the hectic pre-race drama.

Into the water and we were off. Felt pretty good and was hoping for a 30min swim but as always I never know how it’s going to be despite pool times saying I should be swimming 27mins easy. However, after my 30min swim at Grafman half a few months earlier I thought it would be a good one. Lots of bodies to pass due to late getting in the water but was pretty easy to sight and felt good all throughout the swim.

Out of the water was another 32min swim which I guess is just what it is but was ok with it as was no great swim but also no disaster. Off to the mega transition to grab the bike. I grabbed the bike and off out of transition. A tip here is don’t try to jump on the bike until you get past and just around the corner of the bike exit inflatable. Many tried on the bank up or on as soon at the inflatable and they were all over the place. Just after the inflatable was a mini downhill so you could get on the bike freewheel down and slip the feet into the shoes when ready.

Swim split: 32min (7th AG)

BIKE START

I was back from the main guys because of the dumb late start to the swim so had to work hard for 1st 15-20mins to get towards any riders close to exceeding 40kph on the bike. However, the roads were pretty good and by 20-30mins in much of the riding was solo and there was a good presence of draft busting motos. So where any mini-packs had appeared the moto did a great job of stopping the cheating draft packs.

By 40mins in I was settled and the gut issues had gone so finally managed to get a gel into me and some fluids. Watching the speed and 225/230w was keeping me above 40kph and was below 240w I was aiming for for the race so decided to hold at this and only push if below 40kph with the aim of saving a little more for the run knowing my feeling pre and early race was not optimal.

The rest of the bike was uneventful and I was feeling strong towards the end. I had for note made some changes before this race to bike set-up which included altered cockpit and also a bottle down the front of the tri-suit. I will say take care with the bottle. If the bottle is to large or you push to close to the front of the suit its worse aerodynamically from what I found in testing. I believe if it pulls open the front of the trisuit it turns it into a parachute. All in all the changes gave about 10-12w which is a big saving in what you need to put out to maintain the same speed.

Bike split: 2hr 12min (3rd AG)

All about the run!

As they say bike for show and run for dough..Well coming into T2 I could not find the bike must have burnt at least 90s here. I asked officials but zero help so in the end I just stuck it on a rail and then they decided to help by telling me not there. Eventually, I found it but was fuming at myself for such a school boy error. I had looked at where the bike was and even take a photo when I put in but just had a complete blank when I entered T2. I guess these things happen.

So out I shot fuming at wasted time. However, my run legs had shown up and I quickly settled into pace and after 1st lap the wife told me I was in 4th so I was motivated to keep after it. By the last of the 3 laps I was either 1st or 2nd according to the wife but you never know as people could still to be come in. I tried to push over last lap but felt some cramping kick in so had to hold back as I knew I was under fulled and hydrated and that was a recipe for a walk which can loose you time very quickly. I made it over the line in what looked like 4hrs 20mins a time a thought could win me or at least get me on the podium for AG.

Run Split: 1hr 26min (2nd AG)

QUALIFIED – 70.3 WORLDS

Come the end I walked away with a 4hr 20min overall race. I wasted a good few mins with mistakes and a slow swim so a 4.15 looks like what would be best outcome on a great day so its a nice starting position to come from.

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The final result was 2nd overall in my AG no doubt loosing the win with a sloppy transition but I was pretty happy as given the race numbers in my and others groups I was likely top 3 in the AG would be offered a place at the worlds.

We had to come back on the evening to see if we had a spot and like all world chaps you had to be ready to pay. I managed to got the 1st spot on offer for my AG as the guy who had won was a vet of the 70.3 racing and turned down his spot.

It was a great experience and just again gives some great lessons in a sport that you keep learning from (Get in front of swim, ensure you know transitions, fuel, fuel, fuel, and finally don’t try to out pace best training efforts).

This which I think maybe one of the very 1st options for qualifying was really useful as it allows then for a really open next 12 months to plan training, comps and also accommodation. I have a lot of business clients in NZ/AUS and been holding off going for some years so this will make for a great work an holiday trip and most of all to visit my sister who is based in NZ after many years.

What’s next?

Next up is a solid block of winter training with a bike specific focus and try not to put on too many lbs. I normally book in a few very early year half marathons to keep some focus but I need to get some scans done to see what’s going on with my back and glute as its still not 100% and will need to be to break the podium over in NZ. So thanks for taking the time of reading and I hope the blog provides some insight for those of you doing Poznan as it really was a great event especially if you don’t want another draft feast that much of IM events have now become. Have a great xmas and hope to see you on course in 2024

Challenge Salou 2019

Early season starter…

After a shit past 2 years with broken back then broken clavicle destroying the seasons it was good to get back to racing after a long recovery and winters training.

The goal was to qualify for the Challenge Championship and to play it safe on the efforts to not blow up. So some limits for the bike and run where put in place pre-event and other than a big mechanical I should have a safe ride into the top 5 to secure a place come June.

Fig 1. On the beach

PRE-RACE

We had an apartment close to the race start and that made for an easy time getting to and from registration and the event. It’s the key to a de-stressed race and if you can do it the closer to the race start the better. Post the bike unpack had a few issues with the stem but the mechanic at the expo fixed no problem (panic over). I was out a few days before the race and had some time to check out the road conditions and some parts of the course. However, come the race briefing it was all getting a bit messy with a change in the bike course (no 3 laps rather than 4) from the previous year the explanation at the briefing was a joke. No one had a clue what was going on or how it was all going to run on the day. Despite the concern the bike course on the day was pretty clear.

The day before the race the was to be an early morning organised swim of the course. However, the water was so choppy it was cancelled as they could not get the canoes out or to stay upright. The discussion was possible swim cancellation come race morning. At the race briefing we where told we would be informed by email over night or on the morning of the race.

RACE-DAY

The race start was 8.20am (that’s right a sleep in) so we set the alarm for 6.20 to get some food in and then to make our way to the race start. The transition was nicely organised and lots of space to get in and have a good check over the bikes and to look over race bags. Post bike check there was time to have a good warm-up running around the car park. However, one issue is very few toilets. Although I didn’t need them one of the guys I was sharing with did and it was a big wait, so anyone thinking of doing the event build this into your morning schedule.

8.10am and made my way to the AG start. The water did not look inviting and was very choppy. I though the start would have been a wave start so it was a shock when all athletes entered the water in one go.

THE SWIM [Time 36:48]

The start of the swim ended up a real push up there was the waves to contend with and then had my hat and goggles pulled of (the 1st for me). However, you just have to get on with it and plough on (advice – start on the left of the pack and get close to the right of the AG pen before the start as you get moved through a small gate down towards the water before the gun).

Fig 2. Out of the mixer less a cap but at least I managed to get goggles back on.

The swim was the shape of the letter ‘P’ and as you where due to tune back on yourself it was very very difficult to see the last buoy and this resulted on a pack of about 30-40 athletes swimming straight to the shore. The result would be at least curing of 300m from the swim. I email challenge about this and will see what happened to these athletes. However, for me I could not take the risk of a DQ and thus had to sit up in the water to spot the one but last buoy (more lost time). I found it but was hard swimming the opposite way from the pack heading to the beach.

Reaching the beach we could hear a whistle as athletes where getting out of the water up and down the sea front due to the swell.

Once up onto the beach I could see 35 mins had passed a good 6 mins of planned swim and a time that’s about a recovery swim for me. So was a bit stressed but had to stick to the bike plan and just refocused back in T1. Through transition was fine and out onto the bike.

THE BIKE [Time 2:29:39]

The idea was to hold 240-250w (np) over the whole bike so that I could run a low 1.20 Half marathon. This should have given me a 2hr 18min (ish) but was based on the old course and average wind conditions. The course was very windy with some long drags up the dual carriageway. Anyway stuck to the plan irrespective of the time with a slight mechanical being the only eventful negative (chain came off about 1min to slip back on).

Fig 3. Getting ready for the transition.

Desperate for a pee on the last lap of the bike but just could not go and given the deficit was not going to stop. By the run it wore off so was the right choice to push on.

The final watts where spot on 245w and legs felt fine defiantly undercooked, but that was the plan and was then hoping for a solid run.

THE RUN [Time 1:22:18]

It was starting to pick up in temp and the run was a 3 loop course with headwind on the way out. But felt strong and dialed into 3.50/km pace early on with only a few sloppy km’s when dodging the other runners out on course. Had a good run and could have pushed much more but the goal was no risks and snag a top 5 qualifying spot.

Fig 4. Getting hot on the run.

Crossing the line felt like I had lots in me and that was a great feeling. Grabbed the medal and back to apartment for shower and check my results before heading back to watch my flatmates finish out the day.

POST RACE [Overall Time 4:34:46]

Once back I could see I was second in AG and that meant the job was done without too much damage so I could be soon back into training.

Fig 5. Over the line time to chill

Overall a good race and well organised although the race briefing could have been done much better. Would defiantly advise getting out there a few days before the even to try out some of the bike course. Would also advise if possible (for us it was not) to also try out the swim. If it’s choppy given the mass start it can be a real washing machine at the start, but if you expect it you can position yourself at the start in a good position.

Fig 6. Thanks for the memories

Next stop ‘The Championship’ and to open up full effort on the bike and run…

Ironman 70.3 rapperswil-jona

The bike was tough and climbs long, with some lasting over a 7km and at places a 13% gradient.

Apologies for the delay in posting up this race report but work has been pretty hectic although that has not resulted in any reduction in the training. So back to race…

Switzerland…Always sounds beautiful but I had a shocker getting there. It was an very early flight out of the UK, so had to leave the house at about 3am – so everything packed and had airport parking at the terminal.

However, arrived in plenty of time but on route from the car park to the check-in desk, a few hundred meters I had dropped my wallet. PANICK stations. Its 5am surely no one would have picked it up and kept hold of it especially with only about £10 in there. But sure enough in the minutes of realising and going back to the car pack the wallet was gone and no one had handed one in. As you know the headache is the loss of all your cards.

I needed the wallet to pay for the bike check-in and of course no one was awake at that time to bail me out and I needed to cancel all my cards. That was the start of the day. Next one of the guys I was with was overweight for bike check-in so we had to try to sort his case and time was ticking.

Enough of the drama, we eventually made it to the hotel but could not check-in for a few hours so decided to put our bikes back together. One we checked in we would go for a ride to shake out the legs. Only 20mins out and there was a thunderstorm – it was so heavy we had hide under a garage from the lightening. Was someone trying to tell us something?

Next morning one of the guy’s bike was not right and an issue with the headset would mean no race start unless he could get it fixed. So needed to try and get the race mechanics to fix it. They could not so he was in search of another mechanic and that would mean wandering about in the 30oC sun for a few hours. Then just to add more insult later in the day for bike checking we had didn’t have all the bags we needed so had to do another 40mins round trip on the bikes to collect 2 empty bags from our hotel so we could rack the bikes. What crap race prep, lots of dehydration and stress all what you don’t need pre race day.

By the end of the day we had checked in and the bike was fixed, so we would all be racing the next morning. That left some panic re-hydration and not much time to sit with the feet up.

RACE MORNING

Race day was going to be hot peaking at >30+ oC, and as an old guy I would be going later in the day, but in our group we had age ranges from 21> up so we still needed to be at the race early. Race morning bike check and warm up all went great so a big relief.

The swim was wave starts and you self selected within your wave for time (I selected sub 30mins). My swim was just OK but again not fantastic at 31Mins. Not sure what’s going on with my open water swim in these early season races as not reflecting the improved pools times. But will keep at it and make the weekly outdoor session a regular thing from now until Kalmar.

Transition is longish but pretty straight forwards but I am typically sluggish on transitions and this one was no different where I was about 1min down from top age-groupers. Once onto the bike it was head down for what was going to be a tough race with climbs and the heat and also lots of early age groupers out on the course to get around.

CLIMBS & CRAMPS

The bike was tough and the climbs where long with some for sure lasting over a 7km stretch and at places 13% gradient. However, I paced it well and as planned just slightly under a NP of 240w with the aim of a strong low 1.20s half marathon run on the cards. My bike as a 2.33 and the T2 was also fine as usual.

bike

Off the bike felt pretty good then 1-2km at race pace (4min/km) in I got cramping in quads and hamstrings. This is very rare for me as pre-race prep and nutrition is normally on-point; so I can only put this down to all the time spent in the heat in the days leading up to race day. Unfortunately, the situation did not improve as the run progressed so it was a case of managing it by continuing with nutrition and keeping pace just under where the cramps would kick in.

Run

To be honest the run was brutal and ended up running the whole run with severe cramps. I knew if I stopped I would not be able to start again so just kept on at circa 4.25/4.30 pace. The only exceptions was at what is know as the ‘stairway to heaven’ a series of steps in the centre of town you have to climb twice during the run.

stairway

There are maybe 50/60 steps and when you have cramp that’s some painful shit. After the steps you have a slight downhill and that allowed me to force the legs to get going again and just grin and bare the pain.

70.3 SWISS

My run was a 1hr 32min, which was about 10mins short of where I should have been and would have given me around top 5 in the age group. But you have what you have on the day and I was proud of myself for pushing through when I could have so easily walked. I learned some good lessons from the race:

Make the day before the race a true rest day
Stay our of the heat
Make sure you hydrate and fuel pre-race
Always have another plan or 2 ready in case your day becomes a hard one.
Never give up. You can be surprised what you can put up with if mentally your willing to go all in and visit some mental suffering.

My 4.44 was almost 20mins slower than a 70.3 just a few weeks before but I was still pretty happy with the result as I had given my all. The only downside was what had I done to myself regarding recovery time. In the end these 70.3s are only sharpeners for my Ironman races, and there is the choice of how hard to push and how quick you can get back to solid IM sessions.

bite the lip

This was a good few weeks ago now and I am fully back into IM training in the UK heat wave. At the time of writing I have 5-6 weeks before IM Kalmar one of the A races for the year. Although I hate that term as when you toe the line of any race you should be giving your all – I see A/B/C race categorisation more about what sore of form your in at that point in the season than the importance of the race.

I can recommend IM 70.3 Switzerland to anyone it’s a real honest race and tough – you earn you post race goodies for sure and no one get over those climbs easy.

For me it’s back into the final few weeks of long bikes, brick sessions and some final dieting for Kalmar. I am really looking forward to the race and enter it in best shape since getting into this sport.

Whatever, your plans for the season I wish you the best!

MARKTALLONPHD.COM