I have three “A” races this year, Bristol Standard,
Wimbleball Half and Tenby Full. The idea was that I would target these to make
sure I tapered, arrived relaxed and ready to go. The last few weeks since
Bristol have been really busy with house moving, house decorating, Edinburgh, trying
not to get sacked, EU referendums (I’m not happy), and general life. My legs
have felt like shite the last week or so, I got cramp in the pool on Wednesday
night (again) and although a sports massage from Elly at uni sports centre helped a lot, my legs still feel rubbish. Wimbleball
has since been downgraded to, please let me finish, and use it as a trial run
for Tenby. That being said, I’d still like to do something like 30 swim, 3:30
bike and 2:00 run…. Watch this space.
The 18% hills are brutal so could finish me off.
One of my other uncles, Tony, reads this blog sometimes. He’s been getting into his Triathlon too and getting some pretty good race times. He sent me a picture of himself about to smash the swim!
Anyway, because of the busyness leading up to it, Friday before
the race was my only chance to give the bike a bit of maintenance. I planned to
put a new cassette on the bike so as to give me a fighting chance on some of
the hills - 18% fuck that without a granny gear. Unfortunately, before I removed the old
cassette I noticed that it had worn into the alloy hub. A bit of googling
reveals this is a pretty common problem and there wasn’t much I could do about
it now, fingers crossed it doesn’t all come to pieces as I ride round. I took
it for a quick spin up and down the cycle path and everything seemed ok. I managed to get my nutrition sorted by making a massive batch of tuna pasta salad along with some espresso to kick start race day!
 |
| Pre-race fueling |
I arrived at Wimbleball lake after an early start to the
day. I’d had a bit of a nightmare packing as I had to bring camping gear on top
of the usual tri-kit. In addition to this all my belongings are in a massive pile
in my bedroom following the house move. Finding something I need is not
straightforward. I did my usual pre-race check. Go to wetsuit, what’s
underneath, goggles swim cap. Good. Bike, ok bottles, food, tools, I’m changing
so top and bottoms, helmet, sunglasses, gloves, socks, arm-warmers and gilet
for the cold….I rode the bike so all good right…. Run, change of clothes,
running shoes, socks, gels and visor.
After I got my race licence, I really should have bought an annual one,
I received my bag of crap from Ironman, more to come on that, and went back to
pack my transition bags. It was at this point I realised I had forgotten my
bike shoes! Fuck! Major problem! I decided to drop my bags and bike and see if
I could find somewhere on site selling shoes, not the best idea new gear on
race day. But as it turns out they have everything but bike shoes for sale in Iron-land :( A long drive back to
Bristol, moan online then drive back to Wimbleball in time to wander down to the swim start 5 hours of extra driving. Note to self! Make a list and check it twice before Tenby!
 |
| Nothing like a hill to T1 although this is much nicer than Tenby. |
 |
| The calm lake before the storm. |
On a side note, I’m not sure I like the whole multiple bags
thing as it’s a bit of a pain in the arse. I’m not an “experienced” triathlete
by any stretch of the imagination, but seeing all your kit laid out next to
your bike makes it much easier to get a feel for transitions. I can see why
you’d need it in a point to point race but if you have a common transition
area? I’m not convinced. Neither by the requirement to rack the day before. I’m not sure
I’ll sign up to any more Ironman events in future as they’re not quite as an enjoyable
atmosphere as the smaller more local things I’ve entered this year and they burn big holes in your bank account.
 |
| Transition bagging |
To be fair, the location, in Exmore, and particularly around the lake is beautiful. I doubt the photos I’ve taken will do it justice. There was something
really nice about sitting somewhere quiet on your own and staring out at a
beautiful view before a race. Even if the Ironman roadshow going on behind you is not the
most peaceful of backgrounds. So that’s
the pre-race…. I wonder if my mood will have changed by tomorrow. Only one way
to find out.
 |
| My accommodation for the evening. Thanks Tim! |
Ironshite! Ironman really is a massive branding job that they use to justify the fees. I would at this point also point out how you can sell anything to a triathlete. They seem to have money to burn. One such example is the "
Triathlon Box" at £150 for a plastic box I think they really know their market. However, given my recent forgetfulness perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to judge!
 |
| A selection of overpriced Iron-Tat |
RACE DAY!
So time for 70.3 miles of fun. 1 lap of the swim, 2 laps of the bike, 3 laps of the run! How hard can it be?
I don't normally sleep that well before a race, but it was particularly bad in the tent. I didn't anticipate quite how cold it would get overnight and also getting up for a midnight piss meant marching across a dark field in the wet. I woke up at 4:30 as milling about started to get underway outside. As soon as I got up I realised just how cold I actually was and so I managed to get into the car to turn the heating on to warm up and stop the shivering. I tucked into my Weeatabix, Bannana Milk and cold espresso breakfast, this went down much easier than the attempt at porridge I normally make. Lesson #1 breakfast strategy.
Once I had defrosted a little I dragged myself over to set the bike up. Having forgotten to bring my shoes when registering, this meant attaching them to the bike and adding my food and drink for the day, I also realised I needed sunglasses and my headband for the bike so I tied these up to the TT bars. As I pissed around with the bike I got chatting to a guy racked opposite me. He'd forgotten his drinks bottles and so was attaching Lucozade bottles to his bike. At least I'm not the only one forgetting things. I went back to camp to drop off my pump and put my wetsuit on. Being half asleep I managed to get in back to front, but as I'd only done it up half way I didn't realise until I was in the starting area, so this meant getting swapped around in a bunch of people ready to race. Whoopse. Still I was at the back of the pack and the rolling waves meant I was at the 45 min point. I managed to shove through the crowd until I reached the back of the 32 min group. I wasn't going to get into the faster pen at this point and thought I'd be happy to just hang onto this bunch and take the swim easy.
We were off into the water at 7am and I settled into a fairly comfortable rhythm. There were quite a few people to draft off, but I was catching people up in front of me. Still, steady and easy, was the name of the game. I continued to overtake people but was getting a good draft most of the way. I wasn't right on anyone feet but I was picking my way up a stream of people clearing water ahead of me. I still wasn't pushing that hard and was being more cautious around the buoys than normal. The swim was pretty uneventful up until the last marker where I got hit in the head, pretty normal, but then a second punch (and I'm 100% it was a punch not a flailing arm) got me right in the left eye on the goggle. That hurt like hell, what a knob! So I powered off and they grab hold of my leg and pulls me back, then I feel them grab my wetsuit cord. What a dick....
I was out of the water in 30:40 by my watch much quicker than I thought given I never really pushed at any point, I'm pleased with my swimming so far this year particularly in the new wetsuit. This meant I was probably in with the competitive age groupers and might explain why I was getting so much agro at the end of the swim. Either way there was no need for that. I waddled out of the water and up the hill, but when I took my goggles off I couldn't see properly out of the eye that had taken a whack. Not what I needed. But off to T1 I jogged getting ready for a complete change. Lesson #2 - swim positioning is important, avoid wankers, and draft through the pack.
 |
| I wonder if my friendly swimmer is nearby? |
 |
| Feeling a little dazed after the boxing. |
It was a bit of a slog out to T1, but nothing as bad as Tenby where you have to run up the beach, up the cliff and then along the promenade. Unsurprisingly I was the only person getting properly changed in T1, but it did mean I had the changing room to myself. When I got to my bike it looked like it had been knocked over and I'd lost some of the water out of the front bottle over the front end. As I was putting my headband and sunglasses on, and unclipping my shoes, I got shouted at by the race official, for having my helmet off. I explained the situation and she begrudgingly accepted my story, but told me I should be wearing my helmet all the time. I know, I know. Lesson #3 - Better prep for Ironman Transitions, they are a different beast. Don't get DQed for something stupid. Transition time of 9:28 is not the fastest but it was a long run and a complete change.
I got into my bike gear and headed off for the first hill of the day. It was at this point I realised my bike computer wasn't giving me a heart rate or cadence reading. One of the buttons wasn't working either and it wouldn't leave the new ride screen. BAH! Why does this shit have to go wrong now. Eventually after much swearing and poking I got a speed and distance reading and was happy to have that. It turns out my cadence magnet has fallen off, yet another thing to add to the list of failures.
The course was hilly, very hilly. To be fair 95% of the course was manageable, the hills weren't too much of a slog though I was glad for the upgrade to 30 on the cassette. The trouble was the two super steep climbs. They must be 18%+ and then steeper on the inside of the bends. I was grinding in the easiest gears and quite a few people around me were just walking. I did my best to take them as easy as possible but it was inevitable to spike on these climbs. One particularly steep downhill was followed by a u-turn like left bend. Rules said no aerobars and no overtaking. Not fun with a bunch of people you don't know. One moron flew by me and nearly took out someone ahead of me on the bend. I think they've had a few bad accidents there before. One of the race officials shouted at them but I've no idea if anything came of it.I'd hoped to get somewhere between 3:15-3:30 on the bike but a lack of HR meant I probably was on the cautious side of things. I was getting passed by people on the climbs but on any flat or false flat I was pushing along at a decent rate without finding it that hard. I think if I'd gone for a flatter 70.3 I'd have been much more competitive on the bike. In the end I had 3:44.53 on my watch for the bike, not the best, but certainly not horrific. In hindsight I probably could have worked a little harder on some of the hills, but as a first 70.3 I wanted to make sure I had enough in me for the run. The photos don't really do justice to the fact I was on the TT bars for a lot of this race, fortunately there wasn't anyone taking pictures at the top of the two climbs as they would be horrific!
 |
| Cautious decent. |
 |
| Passing someone. |
 |
| Feeling comfortable on the TT bars for the "flats" |
I headed into T2 and another complete change into my running kit. This one was only 6:18 but still there was some faffing about that I need to rid myself of. The run was a cross country half marathon and although I knew it wasn't pancake flat I wasn't expecting it to be so hilly. The trails were in generally good condition, but there was pretty much zero even ground for the whole route. It was three laps and for the first one I plodded round slowly making sure I didn't overcook it. A recurring theme, the hills were horrific, one particular nasty one saw me walk up it every lap. There was no point even contemplating running up it. I was overtaken by what felt like quite a few people, but as it turns out I must have reeled them back in on the later laps as I was passing quite a few people. I was hoping for a sub 2:00 run which would be about 9 min/miles, but after the first lap I knew this was going to be a tough ask. The second lap felt easier and I felt like I really settled into a rhythm, but by the third my knee was starting to hurt and was struggling to pick up the pace. On the second lap I was over taken by someone on the horrific hill who was just about running up it, you can make them out in the back of the photos, we tracked round the rest of the lap together, but on the third and final lap we both walked the nasty hill together and commented on how ridiculous it was. He was struggling at this point, and by the time we'd come down the hill and reached the next turning point 1/2 mile or so along I'd put well over 400m into him. I was taking on alternating water and electrolytes on lap one, with a SIS gel every 30 mins, then I started on the pepsi and water, alternating with electrolytes. I found the pepsi went down a lot better with a mouth full of water to follow it. I realised I could have done with an extra gel on the run and this is something to think about for Tenby as I prefer the SIS isotonic ones I carried as they are much easier to get down than the cliff ones I used on the bike, Lesson #5 - run nutrition need my own and bring 1-2 extras. I managed to push on the final mile and caught up a few people who had over taken me, I even managed somewhat of a sprint finish towards the red-carpet. In the end my run came in at 2:07 giving me just under 10 min/miles but given the steep hills and tough going I doubt I could have run a fast (for me) stand-alone half anyway. I didn't feel completely ruined at the end and while the run was arduous, I never felt I was in complete and utter sufferland, although I'm not sure I could have gone much faster. Hopefully this bodes well for Tenby.
 |
| Turning is surprisingly difficult when tired. |
 |
| My hill buddy in the background. |
My total time was 6:38 this was towards the bottom end of my predictions, but not totally unexpected. Given the course I'm very happy with my time. I think had I fucked around a little less in T1 and T2 I could have shaved a good few minutes off. Then a little off the bike and it would have been under my 6:30 lower target. I'd predicted a 30+3:30+2:00, +Transitions, and I'm not too far away from achieving that.
 |
| Sprint Finish. |
 |
| Final few metres. |
 |
| Crossing the line. At least I wasn't stopping my watch! |
I spoke to a guy called Bryn after the race. I was sat staring at my pork sandwich and he was taking the piss saying "You need to eat it not just look at it". I'd downed a bottle of banana milk from my post-race bag and had a couple of bites but I wasn't keen to eat anything, very unusual for me. It turns out he's doing Tenby too, also for the first time. Maybe I'll see him there we finished in about the same time? It was good to chat to a few people post race and the atmosphere certainly seemed a lot less hostile than at the start of the swim. Perhaps its just those of us coming in at 6:30 knew we wouldn't be challenging for a age group place whereas at the swim a 30 min time puts me in with the competitive boys? It was really enjoyable and fortunately I wasn't so fucked when I crossed the line that the thought of doing double that seems impossible.
 |
| I got given a relay finishers shirt. Sad times! I did it all! |
Lessons learned:
Lesson #1 - breakfast strategy
Lesson #2 - swim positioning
Lesson #3 - better prep for Ironman Transitions
Lesson #4 - drive course,
Lesson #5 - run nutrition
