GreenlightPT Race Reports
Have you completed a race and would like to share your story? Here is the place!
To feature simply email your race write up (with photos if possible!) to [email protected]
It would be great if we could get a broad spectrum of events from complete beginners to elites!
To feature simply email your race write up (with photos if possible!) to [email protected]
It would be great if we could get a broad spectrum of events from complete beginners to elites!
IRONMAN COPENHAGEN
BY NICOLE CLARKE
September 2016 and I had an itch that wouldn’t go away. Chivvied along by Steve Bonsell who also had a similar itch we both found ourselves entered into IM Copenhagen 2017 (we probably should have both just got some cream from the chemist!). It was 11 months away – plenty of time….
Fast forward to August and following a seemingly never-ending round of longs rides and runs I found myself on the start line of my very first Ironman, listening to AC/DC – Thunderstruck with Roberto and Noel (my GreenlightPT lane 4 swim buddies) and before I knew it, my group of 6 were watching the screen for our rolling start time.
I had a plan which I needed to stick to. Having never done an event like this before I wanted to make sure I finished - although I had a rough time in mind – I still needed to get round in one piece so I started the swim nice and steady. I reckoned I could go under the hour, but for today it was about completing the 3.8km without any fuss and as little effort as possible, which meant finding some feet – easier said than done! The small wave starts mean everyone is pretty strung out on the swim so not too many feet to choose from – often I'd find some only realise they were going too slowly and have to move on, similarly, some came past fast, I'd hang on for a bit then lose them. The swim course at Copenhagen is (in theory) quite simple – follow the length of the lagoon, under two bridges, turn around and come back the way you came, back past the start under another bridge, turn around and across to the finish. Somehow after the second bridge, before the first turnaround point I managed to spot the wrong buoy – merrily swimming towards it, along with a large group of others we suddenly had the company of a kayaker diverting us in the opposite direction - I looked up to realise I'd been heading for the second of two buoys – the first one was much further over and we must have swum a good 100m or so out of our way (note to self to study the swim course better in future!). The rest of the swim was reasonably uneventful apart from the turn around on the last bridge before home – the washing machine that normally occurs at the start – yup it came here as 100s of swimmers were crammed into a 2-3 metre wide channel, do a 180 degree turn and back through the narrow tunnel!
I reached swim exit and had a quick look at my watch - 1:02 – bit slower than I'd hoped but I hadn’t pushed it and considering the small diversion wasn’t too bad really. I found my bag and got my bike kit on ready for 112 miles on the bike. My T1 spot was on the first rack of my section flanked by a very steep ditch – carefully moving along the line I was surprised to see most of the bikes were still in transition – the benefit of being in the first wave – and grabbed my bike. I saw Iain through the fence, quick wave and I toddled off along the 100m or so to bike mount and I was off.
Fast forward to August and following a seemingly never-ending round of longs rides and runs I found myself on the start line of my very first Ironman, listening to AC/DC – Thunderstruck with Roberto and Noel (my GreenlightPT lane 4 swim buddies) and before I knew it, my group of 6 were watching the screen for our rolling start time.
I had a plan which I needed to stick to. Having never done an event like this before I wanted to make sure I finished - although I had a rough time in mind – I still needed to get round in one piece so I started the swim nice and steady. I reckoned I could go under the hour, but for today it was about completing the 3.8km without any fuss and as little effort as possible, which meant finding some feet – easier said than done! The small wave starts mean everyone is pretty strung out on the swim so not too many feet to choose from – often I'd find some only realise they were going too slowly and have to move on, similarly, some came past fast, I'd hang on for a bit then lose them. The swim course at Copenhagen is (in theory) quite simple – follow the length of the lagoon, under two bridges, turn around and come back the way you came, back past the start under another bridge, turn around and across to the finish. Somehow after the second bridge, before the first turnaround point I managed to spot the wrong buoy – merrily swimming towards it, along with a large group of others we suddenly had the company of a kayaker diverting us in the opposite direction - I looked up to realise I'd been heading for the second of two buoys – the first one was much further over and we must have swum a good 100m or so out of our way (note to self to study the swim course better in future!). The rest of the swim was reasonably uneventful apart from the turn around on the last bridge before home – the washing machine that normally occurs at the start – yup it came here as 100s of swimmers were crammed into a 2-3 metre wide channel, do a 180 degree turn and back through the narrow tunnel!
I reached swim exit and had a quick look at my watch - 1:02 – bit slower than I'd hoped but I hadn’t pushed it and considering the small diversion wasn’t too bad really. I found my bag and got my bike kit on ready for 112 miles on the bike. My T1 spot was on the first rack of my section flanked by a very steep ditch – carefully moving along the line I was surprised to see most of the bikes were still in transition – the benefit of being in the first wave – and grabbed my bike. I saw Iain through the fence, quick wave and I toddled off along the 100m or so to bike mount and I was off.
Anyone that trains with me knows I don’t really enjoy the bike leg. I don’t mind riding a bike as such, I’m just not very good at it and in races as I’m normally quite well placed after the swim, means I spend most of the bike leg getting passed - a lot! It makes me feel like I’m cycling through treacle as people don’t just gradually pass me, they hoof past as such a speed I may as well be standing on the side of the road! Within a few 100m of starting the bike leg this happened and to compound the issue, the plan for the bike was to ride to heart rate rather than speed in order to ensure my legs could still run a decent marathon. So not only was I been passed by every Tom, Dick and Anders, I was also cycling well under what I know I could ride. Luckily the route was rather nice so took my mind doing off the constant train of Cervelo’s passing by. The first 10km snaked from the beach at Amager Strand and back through the centre of Copenhagen. The city was dead at that time in the morning although a few hardy souls were out cheering us on. We quickly left the city and headed up the coast road. Pretty fast and flat with beautiful views across the bay. There were plenty of people out supporting along here which was nice. The sunshine we had for the start of the swim had by now disappeared and the sky was getting more and more gloomy.
We turned inland and bam – wind in your face – back to cycling in treacle again! Didn’t seem to matter which direction the road went there was a headwind! Soon after the rain started - just a short shower initially then the odd longer burst. The terrain also changed. The nice flat coast road was replaced with rolling roads, very much like home. You were going up or going down with not a lot of flat in-between! Towards the end of the first lap the only notable hill came into sight – I could see it in the distance along with hundreds of people lining the route up it. It looked like a sight out of the Tour de France! At the top was a rather manic MC yelling at us as we reached the crest of the hill and the feed station. The rest of the loop was rather uninspiring along urban dual carriageways with long drags – although still plenty of people out watching. The second loop started and I have to admit, I was struggling a bit. I had decided to not put any extra layers on for the bike and in just my tri-suit was starting to feel a bit cold with the constant showers and wind, psychologically I was now in new territory having never cycled further than 90km in a race before. I stuck to the plan and kept eating every 15 mins, and drinking regularly. The second loop was tough though – the weather had deteriorated quite a bit and as well as feeling cold, the niggle I’d felt on the side of my knee since the start of the bike was now starting to hurt, particularly on the hills – how do you injure yourself on the bike? I then started to worry about running the marathon with it. Twenty six miles is a long way with a gammy leg… The crowds on the bike route were amazing – as we worked our way through the various villages, residents who were effectively blocked in at home during the race set up chairs and tables on their drives and were having breakfast parties – I would have loved to have stopped to sample some of the cakes and pastries I could see as I passed them, but I fear, had I got off, I’d have probably not got back on again!
We turned inland and bam – wind in your face – back to cycling in treacle again! Didn’t seem to matter which direction the road went there was a headwind! Soon after the rain started - just a short shower initially then the odd longer burst. The terrain also changed. The nice flat coast road was replaced with rolling roads, very much like home. You were going up or going down with not a lot of flat in-between! Towards the end of the first lap the only notable hill came into sight – I could see it in the distance along with hundreds of people lining the route up it. It looked like a sight out of the Tour de France! At the top was a rather manic MC yelling at us as we reached the crest of the hill and the feed station. The rest of the loop was rather uninspiring along urban dual carriageways with long drags – although still plenty of people out watching. The second loop started and I have to admit, I was struggling a bit. I had decided to not put any extra layers on for the bike and in just my tri-suit was starting to feel a bit cold with the constant showers and wind, psychologically I was now in new territory having never cycled further than 90km in a race before. I stuck to the plan and kept eating every 15 mins, and drinking regularly. The second loop was tough though – the weather had deteriorated quite a bit and as well as feeling cold, the niggle I’d felt on the side of my knee since the start of the bike was now starting to hurt, particularly on the hills – how do you injure yourself on the bike? I then started to worry about running the marathon with it. Twenty six miles is a long way with a gammy leg… The crowds on the bike route were amazing – as we worked our way through the various villages, residents who were effectively blocked in at home during the race set up chairs and tables on their drives and were having breakfast parties – I would have loved to have stopped to sample some of the cakes and pastries I could see as I passed them, but I fear, had I got off, I’d have probably not got back on again!
Just before the final time up the big hill I heard a shout from behind from fellow GreenlightPT teammate Paul Carter who was having a considerably better bike leg than me. He passed me quickly and disappeared into the distance up the hill. The last 15 miles or so were pretty uneventful. I made sure I was hydrated and still eating as we left the main loop and headed back into Copenhagen. We passed a huge Tuborg monument – I could have done with one of those at that point – and it was probably about lunchtime to be fair! I turned a corner and saw runners, which could only mean T2 was imminent. The weather wasn’t nice now and the city roads with their white lines were looking lethal – it would be sods law I’d have an off now. I turned the corner at the top of the main square and headed down towards transition – I heard a shout from Iain as I passed and went down into the underground car park that had been transformed into T2. Thank goodness that was over (I’ll be quite happy if me and my bike don’t see each other for a while!) – I gave my bike to a catcher and jogged to the bag racks to find my kit. Bumped into Paul again and we had a quick chat – turned out we’d both got splitting headaches – we can only assume from our helmets – both of which were reasonably new – more practise needed…
I changed my soaking wet socks, wacked some calf guards on, grabbed my nutrition belt and was on my way up the ramp and out onto the marathon. First feed station was about 200m into the first lap and realised I needed to stop – I’d hydrated well on the bike! I came out and tried to get into a decent pace. Some of the course was cobbled and pretty busy in a couple of places – particularly where we ran around NyHavn but I managed to get into a bit of a groove and felt surprisingly ok. Rather meanly, they make you do half a loop before starting the four main loops so you end up passing the finishing chute early on – only another four times past here….the course was lined with spectators the whole way round which was a great boost and it was quite interesting – varied terrain, different views – apparently we passed the Little Mermaid (never saw it, had to go back the next day to check it out) – and a host of other famous Copenhagen sights. I walked through every feed station as per the plan and took on fuel and water. I probably took on too much water as I was having to stop at least once a lap which played havoc with trying to keep a decent pace going. Towards the end of the second lap I was struggling - I think I’d realised I’d only done about 18km and still had a long way to go. I’d started doing a few walks already which felt too soon to need to do that. I saw my husband and Team Bonsell and stopped. I can’t remember exactly what I said but it may have included some expletives and something to do with walking back to the hotel – after a bit of a pep talk I trudged off and got myself going again. I can’t really remember much of the run except it was hot and sunny, then it got windy, then there was a bit of thunder, then it poured, then it got sunny again and so on! There was a clock on the course near the start of each lap that said 6pm – I realised that I might just scrape under the 12 hour mark if I kept moving forward. As I passed the finish chute for the last time I seemed to get a second wind and off I went. I was feeling much better now (following a necessary stop) and felt like I was now running properly. The inclines I’d been walking up on earlier laps I now ran up. I route marched through the feed stations and felt like I was passing a fair few people. People always talk of band envy on IM runs and I now understand this – you receive a coloured band at the furthest point of the run each lap and the colour signified how many laps you’ve done. Red was the final band and I’d noticed those with the red bands for the last few laps, jealous that they had nearly finished, but now here I was, getting my red band – just 6km to go from here. I had couple of other little walking stops but I was moving forward. Last time round the bottom loop through NyHavn with the bars, past Wonder Woman still dancing and cheering at us as she had been all day long then round the theatre before home. I noticed a couple of chaps in front also had red bands and we’d been told in the race briefing to try to stagger your approach to the finish chute to give each other air time on the finish straight. I nipped round the first guy as he was shuffling and let the other chap get a bit ahead and slotted myself in between them I turned the corner onto the red carpet and saw the finish. I heard the famous ‘Nicole Clarke, you are an Ironman’ and just caught a glimpse of Iain and the gang as I went past. I could see the time and was chuffed to see it wasn’t just under 12 hours but a good 15 minutes – yes, I’d had my doubts at times that I could do this but I had done it, and with time to spare. I punched the air as I approached the finish and remembered to smile before crossing the line and stopping my watch (what I later learned is that the photos are taken after you cross the line) – I have a set of me looking down at my watch – I now understand why people end up doing another IM!
But, I’d finished, well within target and I was an Ironman – the man said so! My prize for finishing was a can of Tuborg beer – not sure I actually enjoyed it but it was something Iain promised he’d have for me at the finish. Bons finished soon after me (although ahead on time as he was in a later wave) and we celebrated together. We had a great time in Copenhagen – all the GreenlightPT squad came away with great times. The guys I’d travelled with all finished in one piece, some of them having to contend with truly horrific conditions on the run. I have to thank all of them for their camaraderie over the weekend and also in the lead up. We’ve swum together three times a week for months in preparation for this, the squad have been great with motivation and pep talks particularly when I fell ill the weekend before the race and had a bit of a wobble. My family have had to put up with me disappearing for whole weekends only to return and fall asleep on the sofa, but they supported me all of the way. And finally our GreenlightPT leader who coached me to complete this and came up with the race day plan that I actually managed to stick to and to prove it works produced the exact result he said it would – can’t argue with that! I’m still never speaking to Bons again though….!
I changed my soaking wet socks, wacked some calf guards on, grabbed my nutrition belt and was on my way up the ramp and out onto the marathon. First feed station was about 200m into the first lap and realised I needed to stop – I’d hydrated well on the bike! I came out and tried to get into a decent pace. Some of the course was cobbled and pretty busy in a couple of places – particularly where we ran around NyHavn but I managed to get into a bit of a groove and felt surprisingly ok. Rather meanly, they make you do half a loop before starting the four main loops so you end up passing the finishing chute early on – only another four times past here….the course was lined with spectators the whole way round which was a great boost and it was quite interesting – varied terrain, different views – apparently we passed the Little Mermaid (never saw it, had to go back the next day to check it out) – and a host of other famous Copenhagen sights. I walked through every feed station as per the plan and took on fuel and water. I probably took on too much water as I was having to stop at least once a lap which played havoc with trying to keep a decent pace going. Towards the end of the second lap I was struggling - I think I’d realised I’d only done about 18km and still had a long way to go. I’d started doing a few walks already which felt too soon to need to do that. I saw my husband and Team Bonsell and stopped. I can’t remember exactly what I said but it may have included some expletives and something to do with walking back to the hotel – after a bit of a pep talk I trudged off and got myself going again. I can’t really remember much of the run except it was hot and sunny, then it got windy, then there was a bit of thunder, then it poured, then it got sunny again and so on! There was a clock on the course near the start of each lap that said 6pm – I realised that I might just scrape under the 12 hour mark if I kept moving forward. As I passed the finish chute for the last time I seemed to get a second wind and off I went. I was feeling much better now (following a necessary stop) and felt like I was now running properly. The inclines I’d been walking up on earlier laps I now ran up. I route marched through the feed stations and felt like I was passing a fair few people. People always talk of band envy on IM runs and I now understand this – you receive a coloured band at the furthest point of the run each lap and the colour signified how many laps you’ve done. Red was the final band and I’d noticed those with the red bands for the last few laps, jealous that they had nearly finished, but now here I was, getting my red band – just 6km to go from here. I had couple of other little walking stops but I was moving forward. Last time round the bottom loop through NyHavn with the bars, past Wonder Woman still dancing and cheering at us as she had been all day long then round the theatre before home. I noticed a couple of chaps in front also had red bands and we’d been told in the race briefing to try to stagger your approach to the finish chute to give each other air time on the finish straight. I nipped round the first guy as he was shuffling and let the other chap get a bit ahead and slotted myself in between them I turned the corner onto the red carpet and saw the finish. I heard the famous ‘Nicole Clarke, you are an Ironman’ and just caught a glimpse of Iain and the gang as I went past. I could see the time and was chuffed to see it wasn’t just under 12 hours but a good 15 minutes – yes, I’d had my doubts at times that I could do this but I had done it, and with time to spare. I punched the air as I approached the finish and remembered to smile before crossing the line and stopping my watch (what I later learned is that the photos are taken after you cross the line) – I have a set of me looking down at my watch – I now understand why people end up doing another IM!
But, I’d finished, well within target and I was an Ironman – the man said so! My prize for finishing was a can of Tuborg beer – not sure I actually enjoyed it but it was something Iain promised he’d have for me at the finish. Bons finished soon after me (although ahead on time as he was in a later wave) and we celebrated together. We had a great time in Copenhagen – all the GreenlightPT squad came away with great times. The guys I’d travelled with all finished in one piece, some of them having to contend with truly horrific conditions on the run. I have to thank all of them for their camaraderie over the weekend and also in the lead up. We’ve swum together three times a week for months in preparation for this, the squad have been great with motivation and pep talks particularly when I fell ill the weekend before the race and had a bit of a wobble. My family have had to put up with me disappearing for whole weekends only to return and fall asleep on the sofa, but they supported me all of the way. And finally our GreenlightPT leader who coached me to complete this and came up with the race day plan that I actually managed to stick to and to prove it works produced the exact result he said it would – can’t argue with that! I’m still never speaking to Bons again though….!
IRONMAN KALMAR
BY Stuart Lessels
As I rounded the corner I could see the next feed station a few hundred metres ahead. It was now or never. I couldn’t run the whole marathon on just liquids? Something had upset my stomach on the first lap, the energy drink? the coke? and I had spent sometime in the porta-loo. Now on the second lap it was the time to try a gel. if I could open it and swallow it before the feed station I could then grab some water and run on. I put the gel to my lips and start to squeeze, with a mouth full of gooey nutrition I try and swallow, nope, I can’t, I’m not sure why, I try again, no, I retch and spit it out. I grab a cup of water but by the time I reach the end of the feed station I’m bent over watching the content of my stomach hit the floor. And there seems to be a lot of it, it goes on forever. Now my throat and nose hurt, I stand up reach for a cup of water, wash my mouth out and run on. A rousing cheer comes from the crowd around the feed station. That’s was one of the most uplifting things about Ironman Kalmar, the amazing support from the crowds, even when you are being sick.
Why Kalmar? A recommendation from a really nice guy I had met the previous year at Vichy, it had a flat bike course and a sea swim and it was likely to be much cooler than the middle of France at the height of summer.
Over the previous few days and weeks I had spent a lot of time thinking about my finishing time, too much time. It had been a year of up’s and downs and inconsistencies. Training had peaked over the last months and had left me tired, my legs felt slow and my body lethargic. My mind was focused and determined, but my body lacklustre. My daughter asked me a few days before the race if was I excited and looking forward to it. I honestly had to think about the answer, too much seemed to depend on my finish time. Slow time bad race, personal best good race. I felt a little foolish and silly, how could I have come this far, and put so much effort into the journey and not relish the challenge, savoir the day and enjoy the race?
There and then I decided to change my mindset, I trusted in my coach and my training, what will be will be. I would enjoy the day whatever it throws at me, and live in the moment.
Race day dawned quiet and still, much to my relief. Forecasts had suggested heavy rain and strong winds which would have made the sea swim a difficult one, even if this hadn’t been my first sea swim!
A few hours later and it’s 6:30 and I’m lined up with over 2500 other people in a long line nervously waiting to start the day. We are all bare footed, dressed in neoprene with a pink swim hat and goggles. The man next to me is tall, we both look a little nervous, this is his first Ironman. We listen to the Swedish national anthem in silence before the announcer introduces the professionals and they are set off on their race. Another song is played over the PA system, it’s in Swedish, the man next to me translates, apparently the lyrics are about feeling strong and confident, we look at each other and there is a mutual understanding that neither of us are.
I’m near the back of this long line as I’m not a strong swimmer, and we slowly shuffle forward to enter the water. I know I had made a resolution to ‘live in the moment’ but I can’t feeling slightly apprehensive as I get closer to the water. How cold is it going to be? I heard some mention of jelly fish? what if I’m sea sick?
Why Kalmar? A recommendation from a really nice guy I had met the previous year at Vichy, it had a flat bike course and a sea swim and it was likely to be much cooler than the middle of France at the height of summer.
Over the previous few days and weeks I had spent a lot of time thinking about my finishing time, too much time. It had been a year of up’s and downs and inconsistencies. Training had peaked over the last months and had left me tired, my legs felt slow and my body lethargic. My mind was focused and determined, but my body lacklustre. My daughter asked me a few days before the race if was I excited and looking forward to it. I honestly had to think about the answer, too much seemed to depend on my finish time. Slow time bad race, personal best good race. I felt a little foolish and silly, how could I have come this far, and put so much effort into the journey and not relish the challenge, savoir the day and enjoy the race?
There and then I decided to change my mindset, I trusted in my coach and my training, what will be will be. I would enjoy the day whatever it throws at me, and live in the moment.
Race day dawned quiet and still, much to my relief. Forecasts had suggested heavy rain and strong winds which would have made the sea swim a difficult one, even if this hadn’t been my first sea swim!
A few hours later and it’s 6:30 and I’m lined up with over 2500 other people in a long line nervously waiting to start the day. We are all bare footed, dressed in neoprene with a pink swim hat and goggles. The man next to me is tall, we both look a little nervous, this is his first Ironman. We listen to the Swedish national anthem in silence before the announcer introduces the professionals and they are set off on their race. Another song is played over the PA system, it’s in Swedish, the man next to me translates, apparently the lyrics are about feeling strong and confident, we look at each other and there is a mutual understanding that neither of us are.
I’m near the back of this long line as I’m not a strong swimmer, and we slowly shuffle forward to enter the water. I know I had made a resolution to ‘live in the moment’ but I can’t feeling slightly apprehensive as I get closer to the water. How cold is it going to be? I heard some mention of jelly fish? what if I’m sea sick?
As I enter the water I concentrate and focus, I try and keep my swim stroke long and relax. Breath, breath, sight, look for the next buoy, breath, breath sight. Actually you know what? the Baltic sea is pretty warm, I can’t see any jelly fish and there aren’t that many people over taking me, I think I might be enjoying this, yes I am! Its a long swim so let’s not get carried away, but so far so good.
We turn back to land and swim close to the harbour wall, it’s lined with spectators for the remaining mile. Every second breath I can see them looking down, I wonder what they are thinking? Can they see I’m not a great swimmer? of course not they don’t even care, I’m just a nondescript figure in a wetsuit and a pink swim cap surrounded by thousands of others. I’m not sure why thoughts like that spring into my mind at the strangest times. Concentrate and focus, keep my swim stroke long and relax. Breath, breath, sight, breath, breath, sight.
As I round the corner I can see the exit of the swim a few hundred metres ahead, a quick look at my watch tells me I’m ahead of my predicted pace, I’m surprised at how good I’m feeling.
Out of the water up the ramp and into the hustle and bustle of transition one. I know exactly where my bag is containing my bike gear. I’ve spent time visualising the transitions and then walking through them a day before the race, many times. Out of the water, extreme left, half a dozen bags up, number 2374, wetsuit off, hand towel, first Oreo, socks on, cycling shoes on , second Oreo, food into bum bag, helmet on, stuff wetsuit into bag, drop bag into drop zone, run/walk to bike in row Q half way down exactly opposite changing tent. Boom! sorted.
180km on the bike to go. That’s a relatively long way and will take me a while to cycle so there is plenty of time to think. Plenty of time for things to go wrong and plenty of things to go right.
The most Important thing is to eat, hydrate and not to get carried away. Some people pass me and I pass others. As they pass I look at their race number. The higher the number the older the person. I’m 2374, there are 2584 racers, you do the maths.
The countryside is flat and windy, and interspersed with pretty farms and cottages. Sat outside nearly everyone I pass are people, clapping and cheering in Swedish. Some have drums, some have tambourines, some have flags and banners. When I passed through villages it seemed as though the whole village is out standing by the road side cheering the competitors on.
I keep glancing at my watch and although I’m still up on my predicted pace my legs feel fine. Every so often I sit up eat something, stretch my legs and back, then get back into the aero tuck position.
The kilometres pass quickly.
I’m ow heading back into Kalmar, the roads are getting wider and smoother. As I get closer into town I can see some of the professionals out on the run and boy they look good, they look fast.
Into transition two and I’m feeling pleased with myself, the day is going ok, the sun is out, the people are cheering and another rehearsed transition goes smoothly, change of socks, running shoes on, race number on, two more Oreo’s, grab my soft bottle filled with flat coke, and off I go.
Now this will be interesting, how do my legs feel? you know what? not bad, my legs are tired for sure but no more than on a long training run. I know I shouldn’t be thinking about it but this could be a good time.
Maybe it’s just the adrenaline from the cheering crowds in the centre of town, they are two or three deep in places. They line the run course as I zig zag through the cobbled streets in the town centre before I head north parallel to the sea.
I can’t believe how loud they are cheering until I realise the leader of the race is just behind me, he passes me and the crowd goes wild. He is just finishing his race as I am just starting my marathon.
I keep checking my watch, I’m running too fast, the excitement is getting to me, I’m feeling good but it’s a long way to the finish. I need to slow down and conserve my energy. I’m amazed by all the people on the route, even out of town they are everywhere, cheering and shouting. There are families having picnics, supporters with banners, there are even marquees with live music.
Half way around the first lap of three my stomach starts to rumble. The crowds and music are a great distraction but I’m not sure how much longer I can ignore it. I keep drinking from my bottle, and fill it up at each feed station alternatively with energy drink, coke and water. I make a decision at the next feed station I will make a quick pit stop in the portaloo. I pull on the plastic door handle hold my breath and try to get in and out as quick as possible. But i’m in there for longer than I want to be, things aren’t good. The run is my thing. It’s where I feel most comfortable. I’m disappointed that things seem not to be going well but I remember it’s about the day and not the time. I try and bring myself back into the moment, look around, soak in the atmosphere. I know from experience things can change.
I keep checking my watch, but my pace is slowing.
It’s a slightly surreal experience being sick and then being cheered on, my stomach certainly felt better although my legs were starting to tire now and I wasn't yet half way. I stopped looking at my watch as my pace slowed further. one foot in front of the other, head down. My legs really ache now. I’m trying to keep hydrated and take an energy drink every so often but I’m nervous about being sick again.
I tried to add up my times of the swim and the bike and guesstimate the time I spent in transition, but my brain seems to working as well as my legs at this point. I tried several times but give up.
I collect my second band, on to my final lap, I’m lifted by the crowds in town and by the site of my wife a daughter cheering me on, but slowed by the cobbles. I’m conscious of how slowly I’m running. This final lap is going to be a test, not only am I nursing very painful legs and a bad stomach but now my left foot is hurting. Every time I plant my foot I get a sharp pain. I try different was to put my foot down, but nothing seems to help. I’m desperately looking around for makers now, 10k to go. I put all thoughts of a PB out of my mind, I just want to finish, I just want to stop running. Everything seems to be in slow-mo now.
2k to go.
I finally collect my last lap band and zig zag through the streets towards the finish line. It can’t be far, around this corner? nope, this one? it must be the next one surely? yes!
At the end of a long street I can just see the finish line banked with seats and huge TV screens. It’s getting closer and closer, the noise is building, now I’m running on to the red carpet with only 100 metres or so to go.
And I hear the announcer say “Stuart… you are an Ironman”.
My body hurts, I feel sick but I’m happy, almost content.
I’m very tired and a little emotional when I see my wife and daughter waiting for me on the other side of the barriers. This is not the time to start crying.
My wife seems really happy, I try and explain how badly the run went, how slow and painful it was. She tells me I’ve bettered last years’ time, so that is good I think to myself, by an hour! no, she’s got that wrong, not an hour may be a few minutes. She hands me her phone, she has been tracking me all day. There it is in black and white, it’s official. a personal best, by an hour!
We turn back to land and swim close to the harbour wall, it’s lined with spectators for the remaining mile. Every second breath I can see them looking down, I wonder what they are thinking? Can they see I’m not a great swimmer? of course not they don’t even care, I’m just a nondescript figure in a wetsuit and a pink swim cap surrounded by thousands of others. I’m not sure why thoughts like that spring into my mind at the strangest times. Concentrate and focus, keep my swim stroke long and relax. Breath, breath, sight, breath, breath, sight.
As I round the corner I can see the exit of the swim a few hundred metres ahead, a quick look at my watch tells me I’m ahead of my predicted pace, I’m surprised at how good I’m feeling.
Out of the water up the ramp and into the hustle and bustle of transition one. I know exactly where my bag is containing my bike gear. I’ve spent time visualising the transitions and then walking through them a day before the race, many times. Out of the water, extreme left, half a dozen bags up, number 2374, wetsuit off, hand towel, first Oreo, socks on, cycling shoes on , second Oreo, food into bum bag, helmet on, stuff wetsuit into bag, drop bag into drop zone, run/walk to bike in row Q half way down exactly opposite changing tent. Boom! sorted.
180km on the bike to go. That’s a relatively long way and will take me a while to cycle so there is plenty of time to think. Plenty of time for things to go wrong and plenty of things to go right.
The most Important thing is to eat, hydrate and not to get carried away. Some people pass me and I pass others. As they pass I look at their race number. The higher the number the older the person. I’m 2374, there are 2584 racers, you do the maths.
The countryside is flat and windy, and interspersed with pretty farms and cottages. Sat outside nearly everyone I pass are people, clapping and cheering in Swedish. Some have drums, some have tambourines, some have flags and banners. When I passed through villages it seemed as though the whole village is out standing by the road side cheering the competitors on.
I keep glancing at my watch and although I’m still up on my predicted pace my legs feel fine. Every so often I sit up eat something, stretch my legs and back, then get back into the aero tuck position.
The kilometres pass quickly.
I’m ow heading back into Kalmar, the roads are getting wider and smoother. As I get closer into town I can see some of the professionals out on the run and boy they look good, they look fast.
Into transition two and I’m feeling pleased with myself, the day is going ok, the sun is out, the people are cheering and another rehearsed transition goes smoothly, change of socks, running shoes on, race number on, two more Oreo’s, grab my soft bottle filled with flat coke, and off I go.
Now this will be interesting, how do my legs feel? you know what? not bad, my legs are tired for sure but no more than on a long training run. I know I shouldn’t be thinking about it but this could be a good time.
Maybe it’s just the adrenaline from the cheering crowds in the centre of town, they are two or three deep in places. They line the run course as I zig zag through the cobbled streets in the town centre before I head north parallel to the sea.
I can’t believe how loud they are cheering until I realise the leader of the race is just behind me, he passes me and the crowd goes wild. He is just finishing his race as I am just starting my marathon.
I keep checking my watch, I’m running too fast, the excitement is getting to me, I’m feeling good but it’s a long way to the finish. I need to slow down and conserve my energy. I’m amazed by all the people on the route, even out of town they are everywhere, cheering and shouting. There are families having picnics, supporters with banners, there are even marquees with live music.
Half way around the first lap of three my stomach starts to rumble. The crowds and music are a great distraction but I’m not sure how much longer I can ignore it. I keep drinking from my bottle, and fill it up at each feed station alternatively with energy drink, coke and water. I make a decision at the next feed station I will make a quick pit stop in the portaloo. I pull on the plastic door handle hold my breath and try to get in and out as quick as possible. But i’m in there for longer than I want to be, things aren’t good. The run is my thing. It’s where I feel most comfortable. I’m disappointed that things seem not to be going well but I remember it’s about the day and not the time. I try and bring myself back into the moment, look around, soak in the atmosphere. I know from experience things can change.
I keep checking my watch, but my pace is slowing.
It’s a slightly surreal experience being sick and then being cheered on, my stomach certainly felt better although my legs were starting to tire now and I wasn't yet half way. I stopped looking at my watch as my pace slowed further. one foot in front of the other, head down. My legs really ache now. I’m trying to keep hydrated and take an energy drink every so often but I’m nervous about being sick again.
I tried to add up my times of the swim and the bike and guesstimate the time I spent in transition, but my brain seems to working as well as my legs at this point. I tried several times but give up.
I collect my second band, on to my final lap, I’m lifted by the crowds in town and by the site of my wife a daughter cheering me on, but slowed by the cobbles. I’m conscious of how slowly I’m running. This final lap is going to be a test, not only am I nursing very painful legs and a bad stomach but now my left foot is hurting. Every time I plant my foot I get a sharp pain. I try different was to put my foot down, but nothing seems to help. I’m desperately looking around for makers now, 10k to go. I put all thoughts of a PB out of my mind, I just want to finish, I just want to stop running. Everything seems to be in slow-mo now.
2k to go.
I finally collect my last lap band and zig zag through the streets towards the finish line. It can’t be far, around this corner? nope, this one? it must be the next one surely? yes!
At the end of a long street I can just see the finish line banked with seats and huge TV screens. It’s getting closer and closer, the noise is building, now I’m running on to the red carpet with only 100 metres or so to go.
And I hear the announcer say “Stuart… you are an Ironman”.
My body hurts, I feel sick but I’m happy, almost content.
I’m very tired and a little emotional when I see my wife and daughter waiting for me on the other side of the barriers. This is not the time to start crying.
My wife seems really happy, I try and explain how badly the run went, how slow and painful it was. She tells me I’ve bettered last years’ time, so that is good I think to myself, by an hour! no, she’s got that wrong, not an hour may be a few minutes. She hands me her phone, she has been tracking me all day. There it is in black and white, it’s official. a personal best, by an hour!
Lake Zurich Sri Chinmoy Marathon 26k Swim
BY NIGEL WOODS
The original seed for this madness was sown back in 2015 when I swam Lake Windemere having followed a training program set by Adam Gibson of Greenlight PT. I met a chap there who told that he’d also completed the Lake Zurich swim that year, an event I’d never heard of. So when we got home I Googled it and discovered it was a 26k swim from Rapperswil to Zurich organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Swim Team.
When entry opened in 2015 I applied, but reading the qualifying criteria for entry I doubted I’d get in and this proved to be the case. It appeared that because of the limited number of spaces, you either needed to have done it before or applied a few times without success. So I waited until November 2016 and applied again with little hope of getting in but ticking the multiple application box ready for another crack the following year.
Shortly before Christmas 2016 I received a very disturbing email congratulating me on my successful application for the Zurich Swim and letting me know I had until March 2017 to pay for my entry and the accompanying boat should I not have my own. So, bluff called, what on earth to do? Sensibly I emailed Adam and asked for a training schedule which duly arrived at the beginning of January.
So began a gruelling 7 months of training culminating, I noticed, in a number of 30+km training weeks. I’d worry about that come July I thought. Come July most of the pleasure had gone out of the training, it had become an enormous slog. Sets of 12 x 400m off 6:30, increasing the speed, hurt and take a while. Every Sunday was a long swim of 7, 8 or 9k followed by a 1k shorter swim on Monday. I was in Box End Lake Sunday mornings before 7am with or without a hangover (I am actually alcohol fuelled) and followed that with up to 8k in the pool the following day.
My weight was down to 11.5 stone with all the training and with 3 weeks until race day I swam a 5 x 2k swim in the river Ouse with a couple of friends and followed it up with a solo 8k in the same stretch of river on Monday, following which I finally hit the taper period where nothing was over 4.8k. Easy swims!
The Thursday, 17 days before the race I went down with a gastro bug. I lost half a stone in 8 days, couldn’t train and ended up on antibiotics to treat what was confirmed as a Campylobacter infection. I felt dreadful, lifeless and seriously wondered if I’d make it to Switzerland, never mind the race. I emailed Adam and asked whether at 55 and with only 10 days until the event I stood any chance of taking part. He reassured me that as long as I was well for the week, put a few pounds back on and felt okay swimming 2 or 3k in the few days before I left, I’d make it as I had already done the training.
When entry opened in 2015 I applied, but reading the qualifying criteria for entry I doubted I’d get in and this proved to be the case. It appeared that because of the limited number of spaces, you either needed to have done it before or applied a few times without success. So I waited until November 2016 and applied again with little hope of getting in but ticking the multiple application box ready for another crack the following year.
Shortly before Christmas 2016 I received a very disturbing email congratulating me on my successful application for the Zurich Swim and letting me know I had until March 2017 to pay for my entry and the accompanying boat should I not have my own. So, bluff called, what on earth to do? Sensibly I emailed Adam and asked for a training schedule which duly arrived at the beginning of January.
So began a gruelling 7 months of training culminating, I noticed, in a number of 30+km training weeks. I’d worry about that come July I thought. Come July most of the pleasure had gone out of the training, it had become an enormous slog. Sets of 12 x 400m off 6:30, increasing the speed, hurt and take a while. Every Sunday was a long swim of 7, 8 or 9k followed by a 1k shorter swim on Monday. I was in Box End Lake Sunday mornings before 7am with or without a hangover (I am actually alcohol fuelled) and followed that with up to 8k in the pool the following day.
My weight was down to 11.5 stone with all the training and with 3 weeks until race day I swam a 5 x 2k swim in the river Ouse with a couple of friends and followed it up with a solo 8k in the same stretch of river on Monday, following which I finally hit the taper period where nothing was over 4.8k. Easy swims!
The Thursday, 17 days before the race I went down with a gastro bug. I lost half a stone in 8 days, couldn’t train and ended up on antibiotics to treat what was confirmed as a Campylobacter infection. I felt dreadful, lifeless and seriously wondered if I’d make it to Switzerland, never mind the race. I emailed Adam and asked whether at 55 and with only 10 days until the event I stood any chance of taking part. He reassured me that as long as I was well for the week, put a few pounds back on and felt okay swimming 2 or 3k in the few days before I left, I’d make it as I had already done the training.
So I went to Switzerland. We arrived Thursday afternoon and caught the train from Zurich to Rapperswil which follows precisely the contour of the lake, through the small towns and villages along the way. With the half dozen stops the train took 40 minutes and I was hoping to swim back. It certainly brought home to me just how idiotic trying to swim that 26k back really was.
We spent Friday sightseeing around the town. If I win the lottery Rapperswil is where I’ll buy a house and retire to. It sits on the lake and the lake is fantastic. Enormous. And used continually by swimmers, boats, canoeists, board paddlers. There was even a water polo pitch buoyed off with electric goalposts that rise in or out of the water. The public lido on the edge of the lake, from which the swim would start, is 100m long, free to access and full of youngsters and adults throwing themselves off diving boards and swimming out to pontoons and having a great time, without a lifeguard, with no-one to blow a whistle and stop them having fun. You drown it’s your own fault and there’s no-one to sue, no hi vis anywhere. England of old!
At 3pm on Friday I swam 1k in the lake from the Lido. I felt great, the water was fabulous, I was actually going to do this.
Friday and Saturday were 30 degrees of glorious sunshine. Saturday morning we sat in the sun by the side of the lake, the enormity of the swim slowly dawning on me. The race briefing was at 3pm in the local university. We registered, received the swim pack which included enormous plastic numbers to be attached to our accompanying boats. We watched a slide show of instructions detailing the route and rules. No contact with the boat, no getting on to land, the whole 26k in the water with no assistance. Watch out for the ferries, meet at 6am the next morning at the lido with your race number visible and find your boat … or rather they’d find you. And come to the Meditation Concert at 7:30pm which features a number of the volunteers. Good luck, see you in the morning.
I got an early dinner, Pasta with a house speciality sauce and a large beer. Carb loading the proper way. By now all I could think about was the swim, not really being able to imagine what 26k would be like. I knew it was the Windemere swim and then another 10k but that just made my stomach churn so I went to the Meditation Concert to take my mind off it. The best hour I’ve spent pre race anywhere, totally relaxing, odd “away with the fairies” music and singing from ladies who smiled way too much, but very relaxing.
I’d bought my breakfast in the local supermarket as reception had said the restaurant wouldn’t be open at 5:30am. I’d also bought bananas, milk and frozen fruit for the protein shakes I would take with me, having brought my blender along. I made up two 750ml of those and four 750ml bottles of 4 in 1 endurance drinks. All of which I’d used and tested during my training program. I had emergency gels and bottle of water in the feed pack as well so that every base was covered.
I set the alarm for 4:45am, watched the athletics until 10pm and slept like a log, which is remarkable for me before an event. I put it down to oddly smiling women and relaxation music. I showered, ate my breakfast drank coffee and packed my kit, double checked the feed pack and helped my wife get her kit for the boat ready. It turned out the hotel was laying on an event breakfast at 5:30am after all but I stuck to what I’d bought. My wife wanted a croissant so we left the room and locked ourselves out. You can plan for everything but not idiocy. There was no receptionist until 6:00am at which time we were supposed to be at the lido. Fortunately it was only a 5 minute walk away and the receptionist arrived 5 minutes early, it being Switzerland of course!
Oddly, a bloke called sod is in charge of weather. So after the sun and heat Sunday arrived with cloud, breeze and rain. Yesterday’s mill pond around the lido was replaced with chop. We stood around with our M76 race number banner and watched as swimmers married up with boats. I’d met a chap called Barry who’d done the swim a few times who’d assured me that the boat owners are often later than advertised and not to panic if mine wasn’t there until nearer 6:30am, which was just as well because I’m a panicker and my chaps didn’t show up until 6:25 … smoking rollups, wearing baggy old jumpers and sporting beards and ponytails. I got the middle aged Swiss hippies and they turned out to be brilliant. They’d not read the instructions, they didn’t know the rules but they felt like family by the end!
We spent Friday sightseeing around the town. If I win the lottery Rapperswil is where I’ll buy a house and retire to. It sits on the lake and the lake is fantastic. Enormous. And used continually by swimmers, boats, canoeists, board paddlers. There was even a water polo pitch buoyed off with electric goalposts that rise in or out of the water. The public lido on the edge of the lake, from which the swim would start, is 100m long, free to access and full of youngsters and adults throwing themselves off diving boards and swimming out to pontoons and having a great time, without a lifeguard, with no-one to blow a whistle and stop them having fun. You drown it’s your own fault and there’s no-one to sue, no hi vis anywhere. England of old!
At 3pm on Friday I swam 1k in the lake from the Lido. I felt great, the water was fabulous, I was actually going to do this.
Friday and Saturday were 30 degrees of glorious sunshine. Saturday morning we sat in the sun by the side of the lake, the enormity of the swim slowly dawning on me. The race briefing was at 3pm in the local university. We registered, received the swim pack which included enormous plastic numbers to be attached to our accompanying boats. We watched a slide show of instructions detailing the route and rules. No contact with the boat, no getting on to land, the whole 26k in the water with no assistance. Watch out for the ferries, meet at 6am the next morning at the lido with your race number visible and find your boat … or rather they’d find you. And come to the Meditation Concert at 7:30pm which features a number of the volunteers. Good luck, see you in the morning.
I got an early dinner, Pasta with a house speciality sauce and a large beer. Carb loading the proper way. By now all I could think about was the swim, not really being able to imagine what 26k would be like. I knew it was the Windemere swim and then another 10k but that just made my stomach churn so I went to the Meditation Concert to take my mind off it. The best hour I’ve spent pre race anywhere, totally relaxing, odd “away with the fairies” music and singing from ladies who smiled way too much, but very relaxing.
I’d bought my breakfast in the local supermarket as reception had said the restaurant wouldn’t be open at 5:30am. I’d also bought bananas, milk and frozen fruit for the protein shakes I would take with me, having brought my blender along. I made up two 750ml of those and four 750ml bottles of 4 in 1 endurance drinks. All of which I’d used and tested during my training program. I had emergency gels and bottle of water in the feed pack as well so that every base was covered.
I set the alarm for 4:45am, watched the athletics until 10pm and slept like a log, which is remarkable for me before an event. I put it down to oddly smiling women and relaxation music. I showered, ate my breakfast drank coffee and packed my kit, double checked the feed pack and helped my wife get her kit for the boat ready. It turned out the hotel was laying on an event breakfast at 5:30am after all but I stuck to what I’d bought. My wife wanted a croissant so we left the room and locked ourselves out. You can plan for everything but not idiocy. There was no receptionist until 6:00am at which time we were supposed to be at the lido. Fortunately it was only a 5 minute walk away and the receptionist arrived 5 minutes early, it being Switzerland of course!
Oddly, a bloke called sod is in charge of weather. So after the sun and heat Sunday arrived with cloud, breeze and rain. Yesterday’s mill pond around the lido was replaced with chop. We stood around with our M76 race number banner and watched as swimmers married up with boats. I’d met a chap called Barry who’d done the swim a few times who’d assured me that the boat owners are often later than advertised and not to panic if mine wasn’t there until nearer 6:30am, which was just as well because I’m a panicker and my chaps didn’t show up until 6:25 … smoking rollups, wearing baggy old jumpers and sporting beards and ponytails. I got the middle aged Swiss hippies and they turned out to be brilliant. They’d not read the instructions, they didn’t know the rules but they felt like family by the end!
We were all in the water by 6:55am, 39 solo swimmers followed by 16 sets of team swimmers, and we left on time at 7am. My plan was to swim at a pace that I would maintain from start to finish. I didn’t care and wasn’t going to react to whatever anyone else did. I usually start myself at the front of a swim and make sure I try and get off with the pace but I put myself half way along the line and started at a pace I had worked on throughout my big final swims, roughly 16 minute kilometres. Within 25 metres people were swimming away from me but I let them go. Our boats were supposed to be 500m or so from the start line and we’d been told at the briefing to marry up away from the Lido, but my guys having not read the instructions were there from the beginning.
You can’t tell from the pictures, but the swim from the lido to the far point is 6km, all into the breeze and chop and so by 4km I could feel my shoulders. I’d expected to swim the first 8km without really feeling any discomfort so it was a little worrying to only get half that way. The chop made it impossible to settle in to the rhythm I’d established in training and more effort was required than I’d wanted and it transpired I was going a little slower than planned but we reached the point and at 6k I stopped for my first feed.
My plan was to stop every 2k after that doing two stops drinking the 4 in 1 and every third stop having half a bottle of protein shake. I’d reckoned on having a total of 12 stops of no more than 15 seconds. I’d attached a 2m string to each bottle so it could be thrown to me in the water I could roll on my back and drink for 10 seconds then throw the bottle back and the my wife would reel it back in. Oddly the shakes turned out to be much easier to swallow than the 4 in 1 but after each stop I felt noticeably stronger than when I’d stopped.
At around 7km I noticed the three of them on the boat putting on waterproofs and sure enough 10 minutes later the first storm blew over. The chop increased along with the breeze, but it passed quickly and around 10k in we went through the first period of real calm. I immediately found it easier to swim, got my rhythm back and the Garmin showed my 1k times came down to under 16 minutes during the two calm periods.
At the next stop I asked how many were ahead of us. It had been the first time I’d considered it as I could see various boats ahead. The guy on the boat not steering told me 4 or 5 before my wife could answer. He was getting more involved with things at each stop and had actually taken over from my wife passing the feed bottles as he felt he could throw them to me more accurately. It transpired that there were 8 ahead of me at that point but he wanted me to feel good about things so he’d lied!
From then on we slowly started passing people. I only knew because of the boats as the swimmers were often too far away to see, but I was pleased when we passed boat M79 as he was in my “Senior Wetsuit” category. By 12k the support team were more than excited. Only one boat was visible ahead and they reckoned we were catching rapidly. I hadn’t increased my pace but others were slowing which is what I’d expected judging by how fast some of them had set off. After the 12k feed I felt for the first time that I was in a race, I seriously wanted to catch whoever was ahead of me but I had to concentrate on not swimming faster, there were still 14k to go and pacing, I knew, would be everything.
At 12.25k the calm ended and the breeze got back up and the Garmin lost the satellites which I found mentally very difficult to deal with. By now swimming was painful, the test is as much a mental as physical one and the Garmin’s reassuring buzz every kilometre was very important. I had to tell the support crew that they would now have to be in charge of when we stopped and that I wanted it to be every half hour. Not knowing exactly how far I’d gone was upsetting as I was relying on my wife and her iPhone which was measuring miles and not km, so our progress was being checked against the map and prominent features the organisers had provided.
You can’t tell from the pictures, but the swim from the lido to the far point is 6km, all into the breeze and chop and so by 4km I could feel my shoulders. I’d expected to swim the first 8km without really feeling any discomfort so it was a little worrying to only get half that way. The chop made it impossible to settle in to the rhythm I’d established in training and more effort was required than I’d wanted and it transpired I was going a little slower than planned but we reached the point and at 6k I stopped for my first feed.
My plan was to stop every 2k after that doing two stops drinking the 4 in 1 and every third stop having half a bottle of protein shake. I’d reckoned on having a total of 12 stops of no more than 15 seconds. I’d attached a 2m string to each bottle so it could be thrown to me in the water I could roll on my back and drink for 10 seconds then throw the bottle back and the my wife would reel it back in. Oddly the shakes turned out to be much easier to swallow than the 4 in 1 but after each stop I felt noticeably stronger than when I’d stopped.
At around 7km I noticed the three of them on the boat putting on waterproofs and sure enough 10 minutes later the first storm blew over. The chop increased along with the breeze, but it passed quickly and around 10k in we went through the first period of real calm. I immediately found it easier to swim, got my rhythm back and the Garmin showed my 1k times came down to under 16 minutes during the two calm periods.
At the next stop I asked how many were ahead of us. It had been the first time I’d considered it as I could see various boats ahead. The guy on the boat not steering told me 4 or 5 before my wife could answer. He was getting more involved with things at each stop and had actually taken over from my wife passing the feed bottles as he felt he could throw them to me more accurately. It transpired that there were 8 ahead of me at that point but he wanted me to feel good about things so he’d lied!
From then on we slowly started passing people. I only knew because of the boats as the swimmers were often too far away to see, but I was pleased when we passed boat M79 as he was in my “Senior Wetsuit” category. By 12k the support team were more than excited. Only one boat was visible ahead and they reckoned we were catching rapidly. I hadn’t increased my pace but others were slowing which is what I’d expected judging by how fast some of them had set off. After the 12k feed I felt for the first time that I was in a race, I seriously wanted to catch whoever was ahead of me but I had to concentrate on not swimming faster, there were still 14k to go and pacing, I knew, would be everything.
At 12.25k the calm ended and the breeze got back up and the Garmin lost the satellites which I found mentally very difficult to deal with. By now swimming was painful, the test is as much a mental as physical one and the Garmin’s reassuring buzz every kilometre was very important. I had to tell the support crew that they would now have to be in charge of when we stopped and that I wanted it to be every half hour. Not knowing exactly how far I’d gone was upsetting as I was relying on my wife and her iPhone which was measuring miles and not km, so our progress was being checked against the map and prominent features the organisers had provided.
The half way point was shown on the map as a town call Meilen, but it was actually 14.3k in and was where the largest and most dangerous ferry crossed. I was stopped briefly by the official boat as the ferry approached but my boys in our support boat weren’t standing for that, decided it would pass with plenty of room and we were off again. By this point we’d caught and overtaken the swimmer ahead and so I and the team thought we were the lead swimmer. The boys in the boat were shouting that we’d be in the newspaper and I was their best friend, it really gave me a lift. My wife said afterwards that they were genuinely excited and obviously felt a part of a team. The excitement was short lived though as the referee’s boat came back to us and then went off. They phoned my boat back later and clarified that there was a further swimmer ahead by some minutes.
As we approached the 16k mark I was thinking that this was the Windemere distance and that I’d managed that swim. This was the point in the swim that the mental battle really began. I had gone through a rough patch where the breeze had picked up and a number of large boats had created quite a swell and my support boat had had to alter course not to get swamped by the ferry swell. Trying to get back to them was a massive effort against the breeze, chop and swell. This was one of the low points because it felt as if I was making no headway and I was confused about the direction I should be going and it wasn’t until after the race I found out the difficulties they were having at the time.
The shape of the lake means that the end was never in sight, it was a bit like swimming round an island, there was always a distant point to aim for but once it was reached the whole process repeated in what were roughly 4 to 6k blocks. So from the 16k mark there was an outcrop point with trees that I was heading towards. From this stage there was no pleasure to be had at all, I just swam in enormous discomfort trying to banish any negative thoughts. I waited for each half hour to be up so that I could stop briefly and feed. I stuck to the feed plan throughout, didn’t bother with the gels or water.
At 18k I wondered if I could go on. I could see the boats behind me had dropped quite a way back so no one was gaining on me. The support team confirmed for me that I was never going to catch the leader and it looked unlikely I would be caught. After 15 seconds I started again, 6k to go, just over an hour and a half of swimming. It was now mind over matter. My left shoulder was screaming, my right lat felt as if it might go in to cramp at any moment and my left wrist felt like I’d broken it.
The weather had improved, I could see patches of blue sky amongst the clouds, but all I was concentrating on was where the boat was, leading the way to what I knew had to be the last corner. I just swam waiting for the next half hour stop, thinking that at that point there would just be 4k to go, an hour, 160 length pool swim. A short training swim in my build up, telling myself over and over again that I’d done the training, I wasn’t going to crack, not so close to the end.
I’d watched the videos of people interviewed from previous years and a recurring theme had been that the last 6k were the worst. They weren’t wrong. Getting from 6k down to 4k and that final tree lined point was tortuous. I’ve never swum in such discomfort. But as tired as I was, it turned out I was still swimming at the same pace, not that I cared. All I could concentrate on was the boat, making sure I was on course with it, waiting for them to stand up and wave the feed bottle, not looking in to the distance, not wanting to see in real terms how far I had to go.
I made it round the final turn. At the briefing we’d been shown a photograph of the view ahead. From the swimmer’s perspective all that’s visible is a flat topped mountain and to the right of that, so far away it was invisible, is a casino with a yellow front and next to that the finish. 4k as the crow flies. I wished I was a crow, anything but a swimmer. I swam as far as I felt I could and then stopped the boat for the feed, ahead of schedule, but needing to stop. I lay and drank and then just laid, starfished on top of the water and thought about not finishing. 3k to go, I didn’t know if I could start again. I looked back at the following boats, knew they must feel as bad as I did, thought about all the training, about telling people I’d tried but just couldn’t make it and looked at the bottom of the mountain and where the finish might be.
I turned onto my front and swam. There was no way I wasn’t going to make it, not after coming this far. But the last 3k were the biggest battle of all. As I tire I swim to the left. It felt like the boat had left me but reality was I was going the wrong way. I could make out the Casino building, I aimed to a point 45 degrees to the right of it and swam and when I sighted after three strokes I was headed 45 degrees to the left of it. I tried to swim straight, the support crew were on their feet waving at me but I was just going left. For the next 2.5k I fought to get back toward the boat, at times it felt I was swimming perpendicular to the shore. Towards the end an official boat came out worried that we were headed for the wrong finish point, but I was getting there.
I stopped with a little over 2k to go and told my wife it wasn’t getting any closer, that I was spent and that I knew where I was supposed to be going but I was so damned tired that I wasn’t really in control. Under the water I felt like screaming with frustration.
As we approached the 16k mark I was thinking that this was the Windemere distance and that I’d managed that swim. This was the point in the swim that the mental battle really began. I had gone through a rough patch where the breeze had picked up and a number of large boats had created quite a swell and my support boat had had to alter course not to get swamped by the ferry swell. Trying to get back to them was a massive effort against the breeze, chop and swell. This was one of the low points because it felt as if I was making no headway and I was confused about the direction I should be going and it wasn’t until after the race I found out the difficulties they were having at the time.
The shape of the lake means that the end was never in sight, it was a bit like swimming round an island, there was always a distant point to aim for but once it was reached the whole process repeated in what were roughly 4 to 6k blocks. So from the 16k mark there was an outcrop point with trees that I was heading towards. From this stage there was no pleasure to be had at all, I just swam in enormous discomfort trying to banish any negative thoughts. I waited for each half hour to be up so that I could stop briefly and feed. I stuck to the feed plan throughout, didn’t bother with the gels or water.
At 18k I wondered if I could go on. I could see the boats behind me had dropped quite a way back so no one was gaining on me. The support team confirmed for me that I was never going to catch the leader and it looked unlikely I would be caught. After 15 seconds I started again, 6k to go, just over an hour and a half of swimming. It was now mind over matter. My left shoulder was screaming, my right lat felt as if it might go in to cramp at any moment and my left wrist felt like I’d broken it.
The weather had improved, I could see patches of blue sky amongst the clouds, but all I was concentrating on was where the boat was, leading the way to what I knew had to be the last corner. I just swam waiting for the next half hour stop, thinking that at that point there would just be 4k to go, an hour, 160 length pool swim. A short training swim in my build up, telling myself over and over again that I’d done the training, I wasn’t going to crack, not so close to the end.
I’d watched the videos of people interviewed from previous years and a recurring theme had been that the last 6k were the worst. They weren’t wrong. Getting from 6k down to 4k and that final tree lined point was tortuous. I’ve never swum in such discomfort. But as tired as I was, it turned out I was still swimming at the same pace, not that I cared. All I could concentrate on was the boat, making sure I was on course with it, waiting for them to stand up and wave the feed bottle, not looking in to the distance, not wanting to see in real terms how far I had to go.
I made it round the final turn. At the briefing we’d been shown a photograph of the view ahead. From the swimmer’s perspective all that’s visible is a flat topped mountain and to the right of that, so far away it was invisible, is a casino with a yellow front and next to that the finish. 4k as the crow flies. I wished I was a crow, anything but a swimmer. I swam as far as I felt I could and then stopped the boat for the feed, ahead of schedule, but needing to stop. I lay and drank and then just laid, starfished on top of the water and thought about not finishing. 3k to go, I didn’t know if I could start again. I looked back at the following boats, knew they must feel as bad as I did, thought about all the training, about telling people I’d tried but just couldn’t make it and looked at the bottom of the mountain and where the finish might be.
I turned onto my front and swam. There was no way I wasn’t going to make it, not after coming this far. But the last 3k were the biggest battle of all. As I tire I swim to the left. It felt like the boat had left me but reality was I was going the wrong way. I could make out the Casino building, I aimed to a point 45 degrees to the right of it and swam and when I sighted after three strokes I was headed 45 degrees to the left of it. I tried to swim straight, the support crew were on their feet waving at me but I was just going left. For the next 2.5k I fought to get back toward the boat, at times it felt I was swimming perpendicular to the shore. Towards the end an official boat came out worried that we were headed for the wrong finish point, but I was getting there.
I stopped with a little over 2k to go and told my wife it wasn’t getting any closer, that I was spent and that I knew where I was supposed to be going but I was so damned tired that I wasn’t really in control. Under the water I felt like screaming with frustration.
Kilometres ago I’d given up caring about coming second, about what time I did, I just wanted to finish but with less than 1k to go I found an extra strength and I wasn’t going to be caught despite being left of the finish. I could finally make out the gantry and balloons to my right, maybe 400m to go. One last push. I got myself back together, I picked up the pace, I started sighting properly every three strokes and I pushed as hard as I could towards the finish, not wanting to give up my place now. There were a number of small boats I could pick out on the water, the finish in Zurich is a busier part of the lake, and I was convinced I’d been caught because of my poor line and so, somehow I swam harder over the last 200m. Really swimming now, a proper finish.
I arrived at a 45 degree angle, but I arrived, grabbed the pontoon and dragged myself around to the steps, and the finish, stop the clock. I had to be upright to stop the clock. I was there. Unbelievable. An amazing rush of emotions, relief, satisfaction an odd sense of surviving. Instantly, before I’d even taken my goggles off a microphone was shoved in my face, a bloke with a video camera to one side and one of the organising women shouting at me. I’d come second, an amazing time, 7 hours 29 minutes, what had made me enter the race, how had it been, would I do it again. I just wanted to stand still, not fall over and think what I’d done, but I told her how tough it had been, how choppy the water was to start and in other places, the storms, the views, following the boat, and no, I’d never do it again. Ever.
The support boat, according to the instructions my guys hadn’t read, was supposed go to a separate landing to moor up and unload. My guys tied themselves to the finish pontoon and shouted at me to come over. I think they were as pleased as me with second place, massive hugs, enormous grins and a kiss from my wife, and then they were moved on by the officials. Really my kind of guys, they’d brought a loaf and cheese and ham and made sandwiches as they went, they’d smoked God knows how many roll ups, and helped get me through it with their enthusiasm and support. Part of my memory of the event will involve the smell of rollup smoke drifting toward me over the lake mixed with the fumes from an outboard. Not in any way an unpleasant memory, but part of the whole experience.
On dry land there was a great finish atmosphere and area. Loads of food, all of it vegan when all I wanted was a big juicy burger, plenty of people to share your experience with. We watched swimmers battle the choppy water to the finish from specs on the horizon to climb triumphantly up the finish steps. And finally the sun had come out and so we waited for the presentations. I had been the second solo finisher but I was first over 50, first wetsuit finisher and I was going to get a trophy so I was going to wait until the presentation if it didn’t start until midnight.
I got my trophy at 7:30pm, more than 12 hours after we started. It didn’t feel that long, I was surprised at how quickly a seven and a half hour swim passed. I felt like a couple of guys had taken baseball bats to me and I wouldn’t sleep a wink that night because every time I moved just slightly every muscle screamed, but it had been worth it. Seven months of training, following Adam’s plan to the letter. It had paid dividends, but I haven’t changed my mind, I’ll never do it again.
I arrived at a 45 degree angle, but I arrived, grabbed the pontoon and dragged myself around to the steps, and the finish, stop the clock. I had to be upright to stop the clock. I was there. Unbelievable. An amazing rush of emotions, relief, satisfaction an odd sense of surviving. Instantly, before I’d even taken my goggles off a microphone was shoved in my face, a bloke with a video camera to one side and one of the organising women shouting at me. I’d come second, an amazing time, 7 hours 29 minutes, what had made me enter the race, how had it been, would I do it again. I just wanted to stand still, not fall over and think what I’d done, but I told her how tough it had been, how choppy the water was to start and in other places, the storms, the views, following the boat, and no, I’d never do it again. Ever.
The support boat, according to the instructions my guys hadn’t read, was supposed go to a separate landing to moor up and unload. My guys tied themselves to the finish pontoon and shouted at me to come over. I think they were as pleased as me with second place, massive hugs, enormous grins and a kiss from my wife, and then they were moved on by the officials. Really my kind of guys, they’d brought a loaf and cheese and ham and made sandwiches as they went, they’d smoked God knows how many roll ups, and helped get me through it with their enthusiasm and support. Part of my memory of the event will involve the smell of rollup smoke drifting toward me over the lake mixed with the fumes from an outboard. Not in any way an unpleasant memory, but part of the whole experience.
On dry land there was a great finish atmosphere and area. Loads of food, all of it vegan when all I wanted was a big juicy burger, plenty of people to share your experience with. We watched swimmers battle the choppy water to the finish from specs on the horizon to climb triumphantly up the finish steps. And finally the sun had come out and so we waited for the presentations. I had been the second solo finisher but I was first over 50, first wetsuit finisher and I was going to get a trophy so I was going to wait until the presentation if it didn’t start until midnight.
I got my trophy at 7:30pm, more than 12 hours after we started. It didn’t feel that long, I was surprised at how quickly a seven and a half hour swim passed. I felt like a couple of guys had taken baseball bats to me and I wouldn’t sleep a wink that night because every time I moved just slightly every muscle screamed, but it had been worth it. Seven months of training, following Adam’s plan to the letter. It had paid dividends, but I haven’t changed my mind, I’ll never do it again.
Love SwimRun
BY Stephen Harley
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This was my first SwimRun even and I’d been really looking forwards to it. It looked to be a nice distance and I could do it Solo which suits me because it meant that I wouldn’t hold or be held, back by anybody – it would just be what I like the most, a test of myself against a course and a clock (and some other competitors because who doesn’t like competition?).
It also had the opportunity not to be quite as tough on my ego as triathlons, I’m a handy swimmer but my bike and run are not up to much and triathlons for me consist of coming out the water well up the rankings and then watching people pass me for the rest of the race. If you are a faster swimmer than me then chances are you’re a much better cyclist and runner than I am and are looking for the win or a podium, whilst I’m looking at mid-table. So an even where there would always be a swim to catch the person that had just ran past me appealed.
Sadly four weeks before I managed to pick up a nasty injury to my big-toe which left me with hardly any scope for running until the week before the event (and even now I’m tentative with it). But in any case this was, for me, and adventure first and a race second.
Equipment
I invested in the Orca Core SwimRun wetsuit rather than cut up my aging Zone3 Vision on the basis that the front zip would be sorely missed otherwise. This was a good suit and a decent price BUT I think its fair to say it compromises your running less than your swimming, shoulder movement is restricted and today as I write this my shoulders hurt loads more than any 10k swim I’ve done in my Huub or Zone3 suits.
Tow floats were mandatory for Soloists and I elected for a large Zone3 drybag one I had, figuring I could use it to story extra gear. This was a mistake. Nothing I carried with me that conceivably I could’ve used couldn’t have been tucked away elsewhere or left behind as not required, I’d then have been able to opt for a smaller, lighter tow float. On a longer event then I could see the drybag function being useful but not for this one.
I’d tried having a pull buoy in training but found that it only really gave me an extra minute per 700-800m and on a course with just 3.5km of swimming the extra five minutes would neither be here nor there for me – esp as I hated running with it.
Likewise I’ve never got on with paddles and deemed them more faff than they were worth, similarly I determined I would leave my Inov8 trainers on whilst training rather than faff about taking them off – the Orca wetsuit compensated reasonably well for the drop in my legs and anyway with the stiffness in the shoulders I was hardly going to be setting PB’s in the water. I was trusting that my natural swim ability would still compensate for others use of aids.
Ultimately I was trying to run as unencumbered as possible, a soft water bottle seemed like a good idea given the climb – again a mistake, I used it twice and honestly would’ve survived just fine without it…and I was never convinced it didn’t leak water into it either from the Llyn.
I’d gone for ankle socks, I’d ordered these before I realised there might be merit in the calf guarding properties of longer socks, and as it turned out I was fine with them, but I was one bush of nettles away from regretting that.
I used my running flipbelt to pack the gels against my body and tri suit, I took three with me in the belt and tucked a couple in the drybag in case the wheels really came off.
It also had the opportunity not to be quite as tough on my ego as triathlons, I’m a handy swimmer but my bike and run are not up to much and triathlons for me consist of coming out the water well up the rankings and then watching people pass me for the rest of the race. If you are a faster swimmer than me then chances are you’re a much better cyclist and runner than I am and are looking for the win or a podium, whilst I’m looking at mid-table. So an even where there would always be a swim to catch the person that had just ran past me appealed.
Sadly four weeks before I managed to pick up a nasty injury to my big-toe which left me with hardly any scope for running until the week before the event (and even now I’m tentative with it). But in any case this was, for me, and adventure first and a race second.
Equipment
I invested in the Orca Core SwimRun wetsuit rather than cut up my aging Zone3 Vision on the basis that the front zip would be sorely missed otherwise. This was a good suit and a decent price BUT I think its fair to say it compromises your running less than your swimming, shoulder movement is restricted and today as I write this my shoulders hurt loads more than any 10k swim I’ve done in my Huub or Zone3 suits.
Tow floats were mandatory for Soloists and I elected for a large Zone3 drybag one I had, figuring I could use it to story extra gear. This was a mistake. Nothing I carried with me that conceivably I could’ve used couldn’t have been tucked away elsewhere or left behind as not required, I’d then have been able to opt for a smaller, lighter tow float. On a longer event then I could see the drybag function being useful but not for this one.
I’d tried having a pull buoy in training but found that it only really gave me an extra minute per 700-800m and on a course with just 3.5km of swimming the extra five minutes would neither be here nor there for me – esp as I hated running with it.
Likewise I’ve never got on with paddles and deemed them more faff than they were worth, similarly I determined I would leave my Inov8 trainers on whilst training rather than faff about taking them off – the Orca wetsuit compensated reasonably well for the drop in my legs and anyway with the stiffness in the shoulders I was hardly going to be setting PB’s in the water. I was trusting that my natural swim ability would still compensate for others use of aids.
Ultimately I was trying to run as unencumbered as possible, a soft water bottle seemed like a good idea given the climb – again a mistake, I used it twice and honestly would’ve survived just fine without it…and I was never convinced it didn’t leak water into it either from the Llyn.
I’d gone for ankle socks, I’d ordered these before I realised there might be merit in the calf guarding properties of longer socks, and as it turned out I was fine with them, but I was one bush of nettles away from regretting that.
I used my running flipbelt to pack the gels against my body and tri suit, I took three with me in the belt and tucked a couple in the drybag in case the wheels really came off.
Start and Run 1
Before the start of the event I stood, geared up in tri suit and wetsuit with tow float sipping my water. Suddenly I realised that actually this presented an issue, going to toilet once the wetsuit and trisuit on is just not worth the energy and time but unlike a tri we had a 2km run before the first swim so I wasn’t limbering up as I danced on the spot before the start.
A few minutes after the teams set off the soloists began and after a brief surge I quickly calmed my pace back from 5km PB territory to steady 6 minute per km. This is my tempo pace really, I can run faster for 10kms and if I’m flat out for a PB on a half marathon then can push and hold faster than this but it seemed sensible given what lay ahead to go quickly but not too quickly.
A field I can only presume are fell runners (or certainly a lot fitter than I am) powered on and by the time we hit 1.5km I’d fallen into the back 1/3rd with the main group 500m ahead and just hitting the water of the swim as I ran across the bridge.
Swim 1
Into the river and blessed relief as the water was a comfortable 17.5C. We had 400-500m to cover nominally upstream before we were to get out and I quickly started to pull back the gap and overtake other swimmers. We arrived at the exist a steep climb over large rocks which wad deadly slippery under water and narrow, it was congested and I spent a few minutes waiting my turn to climb out.
Run 2
Up a tiny steep trail we climbed, crouching under branches and worrying about my lack of calf guards (I need not have worried this was as bad as it got for brambles and was still fine) before after what seemed like a couple of hundred meters we exited by some railway tracks (not running at this time of day) and we ran alongside and leapt over to continue up a steep tarmac road. This I walked, I could’ve ran it, I had the energy but I was conscious it was really early and steeper climbs were ahead. A drink from my water bottle a gel at the 37 minute point in the race near the top. A few people had passed me and those in the main group seemed to have drawn ahead again.
We turned down hill down a reasonably well marked woodland pathway that zigged downwards steeply with gravel/slate marking the way. I’d never run down anything like this before and absolutely loved it, I had a huge smile on my face as we burst back onto the shoreline.
Swim 2
Swim 2 was straight across the Llyn and the main mass of the field were already well in the water. A current was taking them leftwards so I sighted slightly to the right as struck out into the water. Back into my preferred element I made headway and quickly caught and overtook many weaker swimmers. Halfway out I looked to my left as I breathed and saw the beautiful Llyn framed by the mountains shrouded in mist at the far end. It was stunning and I couldn’t but feel completely elated. The water was cool on my bare arms, I was in a beautiful stretch of water and I was really enjoying myself. As we came to the bank we had to get out of the water on even more deadly slippery rocks and then jump back in for another hundred meters in a cove before climbing out at the first of two aid stations.
Run 3
Water and a gel this was a quick flat blast along the road, just 300m, before hitting the water again for the longest swim which was more or less diagonal across the Llyn. I was flying now and reeling in teams and those swimmers who passed me every run. But one green capped swimmer did overtake me at the halfway point, I wouldn’t be catching him again I didn’t think.
As we came into the shore the water temperature plunged but we waded out on an easier shore this time. I had to stop and empty some gravel out of my shoe before we ran through fields, a car park and past Dolbadarn Castle before hitting a long downhill road towards to the towering slate quarry. I picked up my pace again, despite the tow float irritating me and I switched between a variety of ways to carry it and hit another energy gel.
I held position, overtaking one team and being overtaken by another and then hit the slate quarry. This was a steep zig-zagging climb upwards that had a real reputation as it forms part of the slateman triathlon. I walked it, as fast as I could, I was overtaken by better walkers/runners but nobody was running it this far back in the field. Towards the end I started to run/walk it which with hindsight would’ve made it go quicker and perhaps would’ve gotten me a better result but in anycase as I hit feed station 2 I’d already had the last of my gels. Half a banana and two cups of water were quickly consumed (I’d emptied my water bottle on the way up – not through thirst as I’d tipped half of it away but because it was irritating me as I ran).
We set off down a wide gravel path and a I sprinted past some competitors – I was going faster than I wanted to, I couldn’t easily stop though. As the path narrowed into a treacherous, rocky trail down the side of the valley (shielded by trees) I was overtaken by a lady clearly more comfortable with this sort of running and I was then able to match her footfalls as we descended at a decent pace.
Along the way we passed somebody who’d taken a tumble and hurt themselves, thankfully not serious and they were continuing on with the marshal’s doing an excellent job of watch over them and directing them to the nearest first aid kits.
We crossed the railway tracks again at the station and bundled down a wooden staircase and up over a small bridge to the shore once more.
Swim 4
Goggles on I hit the water and left my running guide behind and started to reel swimmers in on a long drag down the side of the Llyn before we turned left a buoy and headed out across the lake and towards the finish line. This was my last chance to make up some places and I must have passed half a dozen soloists as I swam. At the buoy I saw a team a few hundred meters ahead and beyond that a couple of more swimmers that looked like they were halfway out. I caught the team quickly and thought that would probably be my lot as the other two swimmers I could see were so far ahead. But head down I pushed hard for the finish and overhauled one with less than 50m to go, the last swimmer managed to stagger out with me literally on her heals.
Overall
I managed 3 hours 8 minutes and something, and finished well down the rankings but given how much FUN I had and the curtailed training in the run-up I didn’t really care at all. What a fabulous event that really made you feel alive. I loved it and I’ll be back.
Before the start of the event I stood, geared up in tri suit and wetsuit with tow float sipping my water. Suddenly I realised that actually this presented an issue, going to toilet once the wetsuit and trisuit on is just not worth the energy and time but unlike a tri we had a 2km run before the first swim so I wasn’t limbering up as I danced on the spot before the start.
A few minutes after the teams set off the soloists began and after a brief surge I quickly calmed my pace back from 5km PB territory to steady 6 minute per km. This is my tempo pace really, I can run faster for 10kms and if I’m flat out for a PB on a half marathon then can push and hold faster than this but it seemed sensible given what lay ahead to go quickly but not too quickly.
A field I can only presume are fell runners (or certainly a lot fitter than I am) powered on and by the time we hit 1.5km I’d fallen into the back 1/3rd with the main group 500m ahead and just hitting the water of the swim as I ran across the bridge.
Swim 1
Into the river and blessed relief as the water was a comfortable 17.5C. We had 400-500m to cover nominally upstream before we were to get out and I quickly started to pull back the gap and overtake other swimmers. We arrived at the exist a steep climb over large rocks which wad deadly slippery under water and narrow, it was congested and I spent a few minutes waiting my turn to climb out.
Run 2
Up a tiny steep trail we climbed, crouching under branches and worrying about my lack of calf guards (I need not have worried this was as bad as it got for brambles and was still fine) before after what seemed like a couple of hundred meters we exited by some railway tracks (not running at this time of day) and we ran alongside and leapt over to continue up a steep tarmac road. This I walked, I could’ve ran it, I had the energy but I was conscious it was really early and steeper climbs were ahead. A drink from my water bottle a gel at the 37 minute point in the race near the top. A few people had passed me and those in the main group seemed to have drawn ahead again.
We turned down hill down a reasonably well marked woodland pathway that zigged downwards steeply with gravel/slate marking the way. I’d never run down anything like this before and absolutely loved it, I had a huge smile on my face as we burst back onto the shoreline.
Swim 2
Swim 2 was straight across the Llyn and the main mass of the field were already well in the water. A current was taking them leftwards so I sighted slightly to the right as struck out into the water. Back into my preferred element I made headway and quickly caught and overtook many weaker swimmers. Halfway out I looked to my left as I breathed and saw the beautiful Llyn framed by the mountains shrouded in mist at the far end. It was stunning and I couldn’t but feel completely elated. The water was cool on my bare arms, I was in a beautiful stretch of water and I was really enjoying myself. As we came to the bank we had to get out of the water on even more deadly slippery rocks and then jump back in for another hundred meters in a cove before climbing out at the first of two aid stations.
Run 3
Water and a gel this was a quick flat blast along the road, just 300m, before hitting the water again for the longest swim which was more or less diagonal across the Llyn. I was flying now and reeling in teams and those swimmers who passed me every run. But one green capped swimmer did overtake me at the halfway point, I wouldn’t be catching him again I didn’t think.
As we came into the shore the water temperature plunged but we waded out on an easier shore this time. I had to stop and empty some gravel out of my shoe before we ran through fields, a car park and past Dolbadarn Castle before hitting a long downhill road towards to the towering slate quarry. I picked up my pace again, despite the tow float irritating me and I switched between a variety of ways to carry it and hit another energy gel.
I held position, overtaking one team and being overtaken by another and then hit the slate quarry. This was a steep zig-zagging climb upwards that had a real reputation as it forms part of the slateman triathlon. I walked it, as fast as I could, I was overtaken by better walkers/runners but nobody was running it this far back in the field. Towards the end I started to run/walk it which with hindsight would’ve made it go quicker and perhaps would’ve gotten me a better result but in anycase as I hit feed station 2 I’d already had the last of my gels. Half a banana and two cups of water were quickly consumed (I’d emptied my water bottle on the way up – not through thirst as I’d tipped half of it away but because it was irritating me as I ran).
We set off down a wide gravel path and a I sprinted past some competitors – I was going faster than I wanted to, I couldn’t easily stop though. As the path narrowed into a treacherous, rocky trail down the side of the valley (shielded by trees) I was overtaken by a lady clearly more comfortable with this sort of running and I was then able to match her footfalls as we descended at a decent pace.
Along the way we passed somebody who’d taken a tumble and hurt themselves, thankfully not serious and they were continuing on with the marshal’s doing an excellent job of watch over them and directing them to the nearest first aid kits.
We crossed the railway tracks again at the station and bundled down a wooden staircase and up over a small bridge to the shore once more.
Swim 4
Goggles on I hit the water and left my running guide behind and started to reel swimmers in on a long drag down the side of the Llyn before we turned left a buoy and headed out across the lake and towards the finish line. This was my last chance to make up some places and I must have passed half a dozen soloists as I swam. At the buoy I saw a team a few hundred meters ahead and beyond that a couple of more swimmers that looked like they were halfway out. I caught the team quickly and thought that would probably be my lot as the other two swimmers I could see were so far ahead. But head down I pushed hard for the finish and overhauled one with less than 50m to go, the last swimmer managed to stagger out with me literally on her heals.
Overall
I managed 3 hours 8 minutes and something, and finished well down the rankings but given how much FUN I had and the curtailed training in the run-up I didn’t really care at all. What a fabulous event that really made you feel alive. I loved it and I’ll be back.
Jubilee 10km River Swim
BY Alan Humphries
"Alan, We've been on the bus an awfully long time!" shouted Big Jon across the top deck. I laughed nervously as we headed away from the finish line. There was no point replying with a 'we're not even on the motorway' gag as now the last laugh was on me. A 10km river swim lay ahead for someone who hadn't swam further than 3.8km.
Arriving just in time to see wave 2 it was soon time to enter the water. Like a naughty schoolboy with white socks I sneaked in wearing my non regulation greenlightPT swim cap and began to tread water. It was too much effort so I went and stood in the shallows.
Off we went. Navigating around the stick, that was there last year, and through the scary tunnel, I completed the first leg. Climbing out I used my bar presence to muscle in for a quick coke. Running as fast as I could on a stony path with bare feet I heard the screech of brakes as I crossed the road.
Jumping in for the long leg It wasn't long before 2 red caps from wave 4 went past me quickly followed by several more. Climbing out I helped myself to another coke and 2 jaffa cakes. This time, deciding to run on the grass to the side of the path, I trod on what felt like a dropped jaffa cake but probably wasn't.
Reminding myself that leg 3 was just 3 laps of box end and I was past half way I started to up the pace. I started to pick off some white and yellow hats towards the end. Downing a coke at this exit and shoving 3 more jaffa cakes into my mouth the entrance to leg 4 came too quickly.
Diving in and impaling myself on an underwater stake It quickly became apparent that I hadn't chewed the jaffa cakes enough to swallow. Having to make the tough decision between 3 sponge biscuits with an orange-flavoured jelly and chocolate topping, or oxygen, I jettisoned the contents of my mouth.
For the final short Leg I went for it. Managing to maintain my high elbow recovery I flicked the heckling shore bound Green Giants the V as I closed in on the finish.
Unsteady on my feet and scrambling up the last bank to save valuable seconds I'd done it. I got the medal and looked up for some kind of recognition only to be greeted by Tracy Nicols who was already 18 seconds into her recovery chocolate bar.
Arriving just in time to see wave 2 it was soon time to enter the water. Like a naughty schoolboy with white socks I sneaked in wearing my non regulation greenlightPT swim cap and began to tread water. It was too much effort so I went and stood in the shallows.
Off we went. Navigating around the stick, that was there last year, and through the scary tunnel, I completed the first leg. Climbing out I used my bar presence to muscle in for a quick coke. Running as fast as I could on a stony path with bare feet I heard the screech of brakes as I crossed the road.
Jumping in for the long leg It wasn't long before 2 red caps from wave 4 went past me quickly followed by several more. Climbing out I helped myself to another coke and 2 jaffa cakes. This time, deciding to run on the grass to the side of the path, I trod on what felt like a dropped jaffa cake but probably wasn't.
Reminding myself that leg 3 was just 3 laps of box end and I was past half way I started to up the pace. I started to pick off some white and yellow hats towards the end. Downing a coke at this exit and shoving 3 more jaffa cakes into my mouth the entrance to leg 4 came too quickly.
Diving in and impaling myself on an underwater stake It quickly became apparent that I hadn't chewed the jaffa cakes enough to swallow. Having to make the tough decision between 3 sponge biscuits with an orange-flavoured jelly and chocolate topping, or oxygen, I jettisoned the contents of my mouth.
For the final short Leg I went for it. Managing to maintain my high elbow recovery I flicked the heckling shore bound Green Giants the V as I closed in on the finish.
Unsteady on my feet and scrambling up the last bank to save valuable seconds I'd done it. I got the medal and looked up for some kind of recognition only to be greeted by Tracy Nicols who was already 18 seconds into her recovery chocolate bar.
DUBAI 70.3
BY Craig Walker
VENUE - The Burj Al Arab beach for the swim and run, then out into the desert for the bike.
SUPPORT - Sporadic on the bike, plentiful on the run, but always very enthusiastic.
SWIM - It started in the Marina at the base of the Burj Al Arab, swimming amongst the multi million dollar yachts. Then its out into the open sea to swim up the beach parallel to the coast. Breathing to the left you see the Burj Al Arab, breathe to the right and you can see the Burj Khalifa - surreal!!!
BIKE - 1 lap, out and back into the desert. Really flat, lovely smooth roads, but slightly boring as the roads where dead straight and there was not much to look at scenery wise.
RUN - 3 lap, beach front course with the majority of it being on a purpose built, cushioned running track. It was amazing to run on.
OVERALL - Awesome event, I would definately and highly recommend it to any one!
PERFORMANCE - All in all, I'm over the moon and couldn't be happier as I exceeded my target time and PB'd by 16 mins. If I'm being critical, I think I was a tad to reserved in the swim as I was expecting sub 28/29mins, really chuffed with my bike leg especially as I was on a rented bike and race day was the first time I'd ridden it. My run was far better than expected and despite the last 3 or 4 miles really hurting, I dug deep to keep going and it was definitely worth it in the end.
SUPPORT - Sporadic on the bike, plentiful on the run, but always very enthusiastic.
SWIM - It started in the Marina at the base of the Burj Al Arab, swimming amongst the multi million dollar yachts. Then its out into the open sea to swim up the beach parallel to the coast. Breathing to the left you see the Burj Al Arab, breathe to the right and you can see the Burj Khalifa - surreal!!!
BIKE - 1 lap, out and back into the desert. Really flat, lovely smooth roads, but slightly boring as the roads where dead straight and there was not much to look at scenery wise.
RUN - 3 lap, beach front course with the majority of it being on a purpose built, cushioned running track. It was amazing to run on.
OVERALL - Awesome event, I would definately and highly recommend it to any one!
PERFORMANCE - All in all, I'm over the moon and couldn't be happier as I exceeded my target time and PB'd by 16 mins. If I'm being critical, I think I was a tad to reserved in the swim as I was expecting sub 28/29mins, really chuffed with my bike leg especially as I was on a rented bike and race day was the first time I'd ridden it. My run was far better than expected and despite the last 3 or 4 miles really hurting, I dug deep to keep going and it was definitely worth it in the end.
Vitruvian 2016
By Neill Timmins
Firstly to anybody who turned up somewhere to do anything on Saturday 10th September – well done !!. If the weather was anything like around Rutland Water you deserve a medal for just being there.
And it all seemed so nice on Friday evening. Windy but sunny and clear when registering and racking up. Water temp around 19 deg C. Positively tropical.
Still in a total of 6h, 11m and 31 sec I managed to do my first 70.3 (or thereabouts).
I had hoped to do the swim (1.9km) in about 45 mins. Turned out to be 47 but that was ok. A few minutes was probably down to tip toeing over the pebble beach at the start and again for the second lap. I know we are all supposed to be rough and tough triathletes but I do wonder sometimes whether something simple like matting would help. Most of us looked like we were walking on hot coals. Frankly I am sure there are other (better ?) ways to pay money for pain !!.
I am not a very confident swimmer and generally don’t like anything over mirror flat calm. Unfortunately the first part of the swim was quite open to the rest of Rutland water. To exacerbate the situation I breathe to the right hand side (major surgery has made it difficult to breath to the left) which of course means I was breathing straight into the on coming surf. Still through a mixture of breast stroke and coming up for air about every 10 strokes of front crawl I actually managed to cope and not have a panic attack.
I had decided to take my time in transition, feed if needed, get the right gear on and so on. In T1 the weather was teasing us – light rain, a few spots, maybe clearing up. I’ll use my sleeveless gilet on top of trisuit instead of the long sleeved rain jacket. Good plan…or not. The weather decided to have a laugh and deluge not too far into the bike leg (85km). Had to get on with it.AND WHO PUT THOSE HILLS IN THE WAY. I know they weren’t Alpine passes but please have some mercy for us poor drenched triathletes !
And it all seemed so nice on Friday evening. Windy but sunny and clear when registering and racking up. Water temp around 19 deg C. Positively tropical.
Still in a total of 6h, 11m and 31 sec I managed to do my first 70.3 (or thereabouts).
I had hoped to do the swim (1.9km) in about 45 mins. Turned out to be 47 but that was ok. A few minutes was probably down to tip toeing over the pebble beach at the start and again for the second lap. I know we are all supposed to be rough and tough triathletes but I do wonder sometimes whether something simple like matting would help. Most of us looked like we were walking on hot coals. Frankly I am sure there are other (better ?) ways to pay money for pain !!.
I am not a very confident swimmer and generally don’t like anything over mirror flat calm. Unfortunately the first part of the swim was quite open to the rest of Rutland water. To exacerbate the situation I breathe to the right hand side (major surgery has made it difficult to breath to the left) which of course means I was breathing straight into the on coming surf. Still through a mixture of breast stroke and coming up for air about every 10 strokes of front crawl I actually managed to cope and not have a panic attack.
I had decided to take my time in transition, feed if needed, get the right gear on and so on. In T1 the weather was teasing us – light rain, a few spots, maybe clearing up. I’ll use my sleeveless gilet on top of trisuit instead of the long sleeved rain jacket. Good plan…or not. The weather decided to have a laugh and deluge not too far into the bike leg (85km). Had to get on with it.AND WHO PUT THOSE HILLS IN THE WAY. I know they weren’t Alpine passes but please have some mercy for us poor drenched triathletes !
Second lap of the bike thankfully seemed to go quicker than the first and I got off in 3h 15m. Bit slower than I had wanted (was aiming for 3 h) but in the conditions not too bad. I hit 65kph going downhill and apparently got some kind of PB for climbing. I also noted afterwards vertical red lines in similar positions on both my inner shins. The only thing I could think of was that they were where tyre spray had effectively water blasted my legs.
T2 pretty uneventful, Got rain rigged for the run (21k) First hour or so ok. On target to go sub 2 hours which I was aiming for . I then needed a toilet break. Now I would not normally talk about such things and a portaloo is not really the best place to hang out (I tried to think of another phrase but couldn’t) for a few minutes. However I actually think my body had become a sponge soaking up all the rain and thus leading up to the longest loo stop in my triathlon history. End result about 2h 1m total for the run.
Even so I managed the obligatory sprint to the finish looking as though it has all been a walk in the park. And the lady announced “Neill Timmins you are a Vitruvian !! (albeit a very wet one)
Back to a small hotel in Melton Mombray after that. Dry out and a few well earned beers and reflect on a year where I have got through the Windsor Standard distance Duathlon, MK Half, MK Marathon, WTU Leeds (Standard distance), CfC Charity super sprint, BRAT Standard and finally the Vitruvian all supported by 2 of Adam’s Training plans which started in January.
T2 pretty uneventful, Got rain rigged for the run (21k) First hour or so ok. On target to go sub 2 hours which I was aiming for . I then needed a toilet break. Now I would not normally talk about such things and a portaloo is not really the best place to hang out (I tried to think of another phrase but couldn’t) for a few minutes. However I actually think my body had become a sponge soaking up all the rain and thus leading up to the longest loo stop in my triathlon history. End result about 2h 1m total for the run.
Even so I managed the obligatory sprint to the finish looking as though it has all been a walk in the park. And the lady announced “Neill Timmins you are a Vitruvian !! (albeit a very wet one)
Back to a small hotel in Melton Mombray after that. Dry out and a few well earned beers and reflect on a year where I have got through the Windsor Standard distance Duathlon, MK Half, MK Marathon, WTU Leeds (Standard distance), CfC Charity super sprint, BRAT Standard and finally the Vitruvian all supported by 2 of Adam’s Training plans which started in January.
Ironman Wales 2016
BY CRAIG WALKER
THURSDAY
After what seemed to be the longest ½ day at work ever, it was straight home, load the car, then time to hit the road. We were really lucky and had a pretty clear run with no real traffic. In order to break up the journey, we stayed at an IBIS just outside Cardiff.
FRIDAY
Woke up naturally, no alarm – ahhh bliss! Porridge for breaky and then back on the road, next stop – TENBY!!!
We checked into The Broadmead Boutique B&B, our base for the weekend – what a place, simply amazing. Then we walked the mile into the centre of Tenby so I could register.
Registration was really quick and straight forward, chuffed with the rucksack and on the way out, we had a look around the expo.
Back to the B&B to grab my wetsuit, and then down to the beach for a practise swim to get rid of the travelling cobwebs and settle the nerves. Lovely little 15 min dip, nice and warm and flat as a pancake, here’s hoping for the same come Sunday.
The rest of the evening was spent eating, chilling and packing my kit bags.
SATURDAY
Another natural wake up and after breakfast it was back to Tenby to rack my bike and bags and attend the race briefing – suddenly, things are starting to feel very very real!!!
Great briefing it has to be said, informative but with plenty of humour thrown in to keep it interesting and keep you listening.
Spot of dinner in the evening and then it was time for an early night – tomorrow is the day I’ve been training 9 months for – lets do this!!!
After what seemed to be the longest ½ day at work ever, it was straight home, load the car, then time to hit the road. We were really lucky and had a pretty clear run with no real traffic. In order to break up the journey, we stayed at an IBIS just outside Cardiff.
FRIDAY
Woke up naturally, no alarm – ahhh bliss! Porridge for breaky and then back on the road, next stop – TENBY!!!
We checked into The Broadmead Boutique B&B, our base for the weekend – what a place, simply amazing. Then we walked the mile into the centre of Tenby so I could register.
Registration was really quick and straight forward, chuffed with the rucksack and on the way out, we had a look around the expo.
Back to the B&B to grab my wetsuit, and then down to the beach for a practise swim to get rid of the travelling cobwebs and settle the nerves. Lovely little 15 min dip, nice and warm and flat as a pancake, here’s hoping for the same come Sunday.
The rest of the evening was spent eating, chilling and packing my kit bags.
SATURDAY
Another natural wake up and after breakfast it was back to Tenby to rack my bike and bags and attend the race briefing – suddenly, things are starting to feel very very real!!!
Great briefing it has to be said, informative but with plenty of humour thrown in to keep it interesting and keep you listening.
Spot of dinner in the evening and then it was time for an early night – tomorrow is the day I’ve been training 9 months for – lets do this!!!
SUNDAY – RACE DAY!!!
Up early early doors for my pre race breakfast of porridge with blueberries, nuts and seeds before heading out.
I kiss the wife goodbye and get wished good luck, from here on in, its down to me, im on my own, its me against the Ironman Wales course.
Last minute check of the bike, put on my computer, water bottles and nutrition, then its time to don the wetsuit.
I line up in the appropriate time zone (1h05m) and we are off, a slow parade through Tenby to the beach. The closer we got, the bigger the crowds and the louder noise. That walk was epic!
I hang my pink bag, one last swig of water and then onto the beach I go. I have a quick dip, swimming out and turning round to look and the cliffs lined with 1000’s of people, and just tread water and take it all in.
Back to shore and time to get my game face on. We watched the sun beautifully rise, listened to the Welsh national anthem and then bang, the pro men are off. 2 mins later and a second bang – the female pro’s are off. The next one is for us, here we go.
Swim – The swim went even better than I could have hoped for. The sea was calm and flat, my sighting was pretty much spot on and I found my rhythm almost straight away. Only spotted 2 jelly fish and felt like I was overtaking more people than were over taking. My feelings that it was a good swim were confirmed when I finished in 57minutes – better than I thought I would. 1 down – 2 to go!
T1 - includes a 1km uphill run from the beach to transition so my time of 13 mins doesn’t look so bad considering the faffying I did unpacking then repacking my bag several times over.
Bike - Out on the bike and I knew there was a long way still to go so purposely tried to ride within myself and not to over do it. The first lap flew by and I was really surprised and chuffed with my time and speed, then came laps 2 and 3 where all the hills are. Lap 2 still felt good and I was happy with my climbs and with my flat speed, but at the start of lap 3 I started to feel it and the climbs definitely seemed steeper and longer. That said, I was still just about on my target, albeit the lower end, so was happy enough. I took it wasyish for the last 10 miles in preparation for the run to come. That’s the bike done, 6:43:05. Two down, just a little jog to go!!!
T2 – much better than T1, much more efficient and only 5mins 22secs. Here we go, bring on the Marathon.
Run – plan A for me was to run (plod) the whole way round all 4 laps, but this was not to be. The first 2.5ish miles of the lap are pretty much all up hill, and I feel the effects for the rest of the lap, I manage to run for all of lap 1. After the start of lap 2, I know plan A will not work and is not feasible, so I improvise and develop a plan B. Half way up the 2 mile climb there is a feed station, so I run from the base of the hill to the feed station, take a drink, catch my breath for 20-30secs, then off I go again to run to the summit, it hit the turn around point and run another mile or so to the next aid station, I do the same thing and take a rest, then run the rest of the lap. The strategy works and lap 2 is completed, then lap 3. Before I know it I am starting lap 4 and despite hurting, I dig deep, follow plan B and the red carpet beckons. Half way down it, just as I start to realise I'm about to hear ‘THOSE’ words, I spot my wife in the crowd so run over for a high 5 before I cross the line, stopping the clock at 3:57:00 for my marathon.
I turn round to look at my time and I am shocked. I was hoping to squeeze under 14hr, but the clock says 11:56:10!!!! Im sure its wrong or my eyes aren’t working properly, so I ask a volunteer what my time was and they confirm that I just finished in under 12hours!!!!! I am in genuine shock and lost for words. The Major presents me with my medal which I give a cheeky kiss to and then off to find my wife and support crew.
A celebratory beer in the B&B bar before I head off to bed, knowing I wont sleep as I play the amazing day back over and over and over again in my head.
Up early early doors for my pre race breakfast of porridge with blueberries, nuts and seeds before heading out.
I kiss the wife goodbye and get wished good luck, from here on in, its down to me, im on my own, its me against the Ironman Wales course.
Last minute check of the bike, put on my computer, water bottles and nutrition, then its time to don the wetsuit.
I line up in the appropriate time zone (1h05m) and we are off, a slow parade through Tenby to the beach. The closer we got, the bigger the crowds and the louder noise. That walk was epic!
I hang my pink bag, one last swig of water and then onto the beach I go. I have a quick dip, swimming out and turning round to look and the cliffs lined with 1000’s of people, and just tread water and take it all in.
Back to shore and time to get my game face on. We watched the sun beautifully rise, listened to the Welsh national anthem and then bang, the pro men are off. 2 mins later and a second bang – the female pro’s are off. The next one is for us, here we go.
Swim – The swim went even better than I could have hoped for. The sea was calm and flat, my sighting was pretty much spot on and I found my rhythm almost straight away. Only spotted 2 jelly fish and felt like I was overtaking more people than were over taking. My feelings that it was a good swim were confirmed when I finished in 57minutes – better than I thought I would. 1 down – 2 to go!
T1 - includes a 1km uphill run from the beach to transition so my time of 13 mins doesn’t look so bad considering the faffying I did unpacking then repacking my bag several times over.
Bike - Out on the bike and I knew there was a long way still to go so purposely tried to ride within myself and not to over do it. The first lap flew by and I was really surprised and chuffed with my time and speed, then came laps 2 and 3 where all the hills are. Lap 2 still felt good and I was happy with my climbs and with my flat speed, but at the start of lap 3 I started to feel it and the climbs definitely seemed steeper and longer. That said, I was still just about on my target, albeit the lower end, so was happy enough. I took it wasyish for the last 10 miles in preparation for the run to come. That’s the bike done, 6:43:05. Two down, just a little jog to go!!!
T2 – much better than T1, much more efficient and only 5mins 22secs. Here we go, bring on the Marathon.
Run – plan A for me was to run (plod) the whole way round all 4 laps, but this was not to be. The first 2.5ish miles of the lap are pretty much all up hill, and I feel the effects for the rest of the lap, I manage to run for all of lap 1. After the start of lap 2, I know plan A will not work and is not feasible, so I improvise and develop a plan B. Half way up the 2 mile climb there is a feed station, so I run from the base of the hill to the feed station, take a drink, catch my breath for 20-30secs, then off I go again to run to the summit, it hit the turn around point and run another mile or so to the next aid station, I do the same thing and take a rest, then run the rest of the lap. The strategy works and lap 2 is completed, then lap 3. Before I know it I am starting lap 4 and despite hurting, I dig deep, follow plan B and the red carpet beckons. Half way down it, just as I start to realise I'm about to hear ‘THOSE’ words, I spot my wife in the crowd so run over for a high 5 before I cross the line, stopping the clock at 3:57:00 for my marathon.
I turn round to look at my time and I am shocked. I was hoping to squeeze under 14hr, but the clock says 11:56:10!!!! Im sure its wrong or my eyes aren’t working properly, so I ask a volunteer what my time was and they confirm that I just finished in under 12hours!!!!! I am in genuine shock and lost for words. The Major presents me with my medal which I give a cheeky kiss to and then off to find my wife and support crew.
A celebratory beer in the B&B bar before I head off to bed, knowing I wont sleep as I play the amazing day back over and over and over again in my head.
MONDAY
Up, full English breakfast, one last wonder around Tenby and then that was that, time to head home.
Thank you Tenby for an absolutely amazing race and weekend. I came, I raced, I completed!!! OUSCH!!!!!!
Up, full English breakfast, one last wonder around Tenby and then that was that, time to head home.
Thank you Tenby for an absolutely amazing race and weekend. I came, I raced, I completed!!! OUSCH!!!!!!
Swim Serpentine British Open Water Swim Championships
BY STEPHEN HARLEY
I have to admit I was being a big girls blouse about this event beforehand. When I'd discovered the Swim Serpentine events I'd had a couple of beers and being a Billy Big Bollocks I'd decided that a single mile wetsuited on the Saturday was too easy and that since I could beat the cut off I should instead enter the 2 mile British Open Water Swim Championships on the Sunday instead and that the predicted 16C in skins wouldn't be that cold as I'd spent 15minutes in an 18C Kings Cross Pond on one of the hottest days of the year the other week and it hadn't been at all unpleasant.
But as the reality dawned that actually 17C in skins for an hour would be both a fair bit colder and a fair bit longer I started to worry. This wasn't helped on arrival in Hyde Park to find a grandstand and several hundred people watching the swimming from waterfront the cafes. It got worse after registration when I went into what I thought were very plush changing tents - with carpet floors and everything! To find that actually there weren't many entrants....and those that had entered clearly knew each other and knew how to swim quite fast...luckily as I sat there thinking I was seriously outclassed two or three other newbies spoke up and the nerves settled...I wasn't alone in being "out of my depth"
A walk along a lovely blue carpet to the waterfront where the race briefing was held in front of the grandstand whilst Louise Minchin compared with the commentator and the tension was mounting again. Out on the pontoon we were given a countdown to start and eyed up the water. I stuck a foot in and it wasn't bad at all. Hell I'd have been looking forwards to it if I'd had my wetsuit! My tubby frame was one of the last to follow the ripped "serious" swimmers into the water and as I hit it my first thought was actually it's not as horrendously cold as I'd imagined.
A swim round to the start rope (something new to me we all had to hold the rope) and quickly the handful of us newbies were loudly told to get on the other side of the rope. I'd put myself right next to the pontoon way out wide, knowing the quick lads would be on the right and the shortest line. 25 swimmers starting, green caps for my age group (the oldest) and pink and orange for the younger two groups.
But as the reality dawned that actually 17C in skins for an hour would be both a fair bit colder and a fair bit longer I started to worry. This wasn't helped on arrival in Hyde Park to find a grandstand and several hundred people watching the swimming from waterfront the cafes. It got worse after registration when I went into what I thought were very plush changing tents - with carpet floors and everything! To find that actually there weren't many entrants....and those that had entered clearly knew each other and knew how to swim quite fast...luckily as I sat there thinking I was seriously outclassed two or three other newbies spoke up and the nerves settled...I wasn't alone in being "out of my depth"
A walk along a lovely blue carpet to the waterfront where the race briefing was held in front of the grandstand whilst Louise Minchin compared with the commentator and the tension was mounting again. Out on the pontoon we were given a countdown to start and eyed up the water. I stuck a foot in and it wasn't bad at all. Hell I'd have been looking forwards to it if I'd had my wetsuit! My tubby frame was one of the last to follow the ripped "serious" swimmers into the water and as I hit it my first thought was actually it's not as horrendously cold as I'd imagined.
A swim round to the start rope (something new to me we all had to hold the rope) and quickly the handful of us newbies were loudly told to get on the other side of the rope. I'd put myself right next to the pontoon way out wide, knowing the quick lads would be on the right and the shortest line. 25 swimmers starting, green caps for my age group (the oldest) and pink and orange for the younger two groups.
The hooter went and I watched as 3/4 of the field kept away like Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps...I'm no slouch in the water against most triathletes but this was something else. 25m in and watching the field become disappear into the distance I looked over my shoulder and to my immense relief realised I wasn't last!
Two 1 mile laps of the Serpentine were mostly a lonely affair, I reeled in a couple of people who'd gone off too quick within the first 400m before settling down to pursue a green and pink cap who'd built a healthy lead. By the 1.2km point the green cap was overtaken and as we started the second lap pink cap fell behind as well. I built a healthy lead over the next 750m or so but I was tiring more quickly in the relative cold of the water without the warmth of a wetsuit and so that pink cap started to climb back. Suddenly a wave of half a dozen fast women passed (they'd started 15/20 minutes after us) me like they were on jet skis. A brief attempt to draft ended as quickly as it began, they were in another league.
That pink cap haunted me as my attention drifted before the final bend revealed about a 300-400m dash for the finish line. Suddenly a red capped woman speed past and a brief collision didn't even break her stroke.
I buckled down for a sprint and managed to hold the pink cap off by a clear 50m, the victory made all the sweeter by look on the younger ripped Aussies face when he saw the beer belly of victory as he climbed out the water!
I huge gong for participating and a hot tub to myself brought home that there were some good benefits to a smaller field. All in all a tremendous event and a lot of fun for my first skins race
Two 1 mile laps of the Serpentine were mostly a lonely affair, I reeled in a couple of people who'd gone off too quick within the first 400m before settling down to pursue a green and pink cap who'd built a healthy lead. By the 1.2km point the green cap was overtaken and as we started the second lap pink cap fell behind as well. I built a healthy lead over the next 750m or so but I was tiring more quickly in the relative cold of the water without the warmth of a wetsuit and so that pink cap started to climb back. Suddenly a wave of half a dozen fast women passed (they'd started 15/20 minutes after us) me like they were on jet skis. A brief attempt to draft ended as quickly as it began, they were in another league.
That pink cap haunted me as my attention drifted before the final bend revealed about a 300-400m dash for the finish line. Suddenly a red capped woman speed past and a brief collision didn't even break her stroke.
I buckled down for a sprint and managed to hold the pink cap off by a clear 50m, the victory made all the sweeter by look on the younger ripped Aussies face when he saw the beer belly of victory as he climbed out the water!
I huge gong for participating and a hot tub to myself brought home that there were some good benefits to a smaller field. All in all a tremendous event and a lot of fun for my first skins race
Eton Dorney 10k Swim
BY STEPHEN HARLEY
If you are going to swim 10km for a time (and so don't want a current) then Eton Dorney is as good as it gets for water quality IMHO. There is definitely something special about the place, the Olympic Rings adorning the media building and bridges probably have something to do with it - a little bit of the magic of London 2012 still pervades the place of a summers morning if you ask me. 9:20am start so plenty of time to get ready, I've found that whilst my new Huub wetsuit doesn't chaff too badly on my neck that its delicate compared to my zone3 vision and demands much more time and effort to get on properly (tucking it into the under arms being a particular challenge for some strange reason).
Rolling starts for the 3km and 1.5km (which both bizarrely shared much of the same course and featured one of the feed stations - for a 1500m!) and then the 10km (5km would start shortly after us). This made me pleased that I had opted for the 10km this year (I've been trying to place in my age group at the 1500m in past years but changed as I particularly wanted to make my 10km debut at Eaton Dorney) I like a good mass start if I'm racing - still this would do nicely for a swim I'm aiming to complete first and foremost....less temptation to go too hard at the start.
I put myself at the front of the pen so into the water in the front few. Taking myself out wide a little to give myself some space whilst I acclimatised (20C water so very pleasant and no real wind so mill pond territory) I started at an easy pace. The radio on the journey down had been playing the Smiths - Panic (not a particular favourite of mine) and this had ear-wormed into my skull so I paced to the repeated chorus of "hang the dj" which whilst irritating set a nice pace.
Early doors I was passed by the faster 10km swimmers and took the opportunity to draft as much as possible - swapping to various pairs of feet that passed me. In short order we were over taking the very slowest 1.5km swimmers in their green hats and even a couple of orange hatted 3km. Then it became quiet after they turned under their bridge (we continued on to the second bridge and the halfway point of the first of four laps).
It got a little fraught as the pack condensed for the turn under the bridge and then shortly afterwards we were at the first feed stop (SIS provided - own food and more SIS stuff was to be found at the second feed stop a few hundred meters before the third bridge that would mark the end of the lap) I stayed on my knees and just downed a cup of energy drink (we were only twenty odd minutes in) and dashed back into the stream of swimmers who'd closed whilst I'd stopped. I found some more feet and the in-leg of the lap felt much quicker and soon we were at the second feed station where I grabbed one of my high5 gels with caffeine (SIS only provided energy ones so caffeine seems the logical choice). Away again and more feet following we passed under the third bridge and started our second lap. A glance at the watch told me I'd done that in about 40minutes.
Now I'd harboured an ambition to achieve sub three hours when I'd entered at the start of the year but I'd not swam at my best for most of the year and Adam had pointed out a more realistic time would be some where between 3:20 and 3:50. I'd set my sights on sub 3:30 so this was a pleasant surprise, esp. as I really didn't feel like I'd done 2.5km at all. Trying to damp expectations I ploughed on and found the feet of a skins swimmer whose pace was a bit faster than mine but when drafting I could keep just about in touch with.
The out leg of every lap seemed to go on forever. The first bridge (which we bypassed) taking an age to come but at one stage following my skins swimmer I'd managed to find myself ensconced in a nice little pack of swimmers that really made it easy. Back under the bridge at the halfway point of the lap and I pulled up, energy drink and gel and off quickly (leaving the skins guy behind) I swam down the back straight (again it felt faster than the out leg) and my skins guy overhauled me once more and I sat back in until the next feed stop. Caffeine gel and back out - I'd clocked earlier that I'd passed 4km at 1:06 pace over four minutes quicker than I'd managed at swim Rutland just 3 weeks ago and now we rounded 5km at something like 1:26 - my best times for 5km in the pool had been north of 1:30.
I have to admit I started to get excited at this point, I knew there would be pain later but I was smashing this and felt strong - could sub 3 hours be possible ? I knew I couldn't keep this pace for a whole 10km - after all my longest ever continuous swim was 6km and I knew that shortly I'd start to feel it as I went into the unknown....but maybe just maybe I could run it close ?
Again the 3rd time out was harder, worse as I'd left me skins swimmer behind (he had faded and was taking longer at stops) I was finding very little in the way of feet to draft. At the 6km mark my fingers started to ache - this had happened in the pool before but luckily it wasn't as bad this time. I could feel my arms beginning to protest as well as I rounded the bridge and the feed station arrived just short of 2/3rds distance completed. Energy drink and gel - the watch was clear I had slowed a little but I was still on for 3 hours. As I started again it was pretty lonely now - I'm used to this as in the shorter distance I do I'm not fast enough to keep up front runners but generally am ahead of the masses. Remarkably my arms just went quiet on me for a 100m or so...it was a trick by the second feed station they were making themselves very much known - caffeine gel and energy drink and back out again.
If I could make the bridge and the start of the fourth lap by 2:15 I reckoned I was in with a shout of the magic 3 hour mark. I think it was about 2:12 and so I pushed hard again on the boring out leg. Out of nowhere somebody swam over my legs which broke my rhythm slightly but by now I was ready to hang the radio dj myself so it didn't take long to get back into it. My arms were properly aching now.
All of a sudden it was under the bridge, I had twenty minutes to cover just over 1km by my reckoning and I knew I would stop again after this feed, same routine energy drink and gel and back out. You can see the bridge that marks the end of the lap all the way along. My arms were absolute murder now and I was really trying to keep my stroke rate high and my stroke length good.
By the time I was passing the last feed stop I knew it would really be nip and tuck for sub three hours. All depended on how much extra distance I'd added. I was going to hit 10km before the 3 hour point but I would still be a good couple of hundred meters from the end of the swim. I was sprinting in slow motion - it hurt like I was flat out on a 400m TT in the pool but I knew I was at nothing like that pace. I was overhauled at the end by another swimmer who sat at the bottom of the exit slip - I scrambled past to get over the line. I'd missed it by under two minutes. 3:01:41. Though I was absolutely delighted it was easily one of the best swims I've ever done in terms of my performance.
Thanks Adam - that ridiculous swim week worked a treat !
Official time 3:01:41 - 66th out 139 overall, 50th out of 106 men, 4th out of 13 for my age group.
Rolling starts for the 3km and 1.5km (which both bizarrely shared much of the same course and featured one of the feed stations - for a 1500m!) and then the 10km (5km would start shortly after us). This made me pleased that I had opted for the 10km this year (I've been trying to place in my age group at the 1500m in past years but changed as I particularly wanted to make my 10km debut at Eaton Dorney) I like a good mass start if I'm racing - still this would do nicely for a swim I'm aiming to complete first and foremost....less temptation to go too hard at the start.
I put myself at the front of the pen so into the water in the front few. Taking myself out wide a little to give myself some space whilst I acclimatised (20C water so very pleasant and no real wind so mill pond territory) I started at an easy pace. The radio on the journey down had been playing the Smiths - Panic (not a particular favourite of mine) and this had ear-wormed into my skull so I paced to the repeated chorus of "hang the dj" which whilst irritating set a nice pace.
Early doors I was passed by the faster 10km swimmers and took the opportunity to draft as much as possible - swapping to various pairs of feet that passed me. In short order we were over taking the very slowest 1.5km swimmers in their green hats and even a couple of orange hatted 3km. Then it became quiet after they turned under their bridge (we continued on to the second bridge and the halfway point of the first of four laps).
It got a little fraught as the pack condensed for the turn under the bridge and then shortly afterwards we were at the first feed stop (SIS provided - own food and more SIS stuff was to be found at the second feed stop a few hundred meters before the third bridge that would mark the end of the lap) I stayed on my knees and just downed a cup of energy drink (we were only twenty odd minutes in) and dashed back into the stream of swimmers who'd closed whilst I'd stopped. I found some more feet and the in-leg of the lap felt much quicker and soon we were at the second feed station where I grabbed one of my high5 gels with caffeine (SIS only provided energy ones so caffeine seems the logical choice). Away again and more feet following we passed under the third bridge and started our second lap. A glance at the watch told me I'd done that in about 40minutes.
Now I'd harboured an ambition to achieve sub three hours when I'd entered at the start of the year but I'd not swam at my best for most of the year and Adam had pointed out a more realistic time would be some where between 3:20 and 3:50. I'd set my sights on sub 3:30 so this was a pleasant surprise, esp. as I really didn't feel like I'd done 2.5km at all. Trying to damp expectations I ploughed on and found the feet of a skins swimmer whose pace was a bit faster than mine but when drafting I could keep just about in touch with.
The out leg of every lap seemed to go on forever. The first bridge (which we bypassed) taking an age to come but at one stage following my skins swimmer I'd managed to find myself ensconced in a nice little pack of swimmers that really made it easy. Back under the bridge at the halfway point of the lap and I pulled up, energy drink and gel and off quickly (leaving the skins guy behind) I swam down the back straight (again it felt faster than the out leg) and my skins guy overhauled me once more and I sat back in until the next feed stop. Caffeine gel and back out - I'd clocked earlier that I'd passed 4km at 1:06 pace over four minutes quicker than I'd managed at swim Rutland just 3 weeks ago and now we rounded 5km at something like 1:26 - my best times for 5km in the pool had been north of 1:30.
I have to admit I started to get excited at this point, I knew there would be pain later but I was smashing this and felt strong - could sub 3 hours be possible ? I knew I couldn't keep this pace for a whole 10km - after all my longest ever continuous swim was 6km and I knew that shortly I'd start to feel it as I went into the unknown....but maybe just maybe I could run it close ?
Again the 3rd time out was harder, worse as I'd left me skins swimmer behind (he had faded and was taking longer at stops) I was finding very little in the way of feet to draft. At the 6km mark my fingers started to ache - this had happened in the pool before but luckily it wasn't as bad this time. I could feel my arms beginning to protest as well as I rounded the bridge and the feed station arrived just short of 2/3rds distance completed. Energy drink and gel - the watch was clear I had slowed a little but I was still on for 3 hours. As I started again it was pretty lonely now - I'm used to this as in the shorter distance I do I'm not fast enough to keep up front runners but generally am ahead of the masses. Remarkably my arms just went quiet on me for a 100m or so...it was a trick by the second feed station they were making themselves very much known - caffeine gel and energy drink and back out again.
If I could make the bridge and the start of the fourth lap by 2:15 I reckoned I was in with a shout of the magic 3 hour mark. I think it was about 2:12 and so I pushed hard again on the boring out leg. Out of nowhere somebody swam over my legs which broke my rhythm slightly but by now I was ready to hang the radio dj myself so it didn't take long to get back into it. My arms were properly aching now.
All of a sudden it was under the bridge, I had twenty minutes to cover just over 1km by my reckoning and I knew I would stop again after this feed, same routine energy drink and gel and back out. You can see the bridge that marks the end of the lap all the way along. My arms were absolute murder now and I was really trying to keep my stroke rate high and my stroke length good.
By the time I was passing the last feed stop I knew it would really be nip and tuck for sub three hours. All depended on how much extra distance I'd added. I was going to hit 10km before the 3 hour point but I would still be a good couple of hundred meters from the end of the swim. I was sprinting in slow motion - it hurt like I was flat out on a 400m TT in the pool but I knew I was at nothing like that pace. I was overhauled at the end by another swimmer who sat at the bottom of the exit slip - I scrambled past to get over the line. I'd missed it by under two minutes. 3:01:41. Though I was absolutely delighted it was easily one of the best swims I've ever done in terms of my performance.
Thanks Adam - that ridiculous swim week worked a treat !
Official time 3:01:41 - 66th out 139 overall, 50th out of 106 men, 4th out of 13 for my age group.
OUTLAW TRIATHLON 2016
BY ALAN HUMPHRIES
With the sound of the hooter, a hop, skip and a dive Tim was gone. Standing waist deep at the back of pen 2, looking at the melee before us, I turn to Steve 'I'm gonna give this a few seconds'. A deep breath, 'Let's do this' I mutter and I'm off. Outlaw 2016.
The pens begin to merge. A kick in the face and again in the chest and I'm beginning not to enjoy this. I'm being pushed left to the bank and swim into someone standing up. It's getting frantic, 'Don't be shit' is playing over in my mind. The swimmers around me are deciding which direction I'm going.
Still chocka at the far end forces a wide line round the buoys. Then it's homeward bound. I start to see the fast bikes going along the far side as I close in on transition.
'Lie down and put your legs in the air', unable to protest I comply and my wet suit is pulled off. The burly lady in an apron with cream covered latex gloves gets a second glace and a 'No thank you' before I even register whats she is offering.
The pens begin to merge. A kick in the face and again in the chest and I'm beginning not to enjoy this. I'm being pushed left to the bank and swim into someone standing up. It's getting frantic, 'Don't be shit' is playing over in my mind. The swimmers around me are deciding which direction I'm going.
Still chocka at the far end forces a wide line round the buoys. Then it's homeward bound. I start to see the fast bikes going along the far side as I close in on transition.
'Lie down and put your legs in the air', unable to protest I comply and my wet suit is pulled off. The burly lady in an apron with cream covered latex gloves gets a second glace and a 'No thank you' before I even register whats she is offering.
Out on the bike and riders are already having early mechanicals, please not me. Tim flies past me with an encouraging shout. The bike is going well but I'm reminded of the precarious nature of this leg as I nearly cycle into the back of someone stopping at a feed station.
Having recce the course earlier in the year, the 2nd loop is looking familiar, but not overly familiar. I couldn't remember going up this hill but I could remember coming down it. Never mind.
The relief coming back into transition raises my spirits and now it's just one foot in front of another. I spot Tim as I cross the River Trent for the 1st time and catch up with him at mile 13. He's enjoying himself. Reeling him in had been a motivation now staying ahead was another.
Fueled by coke and Jaffa cakes I spot Adam Gibson. 'I've 40 minutes to beat your time'. Adams reply 'You can do that walking', I'm tempted but I'm not going to.
I pull my bodybuilder poses as I run along the carpet, lift the banner and it's job done.
Shell shocked, a bit emotional but 3 cups of tea later I'm fine. Tim and Steve arrive, we share our stories, collect our stuff and then on the way back to Milton Keynes they overtake me. This time, It matters not as Queens 'We are the Champions' is playing on the radio.
Having recce the course earlier in the year, the 2nd loop is looking familiar, but not overly familiar. I couldn't remember going up this hill but I could remember coming down it. Never mind.
The relief coming back into transition raises my spirits and now it's just one foot in front of another. I spot Tim as I cross the River Trent for the 1st time and catch up with him at mile 13. He's enjoying himself. Reeling him in had been a motivation now staying ahead was another.
Fueled by coke and Jaffa cakes I spot Adam Gibson. 'I've 40 minutes to beat your time'. Adams reply 'You can do that walking', I'm tempted but I'm not going to.
I pull my bodybuilder poses as I run along the carpet, lift the banner and it's job done.
Shell shocked, a bit emotional but 3 cups of tea later I'm fine. Tim and Steve arrive, we share our stories, collect our stuff and then on the way back to Milton Keynes they overtake me. This time, It matters not as Queens 'We are the Champions' is playing on the radio.
KONA IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015
by Dionne Whelan
The Swim
My target was 1:45 and I thought this was doable based on a trial run the previous week which took 1:46. I think a few people were expecting sub 1:40 but I never thought that was realistic and decided I’d be overjoyed with sub 1:45 but could cope with sub 2.
So the first thing to note is that I am at the Ironman World Championships and about to take part in my first ever mass start swim (Bolton was a rolling start) with no previous experience.
The second thing to note is that you have to swim 200m to get to the start and then tread water for 10 minutes!! As a particularly poor swimmer this was somewhat disconcerting. All of the ladies who had been so nice earlier in the week suddenly turned vicious, before I’d even started I’d been kicked in the shins and scratched numerous times by people being a little too lively in their attempts to stay afloat.
I decided to lie on my back to get some rest, heard a faint ‘boom’ and realised the canon had gone off and everyone had started, time to flip over and get started. I forgot to start my watch, but did it around a minute later, though not quite sure how long the delay was which I will revisit on the run.
In the first five minutes I was elbowed in the eye (but my goggle stayed in place) and clonked on the head, I started to realise this may be more of a challenge than I’d anticipated. After that it didn’t go too badly, I could see when two people were closing in with a pincer movement and pretty much managed to avoid any further mishaps.
The swim is one massive loop, you swim out just over a mile to a boat, then across the top of a rectangle and back. At the boat the swell got quite big, I was OK but on the lookout for anyone being sick and also worried that despite swimming my best I wasn’t really getting anywhere. With about 0.5 of a mile to go, I took my eye off the ball and was kicked in the face, my goggles came off and I immediately closed my eyes to avoid a ‘Conor Style’ injury. When I put them back on they still had a bit of water in them so my eyes stung a bit, after a bit of an effort I stopped and rested on a paddle board and put them on properly.
With about 400m to go I realised my hat wasn’t on, it was however, tied up in the back of my goggles and collecting water as I went along. I made a note to take goggles and hat off as soon as I exited so that my pictures wouldn’t look too ridiculous.
When I exited the water I was expecting 2 hours as I knew I had slowed, so imagine my surprise when my watch showed 1:43, this is why I look so happy in the swim pictures, I really could not believe it. My official time was 1:43:56.
The transition was very slick (though some may say it still wasn’t fast!). I had a shower to rinse the salt off, then someone handed me my bag, then as I went in the changing tent someone took it off me and started getting stuff out, she kept trying to hurry me along and at one point was pulling my speed suit off and I was being too slow. As I was getting my long sleeve top on she was putting suntan lotion on my legs and neck, I was like a kid being dressed by my mam. Eventually she sent me off to look for my bike.
There are about 2,500 bikes in the transition area so it can be difficult to spot yours, everyone was making mental notes before the race of exactly where their bike was, I did this too, however, I was the 602nd lady of 662 out of the water, the men started 15 mins before us and I only overtook a few. So guess what, when I went to transition I could spot my bike a mile off, there was literally only one other bike in my row and the rows leading up to it were all empty!! The advantage of being a slow swimmer.
I got to the start line and took forever to clip in. Given I looked so incompetent and was also one of the last people out I am sure people would have written me off as a future DNF – but they don’t know I can run.
My target was 1:45 and I thought this was doable based on a trial run the previous week which took 1:46. I think a few people were expecting sub 1:40 but I never thought that was realistic and decided I’d be overjoyed with sub 1:45 but could cope with sub 2.
So the first thing to note is that I am at the Ironman World Championships and about to take part in my first ever mass start swim (Bolton was a rolling start) with no previous experience.
The second thing to note is that you have to swim 200m to get to the start and then tread water for 10 minutes!! As a particularly poor swimmer this was somewhat disconcerting. All of the ladies who had been so nice earlier in the week suddenly turned vicious, before I’d even started I’d been kicked in the shins and scratched numerous times by people being a little too lively in their attempts to stay afloat.
I decided to lie on my back to get some rest, heard a faint ‘boom’ and realised the canon had gone off and everyone had started, time to flip over and get started. I forgot to start my watch, but did it around a minute later, though not quite sure how long the delay was which I will revisit on the run.
In the first five minutes I was elbowed in the eye (but my goggle stayed in place) and clonked on the head, I started to realise this may be more of a challenge than I’d anticipated. After that it didn’t go too badly, I could see when two people were closing in with a pincer movement and pretty much managed to avoid any further mishaps.
The swim is one massive loop, you swim out just over a mile to a boat, then across the top of a rectangle and back. At the boat the swell got quite big, I was OK but on the lookout for anyone being sick and also worried that despite swimming my best I wasn’t really getting anywhere. With about 0.5 of a mile to go, I took my eye off the ball and was kicked in the face, my goggles came off and I immediately closed my eyes to avoid a ‘Conor Style’ injury. When I put them back on they still had a bit of water in them so my eyes stung a bit, after a bit of an effort I stopped and rested on a paddle board and put them on properly.
With about 400m to go I realised my hat wasn’t on, it was however, tied up in the back of my goggles and collecting water as I went along. I made a note to take goggles and hat off as soon as I exited so that my pictures wouldn’t look too ridiculous.
When I exited the water I was expecting 2 hours as I knew I had slowed, so imagine my surprise when my watch showed 1:43, this is why I look so happy in the swim pictures, I really could not believe it. My official time was 1:43:56.
The transition was very slick (though some may say it still wasn’t fast!). I had a shower to rinse the salt off, then someone handed me my bag, then as I went in the changing tent someone took it off me and started getting stuff out, she kept trying to hurry me along and at one point was pulling my speed suit off and I was being too slow. As I was getting my long sleeve top on she was putting suntan lotion on my legs and neck, I was like a kid being dressed by my mam. Eventually she sent me off to look for my bike.
There are about 2,500 bikes in the transition area so it can be difficult to spot yours, everyone was making mental notes before the race of exactly where their bike was, I did this too, however, I was the 602nd lady of 662 out of the water, the men started 15 mins before us and I only overtook a few. So guess what, when I went to transition I could spot my bike a mile off, there was literally only one other bike in my row and the rows leading up to it were all empty!! The advantage of being a slow swimmer.
I got to the start line and took forever to clip in. Given I looked so incompetent and was also one of the last people out I am sure people would have written me off as a future DNF – but they don’t know I can run.
The Bike
The other advantage of being almost the last person out of the water is that there is no one to overtake you on the bike! I saw Conor as soon as I left transition which was lovely, I then saw him at mile 2 and was interviewed going up the hill at mile 10. I had to cycle that hill once and run it once, because Conor was supporting both me and Fran, he ran up it four times – he tells me it was really hard work especially in that heat (well try doing it after a 2.4mile swim and then again after a 2.4 miles swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 10 mile run and I may give you some sympathy!!) I spent the first 40 miles overtaking cyclist after cyclist. My average speed was 17.6mph and I was feeling good. It was very hot and there were hills but it was all manageable. Then it all started to go horribly wrong.
During my training rides earlier in the week I had been experiencing some foot pain which is linked to an ongoing problem I have which always affects me when skiing etc. On the worst day it kicked in after 19 miles but I stopped for water at a shop anyway so took my foot out of my shoe, massaged it and carried on.
At mile 40, I knew I was in trouble. I decided to take a pain killer and man up. I knew Conor was at mile 60 so I promised myself that I would get there at an average of 17mph as a minimum and then stop, sort out the foot and carry on. By mile 50 I had slowed a little and was actually crying to myself with the pain and to add insult to injury, someone I had just overtaken got me back – gutted (it was the first person to overtake me). The next 5 miles seemed like an eternity, the ride had been going so well I was starting to think 6:45 or even 6:30 may be possible which would make up for the slower swim than Bolton. I then had a word with myself and decided the whole experience was not going to be good if I was in this much pain and everyone had told me before I went to ‘enjoy it’ – this was not enjoyment. So at mile 55 I stopped for 5 minutes took off my shoe, massaged my foot and carried on, it gave relief for 10 miles and I held out until mile 70 before stopping again. Then mile 85, then mile 95 and I wish I’d also stopped at 105 because the last 7 miles were hell but it seemed so close I thought I should keep going – hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Despite the 4 stops to relieve my foot, my over riding memory of the bike is that I was in pain for most of it, it really was horrendous, and at one point I thought ‘I’m not enjoying this should I just give up?’ I knew Conor would be fine with it, but then I thought that classic line ‘pain is temporary….’ It wasn’t quite temporary, it was 5 hours out of a 7 hour and 4 minute ride!!
When I finally got in to the town I think I shouted something a little less positive to Conor than on the way out, he was worried I’d struggle on the run as a result but I knew nothing would be as bad as that bike, I can still remember the pain now (5 days later – that really isn’t temporary).
Anyway the lady looking after me in transition 2 was nowhere near as efficient, she ran out of suncream and I ended up packing my own bag, but the bonus was that someone took my bike as soon as I got off it, no need to rack it myself.
The other advantage of being almost the last person out of the water is that there is no one to overtake you on the bike! I saw Conor as soon as I left transition which was lovely, I then saw him at mile 2 and was interviewed going up the hill at mile 10. I had to cycle that hill once and run it once, because Conor was supporting both me and Fran, he ran up it four times – he tells me it was really hard work especially in that heat (well try doing it after a 2.4mile swim and then again after a 2.4 miles swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 10 mile run and I may give you some sympathy!!) I spent the first 40 miles overtaking cyclist after cyclist. My average speed was 17.6mph and I was feeling good. It was very hot and there were hills but it was all manageable. Then it all started to go horribly wrong.
During my training rides earlier in the week I had been experiencing some foot pain which is linked to an ongoing problem I have which always affects me when skiing etc. On the worst day it kicked in after 19 miles but I stopped for water at a shop anyway so took my foot out of my shoe, massaged it and carried on.
At mile 40, I knew I was in trouble. I decided to take a pain killer and man up. I knew Conor was at mile 60 so I promised myself that I would get there at an average of 17mph as a minimum and then stop, sort out the foot and carry on. By mile 50 I had slowed a little and was actually crying to myself with the pain and to add insult to injury, someone I had just overtaken got me back – gutted (it was the first person to overtake me). The next 5 miles seemed like an eternity, the ride had been going so well I was starting to think 6:45 or even 6:30 may be possible which would make up for the slower swim than Bolton. I then had a word with myself and decided the whole experience was not going to be good if I was in this much pain and everyone had told me before I went to ‘enjoy it’ – this was not enjoyment. So at mile 55 I stopped for 5 minutes took off my shoe, massaged my foot and carried on, it gave relief for 10 miles and I held out until mile 70 before stopping again. Then mile 85, then mile 95 and I wish I’d also stopped at 105 because the last 7 miles were hell but it seemed so close I thought I should keep going – hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Despite the 4 stops to relieve my foot, my over riding memory of the bike is that I was in pain for most of it, it really was horrendous, and at one point I thought ‘I’m not enjoying this should I just give up?’ I knew Conor would be fine with it, but then I thought that classic line ‘pain is temporary….’ It wasn’t quite temporary, it was 5 hours out of a 7 hour and 4 minute ride!!
When I finally got in to the town I think I shouted something a little less positive to Conor than on the way out, he was worried I’d struggle on the run as a result but I knew nothing would be as bad as that bike, I can still remember the pain now (5 days later – that really isn’t temporary).
Anyway the lady looking after me in transition 2 was nowhere near as efficient, she ran out of suncream and I ended up packing my own bag, but the bonus was that someone took my bike as soon as I got off it, no need to rack it myself.
The Run
So I started the run, with a bit of pain in my foot but knew it would go away. I later learned that the first couple of splits were delayed coming through and Conor was worried the pain was too much and I’d dropped out. My first mile was 8:10 and my second was 8:18 (which seems to be the pace I gravitate to) I decided this was too fast given my experience at Bolton. I had a score to settle there, 4:00:08 really was an oversight.
My conscious effort to slow down was made all easier with a VERY rapid need to go to the toilet at around mile 3, then again at mile 6 I suddenly thought that this may be my downfall, but from then on I stuck mainly to water with the odd Gatorade in the hope my stomach would settle and it did.
From mile 6 on I didn’t look at my mile times as I decided I should just run to feel but try and feel like I wasn’t trying too hard. This mean’t that the hills I was dreading all felt quite easy. Overall my pace was around 8:30 throughout and didn’t really falter, I stopped to have my drinks (which were every mile) rather than walk the stations, that and my two toilet stops are what brought the average down, but I knew I’d be well within 4 hours. The bike had been so bad I wasn’t going to break any records so it was about enjoying the run.
My claim to fame? Not ONE person passed me on the run, (except when I was in the toilet and I’m sure I would have got them back). I ran all the way, giving encouragement to everyone I passed. I did the obligatory, ‘It’s only 11 miles to go – that’s a Thursday night run’ and ‘7 miles to go – you do that on a Tuesday night with speed work or hills and you don’t need to do speedwork tonight’ one bloke corrected me that it was actually his Tuesday morning session but that’s OK. With 5 miles to go ‘you don’t normally bother getting your kit dirty for that’ I looked at my overall time and worked out that I should come in under 13 hours but I wasn’t sure because I didn’t know exactly how long it had taken to start my watch.
I was expecting to see Conor at mile 25 then the finish and had planned to give him a big hug when I saw him on the red carpet, but with sub 13 in the balance I decided to tell him at 25 that I’d be motoring past him on the red carpet, anyway he wasn’t there!! The last mile I started to pick the speed up and pick people off, even the commentator on ‘hot corner’ said I was going for a strong finish. Luckily as I got to the red carpet I saw Conor and acknowledged him this time with a high five (I think – it’s a bit of a blur). Most importantly I got that sub 4 hours without it feeling like I tried too hard, I never walked any of the sections never mind the hills and I only stopped when absolutely necessary, my time was 3:49:13 many people would be happy with that as a standalone marathon, never mind at the end of a hilly Ironman in the stifling heat!
That red carpet moment seemed to last forever, but not in a ‘I can’t see the end’ way. I really milked it and was very impressed with my little jump which was caught beautifully on camera and looks more impressive than it actually was.
Once I got over the line, two ladies wrapped me in a towel and were by my side, I was taken for a drink and food, they kept asking if I was OK did I need any help, it was like having my mam there, with one of them constantly having her hand on my shoulder – it’s obviously a safety thing so they can assess if you need medical attention but it made me feel so special.
So my overall memory of the day (apart from the pain on the bike) is that I loved every minute of it, I seem to be grinning like the village idiot on all of my photos, which I never normally do. I never believed Conor when he said he enjoyed Ironman because I just remember that Bolton was so boring, especially the run and I lost all focus, but Kona was something else. I am so glad I did it and if I ever know anyone else who gets the chance to go I would not hesitate in telling them to do it. Oh and my overall time was 12:57:21 – I had time to give Conor and kiss and a hug after all…..
So I started the run, with a bit of pain in my foot but knew it would go away. I later learned that the first couple of splits were delayed coming through and Conor was worried the pain was too much and I’d dropped out. My first mile was 8:10 and my second was 8:18 (which seems to be the pace I gravitate to) I decided this was too fast given my experience at Bolton. I had a score to settle there, 4:00:08 really was an oversight.
My conscious effort to slow down was made all easier with a VERY rapid need to go to the toilet at around mile 3, then again at mile 6 I suddenly thought that this may be my downfall, but from then on I stuck mainly to water with the odd Gatorade in the hope my stomach would settle and it did.
From mile 6 on I didn’t look at my mile times as I decided I should just run to feel but try and feel like I wasn’t trying too hard. This mean’t that the hills I was dreading all felt quite easy. Overall my pace was around 8:30 throughout and didn’t really falter, I stopped to have my drinks (which were every mile) rather than walk the stations, that and my two toilet stops are what brought the average down, but I knew I’d be well within 4 hours. The bike had been so bad I wasn’t going to break any records so it was about enjoying the run.
My claim to fame? Not ONE person passed me on the run, (except when I was in the toilet and I’m sure I would have got them back). I ran all the way, giving encouragement to everyone I passed. I did the obligatory, ‘It’s only 11 miles to go – that’s a Thursday night run’ and ‘7 miles to go – you do that on a Tuesday night with speed work or hills and you don’t need to do speedwork tonight’ one bloke corrected me that it was actually his Tuesday morning session but that’s OK. With 5 miles to go ‘you don’t normally bother getting your kit dirty for that’ I looked at my overall time and worked out that I should come in under 13 hours but I wasn’t sure because I didn’t know exactly how long it had taken to start my watch.
I was expecting to see Conor at mile 25 then the finish and had planned to give him a big hug when I saw him on the red carpet, but with sub 13 in the balance I decided to tell him at 25 that I’d be motoring past him on the red carpet, anyway he wasn’t there!! The last mile I started to pick the speed up and pick people off, even the commentator on ‘hot corner’ said I was going for a strong finish. Luckily as I got to the red carpet I saw Conor and acknowledged him this time with a high five (I think – it’s a bit of a blur). Most importantly I got that sub 4 hours without it feeling like I tried too hard, I never walked any of the sections never mind the hills and I only stopped when absolutely necessary, my time was 3:49:13 many people would be happy with that as a standalone marathon, never mind at the end of a hilly Ironman in the stifling heat!
That red carpet moment seemed to last forever, but not in a ‘I can’t see the end’ way. I really milked it and was very impressed with my little jump which was caught beautifully on camera and looks more impressive than it actually was.
Once I got over the line, two ladies wrapped me in a towel and were by my side, I was taken for a drink and food, they kept asking if I was OK did I need any help, it was like having my mam there, with one of them constantly having her hand on my shoulder – it’s obviously a safety thing so they can assess if you need medical attention but it made me feel so special.
So my overall memory of the day (apart from the pain on the bike) is that I loved every minute of it, I seem to be grinning like the village idiot on all of my photos, which I never normally do. I never believed Conor when he said he enjoyed Ironman because I just remember that Bolton was so boring, especially the run and I lost all focus, but Kona was something else. I am so glad I did it and if I ever know anyone else who gets the chance to go I would not hesitate in telling them to do it. Oh and my overall time was 12:57:21 – I had time to give Conor and kiss and a hug after all…..
Windermere One Way Swim 2015
By Nigel WOODS
Roughly a year ago I sat down and watched Adam’s Windemere swim video and thought I’d like to do that, a new challenge for 2015, a real reason to do all the swimming I was doing.
Adam had swum as an individual, just rocking up and getting on with it, but when I looked into how you’d go about doing this I found the Windemere One Way organised event and entered it without a second thought, booking my swim and accompanying canoeist. Done I thought, roll on September 2015.
After organising the Winter Swim over the winter of 2014 I upped my training, but it all seemed a little random, so I contacted Adam, sat down with him in April and he created a day by day training programme for me running from April to September the 13th. When I read through it and looked at the swimming involved I did have second thoughts, the last three weeks before the event involved 75km of training and I truly wondered if I could swim back to back 8km swims in training, but it turned out I could and I followed Adam’s training plan to the letter for 5 months.
We booked a posh caravan next to the lake and last Friday, my wife, the dog and I travelled with two huge pasta bakes to Windemere. Saturday morning brought torrential rain and found us driving up and down the lake finding the start point at Fell Foot and the finish at Low Wray Camp site. My only disappointment had been that the swim didn’t finish at Ambleside on the boat slipway featured in Adam’s video, but standing at one end and not even being able to see the other end brought home just how far it was going to be.
Registration was Saturday afternoon. I picked up my pack wandered to the start area and found the event organiser setting out the start pens. The butterflies flapped around in my stomach a bit at that point. My main concern was the cold and how it would affect my swim and standing looking out over Windemere reinforced that concern.
Back to the caravan for the second pasta bake and one last beer (I know alcohol should probably be avoided but I did cut my intake down for the final week) and an early night.
Sunday, 6:20am, met my canoeist and his daughter. I explained my feed programme. I had 3 gels per 750ml bottle and would swim for an hour and then drink every 20 minutes. Gave him my spare pot of Vaseline (I only use Vaseline as lube and one smearing did me the whole way) and waited to get started.
The start was organised into 6 groups starting at 10 minute intervals. I was off in the last group at 7:35. The canoeists were all lined up in swimmer number order and we entered the slip one by one in sync with our paddler. I was number 8 and as the numbers before me were called out the dread of the cold rose, until it was my turn, over the mat, and into a remarkable 17 degree lake. 3 degrees warmer that Box End had been for my last swim and absolutely perfect.
I picked up my paddler and headed through the boat channel and into the lake proper. In races earlier in the year I’d gone with the fastest swimmers at the start and not really stuck to my own swim plan. For this I stuck rigidly to my plan, letting the two guys immediately in front of me get away slightly. I wanted to swim at 15:00 per 1km and I wasn’t going to thrash off too early and mess up the pacing. Within 1500m I’d passed both of them and started slowly swimming past earlier starters.
I felt great, my pacing felt strong but very easy, the lake was very calm to start and I was hugely relieved to be so much warmer than I’d anticipated. I’d organised my paddler to swim just in front of me to my right and tasked him with leading the way. It meant that I could swim without having to do too much sighting relieving the neck rub and stiffness.
Adam had swum as an individual, just rocking up and getting on with it, but when I looked into how you’d go about doing this I found the Windemere One Way organised event and entered it without a second thought, booking my swim and accompanying canoeist. Done I thought, roll on September 2015.
After organising the Winter Swim over the winter of 2014 I upped my training, but it all seemed a little random, so I contacted Adam, sat down with him in April and he created a day by day training programme for me running from April to September the 13th. When I read through it and looked at the swimming involved I did have second thoughts, the last three weeks before the event involved 75km of training and I truly wondered if I could swim back to back 8km swims in training, but it turned out I could and I followed Adam’s training plan to the letter for 5 months.
We booked a posh caravan next to the lake and last Friday, my wife, the dog and I travelled with two huge pasta bakes to Windemere. Saturday morning brought torrential rain and found us driving up and down the lake finding the start point at Fell Foot and the finish at Low Wray Camp site. My only disappointment had been that the swim didn’t finish at Ambleside on the boat slipway featured in Adam’s video, but standing at one end and not even being able to see the other end brought home just how far it was going to be.
Registration was Saturday afternoon. I picked up my pack wandered to the start area and found the event organiser setting out the start pens. The butterflies flapped around in my stomach a bit at that point. My main concern was the cold and how it would affect my swim and standing looking out over Windemere reinforced that concern.
Back to the caravan for the second pasta bake and one last beer (I know alcohol should probably be avoided but I did cut my intake down for the final week) and an early night.
Sunday, 6:20am, met my canoeist and his daughter. I explained my feed programme. I had 3 gels per 750ml bottle and would swim for an hour and then drink every 20 minutes. Gave him my spare pot of Vaseline (I only use Vaseline as lube and one smearing did me the whole way) and waited to get started.
The start was organised into 6 groups starting at 10 minute intervals. I was off in the last group at 7:35. The canoeists were all lined up in swimmer number order and we entered the slip one by one in sync with our paddler. I was number 8 and as the numbers before me were called out the dread of the cold rose, until it was my turn, over the mat, and into a remarkable 17 degree lake. 3 degrees warmer that Box End had been for my last swim and absolutely perfect.
I picked up my paddler and headed through the boat channel and into the lake proper. In races earlier in the year I’d gone with the fastest swimmers at the start and not really stuck to my own swim plan. For this I stuck rigidly to my plan, letting the two guys immediately in front of me get away slightly. I wanted to swim at 15:00 per 1km and I wasn’t going to thrash off too early and mess up the pacing. Within 1500m I’d passed both of them and started slowly swimming past earlier starters.
I felt great, my pacing felt strong but very easy, the lake was very calm to start and I was hugely relieved to be so much warmer than I’d anticipated. I’d organised my paddler to swim just in front of me to my right and tasked him with leading the way. It meant that I could swim without having to do too much sighting relieving the neck rub and stiffness.
We continued passing other swimmers and canoes until my paddler stopped in front of me holding the water bottle. I never imagined we’d been going an hour, I even double checked with him before checking my Garmin. Spot on one hour and we’d covered a little over 4km, bang on target. I barely drank anything, I just didn’t need it at that point and then we were off again. Stopping 20 minutes later at just shy of 5.5km Paul, the paddler, commented that I had a really strong stroke, was going brilliantly and that he suspected I was trying to win the event. I did agree that on the quiet that was the goal.
As we covered the next couple of kilometres the sun slowly rose above the treeline to our right. The lake was still completely calm, I felt really good, my pace hadn’t dropped, I wasn’t remotely struggling and that was the point, bathed in sunlight, that I thought life doesn’t really get much better than this … it was a fantastic feeling, I was absolutely in the zone.
There was an obligatory stop at Storrs Hall, pretty much the halfway point. We had to hand in a wristband and give our race number in. Paul had my band and we’d arranged he would hand it in while I drank. I also used this as an opportunity to pee, I just can’t do it while swimming and despite open water swimming for years it’s a real effort. I wasted 2 minutes at Storrs Hall, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.
From Storrs Hall on the right side of the lake we crossed over to the left side for the second half, having to swim slightly around the chain ferry, which typically was crossing just as we approached. Next feed stop coincided with 10km on 2hr 31, so again smack on target and maintaining the desired 15min per 1km. I was still feeling good, the swim felt almost effortless. We were still catching and passing swimmers and canoes that had set off earlier. The paddlers all wearing high vis with their swimmer’s number. The higher numbers having set off first, so all the way along I was working out roughly where we were in terms of people ahead of me regardless of when they had started. I wanted to be the first person out the lake, regardless of start time. By this stage it had almost become a mental battle rather than physical so setting these little targets helped maintain the pace.
At 12km it started to hurt. I knew I had somewhere between 4 and 5km to go and I started focussing everything on the next feed stop. Breaking it down into 20 minute chunks took my mind off the actual distance left. My Garmin was vibrating every 1km and whereas early on I didn’t care when the vibration came, it had now reached the point where all I could think of was the next 1km buzz,or the 20 minute break. At 13km the wind got up, we were reaching the top portion of the lake and it was very exposed. The chop built and it started to feel like a sea swim.
The last feed had been at 12.96km at which point Paul’s daughter, who had got more and more excited about our progress, told me she could just see canoes ahead and she thought she could see a number 9. I figured he must have started ahead of me and was, therefore, beating me. By now I was seriously hurting and trying to swim into the building choppiness. I concentrated on keeping a long stroke, riding the swells from the increasing boat traffic and putting everything into upping the pace, trying to reel in the canoe in front.
I really felt I was slowing in the final few kilometres, the choppiness and the pain of maintaining my stroke were pretty much all I thought about. That and whoever was ahead of me, and how much training I’d put into this and how I was not going to crack. We stopped for a final feed, amazingly the Garmin confirmed I’d kept to my scheduled pace. Paul’s daughter was convinced we were catching the swimmer in front and the headland for the finish seemed tantalizingly close.
As we covered the next couple of kilometres the sun slowly rose above the treeline to our right. The lake was still completely calm, I felt really good, my pace hadn’t dropped, I wasn’t remotely struggling and that was the point, bathed in sunlight, that I thought life doesn’t really get much better than this … it was a fantastic feeling, I was absolutely in the zone.
There was an obligatory stop at Storrs Hall, pretty much the halfway point. We had to hand in a wristband and give our race number in. Paul had my band and we’d arranged he would hand it in while I drank. I also used this as an opportunity to pee, I just can’t do it while swimming and despite open water swimming for years it’s a real effort. I wasted 2 minutes at Storrs Hall, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.
From Storrs Hall on the right side of the lake we crossed over to the left side for the second half, having to swim slightly around the chain ferry, which typically was crossing just as we approached. Next feed stop coincided with 10km on 2hr 31, so again smack on target and maintaining the desired 15min per 1km. I was still feeling good, the swim felt almost effortless. We were still catching and passing swimmers and canoes that had set off earlier. The paddlers all wearing high vis with their swimmer’s number. The higher numbers having set off first, so all the way along I was working out roughly where we were in terms of people ahead of me regardless of when they had started. I wanted to be the first person out the lake, regardless of start time. By this stage it had almost become a mental battle rather than physical so setting these little targets helped maintain the pace.
At 12km it started to hurt. I knew I had somewhere between 4 and 5km to go and I started focussing everything on the next feed stop. Breaking it down into 20 minute chunks took my mind off the actual distance left. My Garmin was vibrating every 1km and whereas early on I didn’t care when the vibration came, it had now reached the point where all I could think of was the next 1km buzz,or the 20 minute break. At 13km the wind got up, we were reaching the top portion of the lake and it was very exposed. The chop built and it started to feel like a sea swim.
The last feed had been at 12.96km at which point Paul’s daughter, who had got more and more excited about our progress, told me she could just see canoes ahead and she thought she could see a number 9. I figured he must have started ahead of me and was, therefore, beating me. By now I was seriously hurting and trying to swim into the building choppiness. I concentrated on keeping a long stroke, riding the swells from the increasing boat traffic and putting everything into upping the pace, trying to reel in the canoe in front.
I really felt I was slowing in the final few kilometres, the choppiness and the pain of maintaining my stroke were pretty much all I thought about. That and whoever was ahead of me, and how much training I’d put into this and how I was not going to crack. We stopped for a final feed, amazingly the Garmin confirmed I’d kept to my scheduled pace. Paul’s daughter was convinced we were catching the swimmer in front and the headland for the finish seemed tantalizingly close.
I was not going to slow now, I was doing my own sighting, trying to catch glimpses of whoever was ahead of me, trying to judge where the final turn would come for the swim into the finish in Low
Wray bay, trying to squeeze out the last ounces of effort and imagining winning something, playing all sorts of mind tricks just to keep the stroke going, to continue the effort. Finally we rounded that last corner, the water magically calmed and I could see the finish gantry. And I managed to lift the pace, probably with 300m to go and calm water I felt great, as if I’d had a second wind. I could hear the people at the finish cheering, the kids all had mini cow bells and the noise was amazing. I almost managed a sprint to the finish, if there was anyone coming up behind me there was no way I was going to let them catch me. And then the bottom rose up, I ran out of water to swim through and that was it. On to my feet, wade the last few feet an up through the finish … and someone said, great swim, you’re the 4th swimmer to finish.
I felt wretched, I couldn’t have given any more, my Garmin confirmed 16.4km, 4:04:40, I’d achieved my 15min pace throughout, I should really be pleased, but I just felt I’d failed.
They told me to go and get a hot drink but I wanted to find Paul and say thanks. So I pushed through the crowds and sought him and his daughter out. He thought we’d dome brilliantly, but I told him 4th, but he seemed to think that was a fantastic achievement. My wife was there too with the dog, I told her 4th, she knew how disappointed I was.
We sat and watched them finish, less than half the entrants finished in under 6 hours, some took 8. It was a brilliant event, great people, a wonderful atmosphere. And then, later, over the loud speakers they called the people they wanted for the presentation and my name was amongst them. I supposed I was going to be the first old bloke to finish, the 50+ super vets.
But when the presentations came, I’d finished 3rd overall. One ahead of me started 40 minutes before I did. Bloody brilliant! The trophy is fantastic lump of oak with a map of Windemere cut out of it, something that actually looks nice on the wall. Cracking result. I was beaten by a couple of whippersnappers in their early forties. I was 3 minutes off 2nd … I should never have stopped for a pee, but then I probably would have exploded before the finish!
So, although I have a badge to sew on my trunks that says I completed a length of Windemere, I wish we’d been able to swim that last 1/2k to Ambleside slipway but 16.5k is the furthest I have ever swum and by heck does it feel like an achievement. I was 14 minutes ahead of the 4th placed person so the training was worthwhile. The hours following Adam’s plan paid wonderful dividends.
In case anyone’s remotely interested these are my 1km splits :
1 – 14:20:56
2 – 14:32:98
3 - 15:20:69
4 – 15:24:96
5 – 14:28:02
6 – 15:01:36
7 – 15:33:20
8 – 16:51:89 (pee break)
9 – 14:00:44
10 – 15:58:57
11 – 14:54:61
12 – 14:57:38
13 – 14:17:21
14 – 15:09:02
15 – 14:05:71
16- 14:16:42
Final 398m – 5:31
Wray bay, trying to squeeze out the last ounces of effort and imagining winning something, playing all sorts of mind tricks just to keep the stroke going, to continue the effort. Finally we rounded that last corner, the water magically calmed and I could see the finish gantry. And I managed to lift the pace, probably with 300m to go and calm water I felt great, as if I’d had a second wind. I could hear the people at the finish cheering, the kids all had mini cow bells and the noise was amazing. I almost managed a sprint to the finish, if there was anyone coming up behind me there was no way I was going to let them catch me. And then the bottom rose up, I ran out of water to swim through and that was it. On to my feet, wade the last few feet an up through the finish … and someone said, great swim, you’re the 4th swimmer to finish.
I felt wretched, I couldn’t have given any more, my Garmin confirmed 16.4km, 4:04:40, I’d achieved my 15min pace throughout, I should really be pleased, but I just felt I’d failed.
They told me to go and get a hot drink but I wanted to find Paul and say thanks. So I pushed through the crowds and sought him and his daughter out. He thought we’d dome brilliantly, but I told him 4th, but he seemed to think that was a fantastic achievement. My wife was there too with the dog, I told her 4th, she knew how disappointed I was.
We sat and watched them finish, less than half the entrants finished in under 6 hours, some took 8. It was a brilliant event, great people, a wonderful atmosphere. And then, later, over the loud speakers they called the people they wanted for the presentation and my name was amongst them. I supposed I was going to be the first old bloke to finish, the 50+ super vets.
But when the presentations came, I’d finished 3rd overall. One ahead of me started 40 minutes before I did. Bloody brilliant! The trophy is fantastic lump of oak with a map of Windemere cut out of it, something that actually looks nice on the wall. Cracking result. I was beaten by a couple of whippersnappers in their early forties. I was 3 minutes off 2nd … I should never have stopped for a pee, but then I probably would have exploded before the finish!
So, although I have a badge to sew on my trunks that says I completed a length of Windemere, I wish we’d been able to swim that last 1/2k to Ambleside slipway but 16.5k is the furthest I have ever swum and by heck does it feel like an achievement. I was 14 minutes ahead of the 4th placed person so the training was worthwhile. The hours following Adam’s plan paid wonderful dividends.
In case anyone’s remotely interested these are my 1km splits :
1 – 14:20:56
2 – 14:32:98
3 - 15:20:69
4 – 15:24:96
5 – 14:28:02
6 – 15:01:36
7 – 15:33:20
8 – 16:51:89 (pee break)
9 – 14:00:44
10 – 15:58:57
11 – 14:54:61
12 – 14:57:38
13 – 14:17:21
14 – 15:09:02
15 – 14:05:71
16- 14:16:42
Final 398m – 5:31
Outlaw Full 2015
By Michaela HIPPEY
A moment (well, maybe a few!) of madness following watching Dan at Ironman UK last year found Zoe & I signing ourselves up to race at Outlaw Triathlon on 26th July.
Months of training in the bag and race day was upon us. This was our first long distance triathlon so all new & somewhat daunting.
Saturday was spent racking the bikes & bags in transition and attending the briefing. Dan took part in the 5km swim which kept him occupied while we were busy & gave us a welcome distraction cheering the swimmers at the start. I can remember feeling strangely calm still at this point. Weather was not looking great for race day so plenty of cracks were made in the briefing about needing our thermals etc…… and to think I’d been worried for weeks about suffering sunburn!!
Race day started bright and early at 3am! Breakfast down and numbers stuck on and we bundled into the car for the journey to Holme Pierrepont. I have to admit this is where the nerves started, it seemed like such a daunting task ahead. Time to keep reminding myself it was just a swim, long bike then a nice jog to the finish…..who was I trying to kid?? It was still dark when we arrived and a long stream of car lights snaked down the field ahead of us, at least we weren’t the only nutters doing this.
Final prep done and wetsuits pulled on and it was time to start before we knew it. I’d decided to position myself at the front of the 2nd pen as I’m not quick enough to go with the super swimmers but didn’t want to get held up at the start either. This plan went well and I got a lovely clean start, nobody climbing over me and settled nicely into my normal training pace on the swim, time now to move over a bit and get onto the feet of the faster swimmers. I found myself in a fairly big group of similar paced swimmers which was good. I wasn’t best placed going round the first buoy so that got a bit messy but the rest of the swim was fairly uneventful & went really quick. When I came in toward the finish there seemed to be so many of us getting out at the same time, I spotted the clock though, time was 1:02, happy with that!
Months of training in the bag and race day was upon us. This was our first long distance triathlon so all new & somewhat daunting.
Saturday was spent racking the bikes & bags in transition and attending the briefing. Dan took part in the 5km swim which kept him occupied while we were busy & gave us a welcome distraction cheering the swimmers at the start. I can remember feeling strangely calm still at this point. Weather was not looking great for race day so plenty of cracks were made in the briefing about needing our thermals etc…… and to think I’d been worried for weeks about suffering sunburn!!
Race day started bright and early at 3am! Breakfast down and numbers stuck on and we bundled into the car for the journey to Holme Pierrepont. I have to admit this is where the nerves started, it seemed like such a daunting task ahead. Time to keep reminding myself it was just a swim, long bike then a nice jog to the finish…..who was I trying to kid?? It was still dark when we arrived and a long stream of car lights snaked down the field ahead of us, at least we weren’t the only nutters doing this.
Final prep done and wetsuits pulled on and it was time to start before we knew it. I’d decided to position myself at the front of the 2nd pen as I’m not quick enough to go with the super swimmers but didn’t want to get held up at the start either. This plan went well and I got a lovely clean start, nobody climbing over me and settled nicely into my normal training pace on the swim, time now to move over a bit and get onto the feet of the faster swimmers. I found myself in a fairly big group of similar paced swimmers which was good. I wasn’t best placed going round the first buoy so that got a bit messy but the rest of the swim was fairly uneventful & went really quick. When I came in toward the finish there seemed to be so many of us getting out at the same time, I spotted the clock though, time was 1:02, happy with that!
Through transition and out to collect the bike. I saw Dan cheering me on from the rooftop and again as I rode round the lake, this spurred me on. Out onto the road and the bike was flying, the first loop came and went and I was trying hard to make sure I didn’t ride too hard. I can remember thinking we were lucky with the weather so far, it was sunny and still. I managed to pass four ladies that had gotten out of the swim before me and had only had a few more go past so felt I was going well. I fed when I had planned and before I knew it I was heading out to Oxton Bank, the only real hill on the course at 50 miles. Climbing the hill didn’t feel as bad as I feared and there was Dan at the top shouting encouragement which was fab. Riding down through Southall I noticed the wind was picking up a bit. Going round to the back of the course and onto the main roads it was really busy with bikes and cars, I was conscious of the drafting rules and at points it would have been crazy to try and overtake so took the time to sit back in line and take on some nutrition. It’s a long uphill drag along the back here then back downhill to the next feed station, after that it was back on the main road to Bridgeford. This was a ten mile ride into a headwind (the wind was behind us when we recce’d this!!) and the rain started to come down, traffic was heavy as we approached the roundabouts and I was starting to feel the mileage.
Back onto the Southern loop again I knew there were less than 40 miles left. My average had dropped a little with the hillier section on the last loop but my average was still at 19.5 on the Garmin, I was going really well. Riding out through Car Colston the crowds were out in force which was amazing, it really lifts the spirit. I stopped briefly at the next feed station for a comfort break and grabbed a banana before getting back on the bike for the remainder of the course, it was nice to stretch the legs even if only for a couple of minutes. Riding the remainder of the course was tough, it felt windy and exposed and I started feeling pretty cold and miserable at this point. The miles ticked by though and finally I was going back through Car Colston, there were some Greenlight ladies out there cheering us on which was great. Heading back to Holme Pierrepont it was uphill for a while then back down for the final two miles down a rough country lane, it was dark and raining really heavy so it really was pot luck trying to avoid the holes and speedbumps. Going round the corner in front of the main house it goes onto a gravel path, there was a rider down on this corner, a sobering reminder that it’s not over yet! The final section along the perimeter road felt amazing, there was Dan again amongst lots of other supporters and into T2. As I dismounted the commentator announced me in and informed me that I was currently 3rd in my Age group, I knew it would never stick for the run as that is most definitely my worst discipline but it felt amazing. I’d forgotten how cold I was and trotted into transition to get ready for the run, my kit was absolutely soaked through so I opted to stick with the kit I was wearing in the hope that it would be the warmer option!
Back onto the Southern loop again I knew there were less than 40 miles left. My average had dropped a little with the hillier section on the last loop but my average was still at 19.5 on the Garmin, I was going really well. Riding out through Car Colston the crowds were out in force which was amazing, it really lifts the spirit. I stopped briefly at the next feed station for a comfort break and grabbed a banana before getting back on the bike for the remainder of the course, it was nice to stretch the legs even if only for a couple of minutes. Riding the remainder of the course was tough, it felt windy and exposed and I started feeling pretty cold and miserable at this point. The miles ticked by though and finally I was going back through Car Colston, there were some Greenlight ladies out there cheering us on which was great. Heading back to Holme Pierrepont it was uphill for a while then back down for the final two miles down a rough country lane, it was dark and raining really heavy so it really was pot luck trying to avoid the holes and speedbumps. Going round the corner in front of the main house it goes onto a gravel path, there was a rider down on this corner, a sobering reminder that it’s not over yet! The final section along the perimeter road felt amazing, there was Dan again amongst lots of other supporters and into T2. As I dismounted the commentator announced me in and informed me that I was currently 3rd in my Age group, I knew it would never stick for the run as that is most definitely my worst discipline but it felt amazing. I’d forgotten how cold I was and trotted into transition to get ready for the run, my kit was absolutely soaked through so I opted to stick with the kit I was wearing in the hope that it would be the warmer option!
The run consists of an initial lap of the lake followed by an out and back up the river and back round the lake, a second out and back followed by another full lap of the lake and then a final lap to the finish. The first lap of the lake went really well, I was trying hard not to run off too strong as I know I can’t hold the pace. Running down the river and into Nottingham town centre I focussed on my nutrition, all was going well at this point, my foot had played up for a bit but was now easing. I spotted Julie heading out in the opposite direction, convinced she was closing in on me I pressed on. Back to the lake I was still sticking with my plan to run between feed stations and walk through them, all worked well until at the top end of the lake I started feeling nauseous after taking a gel. As I got round the bottom of the lake to go out onto the river I saw Dan, I was feeling sick and nauseous but he spurred me on. At the far point on the course things got a bit tough, my stomach was cramping and not wanting to take on more than water, I walked with a chap who was having ITB issues for a short while before trying to get running again. Every time I started running my stomach cramped, just 10 miles from the finish I was adamant I would do what it took to get to the finish line. At the next feed station I ate a handful of crisps and tried a little cola, stomach was still cramping so I jogged while I could and walked every time it kicked in. I was feeling really tired and stopped for a moment once over the bridge for the final time, it was here that a chap called Glenn talked me into joining him on his walk / run strategy. The plan was to run for a mile then walk for 0.2, this would get us between the feed stations. Not much further now…..he really was my saviour.
I passed Julie on the run again, she was still closing in but not as quickly as I’d feared. Then I spotted Zoe, my running buddy, it was great to see her on the course and this lifted my spirits. Another drink of cola at the next feed station and my stomach was feeling a lot better, we made it to the next point we were due to walk but decided to carry on another hundred yards or so to the next feed station, I am so glad we did because as we rounded the corner there were Dan’s parents cheering me on, and slightly further round Becky and Ruth were there, then there were Dan and the kids. This was amazing. My brain was working overtime, less than 6 miles to go (less than an hour left!!), I could do this!! The rain was really coming down at this point but, apart from having to dodge the puddles I don’t remember really noticing it. As we ran round the top of the lake Glenn started having problems with his leg, I felt bad leaving him but he was adamant I continue to run as much as I could. Passing the finish area for the final time I stopped briefly to give the kids a quick hug, just one more lap to go. Having never run more than 20 miles before I was surprised how well I could still run, apart from a painful foot early on and stomach issues my legs were actually doing ok. I ran like a woman possessed for the last lap, I was so elated to have done this, I just wanted to get to the finish & I was soooo tired. I’d worked out that if I could do the final 3 miles in less than 33 minutes I would be under 5 hours for the marathon and 12:30 for the whole thing. I looked for the kids at the finish line but the weather had got too much and they’d gone home with their Grandparent, so it was down the finish line to get that medal I had dreamed of for months.
I passed Julie on the run again, she was still closing in but not as quickly as I’d feared. Then I spotted Zoe, my running buddy, it was great to see her on the course and this lifted my spirits. Another drink of cola at the next feed station and my stomach was feeling a lot better, we made it to the next point we were due to walk but decided to carry on another hundred yards or so to the next feed station, I am so glad we did because as we rounded the corner there were Dan’s parents cheering me on, and slightly further round Becky and Ruth were there, then there were Dan and the kids. This was amazing. My brain was working overtime, less than 6 miles to go (less than an hour left!!), I could do this!! The rain was really coming down at this point but, apart from having to dodge the puddles I don’t remember really noticing it. As we ran round the top of the lake Glenn started having problems with his leg, I felt bad leaving him but he was adamant I continue to run as much as I could. Passing the finish area for the final time I stopped briefly to give the kids a quick hug, just one more lap to go. Having never run more than 20 miles before I was surprised how well I could still run, apart from a painful foot early on and stomach issues my legs were actually doing ok. I ran like a woman possessed for the last lap, I was so elated to have done this, I just wanted to get to the finish & I was soooo tired. I’d worked out that if I could do the final 3 miles in less than 33 minutes I would be under 5 hours for the marathon and 12:30 for the whole thing. I looked for the kids at the finish line but the weather had got too much and they’d gone home with their Grandparent, so it was down the finish line to get that medal I had dreamed of for months.
Crossing the finish line felt amazing, the weather had been awful for the most part but the event was fantastic and the volunteers and supporters out there make such a difference when you’re racing. I felt so grateful to them all that day as well as the other athletes who I’d chatted to & that had given encouragement. Having raced the Outlaw Half earlier this year in awful weather definitely helped me cope with the weather here, I knew now that I can do it and not to let it affect the day, it is what it is!
A huge thanks to Dan and the kids for putting up with me and my training load for months on end and for their support throughout. Thanks to Adam at GreenlightPT for the training plan that got me round and to Annie for teaching me to believe that I can do this. Thanks to little bro John at Veloworx for keeping the bikes going and to Lisa at Body Limits for constantly helping to keep me in one piece with my various niggles. And finally thanks to Becky & Zoe for putting up with me on numerous runs and long bike rides (especially the ones in the rain Becky!!)
I felt that for a first full distance I had a perfect race, I still am totally amazed and proud of the time I achieved, but more than that, that I achieved the distance! I may have picked a flat course for the first one, but that aside, 140.6 miles is one hell of a challenge & just completing it relies on so much coming together.
It’s been awesome!!!! I’m totally hooked, when can I do another?????
A huge thanks to Dan and the kids for putting up with me and my training load for months on end and for their support throughout. Thanks to Adam at GreenlightPT for the training plan that got me round and to Annie for teaching me to believe that I can do this. Thanks to little bro John at Veloworx for keeping the bikes going and to Lisa at Body Limits for constantly helping to keep me in one piece with my various niggles. And finally thanks to Becky & Zoe for putting up with me on numerous runs and long bike rides (especially the ones in the rain Becky!!)
I felt that for a first full distance I had a perfect race, I still am totally amazed and proud of the time I achieved, but more than that, that I achieved the distance! I may have picked a flat course for the first one, but that aside, 140.6 miles is one hell of a challenge & just completing it relies on so much coming together.
It’s been awesome!!!! I’m totally hooked, when can I do another?????
Some stats:
Total time : 12:27:16 (Swim 1:02:18, Bike 6:09:47 & Run 4:59:46)
AG Position : 6 out of 24
Female Position : 29 out of 121
Overall Position : 461 out of 989
Total time : 12:27:16 (Swim 1:02:18, Bike 6:09:47 & Run 4:59:46)
AG Position : 6 out of 24
Female Position : 29 out of 121
Overall Position : 461 out of 989
CaldeCotte Standard DIstance Triathlon
By Alan Humphries
Bouyed up by my recent swim PB and a decent preparation that had lasted about 2 years I was fairly confident as I approached my 1st Triathlon. Keeping it simple I went for Olympic distance Big Cow event at Caldecotte lake.
I'd swam the lake at the start of May, been biking the route, which included twice up Bow Brickhills Church Road, since the start of the year and I knew the path round Caldecotte lake well. Taper Saturday consisted of shaving my legs (how high do you go?), cleaning the bike, registering and then getting all my stuff together. All good setting up on the day, had an H for my age group written on my calf, shoes in carrier bags as it looked like rain. Everything positioned as practiced at Greenlights Stowe weekend. It was time to get in on. |
Warm water helped calm me down and we were off. Approaching the 1st bouy was like watching a slow motion car crash as we all converged on one point, safely round I started to pick a few swimmers off. Having a reputation as someone who likes a draft I thought I'd give it a go but quickly realised there is no point if they are 1) going slower than you, 2) doing back scull 3) or going the wrong way. The wet suit and googles behaved and I exited the swim in a time I expected.
Up the ramp, googles up, left hand pulling the flap on my wetsuit, right hand the leash, arms out, all good. School boy error as I ran down the wrong aisle, not a problem as there was now loads of space to duck back under.
I knew from practice that I couldn't get the wet suit off standing up and had positioned my towel for my arse to land on it. I wrestled it off my feet in what felt like ages. No need for shades, helmet on, number belt on, bike shoes on with talc in for some reason and I was off, tucking a gel in the front of my tri suit. Pushing the bike by the saddle across a grass verge it was now time to see if the 'flying mount' (again as practiced at Stowe) would hold up under race pressure.
It did and the hammer was down. I was racing on instinct, picking off riders as I went. I knew I was strong on Church Road hill and quickly worked my way through the field. Getting on the aero bars at every opportunity I didn't glance at the bike computer once. Ironically, I managed to sneak a little draft off the race motorbike at one point. Second time round all the sprint competitors were in front of me, more riders to pick off and keep my focus. I rescued the gel from my tri suit before it slipped too low. I'd averaged 19mph (in training I struggled to get 17mph) but started to wonder how my legs would be for the run.
Up the ramp, googles up, left hand pulling the flap on my wetsuit, right hand the leash, arms out, all good. School boy error as I ran down the wrong aisle, not a problem as there was now loads of space to duck back under.
I knew from practice that I couldn't get the wet suit off standing up and had positioned my towel for my arse to land on it. I wrestled it off my feet in what felt like ages. No need for shades, helmet on, number belt on, bike shoes on with talc in for some reason and I was off, tucking a gel in the front of my tri suit. Pushing the bike by the saddle across a grass verge it was now time to see if the 'flying mount' (again as practiced at Stowe) would hold up under race pressure.
It did and the hammer was down. I was racing on instinct, picking off riders as I went. I knew I was strong on Church Road hill and quickly worked my way through the field. Getting on the aero bars at every opportunity I didn't glance at the bike computer once. Ironically, I managed to sneak a little draft off the race motorbike at one point. Second time round all the sprint competitors were in front of me, more riders to pick off and keep my focus. I rescued the gel from my tri suit before it slipped too low. I'd averaged 19mph (in training I struggled to get 17mph) but started to wonder how my legs would be for the run.
Bike dismount, leg swung behind (again practiced at Stowe) perfect. Bike racked, helmet off. I had tried running sock less and blistered, so yanked an old pair on with enough force to rip them, slipped the trainers on and I was off.
Taking it steady to check the legs I started to up the pace. My sunday running buddies were out cheering me on and I was picking off runners. Runners with H on their calf were the target, the mix of sprint and standard left you unsure which race they were in but they had to be taken. The final long drag to the finish I put the burners on and finished strong without realising I'd passed the last H. The adrenaline was flowing all the way round, I wasn't exhausted and could of run quicker but I'll settle for what turned out to be 1st place in my age group. Well chuffed for my debut and gald it all went to plan. Cow Man half iron man next week!! |
Ironman Staffordshire 70.3 2015
By Matt Quinn

If I hadn't been doing it for charity I may have registered my first ever DNF (Did Not Finish) on Sunday at the inaugural IM 70.3 in Staffordshire as I had an absolute nightmare start to the race which didn't really improve much throughout the day. After 6 months of preparation this was a major blow as you can imagine!!!
Alarm was set for 3:45am at our hotel room in Tamworth about 35 mins away from Shugborough much to the kids horror! Plan was to get ready, eat some breakfast and make our way to where the event organisers suggested we turn up to get a free shuttle bus down to the start. These were supposed to be turning up every 5 mins from 4:30am onwards. The buses were to transport us from Shugborough, where the run and finish were, down to Chasewater where the swim and bike start was. This is usually a 30 min journey.
Even though we arrived at 5:15am the bus did not get me to the lake until 6:48am. Transition was due to close at 6:50am so I only had a few minutes to ensure my tyre pressure was ok, set up my Garmin and put my nutrition and hydration on the bike. Trying to get my Saltstick on to the bike in a hurry caused me to snap the plastic holder so this wasn't going to come with me as planned and I had to put some salt tablets in my food bag.
After transition I had to try and locate Vikki and the kids who had been told to get a separate bus down, with athletes taking priority due to everything running late. I managed to locate them in the crowds and began to get ready for the swim. Vikki was going to take my white bag as Ironman had originally announced they would not transport them back to the finish. This meant she would have to hold it all day until I had finished and needed my clothes back.
About this time it was announced that the Pros were going to start 10 minutes late and that there was a 10 minute delay. I was quite relaxed at this stage. The weather was nice, I was ready and the family were all together. We made our way over to the swim start. It was about 7:38. As we got there we realised that no one had my white bag and we had left it back on a bench with some other friends. Vikki thought I had it and I thought she had it!!! :-) My friend John who had driven up to support said I had best get going, not to worry and they would go and find the bag.
I made my way through a small gated area and noticed there were only swimmers with black caps on. I asked where the 7:40 swim wave was!!! The marshall pointed at the lake. I was only just getting in the water when the swim started. They said there was a 10min delay but then didn't mention they had changed it back to the original start time. There's me strolling along the pontoon looking at 100s of blue caps in the water thinking this don't seem right. As I got in the hooter went!!! This meant not only did I have to swim past lots of slower swimmers I also probably had 150m to swim before the actual start point in the water. I had not even had time to warm up or make sure my wetsuit was on properly.
Usually when I am in the water I have a mental note of where I am swimming. With the rush I kind of just followed a pack of swimmers. This wasn’t ideal as I was following slower athletes with poor sighting skills. I stopped to take a look to get my bearings. I then got my head down and the swim went without much fuss. It did seem long but that was probably just me not being that settled.
I exited the water up a concrete ramp with the help of a marshall. Looked at my watch and my swim time was about 3-4mins slower than I had expected. Disappointing but probably not too surprising considering the start that I had.
Alarm was set for 3:45am at our hotel room in Tamworth about 35 mins away from Shugborough much to the kids horror! Plan was to get ready, eat some breakfast and make our way to where the event organisers suggested we turn up to get a free shuttle bus down to the start. These were supposed to be turning up every 5 mins from 4:30am onwards. The buses were to transport us from Shugborough, where the run and finish were, down to Chasewater where the swim and bike start was. This is usually a 30 min journey.
Even though we arrived at 5:15am the bus did not get me to the lake until 6:48am. Transition was due to close at 6:50am so I only had a few minutes to ensure my tyre pressure was ok, set up my Garmin and put my nutrition and hydration on the bike. Trying to get my Saltstick on to the bike in a hurry caused me to snap the plastic holder so this wasn't going to come with me as planned and I had to put some salt tablets in my food bag.
After transition I had to try and locate Vikki and the kids who had been told to get a separate bus down, with athletes taking priority due to everything running late. I managed to locate them in the crowds and began to get ready for the swim. Vikki was going to take my white bag as Ironman had originally announced they would not transport them back to the finish. This meant she would have to hold it all day until I had finished and needed my clothes back.
About this time it was announced that the Pros were going to start 10 minutes late and that there was a 10 minute delay. I was quite relaxed at this stage. The weather was nice, I was ready and the family were all together. We made our way over to the swim start. It was about 7:38. As we got there we realised that no one had my white bag and we had left it back on a bench with some other friends. Vikki thought I had it and I thought she had it!!! :-) My friend John who had driven up to support said I had best get going, not to worry and they would go and find the bag.
I made my way through a small gated area and noticed there were only swimmers with black caps on. I asked where the 7:40 swim wave was!!! The marshall pointed at the lake. I was only just getting in the water when the swim started. They said there was a 10min delay but then didn't mention they had changed it back to the original start time. There's me strolling along the pontoon looking at 100s of blue caps in the water thinking this don't seem right. As I got in the hooter went!!! This meant not only did I have to swim past lots of slower swimmers I also probably had 150m to swim before the actual start point in the water. I had not even had time to warm up or make sure my wetsuit was on properly.
Usually when I am in the water I have a mental note of where I am swimming. With the rush I kind of just followed a pack of swimmers. This wasn’t ideal as I was following slower athletes with poor sighting skills. I stopped to take a look to get my bearings. I then got my head down and the swim went without much fuss. It did seem long but that was probably just me not being that settled.
I exited the water up a concrete ramp with the help of a marshall. Looked at my watch and my swim time was about 3-4mins slower than I had expected. Disappointing but probably not too surprising considering the start that I had.

The transition back to the tent was a very long run across gravel, mud, grass and plastic matting. Certainly wasn't pleasurable on the feet. I did get my first shout out from John, Vikki and the kids though which was great to hear. John took a few photos and ran alongside me chatting. Not sure what about???
I find my blue bag very easily in the tent, having remembered it’s location from the day before when we racked them and begin to get ready for the bike. It was manic in there but I found a quiet spot and started going through my bag while removing my wetsuit, hat and goggles. On goes my helmet, strap done up. I then notice my headband in the bag which I wear under my helmet to stop sweat getting in my eyes while riding. As a contact lens wearer this makes my day much more comfortable. Do I take my helmet off and put it on? I decided against this! I then tried to put one glove on. It seemed a real struggle as my hands were wet so decided not to wear gloves. I put both these items in there for a reason though!!! I threw the glove back in the bag and made my way out of transition and, as instructed, dropped my bag off on my way out.
I got half way to my bike on the huge grass field containing thousand of bikes. I hear a marshall tell someone they don't have their race number on. No race number!!!! Epic fail ..... I don't have a race number on. I don't need a warning from the marshall as I noticed myself that I had just totally forgotten to put it on. Don't even recall seeing it in my bag. Obviously pre-occupied with headbands and gloves. This is serious and you can get you DQ (Disqualification) without it being worn!! Had to run back in to the changing tent. By this time there was a pile of blue bags 5ft high. Managed to find it after a few minutes of frantic searching. Was lucky it was found at all. Some eagle eyed marshall really came up trumps and saved my day. So I finally get on the bike.
We make our way out of Chasewater which involved a series of speed bumps and pot holes on a single track. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to go fast yet or not so took it steady. I didn't want my water bottle falling off the bike. I could see quite a few already scattered along the track!!! The first section of the bike was a long steady climb heading up a big A road. I was settling in ok and heart rate felt well under control. As normal on the bike I usually just stay to the right and continually pass other riders. There was one guy ahead of me, heavily tattooed and he seemed to be riding at a similar speed so I focused on keeping him in my sights.
Within the first few miles they took the competitors in to a section of narrow country lanes. I had been up to recce the bike route before and thought this would not be a good idea on race day with 2700 riders coming through it. They are narrow, poor road surfaces and high hedges. Certainly not ideal for racing. This section was not very fluent. Lots of braking and turning. One turn went straight in to a very sharp climb and lots of riders were walking up it. Not due to the incline but they had been caught out on their gearing. Even though I knew about it, my gears didn't seem to like the quick change I had to make while tackling the climb.
After about 8 miles, still in the lanes but very nearly out of them, someone knocked me off my bike on a nasty bend following a steep descent. As I was making the left turn another rider came inside and just went straight on heading for the bush. They took me in it with them. I was in a state of shock. It happened so fast I just recall sitting on the floor, half in the bushes but very near the edge of the road. Lots of other cyclists were still coming down the hill right near us. As I sat there, two others riders obviously focusing on us rather than the turn also came off. One of them hit my back with their front wheel. Full force – impact at probably 20mph!!!
I find my blue bag very easily in the tent, having remembered it’s location from the day before when we racked them and begin to get ready for the bike. It was manic in there but I found a quiet spot and started going through my bag while removing my wetsuit, hat and goggles. On goes my helmet, strap done up. I then notice my headband in the bag which I wear under my helmet to stop sweat getting in my eyes while riding. As a contact lens wearer this makes my day much more comfortable. Do I take my helmet off and put it on? I decided against this! I then tried to put one glove on. It seemed a real struggle as my hands were wet so decided not to wear gloves. I put both these items in there for a reason though!!! I threw the glove back in the bag and made my way out of transition and, as instructed, dropped my bag off on my way out.
I got half way to my bike on the huge grass field containing thousand of bikes. I hear a marshall tell someone they don't have their race number on. No race number!!!! Epic fail ..... I don't have a race number on. I don't need a warning from the marshall as I noticed myself that I had just totally forgotten to put it on. Don't even recall seeing it in my bag. Obviously pre-occupied with headbands and gloves. This is serious and you can get you DQ (Disqualification) without it being worn!! Had to run back in to the changing tent. By this time there was a pile of blue bags 5ft high. Managed to find it after a few minutes of frantic searching. Was lucky it was found at all. Some eagle eyed marshall really came up trumps and saved my day. So I finally get on the bike.
We make our way out of Chasewater which involved a series of speed bumps and pot holes on a single track. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to go fast yet or not so took it steady. I didn't want my water bottle falling off the bike. I could see quite a few already scattered along the track!!! The first section of the bike was a long steady climb heading up a big A road. I was settling in ok and heart rate felt well under control. As normal on the bike I usually just stay to the right and continually pass other riders. There was one guy ahead of me, heavily tattooed and he seemed to be riding at a similar speed so I focused on keeping him in my sights.
Within the first few miles they took the competitors in to a section of narrow country lanes. I had been up to recce the bike route before and thought this would not be a good idea on race day with 2700 riders coming through it. They are narrow, poor road surfaces and high hedges. Certainly not ideal for racing. This section was not very fluent. Lots of braking and turning. One turn went straight in to a very sharp climb and lots of riders were walking up it. Not due to the incline but they had been caught out on their gearing. Even though I knew about it, my gears didn't seem to like the quick change I had to make while tackling the climb.
After about 8 miles, still in the lanes but very nearly out of them, someone knocked me off my bike on a nasty bend following a steep descent. As I was making the left turn another rider came inside and just went straight on heading for the bush. They took me in it with them. I was in a state of shock. It happened so fast I just recall sitting on the floor, half in the bushes but very near the edge of the road. Lots of other cyclists were still coming down the hill right near us. As I sat there, two others riders obviously focusing on us rather than the turn also came off. One of them hit my back with their front wheel. Full force – impact at probably 20mph!!!
The other riders brushed themselves down and went off. No one seemed too hurt. Strangely no one spoke?? I couldn’t assess my injuries but I had some road rash, cuts and bruises. Worse one coming from the two other guys crashing in to us while we were sat there. My back was sore. However, my main concern was the bike. The front wheel would not spin. Looking at it I initially thought it had buckled. However it was just the front brake that had moved – I managed to get that back in place and the wheel was free again. At this stage I had a bit of a sulk and a melt down. I didn’t know what to do or if I was OK or if the bike was OK. Suppose there was only one way to find out. Get back on …. My Front mech (gears) had packed up altogether.
I carried on riding in the gear I was in until I got to a faster section of road out of the country lanes. I was in the wrong gear but couldn't change them. Realised I needed to stop again to manually lift the chain. I then noticed I only had about 4 gears to play with for the other 48 miles as the right shifter was limited. I now know that it shattered internally!!! The gearing was generally OK throughout the ride and I was still riding well. I had done enough bike training to stay strong for that sort of distance. I was struggling eating my food on the bike but knew I needed to keep my energy up so forced it down. With about 15 miles to go I went past a friend who was also racing. He started 10 minutes after me and is an exceptional athlete. He went on to finish 2nd in his age group and qualify for the world championships. We kind of stayed together till the end of the bike – but he runs like the wind so was soon off when we got back!!!
Some hilly sections in last 5 miles through Cannock Chase nearly killed me due to insufficient gears on the bike. In transition from bike to run my red bag had been misplaced. It wasn't were I had put it. Luckily someone helped me locate it. My right knee was scabby and stiff and my back was very sore from the impact of that crash. I put my trainers on and grabbed my sun visor and my shot bloks. I asked for some water to wash my knee a bit and made my way out of the tent. Run was just horrible.
As soon as I started everything started hurting. I hadn’t noticed it so much on the bike. I also had a tight hamstring and my glutes were on fire. I also had quite tingly feet. I think I was happy to be on the run though and see what that had in store for me and within the first few hundreds meters I saw Vikki and the kids and John. It was good to know they were OK as I had not seen them at all on the bike. They had tried to get out to watch but it proved a logistical nightmare with all the road closures etc. I did manage to get round the run, it was a three lap loop of approx 4.4miles.
The first lap was really hard and there was a nasty hill on it that had me stop at the top and take a loo break. Think I needed this just to settle down as my heart rate had definitely gone too high after the climb. After this I settled down in to my run and decided I had to try and be consistent with my pacing, taking the hill in to account the miles were not going to be equal splits. After the first lap I saw Vikki and the gang again which always perks me up and puts a bit of spring in to my step. They were outside the impressive Shugborough Hall near the finish line.
I carried on riding in the gear I was in until I got to a faster section of road out of the country lanes. I was in the wrong gear but couldn't change them. Realised I needed to stop again to manually lift the chain. I then noticed I only had about 4 gears to play with for the other 48 miles as the right shifter was limited. I now know that it shattered internally!!! The gearing was generally OK throughout the ride and I was still riding well. I had done enough bike training to stay strong for that sort of distance. I was struggling eating my food on the bike but knew I needed to keep my energy up so forced it down. With about 15 miles to go I went past a friend who was also racing. He started 10 minutes after me and is an exceptional athlete. He went on to finish 2nd in his age group and qualify for the world championships. We kind of stayed together till the end of the bike – but he runs like the wind so was soon off when we got back!!!
Some hilly sections in last 5 miles through Cannock Chase nearly killed me due to insufficient gears on the bike. In transition from bike to run my red bag had been misplaced. It wasn't were I had put it. Luckily someone helped me locate it. My right knee was scabby and stiff and my back was very sore from the impact of that crash. I put my trainers on and grabbed my sun visor and my shot bloks. I asked for some water to wash my knee a bit and made my way out of the tent. Run was just horrible.
As soon as I started everything started hurting. I hadn’t noticed it so much on the bike. I also had a tight hamstring and my glutes were on fire. I also had quite tingly feet. I think I was happy to be on the run though and see what that had in store for me and within the first few hundreds meters I saw Vikki and the kids and John. It was good to know they were OK as I had not seen them at all on the bike. They had tried to get out to watch but it proved a logistical nightmare with all the road closures etc. I did manage to get round the run, it was a three lap loop of approx 4.4miles.
The first lap was really hard and there was a nasty hill on it that had me stop at the top and take a loo break. Think I needed this just to settle down as my heart rate had definitely gone too high after the climb. After this I settled down in to my run and decided I had to try and be consistent with my pacing, taking the hill in to account the miles were not going to be equal splits. After the first lap I saw Vikki and the gang again which always perks me up and puts a bit of spring in to my step. They were outside the impressive Shugborough Hall near the finish line.
I was soon on my last lap and managed to actually start running a bit more steady. I was digging deep and I honestly just kept thinking about the kind people sponsoring me and what a let down it would be if I didn't get to the finish. With 800m to go I really upped the pace and knew that the end was just around the corner and I could now really empty the tank. I came round the corner, blew a kiss to the family and made my way down the finishing shoot.
Job Done!!! Tough Day!! |
BRITISH SPRINT TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Niki Rouse
Well, that was an experience in mass participation racing! With around 800 other competitors I today competed in the NiceTri Sprint Triathlon in St Neots which as well as being the British Championships was a qualification event for the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 European Championships. For me, this was a race to see how I got on after winter training and to gain experience of racing at this level, so to finish 17th in my Age Group, with some solid split times, I was happy with the result. And as an added bonus my finishing time was within the % qualifying time to be eligible for roll down places in both of the Championship events, but no guaranteed qualification spot.
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Given the level of the race I was remarkably calm before the race and was looking forward to taking part in such an event - that was until we set off on the swim! Oh my word, I have never experienced such a fight in the water before and a couple of times I really did fear I would drown. The swim was in the river, 750m in total with a swim downstream then back upstream. It felt warmer than my recent dips in the local lake, but at 13degs was still feet and hand numbing. A mass start, I positioned myself a couple of swimmers back, but not too close to the rear as I didn't want to get held up. The claxon went for the start and it was chaos, I was swam over numerous times, punched, kicked, held under the water and got my goggles knocked off, I couldn't swim myself out of trouble as there was just nowhere to go. Then most of those who swam over me at the start, slowed down, but I couldn't get past them as there was no room. It was pretty much like that until we had turned around the 2nd bouy and started heading back upstream, when I finally found a bit of space and could concentrate on my swimming and finally started to overtake people. Swim exit was pretty smooth and I found my transition spot with no trouble. Unfortunately a combination of the cold water and swimming like I was in the sea meant I'd lost my land legs and felt sick from the dizziness and swallowing water so getting out of my wetsuit and into my bike shoes proved to be a very slow process.
The bike leg was pretty uneventful and with lots of other cyclists out on the route I pushed hard and the 25k route went quickly. Then it was out into the park for a 2 lap 5k run (turned out to be 4.8k). I couldn't feel my legs (after the bike) or feet (from the cold) so the run was a case of putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as possible. The terrain was a mix of grass and footpath and I was really tired by now but turns out that I had a cracking run, doing a time I would have been happy with as a stand alone 5k, finally my running seems to be coming back to me.
A great race and really well organised by NiceTri with everything running smoothly and a feeling of friendliness throughout - shame they couldn't have widened the river though!
I've now been coached by Adam of GreenlightPT for a year which has seen me improve in my swim, bike and run times and I feel like I've only just got started and will hopefully improve further still as I gain experience in triathlon racing and get fitter and faster. We're now into the Triathlon season and over the next 8 weeks I have 2 more qualification events (hoping to improve my placing for one of the 6 roll down places), a 10k river swim and the European Aquathlon Championships in Cologne - it's going to be a busy start to the summer! |
10km Jubilee River Swim 2015
BY NIGEL Woods

This was my first time at the Jubilee 10k. I completed the Dorney 10k lake swim last year in 2 hours 21 and wondered what sort of effect the current might have on this swim. My main goal this year is the Windemere end to end swim in September and with that in mind Adam has set me my training program for the whole of this year, and the Jubilee swim fitted nicely with the increasing distances.
I saw that Dave Glossy had finished in 2:17 last year and so that was, in my own mind, my target time for the swim. I had a plan of sorts which was to try and draft the leaders as they went off and see how it went. Generally I like to start a long swim steady and build into it, but I didn’t want to let too many get ahead of me at the start.
Getting in the water was surprisingly warm, 16.7 degrees apparently and lying waiting for the start it was reasonably clear that the current had no impact in my position which meant it would be proper effort the whole way I guessed. I rolled around joking with Dave that we’d swim the thing on Adam’s feet, found my wife in the crowd and gave a jaunty wave and we were off.
10k to go and the bun fight started. What is with people that need to be in the lead after 50m only to drop off the pace after 200m having bashed around into everyone they can bash into? One huge lungful of water later I decided to let them get on with it and try to settle into a long stoke and stay with the flailing bodies slightly in front of me.
1.9k to the first weir and no problems at all once we’d settled down. I’d swum past a few, there was a cluster in front of me and a fair bit ahead of them what I assumed was the lead pack. We clambered out, up the bank and into what appeared to be a garden party with half the guests in wetsuits. Why so many people who’d started half an hour ahead of us were still taking nutrition onboard after only 2k was a bit odd, that and the fact there was no clue as to which direction to head in through the crowds. Fortunately I spotted a swim hat bobbing off to the left and gave chase.
A football cruciate injury means my running isn’t up to much, particularly over stones in bare feet, but I passed a couple and dropped back into the river with two other guys. The guy in front set a cracking pace so I got onto his feet only for the other bloke to come alongside me and start catching my arm. I decided to sit behind him and he immediately lost the feet in front leaving me to put in the effort to reattach only for the other bloke to bump me again … and so we went on for the next 3.6k leg. Annoying, too much effort and not the relaxed stroke I wanted.
Swim etiquette suggested we didn’t swim over slower swimmers from the previous waves, but I have to confess to doing just that to a couple of swimmers. A mist descends and you become so intent on following the guy in front that it’s only the bump of going over them that makes you realise you just clobbered someone. Unfortunately the yellow hats stand out and, just like riding a motorbike, you go where you look, straight into the back of a struggler!
I had no plan to stop at the second weir for nutrition or fluids having decided that I’d do that at the 3rd weir if necessary. The other two guys stopped leaving me a clear swim for the entire leg. I overtook a red relay hat and continued through the earlier wave. Being colour blind the two waves’ hats appeared the same colour so I had no idea who I was overtaking. As I tire I have a tendency to pull to the left, so despite all the instructions asking us to swim on the right of the river I often found myself alone on the left, which gave me a clearer swim, but drove me mad trying to get myself to the other bank!
I saw that Dave Glossy had finished in 2:17 last year and so that was, in my own mind, my target time for the swim. I had a plan of sorts which was to try and draft the leaders as they went off and see how it went. Generally I like to start a long swim steady and build into it, but I didn’t want to let too many get ahead of me at the start.
Getting in the water was surprisingly warm, 16.7 degrees apparently and lying waiting for the start it was reasonably clear that the current had no impact in my position which meant it would be proper effort the whole way I guessed. I rolled around joking with Dave that we’d swim the thing on Adam’s feet, found my wife in the crowd and gave a jaunty wave and we were off.
10k to go and the bun fight started. What is with people that need to be in the lead after 50m only to drop off the pace after 200m having bashed around into everyone they can bash into? One huge lungful of water later I decided to let them get on with it and try to settle into a long stoke and stay with the flailing bodies slightly in front of me.
1.9k to the first weir and no problems at all once we’d settled down. I’d swum past a few, there was a cluster in front of me and a fair bit ahead of them what I assumed was the lead pack. We clambered out, up the bank and into what appeared to be a garden party with half the guests in wetsuits. Why so many people who’d started half an hour ahead of us were still taking nutrition onboard after only 2k was a bit odd, that and the fact there was no clue as to which direction to head in through the crowds. Fortunately I spotted a swim hat bobbing off to the left and gave chase.
A football cruciate injury means my running isn’t up to much, particularly over stones in bare feet, but I passed a couple and dropped back into the river with two other guys. The guy in front set a cracking pace so I got onto his feet only for the other bloke to come alongside me and start catching my arm. I decided to sit behind him and he immediately lost the feet in front leaving me to put in the effort to reattach only for the other bloke to bump me again … and so we went on for the next 3.6k leg. Annoying, too much effort and not the relaxed stroke I wanted.
Swim etiquette suggested we didn’t swim over slower swimmers from the previous waves, but I have to confess to doing just that to a couple of swimmers. A mist descends and you become so intent on following the guy in front that it’s only the bump of going over them that makes you realise you just clobbered someone. Unfortunately the yellow hats stand out and, just like riding a motorbike, you go where you look, straight into the back of a struggler!
I had no plan to stop at the second weir for nutrition or fluids having decided that I’d do that at the 3rd weir if necessary. The other two guys stopped leaving me a clear swim for the entire leg. I overtook a red relay hat and continued through the earlier wave. Being colour blind the two waves’ hats appeared the same colour so I had no idea who I was overtaking. As I tire I have a tendency to pull to the left, so despite all the instructions asking us to swim on the right of the river I often found myself alone on the left, which gave me a clearer swim, but drove me mad trying to get myself to the other bank!

Arriving at the final weir, with just 1500m to go I felt pretty shot. I knew I was having a good swim and that I was probably in the top 10, but this was the only exit that didn’t involve a sloping bank, and I struggled to haul myself out. I actually staggered up the bank and was debating with myself whether to stop and have a drink and eat when my wife very excitedly shouted “he’s coming past you, hurry up”. The red hatted relay swimmer ran past me at pace. I decided not to stop and gave chase but was a good 15m down by the time I was back in the water.
I relaxed, stretched my stroke and quickly overtook him, but looking behind I watched him move over onto my feet. Despite him being in a relay team I didn’t want to drag him to the finish and get beaten in a sprint. I was feeling pretty shot but I piled on, imagining him sat drafting my feet. The last bridge came into view from which it was just one more corner. I tried to up the pace determined to drop him but not knowing where the finish was. Rounding the corner another bridge appeared and it was at that point that I thought I wouldn’t be able to go any further if the finish wasn’t before the bridge.
Thankfully it was and clambering up the bank was the only time I looked behind to see where the red hat was. I’d completely dropped him and could have saved myself some effort.
But, the results revealed I’d completed the last 1500, in 20:21 which was very satisfying, as was my time of 2:11:31 and overall 5th place.
I have to say that this was far more enjoyable (if that’s the right word) than a lake swim, bloody hard work, but I will definitely do it again. Next stop this year is Brownsea Island, a 6.5km sprint, followed by the 14km Bridge to Bridge and then Windemere.
It was Adam’s swim and video of Windemere from 2014 that led me to enter this year, and his training program that is getting me there. I’m 53 and have no doubt that this is the strongest I’ve been so if you have an ambition to do one of these big swims and have any doubts, chat to Adam, he’ll certainly steer you in the right direction … if only he could help me steer to the right and not the left!
I relaxed, stretched my stroke and quickly overtook him, but looking behind I watched him move over onto my feet. Despite him being in a relay team I didn’t want to drag him to the finish and get beaten in a sprint. I was feeling pretty shot but I piled on, imagining him sat drafting my feet. The last bridge came into view from which it was just one more corner. I tried to up the pace determined to drop him but not knowing where the finish was. Rounding the corner another bridge appeared and it was at that point that I thought I wouldn’t be able to go any further if the finish wasn’t before the bridge.
Thankfully it was and clambering up the bank was the only time I looked behind to see where the red hat was. I’d completely dropped him and could have saved myself some effort.
But, the results revealed I’d completed the last 1500, in 20:21 which was very satisfying, as was my time of 2:11:31 and overall 5th place.
I have to say that this was far more enjoyable (if that’s the right word) than a lake swim, bloody hard work, but I will definitely do it again. Next stop this year is Brownsea Island, a 6.5km sprint, followed by the 14km Bridge to Bridge and then Windemere.
It was Adam’s swim and video of Windemere from 2014 that led me to enter this year, and his training program that is getting me there. I’m 53 and have no doubt that this is the strongest I’ve been so if you have an ambition to do one of these big swims and have any doubts, chat to Adam, he’ll certainly steer you in the right direction … if only he could help me steer to the right and not the left!
10km Jubilee River Swim 2015
BY ADAM GIBSON
Last year’s result: 3rd place in 2 Hours 6 minutes.
Leading up to the 10km Jubilee River Swim I had been swimming quite well. I knew if I had one weakness it would be that I hadn’t done many long swims, or much volume. But I knew over shorter distances I was swimming well. With this in mind I made my pre-race plan.
The swim is split in 4 ‘legs’ of 1.9k, 3.5k, 2.6k and a final 1.5k. Between each of these you have to get out and run about 100 meters to get around some weirs. (Also food/drink is here! But I choose to tuck a few gels in my hat and fuel on the move)
My pre-race plan…
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft…. Sprint the last 100m and hope to be at the front!
The idea being that the other quick swimmers would give chase after each 100m and hopefully tire themselves out. Making it into a 100m sprint finish to play to my strength.
I knew last year’s winner was racing (Steve Mott) so thought I’d probably end up on his feet all the way. Well, that plan lasted all of 1km…
Leading up to the 10km Jubilee River Swim I had been swimming quite well. I knew if I had one weakness it would be that I hadn’t done many long swims, or much volume. But I knew over shorter distances I was swimming well. With this in mind I made my pre-race plan.
The swim is split in 4 ‘legs’ of 1.9k, 3.5k, 2.6k and a final 1.5k. Between each of these you have to get out and run about 100 meters to get around some weirs. (Also food/drink is here! But I choose to tuck a few gels in my hat and fuel on the move)
My pre-race plan…
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft draft.
· Run as fast as I can for 100m
· Draft draft…. Sprint the last 100m and hope to be at the front!
The idea being that the other quick swimmers would give chase after each 100m and hopefully tire themselves out. Making it into a 100m sprint finish to play to my strength.
I knew last year’s winner was racing (Steve Mott) so thought I’d probably end up on his feet all the way. Well, that plan lasted all of 1km…
The start was a bit more frantic than last year and I was fighting for a bit of space (Its 10km guys… calm down haha)! But after about 200m it settled down and quite quickly there seemed to be 4 of us in the lead. In a very neat single file line. First was a guy in an Orca wetsuit, then 2 swimmers wearing Blueseventy wetsuits (one of them Steve Mott – I didn’t know which), and me in 4th place, wearing my Huub wetsuit.
Plan all going well so far. I’m in 4th, saving energy, pretty sure last year’s winner is just in front of me. I stay here for a while and glance up every now and then to make sure no-one is sneaking off the front of the group. All good.
Bad news. I notice a small gap opening up between the 1st and 2nd place swimmer. Kinda wish I was in 2nd right now. It’s only a small gap and I stay in 4th spot for now. Its 1.9km to the first run, how big can it get. Also, for some reason in my head the lead guy doesn’t look like a ‘runner’, so I figured we’d all get back together at the first mini run.
Wrong. Gap starts to get bigger. About 1km into the race and ‘Orca-man’ has made a gap of about 15m, then there is our group of 3 with me at the back. I thought about trying to go past the 2 swimmers and chase the leader, but it seemed like a bit of a big effort that early in the race. I’d wait until the mini run at 1.9k, and hope to catch up on land.
Plan all going well so far. I’m in 4th, saving energy, pretty sure last year’s winner is just in front of me. I stay here for a while and glance up every now and then to make sure no-one is sneaking off the front of the group. All good.
Bad news. I notice a small gap opening up between the 1st and 2nd place swimmer. Kinda wish I was in 2nd right now. It’s only a small gap and I stay in 4th spot for now. Its 1.9km to the first run, how big can it get. Also, for some reason in my head the lead guy doesn’t look like a ‘runner’, so I figured we’d all get back together at the first mini run.
Wrong. Gap starts to get bigger. About 1km into the race and ‘Orca-man’ has made a gap of about 15m, then there is our group of 3 with me at the back. I thought about trying to go past the 2 swimmers and chase the leader, but it seemed like a bit of a big effort that early in the race. I’d wait until the mini run at 1.9k, and hope to catch up on land.
As soon as we hit the land I ran as fast as I could! I didn’t quite manage to catch the leader but I shook off the other 2 swimmers. If I was going to put in a big effort to catch up the leader I didn’t really want to drag them along with me. Once back in the water I was about 30m behind the leader. Not sure what was going on in my head, but I swam like a man possessed for the next 1000m. Bit of a blur really. I just remember looking up, and each time he was getting closer, so I kept pushing. Not the ideal 10km swim strategy. But I was certainly putting a nice gap behind me to 3rd place.
Bingo. Caught him up after about 10 minutes of very hard effort. The whole time I was hoping that once I caught his feet it would be nice and easy. Ermm no such luck. He was swimming fast. Very fast. Even drafting him felt like hard work. I figured I used a lot of energy chasing and I really had to make the most of staying on his feet for as long as possible. Held them for 3km until we got the next mini run at about 5.5km. Phew. Look back, no sign of 3rd or 4th behind.
Both of us jogged through here and got back into the water pretty much together. I try to hold the draft once again. 1 km passes, still there. Then…
Uh oh. This is way too hard to be swimming with 4k left to go. I eventually give in and drop off his feet. Pretty certain he has this in the bag and I don’t want to lose my 2nd place position.
Bingo. Caught him up after about 10 minutes of very hard effort. The whole time I was hoping that once I caught his feet it would be nice and easy. Ermm no such luck. He was swimming fast. Very fast. Even drafting him felt like hard work. I figured I used a lot of energy chasing and I really had to make the most of staying on his feet for as long as possible. Held them for 3km until we got the next mini run at about 5.5km. Phew. Look back, no sign of 3rd or 4th behind.
Both of us jogged through here and got back into the water pretty much together. I try to hold the draft once again. 1 km passes, still there. Then…
Uh oh. This is way too hard to be swimming with 4k left to go. I eventually give in and drop off his feet. Pretty certain he has this in the bag and I don’t want to lose my 2nd place position.
From here on in… the last 4km of swimming was horrible. Imagine you’ve swam too hard, you’ve blown up, your arms don’t want to pull anymore, but you are in 2nd place and 3rd and 4th are chasing you down. I have no idea how far behind they are either. I start to count my arm strokes. After counting to 100 I allow myself a little bit of backstroke to rest my arms, breathe, and glance back to see if there is any sign of 3rd and 4th place swimmers coming. This goes on for quite some time… no idea how many times I counted to 100, but it was a lot!
Eventually I can see the finish, and no sign of anyone behind me. 2nd place is secure. I glance at my watch and realise I hadn’t slowed as badly as I felt I had. I could still beat last years’ time. I bury myself all the way to the finish line.
1 place better than last year. 1 minute quicker than last year.
2nd place in 2 Hours 5 minutes.
Really happy with that.
Although more determined than ever to go back and win next year.
A different view...
While I was ('reasonably' haha) proud with how my swim went, it was so much more rewarding seeing some of the athletes I coach finishing the event.
We had 3 relay teams and 7-8 solo swimmers at the event. Some of the relay teams were made up of swimmers that not too long ago wouldn't haven't managed 400m frontcrawl in a pool. To see them complete 10,000m in Open Water as a team is amazing. You have came on so far!
Also, some of this years solo swimmers were in last years relay teams! So a big step up to completing a marathon swim event. Well done to you. I'm sure you will have no doubt inspired some of this years relays teams to aim for the same!
I wonder how many relays and solo swimmers we'll have next year....!
(Photo credits go to my lovely girlfriend Megan! Thanks for being photographer/supporter for the day!)
Eventually I can see the finish, and no sign of anyone behind me. 2nd place is secure. I glance at my watch and realise I hadn’t slowed as badly as I felt I had. I could still beat last years’ time. I bury myself all the way to the finish line.
1 place better than last year. 1 minute quicker than last year.
2nd place in 2 Hours 5 minutes.
Really happy with that.
Although more determined than ever to go back and win next year.
A different view...
While I was ('reasonably' haha) proud with how my swim went, it was so much more rewarding seeing some of the athletes I coach finishing the event.
We had 3 relay teams and 7-8 solo swimmers at the event. Some of the relay teams were made up of swimmers that not too long ago wouldn't haven't managed 400m frontcrawl in a pool. To see them complete 10,000m in Open Water as a team is amazing. You have came on so far!
Also, some of this years solo swimmers were in last years relay teams! So a big step up to completing a marathon swim event. Well done to you. I'm sure you will have no doubt inspired some of this years relays teams to aim for the same!
I wonder how many relays and solo swimmers we'll have next year....!
(Photo credits go to my lovely girlfriend Megan! Thanks for being photographer/supporter for the day!)
Lake Windermere End to End
by Adam Gibson
No write up for this one. Made a video for a change...
Stats:
Total Distance: 17.5km
Total Time: 4 Hours 26 Minutes
Total Distance: 17.5km
Total Time: 4 Hours 26 Minutes
Bridge to bridge 14km swim
by lesley berry
Race day started nice and early - 4am to be precise! Michaela, myself and our support for the day drove down to Henley-on-Thames not knowing if the swim would go ahead due to Hurricane Bertha. At 6am in was announced that it would at least start so we all headed off in various directions to get changed and ready for the swim.
The event started on time with a mass start of about 450 swimmers - some hardy souls swimming without wetsuits. I decided to take the first 4km to Hambledon Lock quite steady as at this first stop we would be placed into smaller pods which we would stay with for the remainder of the swim. Michaela exited the water about 15 seconds ahead of me and was placed in pod 4 with me in pod 5. Food stations were well supplied and well organised. At this point the heavens opened and we were warned if there was any thunder or lightening we'd have to exit the water. The next 3.1km section to Medmenham was interesting trying to find your place within the pod and working together. The skies turned black and the rain was of biblical proportions. Although you're swimming you can still appreciate the scenic route and the forces that nature throws at you. By the third stop at Hurley Lock we had swam 10km and were feeling very supportive of our fellow pod members. Food stops brought out the competitive nature of us as we heckled and joked with other pods. By now we had gelled as a unit and with the shortest leg to Temple Lock and the 11.8km mark the speed picked up a bit as the excitement of completing this swim was near. Much stretching of arms and shoulders ensued at this last stop and the odd 'I'm starting to feel it now' was said. What we really meant was 'I'm not going to be able to raise my arms tomorrow!'. Off we set on the last 2.3km to Marlow Bridge. Someone went off the front of the group and I decided to take chase. My arms were really heavy but my competitive nature took over the the race to the final bridge was on. Four of us broke away and I eventually exited the Thames third from my pod. My actual moving time was 3hr01 and total time was about 3hr35. I met up with Michaela and Dan almost immediately and we congratulated each other before finding somewhere to get changed. The whole event was great and the sense of achievement was massive. I would recommend it to anyone. All abilities were catered for and you really can swim further than you think you can. The only disappointment was the medal. It was a bit of a let down considering how hard you had to work for it! |
10km JUBILEE RIVER SWIM 2014
By Adam Gibson

Coming from a swimming background I always had ambitions of doing a long swimming challenge at some point, but during my 'triathlon years' these had always been put firmly to one side. This year GreenlightPT have entered a relay team into the Outlaw Triathlon, with the aim of winning on TV, and with me doing the swim I thought this 10km race might be a perfect 'mini goal' (kick up the arse) along the way!
When entering I noticed your could have relay teams too, so I thought why not invite all the GreenlightPT Squad to get involved too. A few months later we we had 16 relay swimmers and 3 solo swimmers, on a packed out double-decker bus, heading 10km down The Thames to find the start line....!
When entering I noticed your could have relay teams too, so I thought why not invite all the GreenlightPT Squad to get involved too. A few months later we we had 16 relay swimmers and 3 solo swimmers, on a packed out double-decker bus, heading 10km down The Thames to find the start line....!

Myself, David Glossy and Lesley Berry were all attempting the full 10km. Lesley had done the event before and it was quite nice to have someone around who had done the course before. In terms of distance, the longest I had ever raced was 3.8km as part of my Ironman last year. Anything beyond that was unknown territory, but I was excited about the event.
We got off the bus, I put on my lovely new Huub Archimedes suit, lubed up my neck with lots of body glide, tucked a gel in my hat and heading down to the river edge. It was slightly colder than I expected, but nothing to worry about once we got going.
I positioned myself quite near the front, knowing that if anyone went off quick at the start I didn't want to miss the opportunity to draft them. I was so in the zone I don't even remember if there was a horn or a countdown. Either way, something went off and we all started swimming.
The pace at the start was pretty steady and I settled into 2nd or 3rd position in the lead pack with a nice draft off the swimmer in front. The pace felt really easy at first, and for a brief moment I did consider swimming off the front, but my sensible head kicked in and I stayed in position 2 for the time being.
The swim was split in 4 segments due to weirs that we needed to get around on foot (these also served as the feed stations and relay changeover points). The first segment was 1.9 km, and I was expecting to get there around 25/26 minutes, I soon spotted it and we were ahead of schedule (23 minutes). I figured it was probably the current. We had now broke away from most swimmers and were a lead pack of 5 coming into the first feed station. Due to it being so short into the race I hadn't planned to eat/drink anything here, turns out no one else did either and we all jogged along the edge and jumped back in as a group of 5.
We got off the bus, I put on my lovely new Huub Archimedes suit, lubed up my neck with lots of body glide, tucked a gel in my hat and heading down to the river edge. It was slightly colder than I expected, but nothing to worry about once we got going.
I positioned myself quite near the front, knowing that if anyone went off quick at the start I didn't want to miss the opportunity to draft them. I was so in the zone I don't even remember if there was a horn or a countdown. Either way, something went off and we all started swimming.
The pace at the start was pretty steady and I settled into 2nd or 3rd position in the lead pack with a nice draft off the swimmer in front. The pace felt really easy at first, and for a brief moment I did consider swimming off the front, but my sensible head kicked in and I stayed in position 2 for the time being.
The swim was split in 4 segments due to weirs that we needed to get around on foot (these also served as the feed stations and relay changeover points). The first segment was 1.9 km, and I was expecting to get there around 25/26 minutes, I soon spotted it and we were ahead of schedule (23 minutes). I figured it was probably the current. We had now broke away from most swimmers and were a lead pack of 5 coming into the first feed station. Due to it being so short into the race I hadn't planned to eat/drink anything here, turns out no one else did either and we all jogged along the edge and jumped back in as a group of 5.

Next up was the longest segment at 3.5 km. I again decided to stay sensibly in the pack. By this time I was quite happily talking to myself along the swim (there is a lot of time to think in a 10km swim!). The pack quickly seemed to drop to 4 of us and I had made up names for the people around me to keep tabs on who was where. So myself, 'Yellow Hat Front Man', 'Red Hat Man' and 'Yellow Hat Man' settled into a nice rhythm and were cruising along the river. The pace still seemed steady. 'Yellow Hat Man' seemed to have some kind of foot fetish, and had tapped my feet more times than I was comfortable with, but if I am honest I think I was being just as bad to the guy in front.
For a second I thought 'Yellow Hat Man' had drowned as he floated underneath me, but turns out it was his swimming cap that had came off. We now had 'No Hat', 'Yellow Hat', 'Red Hat' and me. There was quite a bit of contact considering our small group, and I did take a pretty good left hook to my right goggle lens at one point - I'm sure it was unintentional but I did make me give him a bit more space!
I knew we wouldn't be getting to the next feed station until about 75 minutes into the race, so at 55 minutes I turned onto my back, kicked my legs, and took on my gel that I'd stored in my hat. Tucked the empty wrapper back in my hat and got back on the draft. Didn't really seem to lose any time on the pack and the safety kayaker seemed impressed/amused by my quick feed.
Once we reached the next feed station (past half way in the race) we were still a 4 and I had intended to take on board some fuel here. However the feed station was empty (raided by the wave before I think!) and the other 3 swimmers ran straight out and back in. I followed quickly not wanted to loose the draft.
The next 2.6 km section went quite quickly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure who was strong knowing that the last 1.5 km leg would probably decide the race. 'No Hat' had been swimming off to the side by himself, 'Red Hat' had spent most of the time on the front, I wasn't really sure if he was super strong or wasting precious energy. 'Yellow Hat' had not moved from my feet once, and he was the person I was most worried about - had he been slowly conserving energy? He looked strong.
For a second I thought 'Yellow Hat Man' had drowned as he floated underneath me, but turns out it was his swimming cap that had came off. We now had 'No Hat', 'Yellow Hat', 'Red Hat' and me. There was quite a bit of contact considering our small group, and I did take a pretty good left hook to my right goggle lens at one point - I'm sure it was unintentional but I did make me give him a bit more space!
I knew we wouldn't be getting to the next feed station until about 75 minutes into the race, so at 55 minutes I turned onto my back, kicked my legs, and took on my gel that I'd stored in my hat. Tucked the empty wrapper back in my hat and got back on the draft. Didn't really seem to lose any time on the pack and the safety kayaker seemed impressed/amused by my quick feed.
Once we reached the next feed station (past half way in the race) we were still a 4 and I had intended to take on board some fuel here. However the feed station was empty (raided by the wave before I think!) and the other 3 swimmers ran straight out and back in. I followed quickly not wanted to loose the draft.
The next 2.6 km section went quite quickly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure who was strong knowing that the last 1.5 km leg would probably decide the race. 'No Hat' had been swimming off to the side by himself, 'Red Hat' had spent most of the time on the front, I wasn't really sure if he was super strong or wasting precious energy. 'Yellow Hat' had not moved from my feet once, and he was the person I was most worried about - had he been slowly conserving energy? He looked strong.

We exited the water at the final feed station. Not really much point in taking any fuel on at this point as we were going to be at the finish in less than 20 minutes. 'Red Hat' was out the water first and put a really big run effort in to get around the weir. I didn't really notice this until it was too late to respond. Once we got back in the water he had made about a 25 meter gap. Me and 'No Hat' jumped in next and 'Yellow Hat' had fallen behind a bit.
By this time my arms were REALLY feeling it. So much to the point that I would look up and see the 25m gap to the leader and closing it was simply not an option. I knew we were in the last 15 minutes of the race but didn't really have anything to give. 'No Hat' man gave chase to the leader and established 2nd place and I noted that 'Yellow Hat' had fallen back so I was safely in 3rd place.
We were directed towards the river edge and exited at the finish point. I was really happy to have taken 3rd place at my first ever long distance swim event. 2 hours and 6 minutes. I loved it. Definitely something I will be doing more of. Once out the water I said 'Well Done!' to the winner 'Red Hat' - who I later found out was Steve Mott (we both already follow each other on Twitter!). About 10 minutes later Mr Glossy came in to finish - he seemed to have enjoyed it even more than I did - must have been going to steady!? Lesley also finished with a massive PB too! The relay teams all did great, and one of the teams even managed to come 3rd in the relay category. Really nice scenic event. Added to my list for next year.
Top 3:
1. Steve Mott 2:04:48
2. Paul Metson 2:05:38
3. Adam Gibson 2:06:01
Full Results HERE
I always think its good practice to analyse your race and I think I have a few good learns from this race for next time:
1. Don't rely on the standard aid stations. At this race they weren't at the ideal times anyway, so I would have been better off putting 3 High 5 ISO gels in my hat and taking these at specific times, not when the feed stations dictated.
2. If you have to get out near the end.... run fast! My arms had nothing left to give at the final feed station, but there was no reason I couldn't have sprinted the run. Great racing by Steve Mott to do this. Next year.... ;)
So the next big event for me will be the Outlaw Triathlon, we have a pretty strong relay team, and I'm under pressure for a nice fast swim split! I'm pretty confident I can swim a 49, but a certain team member is pushing for a 45/46. We'll see!! I'm quite looking forward to being able to sit back and just watch the bike/run after doing it solo last year...! If anyone wants a nice day out spectating feel free to come join me!
Once Outlaw is finished I think I have decided my next challenge will be to swim the length of England's longest lake...
Lake Windermere! Its almost 17km (10.5 miles) so quite a nice challenge. I am thinking in August if I can organise myself and fit in enough training! We shall see...!
By this time my arms were REALLY feeling it. So much to the point that I would look up and see the 25m gap to the leader and closing it was simply not an option. I knew we were in the last 15 minutes of the race but didn't really have anything to give. 'No Hat' man gave chase to the leader and established 2nd place and I noted that 'Yellow Hat' had fallen back so I was safely in 3rd place.
We were directed towards the river edge and exited at the finish point. I was really happy to have taken 3rd place at my first ever long distance swim event. 2 hours and 6 minutes. I loved it. Definitely something I will be doing more of. Once out the water I said 'Well Done!' to the winner 'Red Hat' - who I later found out was Steve Mott (we both already follow each other on Twitter!). About 10 minutes later Mr Glossy came in to finish - he seemed to have enjoyed it even more than I did - must have been going to steady!? Lesley also finished with a massive PB too! The relay teams all did great, and one of the teams even managed to come 3rd in the relay category. Really nice scenic event. Added to my list for next year.
Top 3:
1. Steve Mott 2:04:48
2. Paul Metson 2:05:38
3. Adam Gibson 2:06:01
Full Results HERE
I always think its good practice to analyse your race and I think I have a few good learns from this race for next time:
1. Don't rely on the standard aid stations. At this race they weren't at the ideal times anyway, so I would have been better off putting 3 High 5 ISO gels in my hat and taking these at specific times, not when the feed stations dictated.
2. If you have to get out near the end.... run fast! My arms had nothing left to give at the final feed station, but there was no reason I couldn't have sprinted the run. Great racing by Steve Mott to do this. Next year.... ;)
So the next big event for me will be the Outlaw Triathlon, we have a pretty strong relay team, and I'm under pressure for a nice fast swim split! I'm pretty confident I can swim a 49, but a certain team member is pushing for a 45/46. We'll see!! I'm quite looking forward to being able to sit back and just watch the bike/run after doing it solo last year...! If anyone wants a nice day out spectating feel free to come join me!
Once Outlaw is finished I think I have decided my next challenge will be to swim the length of England's longest lake...
Lake Windermere! Its almost 17km (10.5 miles) so quite a nice challenge. I am thinking in August if I can organise myself and fit in enough training! We shall see...!
OUTLAW HALF 2014
by Nicole ClarKE

Race morning started at about 3am thanks to a rather noisy chap returning to his room in our hotel after a night out. I dosed for about another half hour then got up - too excited to stay in bed. Porridge down, race number tats on and down to reception to meet my brother-in-law at 4:30.
The lake looked beautiful in the early morning light - but it did mean the turn buoys were hardly visible in the distance - it looked a long way. I positioned myself to the left of the start on the side at the front but out of the way - it was a bit weedy but at least that should mean it was relatively clear of other swimmers. I quickly found some feet and stuck on them, but then seemed to hit a wall of swimmers - I went through them and could see a pack ahead and tried to catch them. Within about 400m we already were catching up with the previous wave, but I found another swimmer and stuck with her all the way to the first turn, except she didn't seem to want to turn! I eventually forced the issue and we turned but I could tell I'd swum a great big semi-circle round the two top buoys - not the best route but as I came of the top buoy to head back I seemed to have escaped the main pack and could see only a few white caps ahead - trouble was there were a lot of red caps now and I spent the next 750m swimming around the previous wave, we even caught up some silver caps from the second wave that started 20 minutes before us.
The lake looked beautiful in the early morning light - but it did mean the turn buoys were hardly visible in the distance - it looked a long way. I positioned myself to the left of the start on the side at the front but out of the way - it was a bit weedy but at least that should mean it was relatively clear of other swimmers. I quickly found some feet and stuck on them, but then seemed to hit a wall of swimmers - I went through them and could see a pack ahead and tried to catch them. Within about 400m we already were catching up with the previous wave, but I found another swimmer and stuck with her all the way to the first turn, except she didn't seem to want to turn! I eventually forced the issue and we turned but I could tell I'd swum a great big semi-circle round the two top buoys - not the best route but as I came of the top buoy to head back I seemed to have escaped the main pack and could see only a few white caps ahead - trouble was there were a lot of red caps now and I spent the next 750m swimming around the previous wave, we even caught up some silver caps from the second wave that started 20 minutes before us.

I got to the ramp and climbed out - no pulling out needed for a change! I felt really good - in the scheme of things 1.9km is not too long a swim. I quickly got my wetsuit down around my waist and ran into T1. Wave four had a separate transition from the rest of the field which meant a long run along the lake before getting to the bike. As I came into T1 one of my GreenlightPT training weekend buddies came down and we had a quick wave and shout - quite a coincidence when you consider there were some 350-400 people in that wave. I quickly set about getting the rest of my suit off, shoes, helmet and number belt on and then set off with my bike. Turns out my T1 was pretty quick as I overtook a fair few people...
First part of the bike was a loop of the lake. I wanted to take on food quickly so got stuck into half a Powerbar cereal bar. I felt great and was looking forward to the next 90km in the saddle. The first part of the course was very fast, although I did have a steady stream of both men and women passing me - the downside of being a faster swimmer and not such a good cyclist - but didn't let that deter me as I was flying! At about 18 miles I checked my overall average and it was well over 19mph - I have never ridden that fast in my life and although I was feeling really good I was very mindful of the words of wisdom from Ian Turner (finished second at Outlaw Half in 2013 and 2014) who came to our training weekend about not burning yourself out on the bike. We had the only major climb of the day between 20-21 miles so I took that steady, although still passing people before we hit the first drink station. Luckily we had practiced this at the training weekend meaning I took my Outlaw branded High 5 bottle with no problem at all. Judging by the number of bottles scattered around, others were not so fortunate! The route continued in reasonably flat surroundings until we completed the northern loop and rejoined the original route before branching off again. For about 5/6 miles we met cyclists coming the other way - these were the leaders finishing the southern loop and heading back towards Holme Pierrepont.
First part of the bike was a loop of the lake. I wanted to take on food quickly so got stuck into half a Powerbar cereal bar. I felt great and was looking forward to the next 90km in the saddle. The first part of the course was very fast, although I did have a steady stream of both men and women passing me - the downside of being a faster swimmer and not such a good cyclist - but didn't let that deter me as I was flying! At about 18 miles I checked my overall average and it was well over 19mph - I have never ridden that fast in my life and although I was feeling really good I was very mindful of the words of wisdom from Ian Turner (finished second at Outlaw Half in 2013 and 2014) who came to our training weekend about not burning yourself out on the bike. We had the only major climb of the day between 20-21 miles so I took that steady, although still passing people before we hit the first drink station. Luckily we had practiced this at the training weekend meaning I took my Outlaw branded High 5 bottle with no problem at all. Judging by the number of bottles scattered around, others were not so fortunate! The route continued in reasonably flat surroundings until we completed the northern loop and rejoined the original route before branching off again. For about 5/6 miles we met cyclists coming the other way - these were the leaders finishing the southern loop and heading back towards Holme Pierrepont.

The southern loop was much more rural than the northern loop. Pretty villages and winding lanes, but along with that came not such good road surfaces. As we were now over 30 miles into the bike leg the field seemed to settle down and I found myself overtaking and been overtaken by the same people. One chap and me exchanged places along a good 20 miles - which gave for a good bit of banter each time we swapped over - he'd usually wait until I was taking a gel or a drink and then blast past laughing that I couldn't catch him - I did though ;-) . Didn’t half make the last 20 miles fly by! The last three miles of the route back into Holme Pierrepont was the worst surface of the day - would have been better off on a MTB.
Back into T2 and I was still feeling good. I'd caught up with another fellow GreenlightPT swimmer so we ran the first bit out of T2 together which was nice. As we came out of the mens transition area I met the GreenlightPT support crew. They were brilliant and just what I needed. They were great and really got me going on the run, except after I passed them cramp kicked in big style on both quads - ouch! I tried to stretch it out but that caused both hamstrings to go - I gave up the stretching malarky and decided to run it off - the worst 5km of my life - but then it eased. I was almost running to the schedule that I had planned and felt ok. The out and back route along the river meant I got to see loads of team mates. A few gentle high fives were the order of the day although this had changed to more of a grunt by the second lap! I had a really bad spell on the first lap of the lake after coming off the river route and did a lot of walking. The regatta lake that we had earlier swum in looked so long and we had to run the whole way round it - twice. Coming off the lake the I passed the GreenlightPT crew again. It gave me a real lift as I was hurting by then. There was a feed station just after and I took a caffeine gel. It kicked in and I felt a whole load better so I took another one as I came back off the river for a second time - I ran the rest of the way - all the way to the top of the lake and back down again. It was a long, long slog, but I was passing people and the finish never seemed to get nearer but eventually I saw the red carpet and the finish line. I even got a bit of a spurt on - although it probably looked like a shuffle to anyone watching. But I crossed the line and stopped my watch - just sneaked inside 2 hours for the run - poor but I didn't care as I realised I'd broken my 6 hour target - by nearly 20 minutes!
Back into T2 and I was still feeling good. I'd caught up with another fellow GreenlightPT swimmer so we ran the first bit out of T2 together which was nice. As we came out of the mens transition area I met the GreenlightPT support crew. They were brilliant and just what I needed. They were great and really got me going on the run, except after I passed them cramp kicked in big style on both quads - ouch! I tried to stretch it out but that caused both hamstrings to go - I gave up the stretching malarky and decided to run it off - the worst 5km of my life - but then it eased. I was almost running to the schedule that I had planned and felt ok. The out and back route along the river meant I got to see loads of team mates. A few gentle high fives were the order of the day although this had changed to more of a grunt by the second lap! I had a really bad spell on the first lap of the lake after coming off the river route and did a lot of walking. The regatta lake that we had earlier swum in looked so long and we had to run the whole way round it - twice. Coming off the lake the I passed the GreenlightPT crew again. It gave me a real lift as I was hurting by then. There was a feed station just after and I took a caffeine gel. It kicked in and I felt a whole load better so I took another one as I came back off the river for a second time - I ran the rest of the way - all the way to the top of the lake and back down again. It was a long, long slog, but I was passing people and the finish never seemed to get nearer but eventually I saw the red carpet and the finish line. I even got a bit of a spurt on - although it probably looked like a shuffle to anyone watching. But I crossed the line and stopped my watch - just sneaked inside 2 hours for the run - poor but I didn't care as I realised I'd broken my 6 hour target - by nearly 20 minutes!

I loved that race - I felt good throughout, bar a bad patch on the run and this is due in no small part to my GreenlightPT training plan that Adam provided me with. I've followed it for 19 weeks, only really missing out on the running at the start and at the end due to injury. The training weekend gave us the insight to plan nutrition and think about pacing - something I probably would not have given too much thought to on my own. I went into the race prepared and confident I would finish with a rough idea of an achievable target. There was a large group of us from GreenlightPT participating and the camaraderie all weekend was great and made the whole event a fantastic occasion which I thoroughly recommend.
So, I am now an Outlaw (half sized)!!! When's the next one? Got a target now...
Stats of the day:
Total time - 5:41:18 (32:22 swim, T1 2:13, 3:05 bike, T2 1:43, 1:59 run)
Overall position: 482 out of 1107
Female position: 50 out of 246
AG position: 17 out of 60
So, I am now an Outlaw (half sized)!!! When's the next one? Got a target now...
Stats of the day:
Total time - 5:41:18 (32:22 swim, T1 2:13, 3:05 bike, T2 1:43, 1:59 run)
Overall position: 482 out of 1107
Female position: 50 out of 246
AG position: 17 out of 60
Ironman 70.3 Mallorca 2014
by matt fisher

As always, it's a struggle to know where to start this race report. Too far back and I risk boring you to tears with unnecessary back story. Too close and the race won't be seen in context.
So let's just try and be quick with the lead up. Having raced Mallorca last year as my first official 70.3 event, I was keen to have another go in 2014 - both to see whether I could improve on my 2013 debut as well as to give me a benchmark for progress over winter.
Specifically, I wanted to see how I performed in the swim and on the run, the two areas I've worked on hardest over winter.
Ironman 70.3 (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run) Mallorca is now officially the largest 70.3 anywhere in the world, with over 3,500 athletes registered this year (and over 500 in my age group alone, 40-44 Male). Qualifying for the 70.3 world champs really wasn't on my mind. In 2013, my 4:46:58 time was only good enough for 33rd or so in age group. Realistically I was just hoping for a top-20 age group placing and to shave a good 5-10 minutes off my 2013 time.
And so the 500+ MAMILs (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) gathered together in fetching orange swim caps ready for the off at 8.50am on Saturday 10th May, some 55 minutes after the pros had started (and who were already well on their way on their bikes).
The swim
The entry chute to the water was pretty narrow for 500+ bodies, but perhaps the lengthy run through the shallow water until it was deep enough to dive and start swimming helped thin people out a little.
I chose to start near the front, as agreed with my swim coach, Adam Gibson (@greenlightPT). Under Adam's guidance, I'd knocked about 15 seconds off my 400m swim time in recent months. Bearing in mind 2013's swim time of 29:45, we were aiming to get that down to under 28 minutes this year.
The plan was to start at the front, find a good pair of feet to draft within the first 200m and then conserve energy for the bike. It was a good plan. In theory!
In reality, the "good" feet were simply too fast for me to draft and so I settled into a chase pack where I managed to catch a couple of short-lived drafts, but spent a fair bit of time swimming alone.
Despite the 500+ swimmers all hitting the water at the same time, there wasn't too much fighting and I was able to get into a rhythm quickly. The big orange buoys made sighting easy and for the most part, my lines were pretty good (although still some room for improvement).
Of course, the swim is the hardest part (for me, anyway) to judge your pace, so it was only as I finally stood in the shallows on the swim exit that I had the opportunity to check my watch. The screen read 27:48. Wow!
So let's just try and be quick with the lead up. Having raced Mallorca last year as my first official 70.3 event, I was keen to have another go in 2014 - both to see whether I could improve on my 2013 debut as well as to give me a benchmark for progress over winter.
Specifically, I wanted to see how I performed in the swim and on the run, the two areas I've worked on hardest over winter.
Ironman 70.3 (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run) Mallorca is now officially the largest 70.3 anywhere in the world, with over 3,500 athletes registered this year (and over 500 in my age group alone, 40-44 Male). Qualifying for the 70.3 world champs really wasn't on my mind. In 2013, my 4:46:58 time was only good enough for 33rd or so in age group. Realistically I was just hoping for a top-20 age group placing and to shave a good 5-10 minutes off my 2013 time.
And so the 500+ MAMILs (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) gathered together in fetching orange swim caps ready for the off at 8.50am on Saturday 10th May, some 55 minutes after the pros had started (and who were already well on their way on their bikes).
The swim
The entry chute to the water was pretty narrow for 500+ bodies, but perhaps the lengthy run through the shallow water until it was deep enough to dive and start swimming helped thin people out a little.
I chose to start near the front, as agreed with my swim coach, Adam Gibson (@greenlightPT). Under Adam's guidance, I'd knocked about 15 seconds off my 400m swim time in recent months. Bearing in mind 2013's swim time of 29:45, we were aiming to get that down to under 28 minutes this year.
The plan was to start at the front, find a good pair of feet to draft within the first 200m and then conserve energy for the bike. It was a good plan. In theory!
In reality, the "good" feet were simply too fast for me to draft and so I settled into a chase pack where I managed to catch a couple of short-lived drafts, but spent a fair bit of time swimming alone.
Despite the 500+ swimmers all hitting the water at the same time, there wasn't too much fighting and I was able to get into a rhythm quickly. The big orange buoys made sighting easy and for the most part, my lines were pretty good (although still some room for improvement).
Of course, the swim is the hardest part (for me, anyway) to judge your pace, so it was only as I finally stood in the shallows on the swim exit that I had the opportunity to check my watch. The screen read 27:48. Wow!

By the time I'd clambered through the shallow water and crossed the timing mat, the official time was 28:10 (1.92km according to Garmin). But frankly I'll take that.
The top half of my new Huub Archimedes 4:4 wetsuit came off easily and I began the long run to transition (it's almost 1,000m from swim exit to bike mount!).
As I'd elected to leave my helmet and race number on my bike this year, my blue "bike bag" was empty and so I stuffed my wetsuit and goggles in it (lost my swim cap mid-swim, again!) and dumped it in the bin en route to the bike.
My bike was racked near the far end of transition, which gave me the small advantage of only having to run with the bike for 200m or so.
The bike
Onto the bike and out onto the road. Don't bother tightening shoes yet, just get going! The first few minutes of the bike were a blur, but on the whole things were going well.
Unlike last year, this year I'm riding with Power (Garmin Vector pedals), so I was conscious to curb my enthusiasm and keep my Watts under 300 for the first 10 minutes as I settled-in.
The run out to Pollenca was dispatched quickly and already I was making lots of overtakes. This is why I love the bike leg so much! Through Pollenca and off up the road towards Lluc. At first it seems pretty flat, and just before the first aid station I got a shout "hey Matt" from a bloke powering past me like a freight train.
It wasn't until I could see his bib that I realized it was none other than Paul Lunn, a top AG athlete. What on earth was he doing passing me at 15km?! He should have never been behind me! I only found out later he'd suffered bad cramps for the first 10km of the bike.
My plan had been to take on water at the first aid station and use a small amount to top up my bar-mounted Speedfil bottle. But as Paul and I approached the aid station, there was chaos ahead and a near-crash that saw us both hitting the brakes and moving to the far side of the road to avoid cyclists and debris. Neither of us managed to get a bottle.
Another 5km or so after the aid station (by which time Paul was well up the road!), the real climb up to Col de Femenia began. It's about 8km long with an average gradient of about 5.5-6 percent. It doesn't sound bad, but it's a real energy-sapper, especially on a hot day.
My coach, Mark Shepherd, had made me fit a 28t cassette to my rear disc. Having analyzed my bike leg from 2013, Mark was concerned I'd burned too many matches on the climb and wanted me to arrive at the top with fresher legs this year.
I'd done a test earlier in the week that suggested I should be able to hold around 270 Watts average from the start of the climb, past Femenia and up to the eventual summit at Lluc.
So I reset my average power at the bottom of the climb and started moving through the field. Again, I was making up places by the second, but I also got passed by a couple of really strong bikers, one from Denmark and a guy from Germany.
It didn't take long for me to realize that 270 Watts wasn't happening for me on the day. 250-260 maximum seemed to be the best I could do without my legs starting to complain. Mindful that I still had another 50km or so to go once I'd reached the summit at Lluc, I opted for caution and tried to spin my way up.
Like last year, I'd set a 20-minute alarm on my bike-mounted Garmin to act as a reminder to take a gel. This was fine for the first alarm, but the second one came at a particularly tough part of the climb. That wasn't very well-planned.
Ok, well I had a reserve strategy. Mounted on my down tube was a small aero bottle with a mix of Elivar Endure carb drink and a MyH2Pro 1500mg sodium tablet. That would be my fuel for the climb. Except I couldn't get the bloody thing out of its bottle cage! Eventually I did, but then it wouldn't go back in. It was oozing carb mix as I fiddled about trying to get it back I the cage and then eventually it slipped out of my hand and onto the road.
Balls.
Right. Stand on the pedals and let's make up some of the time lost faffing around.
To cut a long story short, I eventually reached Lluc a couple of minutes down on my 2013 time and having only consumed half the nutrition I should have. Sub-optimal. And no excuses, just bad planning and execution on my part.
After Lluc, there's a long downhill section with lots of switchbacks. Like last year, it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Weaving through slower athletes all fighting for the same line on corners was really stressful but I made good progress and thankfully didn't see any bad spills (heard about a couple after, though).
At the bottom, the course had been changed from 2013 and instead of heading to Inca, we were directed off left towards Campanet. On frankly some of the shittiest roads I've ever had the misfortune to ride in Mallorca. Seriously, WTC... WTF?
Those roads were in NO FIT STATE to be in a race of any kind and they either need to be properly re-surfaced for next year or we need to find a different route. Asking athletes to race bikes worth anything from £1,000-£10,000 over those surfaces was insulting. Needless to say there were punctures...
Rant over.
The change in course did force a little more climbing than last year, but eventually we re-joined the fast road to take us to Muro. With the wind at our backs, I was able to chug along nicely at 45-47kmh pushing out less than 215 Watts. Again, I elected to live with that, rather than push harder for minimal gain. I was mindful the run was getting closer.
Like last year, I started needing a pee about 60km into the bike. Me and my walnut-sized bladder... By the time we'd turned for home at Sa Pobla, I was all but resolved to a pee stop in T2. One day I will finally learn how to pee on the bike....
The final few km were uneventful, although I was convinced I'd failed in my attempt to beat last year's bike time. It was only as I dismounted into T2 that I realised I was actually just inside last year's time, despite the crappy new section.
The top half of my new Huub Archimedes 4:4 wetsuit came off easily and I began the long run to transition (it's almost 1,000m from swim exit to bike mount!).
As I'd elected to leave my helmet and race number on my bike this year, my blue "bike bag" was empty and so I stuffed my wetsuit and goggles in it (lost my swim cap mid-swim, again!) and dumped it in the bin en route to the bike.
My bike was racked near the far end of transition, which gave me the small advantage of only having to run with the bike for 200m or so.
The bike
Onto the bike and out onto the road. Don't bother tightening shoes yet, just get going! The first few minutes of the bike were a blur, but on the whole things were going well.
Unlike last year, this year I'm riding with Power (Garmin Vector pedals), so I was conscious to curb my enthusiasm and keep my Watts under 300 for the first 10 minutes as I settled-in.
The run out to Pollenca was dispatched quickly and already I was making lots of overtakes. This is why I love the bike leg so much! Through Pollenca and off up the road towards Lluc. At first it seems pretty flat, and just before the first aid station I got a shout "hey Matt" from a bloke powering past me like a freight train.
It wasn't until I could see his bib that I realized it was none other than Paul Lunn, a top AG athlete. What on earth was he doing passing me at 15km?! He should have never been behind me! I only found out later he'd suffered bad cramps for the first 10km of the bike.
My plan had been to take on water at the first aid station and use a small amount to top up my bar-mounted Speedfil bottle. But as Paul and I approached the aid station, there was chaos ahead and a near-crash that saw us both hitting the brakes and moving to the far side of the road to avoid cyclists and debris. Neither of us managed to get a bottle.
Another 5km or so after the aid station (by which time Paul was well up the road!), the real climb up to Col de Femenia began. It's about 8km long with an average gradient of about 5.5-6 percent. It doesn't sound bad, but it's a real energy-sapper, especially on a hot day.
My coach, Mark Shepherd, had made me fit a 28t cassette to my rear disc. Having analyzed my bike leg from 2013, Mark was concerned I'd burned too many matches on the climb and wanted me to arrive at the top with fresher legs this year.
I'd done a test earlier in the week that suggested I should be able to hold around 270 Watts average from the start of the climb, past Femenia and up to the eventual summit at Lluc.
So I reset my average power at the bottom of the climb and started moving through the field. Again, I was making up places by the second, but I also got passed by a couple of really strong bikers, one from Denmark and a guy from Germany.
It didn't take long for me to realize that 270 Watts wasn't happening for me on the day. 250-260 maximum seemed to be the best I could do without my legs starting to complain. Mindful that I still had another 50km or so to go once I'd reached the summit at Lluc, I opted for caution and tried to spin my way up.
Like last year, I'd set a 20-minute alarm on my bike-mounted Garmin to act as a reminder to take a gel. This was fine for the first alarm, but the second one came at a particularly tough part of the climb. That wasn't very well-planned.
Ok, well I had a reserve strategy. Mounted on my down tube was a small aero bottle with a mix of Elivar Endure carb drink and a MyH2Pro 1500mg sodium tablet. That would be my fuel for the climb. Except I couldn't get the bloody thing out of its bottle cage! Eventually I did, but then it wouldn't go back in. It was oozing carb mix as I fiddled about trying to get it back I the cage and then eventually it slipped out of my hand and onto the road.
Balls.
Right. Stand on the pedals and let's make up some of the time lost faffing around.
To cut a long story short, I eventually reached Lluc a couple of minutes down on my 2013 time and having only consumed half the nutrition I should have. Sub-optimal. And no excuses, just bad planning and execution on my part.
After Lluc, there's a long downhill section with lots of switchbacks. Like last year, it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Weaving through slower athletes all fighting for the same line on corners was really stressful but I made good progress and thankfully didn't see any bad spills (heard about a couple after, though).
At the bottom, the course had been changed from 2013 and instead of heading to Inca, we were directed off left towards Campanet. On frankly some of the shittiest roads I've ever had the misfortune to ride in Mallorca. Seriously, WTC... WTF?
Those roads were in NO FIT STATE to be in a race of any kind and they either need to be properly re-surfaced for next year or we need to find a different route. Asking athletes to race bikes worth anything from £1,000-£10,000 over those surfaces was insulting. Needless to say there were punctures...
Rant over.
The change in course did force a little more climbing than last year, but eventually we re-joined the fast road to take us to Muro. With the wind at our backs, I was able to chug along nicely at 45-47kmh pushing out less than 215 Watts. Again, I elected to live with that, rather than push harder for minimal gain. I was mindful the run was getting closer.
Like last year, I started needing a pee about 60km into the bike. Me and my walnut-sized bladder... By the time we'd turned for home at Sa Pobla, I was all but resolved to a pee stop in T2. One day I will finally learn how to pee on the bike....
The final few km were uneventful, although I was convinced I'd failed in my attempt to beat last year's bike time. It was only as I dismounted into T2 that I realised I was actually just inside last year's time, despite the crappy new section.

The run
I grabbed my red "run bag" as I ran through T2 and took my my trusty Skechers GORuns, oakleys, visor and gel for the run. Into the empty bag went my bike helmet and as I ran out of the tent I was already pulling my Endurance junkie trisuit down so I could dive straight into a portaloo.
Thirty seconds later and I was finally out onto the run course.
My first impression of hitting the run was "my God, it's hot!". Unlike in 2013, there had been no cloud cover all day and the sun was beating down come midday.
My first kilometer was done in about 4:09, great but a little (or maybe a lot) hot for me.Number two was about 4:18, which was more like it, but then number three dropped further to about 4:23. This isn't going well.
I need to do some further analysis, but I think I just didn't get enough calories in on the bike and I was really beginning to pay for it. Despite my aim to run the full half marathon, by aid station number two, I was having to walk to get water and ISO drink down me. I didn't want to take my gel too early in the run, but on reflection this might have been a mistake.
By about kilometer 12 my pace had slumped right down to 4:47 and I was in a very dark place mentally. Every fibre in my body wanted to walk rather than run. The water wasn't helping and I was over-heating. At kilometer 14 I chugged down the gel I'd been carrying since the start of the run.
And then for a reason I still don't understand I took coke rather than water at the next aid station. Ok it was still a little fizzy, but it was COLD! My God, it tasted and felt good!
Within a minute or two I could feel my energy levels coming back to me just slightly. By about kilometer 18 I was back running close to 4:30 kilometers - still slower than I wanted, but way better than 4:47s!
For the last two kilometers I managed to push up the pace a little more and finally managed to run through the final aid station en route to the finish line.
I crossed the line with a mixture of relief and exhilaration. I think it's fair to say that's the toughest triathlon run I've ever done. Not so much a physical battle as a mental one. I've never wanted to stop so badly before. But I hadn't and I'd even managed to step the pace back up at the end of the run.
Stopping my Garmin looked down to see the time: 4:42:23. I hadn't achieved my sub 4:40 goal but I had comfortably beaten last years time (by four and a half minutes) in arguably much tougher conditions. I think my number one emotion was relief. To have gone slower this year would have been heart-breaking.
I met Allie Park over the line and she congratulated me. To my regret, I didn't repay the compliment. I think I was just in another world (I apologized to Allie a few minutes later!). Through to the recovery area and all I could do was keep pouring bottles of water over my head. Oh, and drink a glass of cold beer in one gulp... ;)
Once the volunteers (who were fantastic, thank you, especially to the German guy on aid station two who shouted encouragement to me by name each lap; perhaps he recognized my "dark place" mentally) had located my bag I headed out to meet up with my fiancé, Sam.
As I was waiting for her, I checked my twitter (as you do!), and someone had posted a screenshot of my live tracker. My 4:42 time was confirmed, but what came next I couldn't quite believe. I was shown as 10th in Age Group.
Hmm, maybe they hadn't processed all the results yet. No doubt I'd slip a fair few places as they sorted things out. But no, 10th it stayed. And not only that, but in addition to going from 24th to 9th on the bike, I'd only lost a single place on the run. Now my run time was shocking - not even 30 seconds faster than exactly the same course in 2013 - but I think perhaps it goes to show just how brutal the conditions were that only one person in my age group got past me.
The awards ceremony
My 10th place in age group came as a surprise and people started to urge me to attend the slot allocation for the 70.3 world championships in the evening. I personally doubted it would roll-down as far as me. But I also knew I'd kick myself if I missed out (you have to be there in person at the ceremony to accept your place, otherwise it rolls down to the next-placed person).
So I duly sat through more than two hours of tedium until they finally got to the male 40-44 age group. I was surprised we had been allotted six of the 50 available World Champs slots (just goes to show you how BIG my age group was! 464 finishers...), plus we'd received one more from another age group.
Seven slots in total. Jeez, there's a tiny chance I might get this!
Paul Lunn deservedly took the number one slot in our Age Group. His amazing 4:18 result is the sort of thing I can only dream of right now. Then the name of the second-place guy was called. No response.And the third. No response.
Eventually I think the second slot was taken by the guy who came fifth or sixth and then it all went quiet again until they called my name.
"Matt Fisher" called out the European voice of Ironman, Paul Kaye. Probably a little too eagerly, I shouted "Yep!!!" and bounced towards the stage to collect my qualification certificate. I might not often smile in my race photos, but I promise you I was smiling now! A warm handshake from the bigwig at Thomas Cook and a smiley thumbs up from the two guys from Ironman and I'd done it.
I have absolutely no idea who took the remaining four slots allocated to our age group, or if they rolled-down. I was in a different world again. I managed to say well done to Paul as we both paid our entry fees for the 70.3 world champs. That's when I found out about his cramps.
Reflections
Let's be very clear on three things:
1) I did not expect to qualify for the world champs at this race
2) Although large, I don't think the field in my age group was as strong as last year
3) I am well aware I only took the slot through roll-down
All that said, you can only race who turns up on the day, and if you're offered a slot at the world champs, you have a choice whether to take it or not. I've chosen to take my chance.
For a number of reasons, it is likely that this will be my last year of "seriously" competing in triathlon. I hope to keep it up on some level, but priorities change and I realize I can't pretend to be a pro triathlete for ever. So, for me, there is a sense of "now or never". And that's why I've jumped at the chance.
And so my focus now is to smash my next few races; address the issues highlighted this weekend (chief among which are nutrition and running off the bike) and arrive in Mont Tremblant in September ready to race the best 70.3 of my life.
I'm going to go through "lessons learned" in a separate blog, as this has already turned from a blog post into something to rival War & Peace!
But finally, thank you to all those who support me (Sam, Mark, Adam, Skechers Performance Division, 110% Play Harder, Elivar, Endurance Junkie) and provide encouragement.
Matt's blog can be found here:
http://triathletesdiary.com/
I grabbed my red "run bag" as I ran through T2 and took my my trusty Skechers GORuns, oakleys, visor and gel for the run. Into the empty bag went my bike helmet and as I ran out of the tent I was already pulling my Endurance junkie trisuit down so I could dive straight into a portaloo.
Thirty seconds later and I was finally out onto the run course.
My first impression of hitting the run was "my God, it's hot!". Unlike in 2013, there had been no cloud cover all day and the sun was beating down come midday.
My first kilometer was done in about 4:09, great but a little (or maybe a lot) hot for me.Number two was about 4:18, which was more like it, but then number three dropped further to about 4:23. This isn't going well.
I need to do some further analysis, but I think I just didn't get enough calories in on the bike and I was really beginning to pay for it. Despite my aim to run the full half marathon, by aid station number two, I was having to walk to get water and ISO drink down me. I didn't want to take my gel too early in the run, but on reflection this might have been a mistake.
By about kilometer 12 my pace had slumped right down to 4:47 and I was in a very dark place mentally. Every fibre in my body wanted to walk rather than run. The water wasn't helping and I was over-heating. At kilometer 14 I chugged down the gel I'd been carrying since the start of the run.
And then for a reason I still don't understand I took coke rather than water at the next aid station. Ok it was still a little fizzy, but it was COLD! My God, it tasted and felt good!
Within a minute or two I could feel my energy levels coming back to me just slightly. By about kilometer 18 I was back running close to 4:30 kilometers - still slower than I wanted, but way better than 4:47s!
For the last two kilometers I managed to push up the pace a little more and finally managed to run through the final aid station en route to the finish line.
I crossed the line with a mixture of relief and exhilaration. I think it's fair to say that's the toughest triathlon run I've ever done. Not so much a physical battle as a mental one. I've never wanted to stop so badly before. But I hadn't and I'd even managed to step the pace back up at the end of the run.
Stopping my Garmin looked down to see the time: 4:42:23. I hadn't achieved my sub 4:40 goal but I had comfortably beaten last years time (by four and a half minutes) in arguably much tougher conditions. I think my number one emotion was relief. To have gone slower this year would have been heart-breaking.
I met Allie Park over the line and she congratulated me. To my regret, I didn't repay the compliment. I think I was just in another world (I apologized to Allie a few minutes later!). Through to the recovery area and all I could do was keep pouring bottles of water over my head. Oh, and drink a glass of cold beer in one gulp... ;)
Once the volunteers (who were fantastic, thank you, especially to the German guy on aid station two who shouted encouragement to me by name each lap; perhaps he recognized my "dark place" mentally) had located my bag I headed out to meet up with my fiancé, Sam.
As I was waiting for her, I checked my twitter (as you do!), and someone had posted a screenshot of my live tracker. My 4:42 time was confirmed, but what came next I couldn't quite believe. I was shown as 10th in Age Group.
Hmm, maybe they hadn't processed all the results yet. No doubt I'd slip a fair few places as they sorted things out. But no, 10th it stayed. And not only that, but in addition to going from 24th to 9th on the bike, I'd only lost a single place on the run. Now my run time was shocking - not even 30 seconds faster than exactly the same course in 2013 - but I think perhaps it goes to show just how brutal the conditions were that only one person in my age group got past me.
The awards ceremony
My 10th place in age group came as a surprise and people started to urge me to attend the slot allocation for the 70.3 world championships in the evening. I personally doubted it would roll-down as far as me. But I also knew I'd kick myself if I missed out (you have to be there in person at the ceremony to accept your place, otherwise it rolls down to the next-placed person).
So I duly sat through more than two hours of tedium until they finally got to the male 40-44 age group. I was surprised we had been allotted six of the 50 available World Champs slots (just goes to show you how BIG my age group was! 464 finishers...), plus we'd received one more from another age group.
Seven slots in total. Jeez, there's a tiny chance I might get this!
Paul Lunn deservedly took the number one slot in our Age Group. His amazing 4:18 result is the sort of thing I can only dream of right now. Then the name of the second-place guy was called. No response.And the third. No response.
Eventually I think the second slot was taken by the guy who came fifth or sixth and then it all went quiet again until they called my name.
"Matt Fisher" called out the European voice of Ironman, Paul Kaye. Probably a little too eagerly, I shouted "Yep!!!" and bounced towards the stage to collect my qualification certificate. I might not often smile in my race photos, but I promise you I was smiling now! A warm handshake from the bigwig at Thomas Cook and a smiley thumbs up from the two guys from Ironman and I'd done it.
I have absolutely no idea who took the remaining four slots allocated to our age group, or if they rolled-down. I was in a different world again. I managed to say well done to Paul as we both paid our entry fees for the 70.3 world champs. That's when I found out about his cramps.
Reflections
Let's be very clear on three things:
1) I did not expect to qualify for the world champs at this race
2) Although large, I don't think the field in my age group was as strong as last year
3) I am well aware I only took the slot through roll-down
All that said, you can only race who turns up on the day, and if you're offered a slot at the world champs, you have a choice whether to take it or not. I've chosen to take my chance.
For a number of reasons, it is likely that this will be my last year of "seriously" competing in triathlon. I hope to keep it up on some level, but priorities change and I realize I can't pretend to be a pro triathlete for ever. So, for me, there is a sense of "now or never". And that's why I've jumped at the chance.
And so my focus now is to smash my next few races; address the issues highlighted this weekend (chief among which are nutrition and running off the bike) and arrive in Mont Tremblant in September ready to race the best 70.3 of my life.
I'm going to go through "lessons learned" in a separate blog, as this has already turned from a blog post into something to rival War & Peace!
But finally, thank you to all those who support me (Sam, Mark, Adam, Skechers Performance Division, 110% Play Harder, Elivar, Endurance Junkie) and provide encouragement.
Matt's blog can be found here:
http://triathletesdiary.com/
ITU World Champs Open Sprint Race Report
BY nicole clarke

Don't worry, I didn't suddenly get good and qualify for the Age Group race in Hyde Park! I was fortunate enough to get a place in the Open Sprint race at the last minute. I had entered the ballot earlier this year but was unsuccessful, then in August I received an email advising there were a limited number of places available in the Standard and Sprint Open events on a first come first served basis. It seemed rude not to - compete at the ITU Grand Final event on home turf in Hyde Park in the same location where I watched Ali Brownlee triumph the previous year? - 5 minutes later and my wallet was £100 lighter. Oh well, once in a lifetime and all that!
I was scheduled to race on Saturday afternoon at around 15:20 - the latest I think I've ever raced. This was good as we didn't leave for London until nearly 10 and drove straight to the Marble Arch car park underneath Hyde Park. For £30 it got all three of us to central London - and there was no faffing about with bikes and a three year old on the train - sorted! We met up with Ginger (Rich), my sister-in-law and niece in the Park and went off to get registered. Transition was a bit weird, on a hill with lots of bits roped off. It was live as the Standard Open waves had already started but I found my spot and set up my kit. I laid everything out on the pink towel I've used since I started tri racing then tried to work out the 'in's' and 'out's'. For a big event - they weren't immediately obvious! I was then warned by a fellow competitor I might want to rethink my towel - he'd heard during the Age Group Sprint the previous day officials had removed them as they're classed as an infringement by marking your rack position. Not sure how true that was but as this was the Open event with lots of first timers I figured I'd be safe leaving it, and anyway, my new trainers can't be missed even if my towel did go!
I made my final checks in transition and returned to the bench we'd previously occupied for lunch just down from the swim assembly point where I was supposed to met the others to hand my kit over for afterwards. About 10 mins before I was supposed to be at swim start they still hadn't turned up, it turns out they were having photos taken with Chrissie Wellington (who? ;-)). Anyway at swim start we were called over and worked our way along the pontoon that the Elite races use. We weren't allowed to dive in but still got our own spot - none of the usual argy bargy you get. The hooter went and we were off - I wanted to swim well as my pool sessions with GreenlightPT have gone really well recently and I was keen to see what I could do. I put my head down and worked hard for the first 100m or so - the wide start meant we were spread out across the lake and it was difficult to gauge where I was, but I could see I had clear water ahead so knew I was nearer the front than the back. At the first two buoys there was the usual scrum but as the eldest of three sisters I don't have issues with making sure I'm where I want to be! I then set about the long stretch back past the pontoon and trying to draft off people, except I was struggling to find anyone. To be honest my sighting is not the best and I know I was heading towards the big blow up man which was not the best line by far! I could see someone ahead so figured there must be others about. I really started to motor down the final stretch before the turn to the pontoon heard the next wave start just after I passed. I knew they were 10 mins behind so realised I was swimming quite well as I only had about 150m left at that point. It was a shame that the swim was only 750m as I'd really found my groove, but the realisation that I could hardly feel my feet reminded me that the water was bl**dy cold!
I pulled myself out of the water (third out I found out later - hence why I was struggling to find anyone to follow!) and set off towards transition - around 800m away. I got my wetsuit undone, took my hat and goggles off and was about to rip the suit off when I dropped my goggles. I was travelling quite fast but for some reason I stopped and ran back to pick them up - not sure why as they were a £4 pair of Speedo’s but I like them! The run to transition lasted ages and even when we reached it, there was still another 200m to go on mud before we were directed to our racking. I ripped off the rest of my wetsuit getting mud everywhere and then got my shoes, helmet and belt on for the bike. Another 200m run in mud with the bike and shoes and we were on the route.
The bike route was three laps with 2 180 degree turns – thank goodness it had dried out by then! As bike routes go it wasn't the most exciting or the flattest but there were some nice long straights to get down on the bars. My bike wasn't in the best nick - it's in need of a service - and the four or five cobbled speed humps as you cross the Serpentine were not helping! I decided to be a little cautious on the bike to ensure I completed it in one piece plus at £89 and with your family watching it doesn't do to DNF! Nevertheless I still pushed past a few people including a few in their national age group kit J but was quite glad when the bike finished - I knew it wasn't quick but was keen to get running.
Getting the bike back to the rack was like a cyclocross race. Thick sticky mud, bike shoes and road tyres do not make for a pretty sight. Some guys picked their bikes up but to be honest I just took it slowly and made sure I didn't end up in a heap in the mud. A quick change into my new go faster green(light) trainers and I was off. Those that normally run train with me will know I’ve been struggling with a knee injury since London, it's on the mend but as a result I've done little run training apart from a few short quick runs off the bike. I took it easy for the first lap, past the family to make sure everything felt ok then nice and steady along the long back straight behind the Serpentine. It was great running past the elite transition areas on the blue carpet. I felt pretty good and my knee wasn't hurting so I pushed on for the second lap. I was passing people left right and centre on the run and by the end of the second lap I felt like I was flying - the last few hundred metres were on the blue carpet and the final turn to the finish was the very same finish that Jonny Brownlee and Javier Gomez battled on 24 hours later.
I finished with a bit of a sprint, gave back my chip, got my medal, was given a rather revolting energy drink and an equally disgusting bit of an energy bar and then that was it - you're out into the Expo finished!
As a race, it's pricey, but where else do you get a chance to race in the same location as the Olympics and be part (albeit a small rather insignificant part) of the ITU Champs. Transition was not great - grassy hill a long way from the start/swim exit. I spoke to a fellow competitor who had measured about 1.5km of running through transition - that's a lot when you're used to Emberton! I spent nearly 8 minutes in transition in total. Having said that the Serpentine is not too bad to swim in, the bike course was perfectly acceptable, if a little dull and the run was flat but with enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Overall I was pleased with my race, solid swim (quickest ever 750m), slow bike and a quick run (bit dubious about the distance as I ran 30 seconds faster than my Parkrun PB), but with my finish time I'd have finished in the top 60 in the Age Group event so that will do me as the last tri of the season - best start getting used to the longer stuff now - Outlaw Half is T minus 249 days away....
I was scheduled to race on Saturday afternoon at around 15:20 - the latest I think I've ever raced. This was good as we didn't leave for London until nearly 10 and drove straight to the Marble Arch car park underneath Hyde Park. For £30 it got all three of us to central London - and there was no faffing about with bikes and a three year old on the train - sorted! We met up with Ginger (Rich), my sister-in-law and niece in the Park and went off to get registered. Transition was a bit weird, on a hill with lots of bits roped off. It was live as the Standard Open waves had already started but I found my spot and set up my kit. I laid everything out on the pink towel I've used since I started tri racing then tried to work out the 'in's' and 'out's'. For a big event - they weren't immediately obvious! I was then warned by a fellow competitor I might want to rethink my towel - he'd heard during the Age Group Sprint the previous day officials had removed them as they're classed as an infringement by marking your rack position. Not sure how true that was but as this was the Open event with lots of first timers I figured I'd be safe leaving it, and anyway, my new trainers can't be missed even if my towel did go!
I made my final checks in transition and returned to the bench we'd previously occupied for lunch just down from the swim assembly point where I was supposed to met the others to hand my kit over for afterwards. About 10 mins before I was supposed to be at swim start they still hadn't turned up, it turns out they were having photos taken with Chrissie Wellington (who? ;-)). Anyway at swim start we were called over and worked our way along the pontoon that the Elite races use. We weren't allowed to dive in but still got our own spot - none of the usual argy bargy you get. The hooter went and we were off - I wanted to swim well as my pool sessions with GreenlightPT have gone really well recently and I was keen to see what I could do. I put my head down and worked hard for the first 100m or so - the wide start meant we were spread out across the lake and it was difficult to gauge where I was, but I could see I had clear water ahead so knew I was nearer the front than the back. At the first two buoys there was the usual scrum but as the eldest of three sisters I don't have issues with making sure I'm where I want to be! I then set about the long stretch back past the pontoon and trying to draft off people, except I was struggling to find anyone. To be honest my sighting is not the best and I know I was heading towards the big blow up man which was not the best line by far! I could see someone ahead so figured there must be others about. I really started to motor down the final stretch before the turn to the pontoon heard the next wave start just after I passed. I knew they were 10 mins behind so realised I was swimming quite well as I only had about 150m left at that point. It was a shame that the swim was only 750m as I'd really found my groove, but the realisation that I could hardly feel my feet reminded me that the water was bl**dy cold!
I pulled myself out of the water (third out I found out later - hence why I was struggling to find anyone to follow!) and set off towards transition - around 800m away. I got my wetsuit undone, took my hat and goggles off and was about to rip the suit off when I dropped my goggles. I was travelling quite fast but for some reason I stopped and ran back to pick them up - not sure why as they were a £4 pair of Speedo’s but I like them! The run to transition lasted ages and even when we reached it, there was still another 200m to go on mud before we were directed to our racking. I ripped off the rest of my wetsuit getting mud everywhere and then got my shoes, helmet and belt on for the bike. Another 200m run in mud with the bike and shoes and we were on the route.
The bike route was three laps with 2 180 degree turns – thank goodness it had dried out by then! As bike routes go it wasn't the most exciting or the flattest but there were some nice long straights to get down on the bars. My bike wasn't in the best nick - it's in need of a service - and the four or five cobbled speed humps as you cross the Serpentine were not helping! I decided to be a little cautious on the bike to ensure I completed it in one piece plus at £89 and with your family watching it doesn't do to DNF! Nevertheless I still pushed past a few people including a few in their national age group kit J but was quite glad when the bike finished - I knew it wasn't quick but was keen to get running.
Getting the bike back to the rack was like a cyclocross race. Thick sticky mud, bike shoes and road tyres do not make for a pretty sight. Some guys picked their bikes up but to be honest I just took it slowly and made sure I didn't end up in a heap in the mud. A quick change into my new go faster green(light) trainers and I was off. Those that normally run train with me will know I’ve been struggling with a knee injury since London, it's on the mend but as a result I've done little run training apart from a few short quick runs off the bike. I took it easy for the first lap, past the family to make sure everything felt ok then nice and steady along the long back straight behind the Serpentine. It was great running past the elite transition areas on the blue carpet. I felt pretty good and my knee wasn't hurting so I pushed on for the second lap. I was passing people left right and centre on the run and by the end of the second lap I felt like I was flying - the last few hundred metres were on the blue carpet and the final turn to the finish was the very same finish that Jonny Brownlee and Javier Gomez battled on 24 hours later.
I finished with a bit of a sprint, gave back my chip, got my medal, was given a rather revolting energy drink and an equally disgusting bit of an energy bar and then that was it - you're out into the Expo finished!
As a race, it's pricey, but where else do you get a chance to race in the same location as the Olympics and be part (albeit a small rather insignificant part) of the ITU Champs. Transition was not great - grassy hill a long way from the start/swim exit. I spoke to a fellow competitor who had measured about 1.5km of running through transition - that's a lot when you're used to Emberton! I spent nearly 8 minutes in transition in total. Having said that the Serpentine is not too bad to swim in, the bike course was perfectly acceptable, if a little dull and the run was flat but with enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Overall I was pleased with my race, solid swim (quickest ever 750m), slow bike and a quick run (bit dubious about the distance as I ran 30 seconds faster than my Parkrun PB), but with my finish time I'd have finished in the top 60 in the Age Group event so that will do me as the last tri of the season - best start getting used to the longer stuff now - Outlaw Half is T minus 249 days away....