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Thursday 12 August 2010

Outlaw Triathlon 2010 Race Report


I sit here writing this 4 days on from the event, feeling full of cold and fatigued, and generally pretty rubbish. I have had lots of time to reflect on my first long distance race and put it all into some perspective. I have mostly been reflecting on how this season has gone in general. But more of that later.

Team B got up to Nottingham and checked into a Travelodge on Friday evening. We ate in the nearby pub/restaurant type thing! Big mistake. Dreadful. But not a lot we could do, after benig stuck in a car on the way up for nearly 7 hours. Remind me never again to drive anywhere in the UK on a Friday!

Had a decent night's sleep but woke up really snotty and feeling very tired, still coughing. And headed off for registration and the like. Thankfully we were only 10 minutes away from Holme Pierrepoint, the venue for the race. And what a brilliant venue. Looked very well organised, nicely laid out finish and registration was a breeze. We even managed to get a decent breakfast there with the boys and it was a nice leisurely mornig getting sorted out. I got on my bike and did a lap of the rowing lake, just to loosen the legs and check the bike. And this was the first sign that I wasn't quite right. Coming down into a headwind I pushed the pedals a bit more and it felt hard, my legs were sore and I was starting to breathe hard. Not right. Anyway, I didn't dwell on it and hopped off to get changed. Bike then racked and transition bags delivered to the change tent and back to hotel. Now I sort of wanted to sleep but didn't feel like it so we walked down to the river Trent and had a picnic and chilled out. Rest of the day was fine and got to bed early and slept soundly.

Race day.

Woke at 3am, feeling knackered! Sound talking to infront of the mirror, which I am sure everyone has done at some point, and I got my kit on and packed bags. Had some cereal, couple of slices of bread and cereal barsand banana and a load of water. Felt better for eating. Also down some co-codamol as I was still feeling snotty and bit of a sore throat. Stuff together and off we went.

Lovely morning, but chilly and a massive queue for the car park. But eventually got sorted and all went smoothly from then on. Westuit on, hugs and kisses and off to the swimstart. There were 4'bays' in which we all started from, loosely based on predicted swim times. I got myself into the 1 hour and under group, hoping I could get on someone's feet and be pulled along for a 50something swim. Anywhere between 1 hour 5 and 1 hour 10 was about what I was thinking, to swim easy and save myself, as I did not know what to expect, never having done an Ironman before. I was in the water, it was wtill and calm, a small breeze, but promised to be a lovely warm day. 3-2-1 Go!! 50 metres gone,m straight into weeds! And not just a little bit, proper grab hold of you and pull you under type weeds! Spent the next 200 metres negotiating plenty of the stuff and didn't find any feet! So eventually got into a rhythmn that was comfortable and got to the turnaround in good shape. Coming back was fine, but still no feet. I got my sighting right this time, but it was a bit easier, as the swim was in the rowing lake and it was very straight and easy to see the bank on the right side when I was breathing. I coasted the last 200m and swam very easy, and had a very enjoyable swim. Out into transition, was ok. Wetsuit off, change tent, grab bag, change area, elmet and shoes on, food in tri top, glasses on and off to get bike. Ran past it( again!) and back to it, run with bike, mount bike, and off we go!

Bike leg. Got into my riding pretty quick and once the lap of the rowing lake had been done I was out onto the roads and into a rhythmn that I was able to keep up all the way round. Now this was billed as a fast course. Well, there were fast sections. I did go through the first 10 miles under 25 minutes, mostly on the fast dual carriageway section. And there was a section of the 3 loops that was very quick, and a few other quick downhill sections, but on the whole I thought this was a pretty good course. There were certainly some long slow drags, nothing steep, it was big ring all the way, but enough to slow progress and to make the legs really work. Also in a lot of places on the looped section it was into a bit of a headwind. The course was an out section then 3 loops of about 30 miles and then back from where we came. 112 miles in all.

I took on water at most of the aid stations and ate and drank well. But I still don't think it's enough. Most of the water I poured on myself and I only had 4 gels, 4 x 750ml bottles of High 5 energy drink, and 4 Elevenses cereal bars. I will have to look at eating and drinking on the bike and just do more of it! As for the bike on the whole, I was just down on speed, but I rode solid all the way, 56 mile splits were almost the same. 2' 35" for the first and 2' 33" for the second. But I felt sick as a dog at mile 30 and was coughing up the green stuff for a lot of the ride. But my mind just willed me on and on return to Holm Pierrepoint a marshall shouted I was 18th, including a few relays teams. So that cheered me up! Transition was easy, bike taken off me and into chnge tent. Swapped race belts and socks and shoes on and straight out.

Run leg.

The run was a 3 lap affair, which included 4 loops of the rowing. I settled into my pace straight on it, and I was feeling good. 4:50 km pace. and I managed to maintain that through to 21k, halfway on the run. The run was very flat, all the way out along the Trent, under one of the stands of Nottingham Forest football ground and to a turnaround by the river, and back along the river again to Holme Pierrepoint for another loop and repeat! Gels and water were the order of the day and it was all going very well. I hit my halfway point with 1hr 39 gone and I was then going to hold it and try to push on a little. 3hr 20 was what I was aiming at and I was bang on target and feeling great. OK, you know what's coming. BANG! Went for a drink and carried on, then stopped! Agony, IT band on left leg in spasm, above my knee and I couldn't even walk. Couldn't even stand on it. Massage like mad, stretch and drink and I managed to stand and hobble forward for a few minutes. ANd thus the rest of the run went like that. I did manage to run for some sections, but it was at a greatly reduced pace and I had now begun to cramp all ovetr the place. To be honest I don't remember much of the last 13 miles, except the point where I sat down next to the rowing lake and was just going to quit. Not just the race, but the whole of this triatlon thing. Why was I putting myself through all this. I was hating it, proper hate. If someone could just have picked me up and offered me a lift home I would have taken it. At this point I had 16k to go. I don't know what made me get up and get going but I just had to finish. So I went on as best I could, hobble, shuffle, walk, stop, stretch and it took an eternity to get to the finish line where my boy Henry ran over to me and ran alongside to the finish. Crowd support was excellent and a big cheer over the finish line. I was greeted by a medic who was looking at me with great concern and got me to sit down asap. I don't think I looked or sounded very good. I just wanted liquid, I think I was dehydrated. My mind was mush! I was elated to just finish. Had I managed to run like I should have done I would have got myself a top 10 finish, but in the end, it was 50th place(56th if you add in the team relays). 10:33 in the end. I'll look closely at why it happened, maybe I was dehydrated, not enough condtitioning, fatigue, ill, or body just decided enough was enough!


My journey towards Ironman has reached a temporary conclusion. Will i do another one? Well I'll have to, I have signed up for Challenge Roth next year.

This year has been a funny one, I have had some quality training, but my performances have been disappointing. A lot of stress been going on, change of career, illness, getting to Roth and not doing it. I have also had 10 weeks of an intensive Personal Training course that really exhausted me at a time when I was hoping to really get solid trianing under my belt. And I have had the recnt added stress of trying to find work in my new chosen career.

On reflection I have done as well as I could have. The biggest question I have been asking myself, 'did I enjoy it?' 3 races, 3 different repsonses. Swashbuckler triathlon, I hated every minute of it, I felt tired, rubbish swim, no bike legs, and I just couldn't run. Weymouth middle distance, I enjoyed, I had a solid race, and stuck it on the run when I started to feel bad! Still slow, but I was happy, I did my best. Outlaw triathlon? My first go at Ironman, and not the race I was expecting to do. Preparation hardly the best, but on reflection I really enjoyed it( most of it!). Difficult to be totally honest as I am still feeling the effects and I'm full of cold. When the dust settles I will have a think about the whole triathlon thing and get some perspective on it. After all, it's just something I do for fun, and if I'm not enjoying myself out there then time for a change?

2 weeks off from anything heavy and I will try and find a short race to go and do. Also will get back to time trialling and trying to find my speed!

For anyone wanting to do a long distance race, I hope the Outlaw is here to stay, I recommend it highly and it is definitely one to put on the race calendar.






2 comments:

Anonymous said...

well done mate, top effort.

I also did the race in 11.30 and was my debut too. sounds like u did well to finish given ur issues let alone such a great time, don't be too hard on urself.

Steve Birtwistle said...

Thanks for the message.
Now having recovered and getting back to some normality I have had plenty of chance to reflect and was out with my coach yesterday for a ride and was good to get all this tri stuff in perspective.
Everything was focussed this year for a low 9 hour finish at Roth, so disappointing not to even do the race. That said I'll take just finishing the Outlaw and will be back to do it again, thought it was a great course.
And well done to you too! Both no longer Ironman virgins!!! Best of luck for your next one!
Steve

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