Swashbuckler Half Ironman

Swim 750m/Cycle 50miles/Run 14miles

In short I had a rubbish swim, ok cycle and blooming good run. Cycle would have been good if it wasn’t marred by mechanical issues.

Many of you will realise that’s a very short swim, we should have done 1900metres but the water was too cold; there are rules about temperatures and swim distances. In order to swim at all it had to be 11 degrees, to swim 1900metres it had to be 14 degrees. Luckily on the day it was 11.3 degrees so we were allowed to swim but could only do 750metres. A bit of a shame as we would have liked to do a longer swim, we’ve not had much practice due to cold lakes and the big day is not far away.

The race briefing on the Saturday was very good and made us feel more relaxed about things. We thought it would all be very serious but the event organisers were very down to earth and it had a personal feel about it, almost a family run approach.

The event was held in the New Forest so we booked a local B&B for Saturday night. 

The alarm went off at 3.40, but I was already awake, I woke at 3am after a dream that we’d overslept and missed it all! Everything had been sorted the night before so all we had to do was make tea and breakfast which consisted of banana and honey rolls. We usually have porridge but that’s not easy to transport. Clothes on and off we went, not much on the road and all the cars we picked up were heading for the same place – a lovely drive through the new forest with the mist coming off the ponds.

We thought we’d be really early but transition was already busy. Swim wasves started around 5.45 but we went in last so a bit of waiting around. Making our way down to the river was entertaining, it was around 3 degrees and everyone’s feet were freezing. Standing with 30 odd other triathletes, clad in as much neoprene as possible huddled onto a small mat as it was warmer than the concrete was pretty bizarre, but everyone was laughing about it. Then it got worse; the last stretch to the river was over frost covered grass, a few cut a dash, me included. Surely a sport for the insane? Particularly in England. 

We were dreading getting in the water but our feet were so cold it actually felt warm getting in, someone finishing their swim said it was warmer in than out and they were right. Swimming in cold water takes a while. First you need to get over the initial cold as it trickles down your suit, then get your face in the water and catch your breath, then swim with the worse head freeze you can imagine. Eventually it gets better and by then your hands and feet go numb. I’ve invested in some neoprene gloves as I really suffer with hands but they’re a bit chunky to swim in.

It wasn’t a great swim, after a winter of drills drills drills i didn’t do very well, need to practice distance and some speed I think. I got wedged in between some swimmers, one of them doing backstroke! And I came out the water quite near the back of my wave. It was quite misty and very hard to see where you were going, that didn’t help with navigation.

We bought some Robbies Robes as nudity isn’t allowed in most triathlons and they’ve been great for lake swimming too.

I think I took too long in transition, I wanted to re-inact what I’ll do in June and that includes changing into cycling shorts. Tri shorts just don’t have enough padding for the frequency and distances I’m cycling now. Anyway I turned round and there was only one other person left and he had his wheel in his hand. So I grabbed my bike and headed out.

I didn’t get far and my brakes locked my wheel up, luckily a savvy marshal came and loosened a cable, it happened again further down the road but at least now I knew what to do. My chain rubbed and rattled the whole way round in the big gear and fell off three times when going downhill. I’ve just had it serviced but I’ve had issues before so not sure what to do next. Knowing I was last out of transition and even further behind due to mechanical issues wasn’t nice, but maybe made me go a bit faster to make up for it. In my haste I’d forgotten my top jacket and I was a bit chilly. The sun was up but the route was mostly shaded by trees and I think it made it harder to get my legs turning. It took an hour and a half for the air temp to warm up enough to let me feel it. It was a bit of a lonely ride; the only people I saw was someone fixing a puncture and someone who’d come off (they were being looked after). After an hour and a half I overtook someone, Hurrah! We had a chuckle as I handed over the “I’m last” baton. Just seeing someone else was more pleasing than to actually overtake them, though not being last was quite nice too. As I hit the half way mark I was being lapped by the fast boys,,,you can hear the woosh of the closed in wheels creeping up on you. Around 2hrs I overtook someone else and the puncture fixing bloke came passed; I was pleased for him he carried on. At some point I passed the fast guys coming into the finishing stretch, I think I was still on my first lap. The marshals at each intersection were brilliant, really encouraging and it was good to have a bit of interaction now and then. The surroundings were beautiful, cycling through the new forest with sunrise and not much else but cyclists, wild ponies and cattle was lovely, no pot holes and fairly tolerant cars was a nice change and there were some really nice old motors driving around; all makes for a pleasant and relaxing ride. With a few miles to go I overtook a third person but by then the finish line was on my mind. It doesn’t matter how far you cycle, you’re psyched up for the distance and the last few miles are the longest.

Into transition again and I went a bit faster, I’d planned to change to running shorts but didn’t remember until after I’d put my trainers on so decided to stay in cycling shorts. My feet were still freezing and putting my run socks on was harder than getting my bike socks on after the swim.

I started my run feeling ok, taking it easy, and finding a rhythm. Everyone I encountered was on their second lap. Some were looking a bit worse for wear, I nearly offered a guy a gel but realised I didn’t have spares so just tried to cheer his spirits and carried on. My dodgy shin was playing up so the first few miles were a bit uncomfortable but it’s a pain I’m used to. My feet were going through all sorts of feelings as they slowly warmed up. It feels like running on rocks or with stones in my shoes, I just have to convince myself I’m not. Someone recognised my KVG club bike top and said hello, she was chattier than me, I was in my zone and didn’t have breath for conversation and I couldn’t comfortably keep her pace. Her running partner had an ironman tattoo on his calf, and I was focusing on how much I want one.

The shin pain wore off and I felt quite good, so I pushed on with a pretty good rhythm. I took on water and walked the aid stations and didn’t get stitch which was good. I even overtook the girl that had been talking to me earlier. First lap done and I still felt good so I cracked on. Not so many people now but everyone I saw I overtook. One of my glutes started to ache and the tops of my legs were feeling it around 11miles but nothing to make me slow down. On the second half I saw a larger group ahead and wondered if I could catch them, I did and overtook them too. I felt like a whippet, I was going so much faster than anyone else and getting a few comments, but by now I knew I wouldn’t burn out so i just kept pushing on. I was feeling great; I didn’t feel like I’d cycled 50miles, it was a fantastic feeling and all the training seemed worth while.

There was a steep hill at the end of the run laps; clad with spectators. I went up with a fair bit of energy the first time and I was determined to have the same vigour on the second lap. I received a fantastic round of applause and a few cheers of “sprint finish, you can do it”,,,,and I did….Carsten was there cheering me on too. I thought he might have been there for a long time but was pleased to know he hadn’t. My finishing run time wasn’t that fast and though I felt the second lap was faster I think it was pretty even, but I don’t care, I felt on top of the world.

All in all I really enjoyed it and I’m very pleased with myself. I dealt with the cold, the bike issues, being last and being lonely. I am happy with my cycle, really pleased with my run and content with the overall outcome. Swim needs a lot of improvement though so back to the cold lakes this week.  Oddly enough at the beginning of all this, the swim was the only part I was confident about.

I could have cycled longer and run further though it would have to be slower but could I double it all??? Watch this space…

I would really recommend this event and I think we’ll be back. It was very well organised, fantastic atmosphere, great marshals and beautiful scenery.

Times:

Swim – 26:34 - including T1

Cycle – 03:07

Run – 02:11 – including T2

Overall – 05:46

My Swashbuckler ….

Melanie has gone into a fair bit of detail so I’ll just mention the bits pertinent for me:

- the early morning start was nothing new to us but what first surprised me was the quality of the field.  Obviously I couldn’t necessarily tell the calibre of competitor by merely looking but if judging by the standard of their bikes then they’d be fast, I think our bikes would have been classed in the cheaper bracket!  I also couldn’t help but notice that I only saw one other person carrying a bit of weight, all the men were lean and trim.

- then walking down to the start was one of the most painful walks I’ve ever done.  With already cold feet walking on the ice/frost it still felt as if they were burning.  The water (11.3 degrees) felt luke warm and a relief! The swim itself was fast but I couldn’t keep that pace up for a longer distance.

- I had decided before hand that if I wanted to make the cut-off (a 3.5hr cycle) then I’d have to push the cycle, and that’s what I did.  Luckily having a relatively flat course helped but I definitely worked harder and the best thing was that after a brief period of hamstring pain 45min into the cycle (and mantra chanting ‘pain is just weakness leaving the body’) it was pretty pain free.  With lots of aero bar work my back held up well and I finished in 2:55hrs - which I was very happy with.  Snacking on ginger and walnut cake as I went round also seemed to pay off.  At one part I saw a man at the side of the road astride his bike with one foot on the ground.  I thought ‘is he alright?’, but when I got closer I could see that he was calmly wee’ing in his shorts - no way would saving those extra seconds mean that much to me!!

- I started the run off at a comfortable pace (worked out later as just over 9min miles), thinking it was a pace I could keep at for all of the 14 miles; and for the 1st lap I did.  I overtook a few people but was mainly overtaken by others from the quicker waves (especially annoying when they’re having a full conversation with each other and it’s all I can do to just run and breathe).  Then on the second lap I was passed by a girl going at a good steady pace and thought I’d give that a go, and low and behold I found it ok.  I began to wonder why on earth I didn’t push the first lap harder, this felt great, I was passing people and no-one was overtaking me (though the field had thinned out a lot by then).  The second lap worked out at 8:20’ish minute miles and I too finished with a round of applause.

The negative bits:

- we didn’t get to swim a decent distance.  A longer swim would have had a bigger impact on our aerobic capacity and would have been a truer test for the full Ironman.

- my nutrition plan didn’t really work out and I’ll have to rethink it, or tweak it at least.

- transition was slow (but that won’t have such a big impact in the Ironman).

- I under estimated my run capability.

But the positive bits were:

- it was great knowing Melanie was competing too - knowing that she wouldn’t give up and would push made me that bit stronger too.

- I felt strong on the bike; the aero position worked well and I could have cycled for longer.  My pace was the best I’ve done yet and I was over 45min quicker than I thought I’d be.

- It was also a strong run; a good pace overall and again I could have done more (but a bit slower of course).

- Melanie had a good race too.

So all in all not only was it an enjoyable race but it gave us a positive feeling towards the main event.  We always said that this would be a good indication of our fitness for us and I’m glad to say we feel on track(ish) … mind you with only two more weeks training before we taper there isn’t a lot of time left …

Times:

Swim   – 13:00

T1        - 00:10

Cycle   – 02:55

T2        - 00:08

Run     – 02:04

Overall – 05:30

Hindsight

I’ve been a bit disheartened with it all lately; my average miles per hour on my long training rides isn’t fast enough to make the race day cut off points. This doesn’t mean I’ll just take longer or not get a medal, they physically stop you racing. So if you don’t finish the first bike leg in time, that’s it, race over, you can’t carry on. I was telling myself if I can do the first lap fast enough I can ease up a bit on the second one, but I’ve now found out there is a time limit on both laps! I have considered throwing the towel in but part of the reason for doing this was the commitment. So I’m trying to really push myself in the last few weeks and keep my fingers crossed for a miracle on the day. I will however have to push for the entire 112miles, maybe you’re supposed to? But I thought you were supposed to save energy for the run!? – I can’t think about the run, my mind just wont let me, if I don’t cycle my legs off, I wont get to even try the run so I’ll give everything I’ve got on the cycle and worry about the run on the day, as someone told me at the beginning; you only have to do it once.  Going back to the child birth connection; everyone tells you it hurts and you know it will but you can’t really comprehend just how much and its different for everyone. So the run is just something that’s filed in the box at the back of my head that I’ll have to deal with when the time comes.  I’d like to take an hour off the run time allowance and add it to the cycle, but that’s not how it works. I still don’t know why some IM races get 16hours and others get 17, I’d really like the extra hour.

In my moments of gloom I was thinking of how awful being a DNF will be, but I’ve decided to try and be gracious about it. I’ve enjoyed the training and the dream and I’ve broken new goals with my running, this weekend should be 18 miles. The question I don’t have an answer to is; will I feel compelled to try again?

Anyway, onwards and upwards – we did Haywards Heath sprint triathlon last weekend, just to practice putting things together etc, the weather was hideous, I nearly didn’t do it but it eased up a bit to being just horrible so on we went. It felt like we weren’t moving at times the wind was so strong. The rain wasn’t nice but we were already wet from the swim so not too much difference. The run was 4 short but hilly laps and wasn’t as easy as it should have been after all my training but I was probably trying to go quicker than IM pace. Carsten overtook me and finished a lap ahead but I’d expect no less.

…………………………………………………….

How do I feel; I think if we knew at the start of the training what we know now then I would have pushed the cycling a lot more – each session would have been full on to try and pick up my pace.  Like Melanie I worry about the cut-off’s on the cycle leg, but know that if I do make them then come hell or high water I’ll make the run!

We have the Swashbuckler half ironman next week (1900m swim / 55mile cycle / half marathon) and I’m half excited and half worried about it.  Though conversely to the ironman it’s not the cycle but the swim that’s worrying - a 1900m tidal river swim with a cut off of 1hr.  We’ve done a few lake swims this year now (well I’ve done 3 and Melanie’s done 1) and in one of them I did 2000m in 43min, but the last swim was a bit of a disaster.  It was so cold that the first lap was swum with brain freeze! and Melanie had to get out after the second lap as it was so cold.  If it’s that cold for the Swashbuckler we’ll be in trouble.

After that we have 6 weeks to go before the Ironman, and in-between a 100 mile cycle and an Olympic triathlon … roll on … must concentrate on the outcome and continue to use the mantra ‘I will be an Ironman’.