Triathlons

[RayP]

Race day creeping up... moderately nervous, and was lacking confidence just as recent as last week. But right now feeling pretty good, and really looking forward to race day. Just really hoping I can get an open water swim on site the day before. Other than that, feeling pretty good.

9 more days...

 

[The Imp]

I feel ya, Ray. Kronborg 70.3 tomorrow morning for me Just packing my stuff up to go to check-in.

A bit of race video from last year:

 

[RayP]

Good luck tomorrow, Imp. That video sure makes that look like a fun and scenic race.

So I had finally decided on which full Ironman to do this fall, that is practical and works well with some other trips we have planned this fall. And I completely forgot about a race my wife has planned that weekend.

On the bright side, at least I didn't book it, on the down side I'm really, really bummed I can't make this race work. It's a short drive from where we live (2 hours), a very scenic race, moderately challenging, and in a great city to host this event.

So this means all the ones I'd prefer to do, I can not do, and the ones I'd prefer to avoid... are the only ones that realistically work.

 

[RayP]

Well, that changed rather quickly... Ended up having a talk with the wife, and expressed how badly I wanted to do Ironman Chattanooga. So she said to just ****ing do it, and wasn't upset or made at all that I'll miss out on our weekend in Park City. And then she'll fly back into Atlanta late Saturday night to meet me in Chattanooga sometime late Saturday or early Sunday morning.

 

[The Imp]

Good on her, Ray. Sounds like you have a keeper there!

Kronborg 70.3 done and dusted.

Swim was ok, felt good, but man was I slow. Almost 45 minutes... Last year it was a massed start, where we waited for the gun in the water, for about five minutes. This year, it was a rolling start, where we crossed the mat, jumped in, and began swimming. That worked really well. Anyway, I was slow.

The bike was excellent - aside from the three-minute chat I had with a marshall just after the mount line. I had my shoes on the bike, clipped in, but they had closed up during the run from t1, and for some odd reason, I felt I had to open them before mounting. That didn't go so well, so I stood there for a good 10 seconds. The mount marshall gave me a verbal warning (which was completely fair), and then proceeded to talk to me like I was a five-year-old for three minutes. I was NOT happy with her manner, it felt like she was trying to provoke me to answer back, so that she could give me an abuse of official penalty. I was PISSED at her manner.

Anyway, the wind was up, but my power meter AND my HRM weren't. So, no power, and no heart rate to pace myself by. Great. Anyway, I went on feel, and managed a 2:25 bike split (2:28, but the marshall thing does NOT count).

The run flat out sucked. My first thought coming out of transition was, "I wonder how far I can run before I have to begin walking". I haven't figured out what happened there yet... Felt like hydration was ok, energy was ok, the legs just weren't there. I managed a 2 hour ½ marathon, for a 5:22 total time.

A bit lost as to why the run was so poor, but all told, I'm satisfied with the race.

Side stories:

My brother forgot his cycling shoes, and had to race home to pick them up, starting a 8:13 (our wave began entering the water at 8).

My brother ALSO forgot his wetsuit in T1. Que the lost and found...

My bike fell off the bike rack on the car, on the drive back. On the highway. The rubber mounts flat out broke! Thankfully, my brother had attached a lanyard through his rear wheel and my front wheel, to keep my front wheel from rotating/turning. So, the bike dragged along behind us.The bottle cage on the behind-the-saddle mount and the mount itself are worse for wear, and my toolkit bottle was gone. Other than that, NO DAMAGE. After being dragged along at like 70 mph. Caught a significant break, there!

 

[RayP]

I liked last year starting in the water. Next weekend for me is a running start.

Happy to hear about your bike, thank god...

And I hear you on the "run till X mile" thing. All day yesterday I tried to figure out what's a realistic mile mark to try and run to before I take a short break. Think I'm gonna shoot for 9, little breather, and then try and finish it in one more straight shot from there.

Congrats again buddy!

 

[The Imp]

Happy trails on Sunday, Ray.

Remember to not overcook it, during the swim and bike. You'll have plenty of time to lay down the law on the run.

Turns out my right pedal had taken quite a beating, too. It was a couple of mm slimmer than the left pedal, anyway. That gave me an excuse to upgrade, so I now offically have a Garmin Vector 2 system, with left AND right measurement

 

[RayP]

Race day went really well. Time itself wasn't impressive at all, but very happy with how I felt from start to finish.

Water was pretty cold - sub 60F temps (15 C), and was an out and back in a lake so no assist from current. Started out decent in the swim. Not great, but content with my pace. Until I caught up to someone who was struggling, they grabbed the back of my neck and collar of wet suit, and completely unzipped it. Helllooooo cold water. Pretty frustrating especially since there was a buoy just a few feet over to the left she could have grabbed to compose herself with.

Got back on track and then ended up having a real good rest of the 3/4 of the swim, especially the second half. Really got into a groove with my stroke then.

Unfortunately what I didn't realize was all that water washed away my nipple chafing protection. By the time I got to the run I had completely forgot that had even happened. To say the run was uncomfortable is putting it lightly. But, I was able to run from start to finish without having to stop with the exception of trying to help the nips not burn as badly. Which were temporary fixes, but pushed my pace a little north of 10:00 minutes per mile, otherwise would have been south of 10:00 per mile which was a goal.

As for the bike course... Woof. Pretty tough. Did an out and back around a beautiful lake, and then came back towards start line, went the other direction, and road up a mountain, down it, eventually turned around, and did it all over again. The climbs were long in duration. Very long in fact, but never that difficult IMO.... But saw so many people struggling that looked like they had never tried to climb even a moderate hill. Probably the most scenic ride I've ever been on. Time was 4 minutes north of what my goal was, but did understimatr the elevation prior to race day.

This didn't interfere with my day at all, but I saw the aftermath of multiple crashes and several people taken to the hospital via an ambulance. Wife said same thing from the spectator area, although that was kind of their fault for putting in a real sharp turn right after going down a nice hill. The ones I saw go back to people not training on hills, if I had to guess. Even just coasting in the aero position there wasn't anyway you could go less than 30mph if you didn't touch your brakes.

This was the lake we road about 15 miles around, and the run was entirely around, and that the swim was obviously in. Can't find pictures of the other portion of the ride but it was entirely different terrain but equally beautiful.

 

[The Imp]

Good stuff, Ray. Nipple protection, eh? Never been an issue for me, but I have seen a few athletes rubbed raw.

I relayed the Deloitte Øresund 70.3 event last weekend. I was down with a cold Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but felt ok to ride on Sunday. We had a fast swimmer, so in T1, we were in 3rd spot out of 85 relay teams.
The relay teams were the last wave in the water, so I had a lot of bikes in front of me. So I began overtaking. And overtaking. I managed a 2:26 bike split despite the cold, and our runner left T2 as no 1, with a 3 minute advantage on no 2. Our runner managed a run split of 1:35 or so, which is highly respectable. However, three of the relays were below 1:15 on the run. So... yeah, we ended up in 5th place. Which is still very good, I think.

The next day, my brother, and friend and I headed for the Alps, to acclimate to the mountains, before Saturday's La Marmotte.

We drove through the night, and arrived Tuesday morning, at our hotel atop the Alpe D'Huez. I coughed a fair bit still, but felt no fever or aches, so I joined them on a bit of a trip that same day.

First up Vaujany:

Not the longest climb in the world, but so damn tough! Did ok, though.

Next up, Croix de Fer:

I made it up... Just. At a heart rate of 170, I was generating just 160 watts towards the top. So I decided that climbing the Alpe that day wasn't for me. I had my brother come back down with the car and get me.

Wednesday we drove by car to Valloire, and climbed Galibier. What a BEAST. Tops out at 2600+ meters, and Valloire is at 1400 meters... Yeah, it's big.

Thursday we climbed Alpe D'Huez in pouring rain - that actually wasn't all that bad. A lot safer going up than going down, anyway.

The race on Saturday was ok-ish. I made it up Glandon ok, but had a flat on the way down. The time on that decent is neutralized, because it's so dangerous the do not want us to race down. Anyway, I was behind my brother then, and decided to play catch-up in the valley leading in towards Telegraphe. That was a mistake. My heart rate was at 175 on the flats, and the last little bit before Telegraphe is a false flat, so I arrived at the bottom of Telegraphe slightly overcooked. Made it up Telegraphe reasonably ok, managed to overtake my brother, and we descended to Valloire together, were we had a seat and a coke. It was sorely needed.

The climb up Galibier took an eternity. It's like wrestling with a gorilla, you can never win, but you can most definitely lose. I made it up eventually, but I was thrilled that the last little bit was closed off to due risk of avalanches. Accordingly, we went through the tunnel and began the descent. I made it through the really steep and technical bit before the rain began. Eventually, though, the skies opened. We had 20 minutes of absolutely pouring rain on the way down Galibier. I managed ok though.

The Alpe was... The Alpe. Steep and tough, but familiar by now.

My official time was 8:54:48 - I bested by brother by 14 seconds

I immediately headed to the hotel for a bath, where, predictably, I began coughing so much I almost vomitted.

We drove all day Sunday, and got home at midnight, just in time for bed, and then work this morning.

La Marmotte profile:

My official race photos:

http://www.photobreton.com/c/227/p/26c9e23fe57da727e563e209000beaaf/.html

 

[RayP]

Never? Lucky *******. Normally it's not too bad, but I had lost some weight in the shirt I originally trained in... and didn't want to mess with a new shirt. They were nearly rubbed raw, but not quite. Sure as hell felt like it, but at least no blood stains/streaks.


I'd love to try something like that one day, but might die if I did. Definitely not there yet. Not that much climbing at least.

 

[RayP]

Training for Ironman Chattanooga has officially kicked off today with a 3250 yard swim.



2 hour run tomorrow.

 

[Rocko604]

My goal is to complete a sprint triathlon next year, swimming is going to be the toughest part for me (I can swim, I just suck at it). It'll be my first ever triathlon.

 

[The Imp]

Rocko, is the swim wetsuit legal? Wetsuits make a stupendous difference.

 

[RayP]

12 mile run today, which ordinarily isn't a problem... But with my work schedule I didn't get to start until it was about as hot as it was going to be all day. Temps hitting 100 F (38 C). It was a chore to finish, and my time was rather awful, but I ****ing finished.

 

[The Imp]

One month until Ironman Copenhagen. Beginning to focus a bit more now - I find that watching finishing line videos help. They give an extra little kick of motivation.

I'm also cultivating a new relationship though, and it's not an easy balance to strike. Thankfully she's a physiotherapist, so she understands the need for training - she even finds it interesting!

 

[RayP]

Good luck, and congrats!


What time you shooting for?

 

[The Imp]

somewhere around 11.30. I 1 ½ hour swim, 5 hour bike, 4 ½ hour run, plus T1 and T2. Maybe I'll try to go a bit easier on the bike, to see if it boosts the run.

 

[Rocko604]

Rocko, is the swim wetsuit legal? Wetsuits make a stupendous difference.

Only if the water temperature the morning of the race is 23C or below.

I also hate running, so I just might take a pass on the triathlon and focus on the Seattle to Portland ride next July.

 

[RayP]

Imp, how you feeling for your Ironman in a few days?

 

[The Imp]

Bloated, fat, and slow.

But objectively, I think I'm reasonably well prepared. Registration, wrist band, and all that today, bike check-in tomorrow, and then Sunday. The race!

Weather looks pretty much perfect right now - 19 degrees, no wind, and no rain. Mostly cloudy, but on the run we'll get a little bit of sun.

 

[RayP]

Bloated, fat, and slow? That doesn't sound like you.


Good luck!

 

[The Imp]

What a Day! Perfect weather, except for rolling fog in the morning, which made navigating a chore.

PR in all disciplines Full report to follow

 

[RayP]

What a Day! Perfect weather, except for rolling fog in the morning, which made navigating a chore.

PR in all disciplines �� Full report to follow

If you don't mind, add some stuff about your nutrition into report. I've been really struggling with mine, when it was never an issue at the 70.3 distance.

 

[The Imp]

RACE REPORT - TL;DR warning!

Cliff notes - about 17 minutes faster than last year, with improvements in all three disciplines. I had wanted to complete the marathon part in under five hours, but that wasn't to be.

Race morning was a bit odd, in that I was there much earlier than last year, and much more organized. Consquently, I had about a half hour to socialize with teammates and friends who were also racing. I haven't really felt 'it' leading up to the race, that mix of fear, elation and anticipation that I have come to expect from long-distance triathlon... However, on race morning, just before the start, the speaker said "remember, later today you'll be an IronMan". Well, THEN I felt it

They had a rolling start for everyone this year, where we were to line up according to our estimated swim time, so that we'd all have a nice swim. That's a good plan, but it didn't work out for me - I somehow ended up way at the back. However, while I did have to overtake a few during the swim (which admittedly is rare for me), it wasn't really an issue, aside from the fact that my race began about half an hour after I had estimated it to. I ranked 1458 of about 2500 males after the swim, but I did manage a swim time of 1.22, down from 1.28 last year. I'll take that!

T1 was really easy, so on to the bike. I was overtaken just once during the 180k. I started late, and am not a fast swimmer, so that's to be expected, but it still felt great. It's amazing how fast five hours can go by. 4.56, compared 4.59 last year. After the bike, I ranked 474 of the about 2500 males competing. I'll take it!

T2 passed in a rush, and then the run began.

The run will always be long, and really, really hard, but the sun and heat were factors for the first 30k or so - staying hydrated and cool were priorities. I did manage to spot a great deal of friends and co-workers in the crowd - special thanks to my brother Jens, the Keep Calm crew, and to my teammates in Kviktri. The Kvik base camp was like a charging station - I felt energized and just a bit more motivated after running by them, every single time. Well, I wrote 'running', but truth be told there was quite a bit of walking involved, too. Eventually, I made that wonderful turn towards the finish, at a run time of 5.10, and a total time of 11.38. There are a lot of emotions involved in doing an Ironman, but the sense of accomplishment and pride of having faced your doubts and fears - and having overcome them - never gets old. Ever.

I met up with the girlfriend and her friends, grabbed my gear bags and bikes, and headed home, just as they were putting the last few minutes of the olympic handball gold medal game on the big screen. What a wonderful finishing note to a really, really good day

--

On nutrition - carboload in the days leading up to the race, but ease off at about lunch the day before. Careful about having too much fibre towards the end!!

On race day, I had muesli with milk in the morning, and then consumed four bottles (so three liters) of energy drink, which I supplemented with gels, shooting for about 0,9-1 g of carb pr kilo of body weight per hour.

On the run, I had coke at the aid stations. No gels or the like. They also had orange wedges at the depots - they are really good, but the pulp was a slight annoyance.

During the run, I focused on staying hydrated and cool, while energy was mostly secondary. Might have to rethink that one.

 

[Havre]

Cool.

I'm I right in thinking you are a lot better on the bike than running?