Ironman Barcelona 2019 race report

It's been a couple of weeks since myself and the other members of our unhinged brothers team of mates went over to Calella to compete or complete in the Barcelona Ironman. We had previously known each other from either racing together before in Triathlon, or from Lincoln Wheelers club racing.

A year ago, we decided to do an Ironman , so this was 12 months in the making, plenty of prep time and lots of ups and downs on the way...this is how things went.

Pre....pre event ! 
Personally, 2019 was a funny year for me. I had been away from long distance triathlon since Ironman Wales in 2014, and up until meeting with the unhinged last summer, had no real pull or intention of going back. My five previous iron distance finishes had all hurt to varying degrees and I'd blown up on the run on each of the last four, leaving a long run/walk to the finish. I had been on holiday to Lanzarote in 2018 and a light had flickered in the back of my mind. After talking with the boys, I agreed, but picked Barcelona, for the fast track and the resort for a holiday.

Training went really well initially, a highlight being a ride over to Bolsover and then to do the Bolsover 10K as a brick run. Going into December, I was felt very fit, granted I had a calf injury, and had to take a month off running. Fast forward to December 30th, I was 62 miles into a 64 mile ride and out of the saddle when my pedal came away and down I went. I don't remember much after, I came around and I was being looked after by passers by. Within 5 minutes an ambulance arrived. I have no idea how long I was out for, but it caused a lot of post concussion problems, plus a fracture to nurse and a January/February where I could only muster light duties.

The year progressed slowly, and my coach managed my return to full training superbly. By June, I had seen a couple of good outings in the local sprints and a great outing at Dambuster Olympic.  July was even better with a near sub 5 at Holkham Half leaving me just a three month gap to ramp up the training for Barcelona.  My swims edged up to 4km at the lake, my rides were hitting 100 miles on a Sunday, and my long runs went well, culminating with 6.5miles before a local half marathon, giving ,me an interesting 20 mile peak run. I was more ready than I'd been before. The holiday was nice in the week leading up, we acclimatised with sea swims, runs and rides on the course, nothing too strenuous or daft, just nice little taper stuff. By the morning of the race, we were raring to go...

Swim 1.19 
A huge amount of competitors on the beach, lots of activity from the commentator, getting us really wound up like a spring and doing a great job. Thunderstruck played as we made our way to the staggered start, and eventually I was through, and running into the water for the start. A one lap course and reasonably calm conditions meant that I was able to navigate easily enough. Quickly relaxed, and tried to just be consistent and patient. Yes there were people occasionally swimming across me , going somewhere I couldn't fathom, but I soon learned that I didn't need to sight myself, just find someone who was going the same pace as me and in a straight line and follow them, which is what I did from the turn. I found a sighting cyborg, and put my trust in them to do the work for me, and it was a plan that worked. I was out the water in 1.19 representing my second fastest IM swim and six minutes up on what I thought. I ran up the beach amd into T1 pressure already off !

Bike 4.53
Very quick T1, no socks, no gloves, a bit of nut butter applied and I was off. I had a secret desire to do two things here - firstly do a sub 5 bike, and secondly, do it honestly. I'm a time triallist I suppose by trade, so all of my testing is done solo, and with no drafting. I had seen lots of youtube videos and knew the course had a reputation for draft packs, and with so many bikes on the course at the same time, it was said that it was unavoidable. The course here is a single carriageway out and back along the catalan coast heading towards Barcelona with a couple of out and back drags at Mataro. You complete this twice before heading back to transition. There is a 3km section at the start and end where you cannot use your tri bars and have to use the hoods. Not an issue for me, I like to have a bit of a shuffle before settling down into what is quite an aggressive TT position. I expected pandemonium on the road, after all, I had exited the water well down the field and expected a lot of traffic as I got into my TT rhythm, however, the first lap was relatively well behaved as I set about the strong part of my race. I had decided that I should look toward 200-210 watts for the bike leg and that would give me a fighting chance of a sub 5(and the ability to run afterward ! ). I held a composed 230W limit on any climbs, and made sure not to lose watts on the descents. I didn't see much in the way of cheating from the people I was passing, but I could see some on the other side of the road. 2.27 to complete lap one, and then the drafting started. I came to catch four massive draft packs on that second leg and told them exactly what I thought of them. I had two chancers jump onto my wheel, and one that clung on as I snaked across the road to lose him. Not once though did I break ranks and go too hard, keeping that 200-210W in mind. the bike leg seemed to go by quickly and I was back in transition in under the five hour barrier. Pleased as punch with that ride, I had moved up 1200 places overall, and not been overtaken at all on the ride. In hindsight though, and disappointingly, my bike leg disappears further down the order than it would normally do, which shows just how much drafting goes on in this race. 199W AP, 207W NP.

Run 4.03
All year I had been tapping out my runs at 142bpm or lower, and had developed a solid 9 minute mile pace off the back of this. Barcelona has a simple three lap out and back run course. Well supported in Calella in particular and a couple of towns, and nice and quiet at the top end of the course which breaks it up nicely. My first mile was a little quick as I still had cadence in my legs from the bike, mile 2 better, and then a pee stop in mile three reset things and I fell into my nine minute mileing quite comfortably. In fact I hit three consecutive 9.00 dead miles. I took deep breaths, talked to myself if I felt I had started to race someone or push too hard, and was really enjoying the run, turning the aid stations into a krpton factor dexterity challenge - drink, gel, drink, go !  My previous five IM marathons had ended with a detonation of varying degrees, but on this day, with a more reserved strategy, I was able to keep it together. At mile 18, my Garmin ran out of juice with a 9.03 mile average, so I knew in my mind I had a sub 11 time if I could hold things together. Once I had reached the far end turn for the last time, I knew I'd get back. I did start experiencing mini cramps in my legs and eased off so that they didn't take hold, and thankfully Calella and the finish came into sight soon enough. Loved that finish, plenty of support, and all my emotion came out as I crossed the line. Immediately turned to look at the time above the finish - 10.27.44, a two hour PB, and inside 10.30 which I couldn't believe. It had been such a long year with setbacks, and I felt like I'd had a huge slice of luck on the day.

What's next ? Already booked are Lanzarote in May, and Outlaw in July. Both are races I did in 2013, and both have secret targets that I'll be looking to achieve.

I've got my mojo back :)

Holkham Half 2019 Race report

This has been a long time coming. My last middle distance or half iron triathlon took place at the OSB sister event Outlaw Half back in 2014 where I managed a 5.17 finish.

Leaving triathlon after Ironman Wales that same year, I've mainly kept to training just for time trialling which I've gotten better at year on year. Sure, in that time I chucked in a sprint Tri on a couple of occasions , but it has only been this year where I've committed to Ironman Barcelona at the end of the year that I've returned to Tri. This would be my B race for the year, and this is how it went...

Pre race
Camped from Friday afternoon through to Monday morning on site with electric hook up. If I was to do this race again I would do the same thing. Yes, a travelodge would have been comfier, but with a swim start of 6.49 it was nice to be ten minutes away from the start.

We ambled down ready to get into transition just before six, and the whole thing didn't feel rushed at all. The atmosphere was great, the sun looked like it was coming out, and the day looked like it would be a good one. Silver swim hat in hand I made my way eventually down to the swim start.

Swim 41.42 
Like I said 6.49 start with the rest of the 45-49 male age groupers. I made my way into the lake and remember having a few minutes to acclimatise. the water was lovely to be fair, but a bit silty and I could feel myself sinking into it as I waited to be set off. Once underway, initially it was busy and it wasn't until five minutes in that I settled down and concentrated on both my breathing and my stroke. The course was easy to navigate and soon enough we were circling the island at the bottom and making our way back. I managed to get on to someones legs on the return which saved me a lot of sighting. I did take a couple of glancers to the head, but nothing too serious. Exiting the water in 41.42 was a time I'd take all day long.

T1 - 2.03
Quicker than Dambuster, I swigged some coke from the table on the way up from the lake, put on my shoes and helmet and nowt else, ran with the bike and got on with it.

Bike 2.26.50
We had decided to recce the bike course the day before and all commented on the rolling nature of the course. In time trialling terms I would have called at least the first half of it as sporting at best. I feared a slower time than my planned 2.30, but nonetheless, chose 230-240 watts as a pace target and stuck to it. That pacing strategy worked a treat for me, and despite hold ups on the busier coastal tracks, I never felt like a slow ride, and it rolled nicely for large parts. I maybe could have looked at 240/250 watts, but did not want to push my luck.  Got to the second feed at 46 miles at dead on 2 hours and that was the first time I realised my average speed was 23mph as I only use watts and cadence on my garmin screen. The last 10 miles seemed relatively easy and as I got back into Holkham grounds I span a bit to wake up the legs and grabbed a bit of a breather as we queued through the coned sections to get back to transition.

T2 - 2.35
Well, a bit longer than the first one as I plonked my arse on the floor to put on both calf guards and socks and my comfy running shoes for the half marathon.

Run  1.47.19
This was the unexpected. The course is a three lap run, with the first half being mostly climbing gently and then the second half is entirely enjoyable on dusty tracks and through woodland and finally service roads down to the lake.  I knew I would need to keep to mile splits that began with a 7 to keep pace for the 1.45 finish that I was aiming for, and for the first six miles or so, that went to plan. It was roasting hot, but I was coping, and by stuffing the wet sponges down my tri suit I was keeping cool enough. at the end of the second lap, I was still going well but my mile splits had started to edge into the 8's. as hard as I tried, the third lap became a battle and for most of it my heart rate was near maximum. I new it was going to be close, however, once the 13 mile bleep came up and I was not within sight of the finishing chute I knew the game may be up.  I had run a 1.47 time for 13.25 miles and just missed out on a sub 5 finish overall bu just 29 seconds. It had been a wondeful weekend and the event had been challenging but such good fun as it was well organised and the support was incredible.

Hows the old time trialling and competition record chasing going ?

Can't you tell I've got a day off and have finally decided to catch up on my blog !! ?

This season has had the stuttered start with the accident in December, so there was a gap in my winter training, and with an eye on long distance Triathlon, my TTing has been a laid back affair. I've had some good results though and an appearance in a newspaper !

20.4.19 Shaftesbury CC 25 -  57.54
It was a decent day on the E2, I had Ian, Gaz & Dave with me and it was an attempt at the Tricycle Team 25 Competition record. I seemed to find my level very well, and considering the start to the year, a PB of 57.54 on the day contributed to a succesful team comp record taking start to the year.

6.5.19  TA North East 15 - 37.39

A trike association event, and another crack at our 15 mile comp record. On a day where it seemed windier than forecast, and on a single carriageway course with each of us not at our best, we managed to take some time off the record, strange how sometimes that happens !

12.5.19 Bosworth Half Marathon - 1.38.26
A nice rural Leicestershire HM, and I decided I felt good and would run at around 160-170 heart rate and see what that produced. The course was a one lap affair, and had some nice views in places and some nice slow ascents too. I managed to keep some good consistent miling going to finish with a new PB of 1.38.26 and a finishing position of 161st out of 811 finishers.

15.5.19  Gainsborough Aegir 15 - 35.33
Read all about it. Lincoln wheeler goes over to Gainsborough and rides their 15, wins it out of 5/6 riders and gets a write up in the local paper.

25.5.19  Mapperley CC 10 - 23.24
Trike team attempt 3 for the year and this time for the ten. the course was on the A46 and although each of us put in a decent effort, the headwind on the return leg meant that we were never really likely to do it. Falling short by a minute and a half in the end. Onwards and upwards though, we do have the 50 to go at later in the year.

1.6.19 Tour Of Cambs Chrono  39.25
As I write this, I forgot I did this one. A return to the same course as last year and another crack at trying to qualify. I used my new Planet X tri spoke, and went clinchers all around as a tri tester. Tri spoke worked a treat and although I failed to qualify, I was a little quicker than last year by 14 seconds so I ended the day happy enough. Given that I didn't think I'd race this year I can't complain.

11.6.19 Rothley 10k  43.28
I'll slip this in here, a two lap, minging, wet and entirely enjoyable 10k with my work buddies. A really fast first lap, and held it mostly together to five miles before backing off a little for stitch in the last mile. Probably closer to 43 dead if could have kept going, a nice top 100 result off the back of nowt but easy runs.

A trio of triathlons

Mixed in with time trialling this year has been a return to Triathlon on a semi serious basis. Whilst I'm continuing to train like a dog on the bike, looked after as always by Ruth Eyles cycle coaching, I've mixed in some running at a low heart rate only to ensure it doesn't affect my biking, and my swimming has been basic level effort endurance, without technical drills and tri club sessions etc. Whilst I'm aware that there are gains to be made, well, I can't really take tri too seriously as I could fall out of love with it quite easily if I did.

Lincoln Triathlon - 28 April - 1.07.09

I seeded myslef with an 8.40 swim time, so enjoyed a mid morning start. Whilst my team mates had biffy swims, I enjoyed a no show in my lane and had a trouble free swim. Exiting and getting round to T1 in 8.56, I was well pleased with the effort.  T1 was quick as I don't bother with a lot of kit, and then it was out onto the road for possibly my first TT of the year. I didn't know where to pitch the watts, so took 260 as a target, and largely achieved it. 5th fastest bike of the event with a 35.12 and knowing there's more to come. Out onto the towpath run for a bit of an unknown. A bit giddy with a 6.40 something first mile, but held it together for a competent return to Tri. 19th overall of around 360 solos - I'll take that !

Southwell Triathlon - 2 June 2019 - 1.00.02

A return to Southwell and chasing a sub hour finish.  Started in the next lane to my unhinged buddy Scrappy, and that put me off from he start.  This race would be a tale of marginal losses rather than gains, and all because I was not fully concentrating on my own race.  The swim was a little bit slower than Lincoln at 9.44. A good fast transition of 49s was ruined by failing to mount the bike well at the line when the pre banded shoes had slipped and wedged under the bike. Then on the bike, and I suppose this is not my fault, my chained shipped at the top of a climb and I had to stop, get off, and put it back on the big ring. then I got stopped at the roundabout for two cars, and then slowed for the zebra crossing. I still managed 12th fastest bike, but it could have been so much better. I did put together a really good run of 20.10 to finish 26th solo on the day. I missed that sub hour by three seconds which could have been found in any of the above problems. I'll need to go back next year !

Dambuster Triathlon - 22 June 2019 - 2.25.25

A first open water event since Ironman Wales in 2014 and a first Olympic Distance event since the same event back in 2011 where I managed a 2.53 finish. This time I was nervous as I entered the water for my wave to start. It would be two laps of 750m with an australian exit. there seemed to be a lot of swimmers and I seeded myself toward the rear. We were soon underway and it was a congested affair to the first turn buoy. I settled soon after and found feet, meaning that I could relax about sighting. First lap in sixteen minutes, which was about right , and a decent second lap for a solid 33.35 swim. T1 was 2.05, and then it was out on the bike for a lumpy bike ride of 42km.  I managed my watts well, and apart from some busy roads and a little bit of sitting up, no further problems meant a competent 1.06 bike leg. Just the run to go, and I ran it sockless and in my new Brooks asteria. I could feel a stiffening of the calf with the flat shoes and I just about got away with a 10km of 42.42 to move up to 49th solo on the day. A top 50 finish is a far cry from 2010's last sheet of the results finish !

A bit of a catch up

It's been a while, and there is a good reason for my absence - on 30th December, I was 62 miles into a routine 64 mile training ride when my left powertap pedal decided to unscrew itself and I lost balance, ended up going under the bicycle , and hitting a kerb at speed just under the helmet line.

One orbital fracture later and the nastiest concussion and following symptoms have meant that I have had a delayed start to the year. I'm slowly getting back now, but I'm fatter, slower, and nowhere near starting the season at my customary last weekend in March. I'd estimate 6 more weeks and even then I have to accept that I'll be a long way off the good form of last year - I'm very lucky though and I am genuinley happy just to be in the position of being able to compete.

This week, I wrote an article for the Lincoln Wheelers Chaingang Newsletter and I thought it would be nice to share this online - enjoy !!!

The Story Of The 2018 Comp Record chasing Trikies ! 

You may have seen those funny three wheeled things on a club run, you may have passed or indeed been passed by one in a time trial, or, if lucky enough, had a try which ended in either a new love or an experience of peril that wish never to be repeated. 

I talk, of course, about tricycles. I've only been riding one since 2014 where a mixture of Peter Holland talking me into it, and the promise of a club trophy led me to entering the club's Tricycle & Tandem event. The rest is history - I'm on my third trike, and in truth, I prefer racing on it to two wheels.  

Fast forward a few years and myself and Peter started looking at Competition Trike Records and in particular the team efforts which looked achievable if we could get three riders together on a quick course to have a go at one of them.  By 2017, plans were progressed and we recruited Lez Harre-Young, Gary Wright & Sid Charlton. We already had Paul Potter, myself, Pete,  + Dom Cunningham (a former world silver medallist no less) in the club, so that gave us a good pool of riders to choose from.  By the end of 2017 we had achieved three competition records, setting the 15 team record twice, whilst by virtue of starting position, I set a solo 15 record which I held for a lofty three minutes until the uber quick and no.1 trike rider in the country Gavin Hinxman obliterated it by two minutes. Still a win is a win and we'll take it ! 

So we were buoyed by that years performance, but wanted more now that we had those first wins under our belt. We were serious and at that years Tricycle Association annual dinner at Loughborough, we set about trying to persuade Ian Pike to join the team. Ian was a rider we knew well,  very fast, and known locally through his racing of the Lincolnshire events for Fenland RC, a club he helped set up.  At first Ian was reluctant, but we kept at it and by February the next year, Ian had agreed to come to the Wheelers for a year to see how it went.  Further strengthened we could now talk about going after some of the other records, in particular, after much discussion, the 25, 30 & 50.  2018 had a few twists and turns and this is how it went .....

Attempt 1 April -   Ian, Gary and myself headed down to Cambridge to ride the Shaftesbury 25, a middlemarkers event for riders that had not beaten 57 mins for a 25 mile TT. With the course being a super quick dual carriageway course we were excited for weeks beforehand about our chances. The ride though turned out to be slower going than anticipated, and collectively the three of us ended the afternoon some seven minutes down on the standard we needed to achieve. 

Attempt 2 - May -  The Mercia 30 looked like a good bet for the 30 record, held again on a fast course which used the A50 between Etwall and Uttoxeter, this had to be the one. We were getting into the season now and were beginning to feel like racers with some form.  I took the directionally challenged Gary (GazNav as we call him), on a drive around the course for familiarity as GAry hadn't ridden that particular one before whereas myself and Ian knew it reasonably well.  We were set off at no's 1, 2 & 3 with Gary going first, then me a minute later and Ian third. There is a roundabout within 100 meters and it is important that you take a hard left to keep on the course. Well, after I had started and took the hard left I expected to see Gaz further up the road - except Gaz was nowhere to be seen. He must be on a flyer I thought to myself and set about trying to keep a good pace myself. At the turn I didn't see him so thought maybe I'd not been looking properly. After a gut churning effort for the full 30 miles I crossed the line with a new club record, and Ian very quickly followed. The both of us collapsed at the side of the road. Me to Ian ''did you see Gaz ?''', Ian to me ''FFS no, he must have gone wrong!!'' and so he had, at that very first roundabout. The record had gone within a minute of Gaz starting and we didn't know. Gaz apologised 150 times that day - we still love him for it though. Gary's mate Dan Linstead came to watch as Gary had persuaded Dan to try a trike, more to follow on this later...

Attempt 3 - The LRRA 15 - myself , Ian & Gaz , we wanted to beat our own record on a Lincolnshire course and the LRRA 15 was our only hope of achieving it. Despite the course being lumpier than the surface of the moon, and the return leg being its usually draggy self, and despite Gary's braking system falling apart and having to tie his brake calipers around his tri bars, we managed to beat our own record, and get the first Competition record for the team in the bag for 2018. It felt like a curse had been lifted and we had removed the glass ceiling.

Attempt 4 - The Yorkshire RC 50. This was the three of us again, on a decent course but on a day of cross wind was no use nor ornament. One by one we crumbled, but after the dust had cleared, still enjoyed the coffee and cake afterward and put it down to experience. The best part of the day ? My minute man complaining that he had a trike in front of him at the start line because they are hard to overtake. Lesson to TT racers - if you are going to make a statement like that, erm. make sure you actually beat the trike otherwise you might find yourself embarrassed at the excuses session afterward ! 

Attempt 5 -  A 25 up on the Boroughbridge - that forgetful, that I can't even remember the name of the event. Windy as heck, coupled with a rolling course meant that we got nowhere in the region of bothering the record keepers at CTT. It was however, Dan Linstead's trike debut and he was blisteringly quick - very impressive for what was a second or third ever excursion on a trike. 

Attempt 6 -  CC Breckland 30 - This one was attempted by Ian , Dan and myself on the A11 just outside of Norwich, back wind one way, strong wind the other, nice course, some pot holes and broken road to deal with, but do you know what ? no problems on this occasion, Ian led the way taking the club record in the process, I followed and Dan smashed another quick ride to finally secure the 30 competition record for Lincoln Wheelers. 

Attempt 7 -  Leo 30 - Just one week later, we headed back down South for our final attempt of the year. This was our back up 30 if the one the previous weekend had been a wash out and as it had not, the pressure was off, and it showed in our riding. The club record flip flopped back to me, Ian broke the old standard, and Dan was not far away as we took another 9 minutes off the previous weeks effort. Brilliant way to sign off the season. All of the earlier disappointments, misses and own goals counted for nothing. This was us at our best and it felt like it had all been worth it. Three records for Lincoln Wheelers in 'the book'.

So what's new for 2019, well, all of the above riders are signed on again for another year and we have recruited Dave Mason to the three wheeled fold. We have a tandem, so there's plenty that we can go at.  Lincoln Wheelers remains the no.1 club in the country for barrow racing and it's not a closed shop - so, if you have ever wondered what it would be like, get in touch and we will arrange a try out..... you never know what it could lead to.........