Ironman Knokke 70.3 & Outlaw Middle

This year was very much focused around two middle distance triathlons which I agreed to take part in in the latter part of 2025. It had been a toss up between continuing with middle and long distance Duathlon this year or changing things up, The second of these was Ironman Knokke Heist in Belgium which was special as my first was also in Belgium. It also takes place in the first weekend of September coincidentally the same weekend that Powerman Zofingen usually takes place so it was a direct replacement. 

Ironman Knokke 70.3 - 5:12:13

Swim 43:18 I had swum for six months only in preparation using the pool at the leisure centre and also the lake at Whisby on a handful of occasions and I was generally happy with the way that swimming gone. My biking had been okay all year but my results had been mainly average with a couple of standouts. My running low was not where it was when I had a rest period following 2024 of England race nonetheless  nonetheless apart from Work pressures affecting some of the training load I lined up in my wetsuit next to the river in sluice generally optimistic that I could go close to 5 hours. Th e swim was in the river at Sluis which happened to be the weediest river I have ever known and it took quite a lot of composure not to be thrown off by the constant feeling of swimming through netting. The race was staggered well and the swim didn’t feel too busy. I competently made my way round in a little over 43 minutes and then immediately retired again from swimming!!

Bike 2:30:00 The bike was a blast and I absolutely loved it - very flat, very open, very much like riding some of the old 25 mile events in Lincolnshire. There were some twists and turns and I made lots of places along the way . I had one incident where the Garmin decided to separate from the bike on a coupled section which lost me a minute also but generally speaking I felt in good condition when I arrived back in T2 and had saved enough legs for the run .

Run 1:47:04 The Sun was out and I had feared that this would be a very hot run however the Belgian coast is
famous for large holiday blocks and I found that most of the Sun was blocked out by these hotels. This meant that I was able to keep a consistent pace for most of the run with only a drop-off towards the end. I’m not where I wanted to be with my running but this actually was a lot better than the outlaw run so I do feel progress is being made.
Across the line just 12 minutes over the five hour target and was pleased with the way that I managed to string a performance together. Knocker is a great course and a really good 70.3 experience. I would highly recommend this race to beginners and those looking to crank out a personal best.

Outlaw Middle Triathlon - 4:51:08
This is a race is one that I had done two times previously, but today was a little special as there were was still high levels of Blue-Green Algae in Holme Pierrepont pump and that meant that the race became a Duathlon !! (Get In !!)

Run 21:05 First run, I decided to just relax and make it an easy run and not worry about runners disappearing into the distance. My experience told me that people go too hard too soon in a Duathlon

Bike 2:25:38 Onto the bike and really enjoyed this course as I always do it has a little bit of everything and of course the roads are no better so you have to have your wits about you. When I arrived back into the transition, I did feel that I’d gone a little too hard overall mainly because I was catching a teammate.
Run 1:53:55S econd run then, and my legs didn’t feel like they were my own and my run form just felt forced. I knew the pace that I wanted to aim for, but they just didn’t have the talent to achieve that. So I settled into a pace which was just a little quicker than my endurance pace made sure that I took on the right level of hydration and nutrition and settled in for a tempo style half marathon.
Overall, my result wasn’t too bad. I had a broken five hours for the first time albeit because of the run replacing the swim and fifth in my age group this result will be good enough to submit for next years European and world champs.
Always a good day out at the outlaw, it would be great if they could do a Duathlon every year !