Euro Champs Eilat Race Report

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Darren Milne

Summary

Swim: 23min 13sec (7/54)
T1: 2min 21sec Bike: 58min 50sec (1/54)
T2: 1 min 15sec Run: 34min 43sec (1/54)
Overall: 2hr 00min 22sec (2/54)

Detail

Very early in the season for a Euro Champs race and climatically not the most helpful of locations following winter training in the UK. After December and January’s back injury, rapid progress was made with a return to race fitness. There was always the worry this was not quite enough time but split times in training during April showed an improvement on last year’s peak fitness.

Travelled out with the family 10 days before the race to help acclimatise due to the expected 30degreesC race air temperature. Tapering of training was combined with sightseeing around Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Dead Sea and Petra. Great fun for the family and hopefully a bit of a payback for the hours of Dad’s and husband’s training. 5 days before race day both boys succumbed to sickness bugs, and the girls were not great either. Fortunately I managed to somehow avoid without checking into a different hotel…carefully guarded water bottle and toothbrush though, together with loads of hand washing! More placebo effect than anything, but was a moderate surprise to find that Jerusalem was at 1600m asl. Altitude training…not quite but interesting to see if any effect at sealevel.

Some say swimming in the Dead Sea is impossible, all I know is it seemed to be improve my toe dragging feet position. After a good float in the Dead Sea, arrived in Eilat. This was hot, a dry desert heat and very little humidity, and three days before it was 38degreesC…yikes. Two days before, organisers became very worried as the sun disappeared under a Saudi sand storm. The first evening the advice was not to go out in it. Later found out there had been some fatal car crashes in it…..Fortunately race day brought a bright clear blue sky.

First two races of the year had major errors in transition so lots of practice has taken place over the last couple of weeks, but there is still a transition tale to tell. The bike racking bar was unusually low and my usual `hang bike by the sandal’ would not work with the bike slipping off. Turning the bike around the front wheel and handle bar position meant that this way round was very unstable too. Carefully balanced and drink, elastic bands all in place one hour before, I was finally happy. Quick final reccie of the entrances and exits to transition and returning to my bike I found a sheepish athlete looking at my bike. Arriving he told me someone had knocked over my bike and my aero bottle had emptied! My other bottle on the bike was intact but the spare bottle was nearly empty due to hydrating with the start approaching. Raced back to the hotel, luckily 300m away, and remixed my usual drink. Imagine starting the bike leg and realising no drink was in the front bottle? Further remedial action was now needed. Found a transition referee and got him to agree to using a towel to cushion the racking bar and also to use tape to tie the bike on…wonder if it will come off now…?!

The call to the beach was announced, some 450m away from transition, the great news was a wetsuit swim was declared – brilliant! Third wave off, the start was brilliant, running from a numbered platform on the beach and into the flat calm sea. Did not spot the `puffer’ fish and friends from the practice swims…but something much bigger…in only 12ft of water and right under me….minor flap and then noticed it was a diver with camera! A straightforward anticlockwise rectangle proved annoyingly wayward on the way out, a few metres lost as the deeper water meant sighting with the seabed disappeared. Sighting on a hotel on the way back was much more successful. For the middle half of the race, followed a pair of feet and with 500m or so to go moved passed him and wanted to hit the beach knackered. Practice had shown that an extra stroke after touching the bottom worked propelling into ankle deep water. Up and out and the massive run to transition. 23min something, great, better than I feared after the slight zigzag on the way out, a swim PB. Had practiced taking wetsuit off in first 50m of run and then carrying for the rest but at the last minute, a briefing advised against this due to strict interpretation of the `impedance to other competitors’ rule. Running proved fine in the wetsuit down to the waist and concentrated hard approaching the bike. All went well, the bike was still vertical and drink looked intact.

Swiftly out onto bike, second elastic band broke too early but no significant time lost. An `out and back’ route along the desert highway towards the Dead Sea with a significant headwind on the way out and a monster tailwind for the return. Difficult to judge pace as normally look to unscientifically cycle knackered all the way but ensuring circa 25-27mph. Barely got above 20mph on the way out and reached the turn in 35min something. Overtook a few of my wave but not many, had I gone hard enough? Tried to spot Matt Malloy in the colours of Ireland on the approach to the turn as his strong swim would put him significantly in front. No joy, but understand he had spotted the carefully disguised `Bubblegum’, now white and rebranded by the children as `Chewing gum’… Around the turn and into the top gear and spent the next 15mins without changing, averaging 35 to 36mph.

Never spent that long in the big chain-ring and smallest sprocket. Think this was relatively suiting a few other competitors a bit more than me so concentrated on being as aero as possible and pushing hard on the occasional inclines. Perhaps the best fun bit of any bike leg ever and looking down at the time approaching T2, 58mins….great knew this was a good time after all, even with it 500m short of 40km. Later it turned out to be the second fastest of the day by only 10 seconds. Approaching T2 and just took another GB in my age group, rats, did not expect that, did not recognise him either! No sign of Malloy but knew I would be aware of him soon as the run was 4 laps with one part a 400m dogleg halfway around the lap.

Long circuit pushing bike into T2, legs initially a little wobbly but by the time of racking was fine. Spent an extra second or two jamming one brake lever over racking to ensure bike stayed up. Shoes on and out onto run, had perhaps 5 metres over the other GB guy. Quickly into running and the other GBer quickly receded. Where was Malloy? Later found out he was 3mins ahead after the swim, this was cut to 2 mins after the bike and at the first lap dogleg, spotted him circa 400m ahead. Could he be caught? Family were brilliant and were able to see me 8 times on the run and was amazing with the three children running beside me for some of the unbarriered sections. Second lap, had not made the inroads hoped for, 350m ahead. Went for it on the 3rd lap, pretended it would be a 3 lap race and wanted to be completely spent by the end. 3rd lap 250m ahead, onto the last lap and on the straights I could see him. Gave it everything, took no water on the last lap just run run….Crossing the line in 34min 43sec for my 3rd PB of the day, if it were not for the longest transitions ever, then would have been an overall PB too.

Was very happy with the result, 35secs behind the winner (ironically the exact same margin I came second by last year, though last year’s winner only made 7th this year), and someone who beat me by 7mins at Windsor last year. So a massive improvement and am confident of revenge later in the year! Perhaps due to the location, the heat, the time of the year, this was not as well attended by all nations apart from my age group! My time was 3rd fastest overall and as a result would have won all the other age groups bar one! The final twist in this tale was at the prize giving. Excitingly a proper podium was built on the finish line with a smart backdrop lit by spotlights with the sun going down. My age group was called out and my name was omitted. I watched as medals were presented and realised the administration had not caught up with the fact that my chip had fallen off on the run and they had given out the medals according to chip timing! I later received an apology and my medal and an offer of my own podium presentation (not taken!), guess they did not take the bronze medal back from the Israeli?!
Now onto a new job, based near home and a new training regime…will miss you lot!

Darren

Open Adventure 5

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Olivia

For any who don’t know an adventure race is a mix of action and orienteering. You get a map at the start and a set time, in this case 5 hours, to get about on by MTB and running to find and dib as many spots as possible. It can be done as a solo or paired effort. The harder a dib spot is to reach the more it scores. Most points wins, points docked for every minute over the 5 hours. As much effort as you want to put in, or not. Some people hurtle round, others take it more sociably.

Keirnan bravely joined me to form a mixed pair and we set off in his nice warm car for a fun day out on the Surrey Hills above Dorking (familiar to those who enjoyed the MTB jaunt a few weeks back) in spite of a forecast of heavy rain all day. I don’t think I quite promised Keirnan it would be a picnic but I’m sure I didn’t suggest it would be a polar expedition!

We decided to MTB first and set off in moderate rain and good spirits, heightened by doing one of the purpose-built MTB runs early on and collecting a load of points. The skill is to plot a looped course for maximum efficiency and we did our best on this and also to go up the roads and down the trails.

The rain got heavier, the trails slippier, our hands and feet more like ice blocks but we were still going strong. Then Keirnan’s brakes started to give up on him which meant he had to coast/run/slither down the hills – which he did amazingly cheerfully. On the home stretch he also got a puncture so now he was running all the time – in bike gear and pushing his MTB. Back at transition – a section of forest track so designated, nothing fancy about these races – we stripped off our sodden bike gear and gratefully put on dry socks and running shoes. I was shivering so much I couldn’t hold the running map still enough to look at it but Keirnan had a steady hand and we looked forward to getting warmer on the run.

By now the trails had turned into streams so the dry sock effect didn’t last long and the going was treacherous. Keirnan wiped out at one point but shook himself and carried on regardless. However, as we crossed a piece of open country he pointed out that the rain had turned rather more solid. Sleet! The most evocative word in the bad weather lexicon. And after another ten minutes it was snowing, quite hard, the flakes whirling round in every direction before melting into the muddy streams around our ankles. We had definitely gone beyond eccentric by this point… As everyone picks their own route we kept meeting people going the same way or the opposite way and then diverging again. We all grinned at each other with mud-splattered, snow-blown complicity: you too, hah!

The time was getting on and we set off for a welcome return to transition and only a 4km down hill bike ride (hmm, Keirnan’s bike – how is that going to work?) between us and the base with its glowing promise of warm food and clothes. But at that crucial point our navigation skills, which had been pretty good up to now, deserted us (or rather me). Nothing to do with frozen brains of course but we kept heading South when we should be have been going East.

Finally we found a road and headed back to transition – not quite last but nearly so. And half an hour over time, so all those hard won points were taken away again – it’s a cruel game. Something like 340 minus 310! Then poor Keirnan had to wait while I cycled back and fetched the car. And I couldn’t drive the car till my hands had thawed. When I got back I was glad to find him not quite hypothermic and wrapped in one of the race official’s hi-tech ski jackets. Back to base for those warm clothes and food and a very cosy drive back to London. I have never been more grateful that we didn’t take the train.

Huge thanks and admiration to Keirnan who was incredibly game, stalwart, uncomplaining and all round heroic. Next time we’ll get back inside the cut-off, I promise. What do you mean there won’t be a next time?

Olivia

Cotswold 113 Race Report

Posted on June 27, 2011 by andbo1984

Short Report:

Swim: 29.08
T1: 1.33
Bike: 2.33
T2: 0.54
Run: 1.43

Overall: 4:48.24
7^th in AG, 47^th Overall (274 finishers)

Longer Version:

So I entered this race for a bit of fun. Since Polar Challenge, my training had been pretty relaxed, just trying to get back into the swing of things. As I laid in the tent the night before the race, I couldn’t help but think it might be a long day, I didn’t feel that focussed.

Race morning whipped around and it was heavily overcast, almost misty, and humid, the forecast for 26 degree bright sunshine hadn’t materialized and this didn’t look like the sort of thing that would burn through. It was about 4am though.

Breakfast: 2 pots of rice pudding, a bowl of muesli with apple sauce and yoghurt and a splash of milk. Caffeine tablet (100mg) and a cup of tea.

Went over and tried to remember how to rack a bike for an open transition, and picked up a free shot of redbull that had been laid out by all the bikes, got the wetsuit on, and went down to the briefing.

Classic briefing over a PA system 300 people definitely couldn’t hear, but just about got the jist of it. 2 lap swim with a slightly different second lap.

Swim:

Started at the front of the swim, and more or less straight away gapped the people who I started near, there was a big pack to my right hand side, and I slowly merged with them at the first turn.

It was a struggle. I certainly don’t have the swim fitness I did last year, and had to force myself to relax and not push too hard. I tried to get onto some feet, but they pulled away (disconcerting since we had all seemed to settle into a pace by now). Round the second turn and there were already 2 guys WAY ahead, and then a string of swimmers leading to the little group I was with. At the second turn everyone in my group veered wildy to the left and started heading for totally the wrong buoy, I stayed with one guy and headed to the correct one, by the time the group had been corrected by a canoe they were behind us. The one guy I was with the next turn headed for totally the wrong buoy and began to cut a huge corner off the second lap. I was annoyed, not only since I would have to do yet MORE work on my own, but he was taking a shortcut. I worked hard and he finally came up to the next turnaround just ahead of me.

As I swam into the finish of the swim, I knew I had been working hard, and feared I’d already overcooked it. I was about 14^th out of the water and I was pleased to see about 28.30 on my watch as I got out however, still have some semblance of the pace I did before, just it hurts a lot more to sustain I guess.

I’d wanted some fast transitions, but knew I had to get some socks on for the bike and run, decided to do this in t1, and with soggy feet it was a bit of a struggle. Snugg came off nicely and soon enough I was away.

Bike:

Onto the bike and I’d decided to cap my HR at 160. I was riding without a speedo or distance. Not many on the road at that point, and I prepared myself for the steady flow of average swimmer/hardcore cyclists to come through. It was pleasantly cool, yet still misty with a lot of moisture in the air, and the flow of cyclists past me was a lot less than I had expected. The bike course is a 2x out and back and looking at my splits, my average HR, for each was 161. So more or less on the planned effort.

It was pretty frustrating to see so many pack of blatant drafting going on. Most of the packs of riders closing on me at the turn around and see them gaining each split I took. Some of these packs were 10-20 riders at least and making no effort not to draft. The lanes were dead flat and mostly very smooth, but quite narrow, so its understandable why it would be difficult to pass. And having to pass 20 people is a bit of an effort, but still, people could have the decency to drop back the required amount. At least I know I could go and ride that course again with no-one around and I’d get the same/similar time. Not sure they could all say that.

There was also, as far as I could tell only water/high 5 available on the bike when the website had suggested there would also be fig rolls. I was looking forward to those, but glad I had enough with me in terms of gels/energy drink (just) to get by on my own, otherwise it might have been a different story!

Anyway, I was able to check where kev, lotte, romain and roz where at each turn, and I only had about 2 mins on kev at the first half lap, lotte was only about 30s behind him. By the end of the first lap, I had 4 mins, but by half way through the second, this was down to a minute and a half! I have no gauge of my speed but was happy with my pacing, I don’t think I faded badly, so no idea what pacing plan kev was riding! Fast, slow, fast, fast?! I’ve been getting into my supporting though, and made sure to give a shout out to all the Tri Londoners as best I could when I passed, even if it was to the bemusement of the riders near me.

Back into transition and wanted to make this a faster one. Seemed ok, but Im sure I can improve. One guy managed 34s I think, so just goes to show how quick you can be. On the spur I grabbed a red bull shot lying in transition near my bike (they were everywhere) and off I went.

Run:

3 lap run, and the pacing strategy was HR Cap of 160, 165, then 170/whatever for the last lap. I had hoped my speed might move with it, but alas it wasn’t to be. I felt pretty good on the first lap, but knew it was only a matter of time before kev came past. I managed to hold 160, 167 and 170, so my pacing was again dead on the plan. Went for a quick pee at the end of the first lap, and felt much better. As I then ran past the start, was sad to see Roz at the end of my first lap sitting with a St.Johns ambulance lady and Naomi, and wondered what had happened, but not much time to really discuss the matter there and then. And onto the second lap.

Kev soon came past full of chat, (I gave him some back) and he tried to tickle me (Im sure that’s a DQ?) about 1/3^rd of the way around the 2^nd lap, and gapped me by about 150 yards. Surprisingly though he seemed to stay in sight for most of the lap. My HR was a little high at times but RPE was ok. I was moving well(ish)

However, at this point, the sun suddenly decided to appear, it was only about 10.15 in the morning but it was already starting to get very hot. Suddenly my speed had dropped a little and the RPE crept up, worked hard to keep the HR on target and as I finished the second lap, knew that the 3^rd might have been a bit of a struggle. I saw 4.13 on the clock and knew that 5 hours was in the bag barring disaster, yet I was also worried that lotte would soon be coming past (oh the shame!) I took my red bull shot at the start of the third lap (yeah, this’ll make me run fast) and got stuck in. I kept looking back, and only saw romain in passing on the run at the point where there is some contra-flow running, and got a high-five. Its great to see other people enjoying themselves! Whilst hard work, it felt controlled and I don’t feel I lost any technique on the run. I put this down to strength and conditioning work, single leg squats are the way to go people!

Anyway, came back in and couldn’t see lotte behind (phew) and pushed for the final 200m. Roz and Naomi helpfully shouting ‘Lotte is right behind you’ as I’m running down the finishing chute.

Went and got my medal and came back round to see Lotte finish moments behind 3^rd lady overall, and then went and cooled my legs in the lake before a gentle massage. Its always nice to finish a race in blistering sunshine and enjoy the moment.

Im happy, considering how much training ive done, and felt I executed my race plan well. Although a little disappointed my run and bike wasn’t quite there, but I guess that comes with training eh!?

Good fast course, pretty well organised for its first year, could do with some draft busters, but great if you want a pb! Compared with Wimbleball from last year, that’s a 56 minute pb for me ;-)

Thanks to Naomi for her support and taking some pics! :-)

Andy