A common question is “What sort of time are you going for?” However, a specific number wasn’t at the forefront of my mind going into Challenge Almere, my A-race for 2017. After cracking out an amazing time in Roth 2013, part of me has been chasing that number ever since, leading to getting sick, a DNF and two sub-par performances.
So my goal for this race was not a time or a ranking but to try to execute a perfect race. This might sound strange to iron-virgins but once all the training is under your belt it’s all about execution; nutrition, pacing and the decisions you make on the day have a major impact over 226km of swim, bike and run.
Talking of training, I was well prepared. I was already in good shape for Gladiator back in July, and since them I’d had a good 8 week block including plenty of big sessions. A short taper to shed the fatigue, then a few short high-intensity sessions to sharpen up and I felt great. Now it was time to execute.
It was lashing it down when we arrived in Almere Friday lunchtime, with rain also forecast for race day - not great for the mojo. But then the Dream Team arrived and the mood lightened. Club mates Rich, John, Paul and Gary were also racing. We hung out at the race briefing, registered and carbo-loaded at Woodstone Pizza & Wine.
Fully loaded, Jacky and I checked into our hotel, the Apollo, right next to all the action. We were only there thanks to some terse negotiating by Jacky. The week before, Apollo staff tried to transfer us to a different hotel some 10 minutes drive away. I’d booked and paid for it in October 2016 so Jacky wasn’t having any of it! Of course I was annoyed too but I was trying hard not to let anything derail me psychologically. Once again, Jacky saves the day!
It was a big relief to finally get to our room; now I could relax, get all my gear organised, sort out my bike, check it into transition and drop my transition bags off. Time for one final leg stretch, an easy 4k run with six sets of strides. Then early to bed for a second great night’s sleep.
Come race morning and it was still raining, quite hard. But once in the water it was all good. After the pros, the age groupers were due to start in two waves; the ETU Championship racers at 7:30 then me and the rest of the choppers at 7:35. However, at the last minute the organisers told us we would all be going off in one wave of about 600 people. No complaints from me, hopefully with a good swim most of the field would be behind me once I got out on the bike.
There was the usual biff at the first couple of turn buoys but then plenty of clear water. Out in 1:04:xx, an enjoyable swim and a good start to the day. In about 100th position, over 80% of the field was behind me. It was still raining so in T1 I donned a gilet but not the arm warmers and gloves. Slug of EFS Liquid Shot and off to the mount line.
Smoothly on board, a few corners and narrow bike lanes to navigate before getting on the loop proper. Some congestion so a bit of overtaking, plus a series of roundabouts, but tried to control my power and minimise spiking.
And here was a key part of the plan. At Gladiator, I aimed for 170W but averaged 180W for the first 50km then suffered big time later. Learning from that, today’s #1 objective was to target 165W and stick to it like glue, regardless of what happened around me! Plus, focus on minimising spikes when overtaking and coming out of corners etc. The wet roads necessitated caution which helped with the latter.
Bottom line: I nailed it. Once on the dyke road, I settled into a nice rhythm; keeping a close eye on my Garmin, I easily held 3s power and 10km auto-lap NP close to 165W. Heart rate and cadence were also in nice places, Zone 1 and below 70 rpm respectively.
Nutrition was also going down nicely, every 20 minutes like clockwork; 500ml 10% SiS GO Electrolyte for the first hour then EFS Liquid Shot pre-diluted 1:1 thereafter, i.e. all liquid and calculated to deliver approx. 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per hour. I picked up two water bottles at the aid stations but with an air temperature of 15 degrees I only drank a few hundred mls. Most of it was used to wash myself down after *ahem* teaching myself how to pee on the fly early on in lap 2.
Post race analysis showed a normalised/average power of 167/164W with an Intensity Factor of 0.72 and 269 TSS points; that put me right in the sweet spot for a good iron-distance bike leg. Compared to 0.75/305 at Gladiator where I clearly over-biked, this was a much more realistic effort.
All I knew at the time was that I was on target and feeling good. On the first lap I had the impression I was being overtaken by quite a few riders. I thought that some might be half-distance racers; they started later but with only a single 90k lap to complete before a relatively easy half marathon they were pushing hard, so I didn't react. However, analysing the results, 32 slower swimmers past me while I overtook 38 faster swimmers, i.e. a net gain.
Whereas many Ironman-branded races are over packed, participant numbers at Challenge races tend to be lower meaning less congestion on the bike courses - a big attraction IMO. And indeed, it was perfectly possible to ride legally at Almere, keeping outside of the 12m drafting zone and overtaking within 25 seconds. I only saw one pack that was suspect and 1 case of blatant wheel sucking.
By lap 2, it had really thinned out, and boy was I enjoying myself. It had even stopped raining! Because of the flat exposed nature of the course, wind is to be expected. The forecast predicted only 15-20kph winds, so I elected to go with my disc and deep section front wheel. But what was sweet was that it came from the south west, so we had a perfect tail wind along the entire 25km stretch of dyke road. Clipping along at over 40 kph was awesome - this is what it’s all about baby! I was so in the zone I didn’t notice I was overtaking Rich until he shouted out hello!
After Gladiator I raised my front end by 20mm and this worked a treat; I was very comfortable in the aero position, staying low for pretty much the entire ride, only coming out on tight corners and when fuelling.
Back to transition, an elegant dismount with 5:14:xx on the clock, really pleased with that. No dramas in T2; another slug of EFS and I was off on to the first of six 7km laps, with Jacky there cheering me on at the start of every lap.
And here came major objective #2 for the day; for the first lap, keep the pace below 5:00 minutes per km then pick it up a bit if I felt good. And again, the difficulty here is holding back. Before too long, the bike was out of my system and I was running freely. The first two kms passed by in 4:59 - easy tiger, slowed it down a bit, completing the first lap in about 35 mins. At the top end of where I wanted to be but nicely restrained nonetheless. Last year, I went too hard too soon and paid the price.
Picking up a gel and some water from the aid stations every 20mins, my stomach was doing fine. Indeed, I felt goooooood and the pace increased a bit. I kept smiling and staying positive was very easy. This was helped by all the crazy spectators at the various hot spots where there was loud music and lots if cheering, great atmosphere!
By half way I was still averaging just under 5:00 per km but with all the gels I was starting to feel a bit bloated. So I eased back on the gels and started picking up cups of energy drink, then finally on the last lap, cups of coke. With aid stations every 1.5k regular fuelling was easy.
I knew that with kms being ticked off every 5 mins I was on for a 3:30-ish marathon, and with a sub-1:05 swim and a sub-5:15 bike under my belt, this meant that a sub-10 finish was possible. However, I tried hard not to think about the end result and just stayed focused on the process of 5 min ks. The plan was to see where I was with a lap to go and take it from there. The last two laps required more and more mental focus but I still felt strong.
As I started the final lap, I looked up the finishing chute and saw a 9:35 on the race clock. If I managed 35 mins for the last lap, a sub-10 was long gone but a really solid 10:10 was in the bank.
In retrospect, that was the one mistake I made all day; I had no idea whose time it was and thinking about it now I suspect it was for one of the female pros who set off ahead of us. At the time, I decided to just carry on, looking to hold pace for the last lap. If I had only switched my watch over from (pace/lap pace/HR/run time) to (total race time) I would have realised that with a solid last lap I would be bloody close to 10 hours. With that knowledge, surely I could have found an extra 25 seconds?
In the end, I finished the run in just under 3:32 for a total time of 10:00:24, placing me 98th overall; 70th age grouper and 7th in the M45 age group, out of 570 and 103 respectively. Not bad considering about half the field were competing in the ETU Long Distance Championships.
At first we thought I had scored a 9:55:xx; that’s what it said on the race clock. But remember, at the last minute the organisers sent us all off in one wave, and I guess they didn’t adjust the timing system accordingly. So all the people due to go off in the second wave had swim times and total race times 5 minutes faster than actual. Indeed, my watch read 10:00:28 so it didn’t take me long to figure out there was a mistake somewhere.
Am I irked about the 25 seconds? Of course, but only slightly. While another sub-10 would have been wonderful, I am just totally stoked that after a few races where I underperformed due to execution errors, this time I totally nailed it and executed close to perfection. Not my fastest race but definitely the one I am most proud off, and really pleased how I implemented lessons learned from both Gladiator and Roth 2016.
I was planning on retiring from long course after Almere; now I’m not so sure. Yes, the last 10k hurts but when you get it right, boy does it feel fantastic!
A big thanks to the Almere Dream Team of Rich, John and Paul; we had some great training sessions in the final build up and doing them together was not only productive but also a lot of fun. Training on your own in the final build gets a bit gruelling but having some great training buddies made a big difference. And as always, big thanks to Jacky - no. 1 cheer leader and best ever support crew!
 |
| Crossing the line - BOOM! Nailed it. |
So my goal for this race was not a time or a ranking but to try to execute a perfect race. This might sound strange to iron-virgins but once all the training is under your belt it’s all about execution; nutrition, pacing and the decisions you make on the day have a major impact over 226km of swim, bike and run.
 |
| The Almere Dream Team: John, Paul & Rich |
Talking of training, I was well prepared. I was already in good shape for Gladiator back in July, and since them I’d had a good 8 week block including plenty of big sessions. A short taper to shed the fatigue, then a few short high-intensity sessions to sharpen up and I felt great. Now it was time to execute.
It was lashing it down when we arrived in Almere Friday lunchtime, with rain also forecast for race day - not great for the mojo. But then the Dream Team arrived and the mood lightened. Club mates Rich, John, Paul and Gary were also racing. We hung out at the race briefing, registered and carbo-loaded at Woodstone Pizza & Wine.
Fully loaded, Jacky and I checked into our hotel, the Apollo, right next to all the action. We were only there thanks to some terse negotiating by Jacky. The week before, Apollo staff tried to transfer us to a different hotel some 10 minutes drive away. I’d booked and paid for it in October 2016 so Jacky wasn’t having any of it! Of course I was annoyed too but I was trying hard not to let anything derail me psychologically. Once again, Jacky saves the day!
 |
| View from our hotel window! |
It was a big relief to finally get to our room; now I could relax, get all my gear organised, sort out my bike, check it into transition and drop my transition bags off. Time for one final leg stretch, an easy 4k run with six sets of strides. Then early to bed for a second great night’s sleep.
 |
| Race morning rain! |
Come race morning and it was still raining, quite hard. But once in the water it was all good. After the pros, the age groupers were due to start in two waves; the ETU Championship racers at 7:30 then me and the rest of the choppers at 7:35. However, at the last minute the organisers told us we would all be going off in one wave of about 600 people. No complaints from me, hopefully with a good swim most of the field would be behind me once I got out on the bike.
 |
| Game on! |
There was the usual biff at the first couple of turn buoys but then plenty of clear water. Out in 1:04:xx, an enjoyable swim and a good start to the day. In about 100th position, over 80% of the field was behind me. It was still raining so in T1 I donned a gilet but not the arm warmers and gloves. Slug of EFS Liquid Shot and off to the mount line.
Smoothly on board, a few corners and narrow bike lanes to navigate before getting on the loop proper. Some congestion so a bit of overtaking, plus a series of roundabouts, but tried to control my power and minimise spiking.
 |
| Good start to the day |
And here was a key part of the plan. At Gladiator, I aimed for 170W but averaged 180W for the first 50km then suffered big time later. Learning from that, today’s #1 objective was to target 165W and stick to it like glue, regardless of what happened around me! Plus, focus on minimising spikes when overtaking and coming out of corners etc. The wet roads necessitated caution which helped with the latter.
Bottom line: I nailed it. Once on the dyke road, I settled into a nice rhythm; keeping a close eye on my Garmin, I easily held 3s power and 10km auto-lap NP close to 165W. Heart rate and cadence were also in nice places, Zone 1 and below 70 rpm respectively.
Nutrition was also going down nicely, every 20 minutes like clockwork; 500ml 10% SiS GO Electrolyte for the first hour then EFS Liquid Shot pre-diluted 1:1 thereafter, i.e. all liquid and calculated to deliver approx. 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per hour. I picked up two water bottles at the aid stations but with an air temperature of 15 degrees I only drank a few hundred mls. Most of it was used to wash myself down after *ahem* teaching myself how to pee on the fly early on in lap 2.
 |
| Enjoying the tail wind |
 |
| Being conservative on the bike pays off! |
Whereas many Ironman-branded races are over packed, participant numbers at Challenge races tend to be lower meaning less congestion on the bike courses - a big attraction IMO. And indeed, it was perfectly possible to ride legally at Almere, keeping outside of the 12m drafting zone and overtaking within 25 seconds. I only saw one pack that was suspect and 1 case of blatant wheel sucking.
 |
| Feeling good! |
By lap 2, it had really thinned out, and boy was I enjoying myself. It had even stopped raining! Because of the flat exposed nature of the course, wind is to be expected. The forecast predicted only 15-20kph winds, so I elected to go with my disc and deep section front wheel. But what was sweet was that it came from the south west, so we had a perfect tail wind along the entire 25km stretch of dyke road. Clipping along at over 40 kph was awesome - this is what it’s all about baby! I was so in the zone I didn’t notice I was overtaking Rich until he shouted out hello!
After Gladiator I raised my front end by 20mm and this worked a treat; I was very comfortable in the aero position, staying low for pretty much the entire ride, only coming out on tight corners and when fuelling.
 |
| Bike course; with the wind from the south west, the dyke road was fast! |
Back to transition, an elegant dismount with 5:14:xx on the clock, really pleased with that. No dramas in T2; another slug of EFS and I was off on to the first of six 7km laps, with Jacky there cheering me on at the start of every lap.
And here came major objective #2 for the day; for the first lap, keep the pace below 5:00 minutes per km then pick it up a bit if I felt good. And again, the difficulty here is holding back. Before too long, the bike was out of my system and I was running freely. The first two kms passed by in 4:59 - easy tiger, slowed it down a bit, completing the first lap in about 35 mins. At the top end of where I wanted to be but nicely restrained nonetheless. Last year, I went too hard too soon and paid the price.
 |
| Aero-tastic! |
Picking up a gel and some water from the aid stations every 20mins, my stomach was doing fine. Indeed, I felt goooooood and the pace increased a bit. I kept smiling and staying positive was very easy. This was helped by all the crazy spectators at the various hot spots where there was loud music and lots if cheering, great atmosphere!
By half way I was still averaging just under 5:00 per km but with all the gels I was starting to feel a bit bloated. So I eased back on the gels and started picking up cups of energy drink, then finally on the last lap, cups of coke. With aid stations every 1.5k regular fuelling was easy.
 |
| Run course, 6 laps around the lake we swam in. |
As I started the final lap, I looked up the finishing chute and saw a 9:35 on the race clock. If I managed 35 mins for the last lap, a sub-10 was long gone but a really solid 10:10 was in the bank.
 |
| For those with a keen eye, the story of the ride can be seen in the data. |
In retrospect, that was the one mistake I made all day; I had no idea whose time it was and thinking about it now I suspect it was for one of the female pros who set off ahead of us. At the time, I decided to just carry on, looking to hold pace for the last lap. If I had only switched my watch over from (pace/lap pace/HR/run time) to (total race time) I would have realised that with a solid last lap I would be bloody close to 10 hours. With that knowledge, surely I could have found an extra 25 seconds?
In the end, I finished the run in just under 3:32 for a total time of 10:00:24, placing me 98th overall; 70th age grouper and 7th in the M45 age group, out of 570 and 103 respectively. Not bad considering about half the field were competing in the ETU Long Distance Championships.
At first we thought I had scored a 9:55:xx; that’s what it said on the race clock. But remember, at the last minute the organisers sent us all off in one wave, and I guess they didn’t adjust the timing system accordingly. So all the people due to go off in the second wave had swim times and total race times 5 minutes faster than actual. Indeed, my watch read 10:00:28 so it didn’t take me long to figure out there was a mistake somewhere.
Am I irked about the 25 seconds? Of course, but only slightly. While another sub-10 would have been wonderful, I am just totally stoked that after a few races where I underperformed due to execution errors, this time I totally nailed it and executed close to perfection. Not my fastest race but definitely the one I am most proud off, and really pleased how I implemented lessons learned from both Gladiator and Roth 2016.
I was planning on retiring from long course after Almere; now I’m not so sure. Yes, the last 10k hurts but when you get it right, boy does it feel fantastic!
A big thanks to the Almere Dream Team of Rich, John and Paul; we had some great training sessions in the final build up and doing them together was not only productive but also a lot of fun. Training on your own in the final build gets a bit gruelling but having some great training buddies made a big difference. And as always, big thanks to Jacky - no. 1 cheer leader and best ever support crew!
