I wrote a long report on the 2016 edition so I’ll keep this short. Bottom line: executed well, knocking over 5
minutes off last year’s time. Three decisions, two good, one bad.
Swim training has been going well, more on
this below. Bike training likewise; the Dukinfield 50 miler told me I was where
I needed to be. Running, plenty of volume in the legs but not much hard work as
it’s still early in the season: A-race isn’t until September.
Calm before the storm. |
Rained heavily on Saturday but the forecast
for Sunday was dry with light winds, starting out at 9oC degrees then warming
up, and indeed it turned out to be a nice day. Water temperature was only 14
degrees but once we got going it was all good.
Decision #1, start out wide left where the fast
swimmers were advised to go. Sounds like asking for trouble but when the hooter
went off, I headed further left and found plenty of clear water.
Climbed out with 30:xx on the watch - big PB.
While it may have been slightly short, last year I was 180th out of the
water, this year 119th, so a good result. Really pleased with this;
my swim times had been static for several years but hopefully this is a
sign that the recent work with Hamish Shaw is paying off.
Start of the last swim wave. |
T1 ok, settled in on the lap around the
lake before getting out onto the road. Starting in the 3rd of four waves
meant that half the field was in front of me so once again I had great fun
carving my way through it.
Pacing. Garmin showing only four fields: 3s
power; NP - lapping every 10k; heart rate; and cadence. The plan was to aim for
210-215W, 150-155 bpm and 80-90 rpm. Overall averages, NP 212W, 152 bpm and 85 rpm -
bingo!
Nutrition. 500ml BTA bottle with EFS Liquid
Shot diluted 50:50 with water, slugged this whenever my Garmin beeped, i.e. every
20 mins. 600ml High5 Zero on the down
tube, never touched it.
A guy called “Michael” overtook me early on
the bike. An uber-biker, I let him go - and didn’t see him again until the run.
A second guy overtook me late on, half way around the Eastern loop. However, he
didn’t open up a gap and I found myself soft pedalling to keep out of the draft
zone.
Decision #2, overtake! However, I didn’t want
him jumping on my wheel and getting involved in a ding-dong so I put the hammer
down, maxing out at 405W and HR rising to 160 bpm. Looked over my shoulder at the next turn, he was nowhere to be seen, job done but I kept pushing and used this
as an opportunity to focus on the drive home to Holme Pierrepont.
The data tells the story part 1: heart rate and elevation on the bike. |
T2 was virtually empty and my watch read a
total time of 3:00:xx so I knew a nice bike split was on the cards. Didn’t know
it at the time, but leaving transition for the second time I was 21st
overall and 3rd in my age group.
Out on the run and I felt good, overtook
Michael and continued working my way forward. The plan was to aim for
4:15 mins per km, pick up a High5 Isogel at the first aid station then every
4-5km thereafter.
Heard heavy breathing behind me so knew
someone was on my tail. “Ian” came past and I realised he was in my age group.
Decision #3, go with him. He was a big guy and breathing hard, and we were
clipping along at 4:05 - “He’s gonna blow up soon!” He didn’t, I did - bad
decision!
"I think I went out too hard!" |
After 5k I let him go and got progressive
slower, down as low as 4:40 per k into the headwind on the South side of the
lake. But I stuck to my nutrition plan and worked on staying positive, and as
always Jacky was there to cheer me on.
Just before the turn around on the second
“out and back”, I recovered. I saw Rich Hyder coming the other way, he was in
the wave ahead of me, and I dug in; maybe I could catch him - sorry Rich!
The data tells the story part 2: pace and heart rate on the run. |
When I did, we had a quick chat. I pushed on
and even managed to fend off a late challenge on the red carpet. Caught up with
Ian in the finishers area, he’d bagged 3rd so no age group podium for
me this year.
Absolutely wasted afterwards, didn’t leave
much out there. Staggered to the food tent and caught up with Rich. Back to the
camp site for a shower, then to the finish line for a burger and ice-cream. Watched
Anna Weaver pick up her trophies - 2nd female overall and 1st
in age - and cheered the last few finishers over the line.
Scores on the doors: 30:30 for the swim,
2:26:28 for the bike and 1:31:35 for the run, plus 2:29 and 2:04 for
transitions for a total of 4:33:06. 31st overall, 4th in
the 45-49 age group and a nice PB.
A great place to be this early in the season
and a timely reminder to race my own race; hopefully I’ll resist getting
sucked in to making bad decisions when it comes to the 226s.
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