(Half Iron 1.2m Swim / 56m Bike / 13.1m Run)
I was fortunate enough to qualify for the GBR age group team at Middle Distance following the NiceTri Grafman last year (2012), this was my first middle distance triathlon and only third ever and finished within 110% of the age group winner Phil Westoby who also won overall. I was a less inspiring 9th overall in comparison in a time of 4:52.
So 9 months later here I am flying out to Barcelona on my first ever international race and GB age group qualified, I won’t lie is was quite harrowing, whilst the kudos of qualifying was great I still had to race and it isn’t a short race, as well I wanted to prove to myself I could compete within the age group successfully.
Once in Calella the ore of the day approaching became apparent, mixing with some real quality athletes from the GB squad some of whom make a living in the elite world of triathlon, and more so seeing the sea for the first time, I had never swam in the sea and the waves and swell were quite intimidating!
I managed to get a practice swim in on the Friday morning, swimming just over a mile, to be honest it wasn’t as bad as I had thought, yet still was tough being picked up by the swell, losing sight of the shore and fighting the rip. The following afternoon I knew it would be prudent to cycle some of the bike course as this was changed from a flat and fast to an alpine style course with over 4,500 feet of climbing (that’s almost a mile of going directly up!). I can’t fault Spanish roads, smooth tarmac and not a single pot hole, however the accent on the practice ride was bloody steep and full of switch backs, however being a fly weight it suited me and I blasted up the first climb in my usual spirit of trying to beast the other GB guys which I did fairly adequately, little did I realise they were being sensible and saving their legs for the day, will I ever learn.
The decent was amazing, I’d only ever ridden down local hills but this was something different, fast, sweeping and scary. Whilst it was great to be coming down the concentration level was huge as the switch backs on the way down needed some serious braking for…..lots of wheel squealing mixed with yelps of joy and shouts of “Oh Sh….t”. Nonetheless even though I had wasted my legs on the practice ride it was invaluable for race day preparation.
Race day….the race organisation was amazing, I can’t say enough just how slick Challenge race organisation is, however the start of the swim was a mile away from the T1 which made for a lot of walking. My bike was raked the night before and we were given 3 bags, run bag, bike bag and a street bag. Pretty straight forward, morning of the race you make your way to T1 and leave you run and bike bags in the changing tent, you then make your way back to the start and deposit your street bag once changed into your wet suit.
Once in my wet suit I started to feel a little claustrophobic with 2,000 other athletes all milling around, all looking super fit! I rushed quickly in for a quick warm up swim and to acclimatise and then headed back to shore to get into my pen. The race started at 7am with the Elite guys (Gomez/Macca) then elite women. Finally at 7:09am the age group air horn went off and something weird happed. Usually I hate the impending swim being my weakest element, I tend to steer clear of trouble and take the attitude of just trying to survive, however I started pushing and fighting people out the way down the sandy shore and into the sea. As I waded in a wave started to roll in on me I dived deep and head on into it dolphin kicking as hard as I could later to rise a good meters away from the shore and started to push on.
It was the usual mêlée of people climbing all over you, however I just gave as good as I got and it felt good! Eventually swimming hard against the rip we reached the first buoy and turned left adjacent to the shore. Once turned it was time to settle in and swim properly, although on first look up to sight the sun was just coming over the horizon and was blinding, mixed with the swell I really had no idea what direction I should swim but relied on swimmers around me as a sense check, as well just headed for the sun. Peculiarly the swim training had paid off and I was actually enjoying the swim and found I relaxed into my stroke. I spied a buoy just ahead and thought “great I’m on course….nice one” albeit once I got there it was actually a safety boat and I was a long way of course and on my own! So zig zaging my way through the swim I eventually arrived at the next turn buoy with only another 200m’s to swim. As I approached the shore you could really feel the waves lifting you and I kicked hard in order to wake my legs up for the impending transition run. I found my feet but sunk quickly into the sandy beach and cramp took hold, I shook it off and ran in state of quite weirdness, your legs just seem to want to work that well after a long swim, especially in sand! I finished the swim in 36mins which wasn’t bad for 1.2m, however after the race my Garmin suggested I swam closer to 1.4 miles!
The run to T1 was quite lengthy 200-300 meters which offered plenty of time to remove goggles and wet suit. Once in the tent I found my spot and started to de-robe, looking for socks, shoes and helmet as well a good swig of full fat coke to take the sea salt taste away. To be honest for a moment the tranqulieness of T1 was quite appealing then I remembered I was racing! I sprinted out of the tent and found my bike two thirds of a football pitch away, and the ran with my bike out of T1 and to the bike mount spot, all in all the whole of T1 was over quarter of mile and completed this in an impressive in 3:31…(NOT!).
Once on the bike it felt amazing, loads of people around and loads of support. Getting out of town was stroon with hazards, sharp corners, speed humps and some risky pedestrians! As soon as you met the main road you started ascending, this slowly got steeper and steeper and panic set in….my legs just didn’t seem to feel like they had felt a couple of days ago, nonetheless I tried not panic, what could I do, hence I just ground away in my granny ring. After about 10m of climbing I was over the first accent and descending fast and furiously, at the next downhill switch back there was carnage, another GB guy had lost it around the corner and wiped himself out on street furniture, fortunately there was a paramedic nearby (they must have known) so I kept my pace high and enjoyed the brief rest bite of the flatter sections. Then after what seemed a short break we were climbing again, another 1 hour of 8mph…..it was tough, hot and pathetic, I tried not to look up as the road often predicted false hopes of the top, although when I did reach it I wasn’t really aware, was probably delirious! Once on the down the fun started again and I found my stride and risk management went out the window as I overtook many competitors on the decent and flats. I had planned on ridding the bike section between 3 and 3.5hrs based on the accent, although I as I approached Calella I realised I was on for a 2:50 which made the sub 5hr half plausible should I run well! I did finish the bike in 2:50 with an average speed of 19.6mph, originally I’d be un-happy with this, however for once was ecstatic considering the climbing.
T2 was just as laborious, long run from the bike to the tent, find shoes, remove and bag bike clothing neatly and re-hang…all in all another 2 mins!
I then hit the run hard and felt pretty good, support was now amazing and plenty of “GO GBR!!” as well lots of sniggering Spanish shouting “BUSH” as this was printed on my suit….turns out “Bush” means the same in Spain in respect of ‘pubes’ but not in the sense of garden forna, hence the hilarity, albeit to me it was just another “GO” Things were going well and seeing the likes of Gomez and Macca running in the opposite direction was incredibly inspiring.
It was however very hot now and taking its toll, I tried to maintain my cadence, energy intake and hydration, however after 8/9 miles the heat took hold and my speed started to rapidly reduce, I carried on pushing knowing the potential of sub 5 was achievable however with the cramp returning I played a risk vs. run harder or stop because of the crap.
On the final lap the wind also now felt like a hand holding me back, little did I know too I had a string of runners behind me all sheltering (not that there is much to shelter behind)…..even so I kept my head down and saw it as a personal challenge to break them, which I didn’t.
Finally the 1k to go came and I tried to push again but nothing happened, I really was in deficit now but just dug and dug, eventually after the longest 1k in my life I came into the stadium and was met huge cheers and even a small GB flag was thrust into my hand as I eventually crossed the line in 5:03!
I’ve never felt more spent, albeit the deeper you push the more satisfaction you gain. I actually finished 15thin my age category and was 1st GB back so was properly chuffed, even the time compared to other half’s was miserable!
Well that’s about it, the recovery tent at the end was something else, SO much food and beer which was welcomed whole heartedly! This was one of the best and most amazing humbling experiences I have ever par took in and can’t wait to get stuck into the next race, as well compete again at GB level, I’d recommend to anyone to try, it’s so worth it!
Dunc