Race Reports

The day finally arrived to experience a middle distance Ironman race and i wasn't disappointed with this event. It had great atmosphere, good competition and some hard racing with about 1900 athletes entered. This is a beautiful part of France and the weather was ideal. 

Taking down an 800 calorie breakfast was interesting and so was discovering I had somewhat outgrown my wetsuit from last year! However the goal of this race was to finish strong and positive, test out the nutrition strategy with a view to making the full distance Ironman Nice next month a less daunting prospect.

Swim
(1.9km) - Set in a lake about 30mins by car north of Aix which made the logistics of the event abit cumbersome due to having two transition areas, however it was good nonetheless.  The usual  washing machine affair during the first half, stayed calm, got some space and focused on good navigation and preserving my energy. Fortunately no contact.

Bike
(90km) - Felt pretty good after the swim but was cautious not to push too much on the bike, wanted to finish strong on the run. Time flew past on the ride and I learnt to be careful pacing against others since many were doing the relay and were much fresher, it was reasonably hilly with one 500m climb about 80km in, but what goes up must come down and there were some fantastic fast downhill sections afterwards. Finished in good shape for a strong run.

Run
(21.1km) - Oh dear....legs feel great, lots of energy, however my lungs seemed to have stopped working. It was about 24degrees but felt alot hotter for the 4 x 5km loops in the centre of town. I'm not sure what my problem was, i now suspect the wetsuit was far too tight and compressed my chest and maybe this was the after effect but nevertheless I had to back right off and fortunately the great atmosphere from the crowd around the course (and my lovely wife) meant i finished. Whilst I would have liked to be 25mins quicker on the run, I know this will serve as motivation for the next one.

Result:
Swim(39m), Bike(03:13), Run(01:56) = 06:00

A big thank you to MSTC whose coaches have been very helpful the past 12 months.

<<<photo to follow>>

Anthony Vince

70.3 - Half Ironman:  Zell-A-See, Austria, Sun 1st Sept 2013
 
Training gone well for the finale, my first half iron man, the 70.30 Austria.
 
The last three months swimming and cycling came on leaps and bounds since I  joined  the MSTC with their coaching and help from other club members.  Open water swimming, new and much enjoyed, albeit after a little trepidation!
 
Arrived 29th August in stunning Zell-Am-See so had three days to orientate ourselves with warm and sunny weather.
 
Spent some time finding our bearings, finding Transition point and the more important, Finishing line.  Cycled around the lake to get a real feel of the land.
 
Finally, race day:-  Rained  through the night and all through the swim and cycle, but did stop for the run!
 
Had a great swim and cycle but blew out on the run.  But very happy overall with my result, better than I could have wished for:-
 
Swim:  00:36:35
Bike:   02:56:39
Run:   02:22:30
 
Total:  06:10:51
 
Would highly recommend this venue for a 70.3 race for achieving a PB as bike section not too hilly and a flat run.
 
Jason Cole

After all the recent good weather, it was a bit of a shock when we awoke to pouring rain for the 4^th Middle Distance Race. The long course was exactly the same format as in previous years, but this time there was a short distance option, and in the end the majority of competitors took it, no doubt influenced by the weather.

13 people and one relay squad went for the long course, 18 and one relay team for the short course, 6 just did a swim, and 4 others did other distances (a bit of a mixture).

The race got under way at 7.45am, just a few minutes late, to allow time for the EGM to vote for a change in the club constitution. Once done everyone got in the water and there was a short countdown to the start. As the countdown got down to 3 there was a flurry of activity and Steve Mac dived in to just make the start in time.

There were 43 swimmers at the start, so there was plenty of action, but it was Dave Gorley who rapidly pulled away from the field, and completed the 1900m swim in 31.49, nearly 3 minutes ahead of Neil Giles, who is not exactly slow!!

After the swim both Mike John and Steve Mac had to pull out, both were feeling queasy - Mike had a bug and felt too unwell to continue. That was a shame as he has been training well.

Everyone knows how challenging the bike circuit is, whether it is one circuit or two. Unfortunately a few people got confused as to whether they were doing 1 or 2 laps and tried to go round again. Next year we will get some more specific signs for this!!

If the bike course was not hard enough, Loz and Lucy both got affected by punctures. Lucy did the sensible thing and waited to be rescued, but Loz was on a mission - he just kept riding flat out with a flat rear tyre. He got away with it for a few miles but eventually the tyre came off the rim, and he was riding on aluminium. The bike became difficult to handle and he came off at one stage, and was forced to cut the second lap short in the interests of safety. By the time he came in to T2 - it was not the sight of his wrecked wheel but the sound it was making - I have heard quieter tractors!!

Dave Gorley was unaware of Loz's problems and pushed really hard on the run. His winning time of 4h43m35s was excellent but missed out on James Dear's 2012 course record by 14 seconds!!

Both John and Kate MacTear kept going extremely well, and ended up winning the BAR race and are the MSTC Middle Distance Champions. Dean showed his strength in recovering from his recent Ironman to still come out and complete the long course in 7h05m - to huge applause.

After the miserable weather at the start, the sun eventually came out. By the time David Ricketts got the BBQ going, the conditions were perfect for relaxing and enjoying everyone's company.

Leicester Tri Club won the Inter Club competition comfortably - taking back the trophy that we won last year.

Thanks to the people who helped out. It is a 'no-frills' race, but everyone mucked in with the registration and body marking, and Roger and Graeme were around most of the day timekeeping. (There may be some errors or missing times, so if there are any corrections please let me know). Also thanks to Tim and Claire and to the guys at the Activity Centre.

I haven't mentioned many specific times or performances but the results are elow:

Steve A

Pre-race

This was a massive challenge for Helen, who is a keen runner but relatively new to triathlon (previous experience limited to a couple of sprint triathlons). Pippa, Steve and Jim are
seasoned long distance triathletes.

Helen's preparation was severely limited, initially by other commitments and then by a cycling accident. Practically all Helen's swimming and cycling training was to be done in the
fortnight before the race, but the first cycle training session on Preston Park Cycle Track ended in severe cuts and bruises when a dog ran into her front wheel at 20mph. The broken skin and limb pains had just 10 days to recover before the race.

The venue and course

Very good value for money. About a third the cost of official ironman. Free camping next to swim start and/or cheap rooms provided on-site.

The Avon Tyrell Estate hosts the annual Enduroman Ultra Triathlon Festival, with half, single and double iron-distance races plus a 100-mile ultramarathon occurring simultaneously on the same course. Great atmosphere in a picturesque setting. The previous couple of years have seen very wet and windy weather. This year, the conditions were perfect with sunshine and dry roads/paths.

Everything is on one site, so you can walk to the race briefing and transition etc. Nice lake swim with repeated laps of just a few hundred metres each.

Great cycle through the New Forest with all left turns and not much traffic. Repeated 1.1 mile run laps through the grounds of the estate, on dirt tracks and paths.

The race

A relatively small field of competitors with a friendly atmosphere.

SWIM

The women's swim start was 90 mins before the men's. Steve and Jim cheered on Pippa and Helen as they completed their swim. Pippa was one of the first out of the water as expected. Helen had a massive smile as she finished the swim far quicker than she believed possible. Steve's swim was close to the fastest of the day and Jim was middle of the pack as usual. 

BIKE

An enjoyable safe ride on decent surfaces with only left turns and hardly any traffic. A mixture of flat, hilly, straight and technical sections (but nothing very challenging). Not a fast course, as it is longer than the usual middle distance cycle plus there are several slow passes of the Avon Tyrell courtyard fuelling station. Jim had raced this course previously
and this helped him secure the fastest cycle time. All four from MSTC completed the cycle without incident (major result for Helen).

RUN

Challenging run up and down dirt paths within the Estate. Passed the courtyard fuelling station every 1.1 miles to get drinks, gels and cheers from supporters.

Speeding past tired athletes, who were doing longer distance events on the same course, helped to keep our spirits up.

Enduroman tradition dictates that one completes the final run lap in reverse direction, in order to high-five everyone still out on the course. Jim was pleasantly surprised to find he finished his penultimate run lap without seeing anybody running in the opposite direction (never been in the lead before and never previously won a race).

Steve and Pippa completed their runs with good form to produced fast finish times (17th male and 9th female respectively). Helen saved her best for last and she was the 7th fastest female runner (11th fastest female overall).

Up until a week I was unsure if I would compete in this iconic race again as I had pulled my left calf muscle at the Ardingly Standard Triathlon on 2/6/13. But as race day drew nearer, the injury had improved and as this would be my last visit to Wimbleball I made the decision to go ahead!!!

I drove there on Saturday and had an uneventful journey. On arrival I went through the registration procedure, sorted my kit out into the blue and red bags provided and racked my bike. The weather during the day was a mixture of wind, rain and sun, which then started me thinking, " hope it gets better by tomorrow, why did I decide to come!!" I attended the race briefing at 16.00hrs and then made my way to my digs about twenty minutes drive. It's a lovely old farmhouse sat in a hillside which overlooks one of the downhill sections of the bike course.
      
After the usual fitful nights sleep [no I wasn't having fits!!!] I had my normal bowl of porridge and drove to the race venue arriving about 05.00hrs. It was chilly, overcast and windy and I thought maybe the sun would come out later!!! I met up with Peter Court [from MSTC, always nice to know someone] who was also taking part. Well we completed our final preparations and it was time to get the old wet suit on! 

At about 06.45 our wave, the second, [only ever been one wave before!! ] made our way down to the lake. The first wave had just started and we were asked to enter the water, no turning back now!!! Having walked through the mud and weeds I immersed myself into the water thinking this is like a warm bath, well I knew it wasn't but it helps mentally. The temperature was cold but I have swam in colder water!!! Done a few strokes to warm up and impress the opposition and then the gun went off, definitely no turning back now!!!

The swim went okay with the usual disruptions of others swimming into you, over you and under you!!! I eventually came out of the water [and no I wasn't last!!! ] and then there is the 400m run to T1 which includes a steep grassy bank immediately you get out of the water!!!

Collect blue bike bag and into the change tent where you have the option of taking off your own wet suit or having assistance. Being old, wet and cold I decided to do it myself!!! Luckily I had put extra kit in the blue bike bag, so I put on a short sleeve cycle top [ MSTC of course!! ] and then really struggled to put my arm warmers on as I was wet and cold!! Once they were on I stuffed a thin rain jacket into a back pocket and made my way to the bike rack. By now the wind had picked up even more and the rain was persistent!

Out of T1 and start the bike course which kicks off with 3 miles up hill!! As I have done this race twice before I knew what to expect in relation to the course but that doesn't make it any easier. It is very tough, made considerably worse with the wind and rain!! It's a two lap course involving approximately 3904ft of climbing! As the miles went by the rain and wind got worse eventually forcing me to stop and put on the rain jacket!! The descents were quite dangerous in the rain as some involved very sharp left hand turns at the bottom!! All part of the fun and another reason for doing this race yet AGAIN!!! I managed all the climbs without getting off the bike, passing many that thought walking was the best option and they were a lot younger than me!!! Just before the end of the bike section I had a very negative thought! I was very wet and very cold and said to myself " do you really want to run a half marathon now!!!"

Anyway I got into T2 racked my bike still with a few negative thoughts but then I was in the change tent with my red run bag and the next thing I know I am out on the run course!! What happened there!! Maybe it was a C.R.A.F.T. moment!! Well at least the rain had eased but it was still windy and by now the off road course was very muddy in places. The first of the three laps was hard, the second even harder and well the third was just bloody awful but I was determined to finish what I had started. Never say never!!! I eventually crossed the line to the roar of the crowd in a very disappointing 8hrs 2mins 56secs !!  That was my slowest recorded time at Wimbleball but I still managed to come 3rd in my age group!!

Most importantly I finished, didn't have any injuries and after all it is only a race!! I am trying hard to make myself feel better!! I hope our three week annual holiday in Skiathos, which starts this Wednesday, will help to ease the disappointment and maybe I can figure out what went wrong!!! Sorry there are no split times as at the time of writing this I couldn't seem to find them on the website.[another C.R.A.F.T. moment!! ] Probably just as well as that would really piss me off!!!! 
      
I would like to thank Peter Court as he was waiting for me at the finish to cheer me through and I am sure he was as tired as me!! On a final note, good luck to anyone racing while I am away and I promise to practise my swimming!!!! Thanks everyone for your support on Facebook.

PS just found my split times!! Do you really want to see them, I think not!!! Oh well if you want a laugh;

swim  54:15
T1     10:33
bike   4:15:35
T2      6:20
run     2:36:16

age group 65-69  position 3rd  overall 1140. At least I wasn't last!!!!!!! 
 
Del