Race Reports

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

Pre-Race

Got a late entry to IM Wales via Nirvana Travel. A triathlon addict's impulsive last minute decision to race. Paid only a small premium for getting a place this way after the race had sold out. Would use Nirvana again if need be, because the package included a great hotel (a stone's throw from race start) and free cancellation insurance. The Nirvana rep organized a cycle course tour by car with a local cyclist as a guide.

Everything (Hotels, Expo, Registration, Briefing, Transition, Swim) is in one place at Tenby. Straightforward drive from Sussex. Totally hassle-free. The locals are super-friendly and take great pride in hosting the race.

The Swim

Near perfect conditions with calm relatively warm waters in the beautiful Bay. Mass beach start then an unfussy 2 lap swim, punctuated by a short dash along the beach between laps.

The run to T1 is 1.3km through the centre of Tenby. Longest transition run of all ironman races. An extra transition bag for shoes is racked at swim exit in order to do this 1.3km run. Last year an elite competitor lost his Kona slot because he handed his wetsuit to his girlfriend on the way to T1 and therefore got DQ'd after he had finished the race.

The Cycle

Very scenic ride on mostly closed roads in a coastal National Park. Some opportunities to make the most of a TT bike during the first 50 miles, but after that the course is particularly hilly and technical with some very steep winding downhills. My brakes were inadequate in the wet on those steep sections, so lots of time was lost by having to be over cautious.

Biggest mistake of the day was leaving my nice warm jacket in T1. It rained several times during the ride and by mile 50, I was freezing and shaking uncontrollably. To have accepted outside assistance might have risked a DQ. Fortunately, I discovered that I had got a plastic cape in my pocket (as you do), so I put it on to get warm. Ruined the aerodynamics somewhat. During the ride, I heard onlookers shout "go batman". After the race, I heard people chatting about a cyclist wearing a bin bag who had become known as "the bubble".

Tenby has a "heartbreak hill" that is almost as good for crowd support as Challenge Roth. Tenby has half the competitors and less than half the crowd numbers but the vibe is superb.

The Run

Barely a flat section on the four lap course. Lots of lively crowd support through the town, passing pubs and hotels. Plenty of walking uphill and running downhill. Good banter between athletes and plenty of switchbacks to keep spotting people. Lots to take one's mind off the usual drudgery of the ironman run. Ideal cool temperatures and dry conditions for this part of the race. Got a bit confused at the end of the third lap and took a wrong turn towards the finish line. Had to double-back a few hundred metres to restart the fourth lap. Great joy visiting the finish for the second and final time.

Results

• 20 DQ'd for dropping litter
• 10 DQ'd for drafting
• 4 DQ'd for failing to serve a penalty

Not a fast time for me (almost 2 hours slower than my Lanzarote effort a few months earlier). Not surprising, considering the neglect of training during 3 weeks backpacking in Sri Lanka (got home just in time to taper 2 weeks before IM Wales).

Loved the race and loved the location. Usually, as I cross the finish line I swear I'll never do another ironman. This time I immediately rebooked the hotel for next year and paid the registration fee as soon as entry came on-line a few days later. Upgraded brakes and a warm cycling jacket should make Tenby 2014 even better.

Rank:25

Overall Rank:582

Jim "Bubble" Graham

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

My triathlon journey has been a long one, my first one London 2003 was done as a charity challenge and the Olympic distance was completed in 3 hours and 56 minutes!

My first mid Sussex triathlon was the following year, I finished in 193^rd place out of 195 with a time of 1 hour and 50 minutes!  Over the years I enjoyed the multi discipline of triathlon but never really took it seriously until I joined the MSTC last year. So enrolling to do an Ironman was a big big challenge for me!

The preparation for the Ironman had gone reasonably well up until three weeks before race day when I strained a calf muscle on a steady lunchtime run. I did not do any further exercise apart from swimming until the big day, now that's what you call tapering!!

A delayed set off and horrendous traffic meant we arrived in Bolton a lot later than expected and didn't get chance to register or attend the first timers briefing , this meant we had to do a lot more running around pre race day than expected . We did however get everything done and I enjoyed a chicken and pasta meal and was able to settled and relax in the room to get an early night! Now you would have thought that a hotel that doubles its standard rate for the Ironman weekend would not hold a wedding reception the night before hundreds of triathlete's had to rise at 4 am to complete one of the toughest endurance races going! Of course they did, two floors below our room, people outside shouting, cars hooting until after 2 am, just what you need.

Notwithstanding this race morning went well, I awoke at 4.30 am to have my usual pre training breakfast of some cereal bars, bananas and a hot mug of tea, the only plus side of the hotel was that it was a 5 minute walk from the swim start at Pennington flash, I was therefore able to put my wetsuit on in the room and walk directly to the lake.

We were ushered into the water for a prompt 6am start, I was planning to go to the back of the mass start but inadvertently found myself right in the middle of the pack, this made the first few hundred meters interesting with lots of arms and legs flailing everywhere. It did soon settle down and I managed to swim at the pace I wanted to. All the coaching I had received and the swims at Ardingly had paid off as I felt comfortable throughout the 3.8km swim and exited the lake in 94 minutes, which was around the time I had estimated.

I took my time in T1 to ensure that I was ready for what I expected would be a seven hours on the bike , the only glitch was that I had managed to lock the buttons on my Garmin and was therefore unable to get it to operate after the swim ! The bike ride started well I seemed to overtake more people than overtook me and I managed to continue doing this even when I started to eat the buffet I had prepared on my crossbar. As those of you who have completed Bolton know the main feature of the bike ride is Sheep House lane, it's bad enough the first time let alone the third, most of my training rides had been from one point to another, having to do three 50 km laps really seemed to affect my enthusiasm and I was really feeling tired by the third lap. The third climb was really tough and not wanting to do the walk of shame I kept digging in but this caused my quads to cramp a few times which was quite unpleasant. I kept the wheels turning albeit very slowly .This was further impounded by a change in the weather as torrential rain had joined the wind that was already quite strong. I was secretly hoping to finish the bike course in less than seven hours but actually finished ten minutes short of eight hours, towards the end of the ride I was really feeling fatigued and couldn't wait to reach T2 and dump my beloved bike.

I had stayed on my bike for the whole duration so I enjoyed a walk and stretch around T2 wondering where I was going to get the energy to run a marathon. As I started my run I seemed to regain my enthusiasm, running was a luxury after spending that long on the bike! I knew I still had just under seven hours to run my marathon , I kept informing myself that even I could do that ! Even in the first few miles I passed people who were already walking, I wanted to run as long as I could without having to stop, I did this for probably the first 25 km or so. After an initial point to point run there was again three 10k laps to complete, again this didn't help, knowing you still had to do the same run another two times after completing the first lap. I kept at it though and even started to believe I would now become an ironman, I started walking up the steep parts of the route, the continuous rain seemed to help and the vocal support of the locals really spurred me on! Complete strangers shouting your name really does help you along! I stopped each time at the feed stations and took on anything now, gels, drinks I had never heard of, I even drank cheap cola. I was certainly getting my money's worth ! Entering the final lap seemed to give me a new found burst of energy , my quads and calf's still felt really tight and my knee and ankle joints were hurting like hell but I know had the determination to get this over with and decided that I was not going to walk any of the last lap , I kept running even at a slow pace and felt good as I passed many people , as I turned to finish the last turn I knew I had about 5km to go , I continued running as I knew that finishing before 9pm ( 15 hours ) was possible . Even setting myself this target I did still have to have a rest and walk parts as even the downhill was hurting my knees. These breaks were short and I did run for the remainder of the race , it was such a relief to turn into the finish and hear the noise of the spectators at the finish line , although I wasn't quite expecting what confronted me , the noise , spotlights , camera flashbulbs , this was my minute of fame ! I almost felt like a celebrity! I wish now that I had savoured it more and had stopped to embrace my wife and family and walk over the line high - fiving all the kids along the finish straight, but I just wanted to get over that line and went for the grandstand finish and ran to it. I was seven minutes over the 15 hours but that was irrelevant now! I had done it , as the announcer bellowed from the sound system " Dean you are an Ironman "

So back to the Ironman's logo of anything is possible , well this time last year I never ever thought I would be able to finish an Ironman and if Dean Allen can do it anyone of YOU can do it !

Many of my fellow club members have been so instrumental in helping me achieve this goal, your advice; coaching, training and race tips, support and encouragement gave me the confidence to believe that "anything is possible ". My sincere thanks go to you all! Thanks also to those of you who have sponsored me; I have raised nearly two grand for Help for Heroes.

I also want to make special mention to Jeff Woodall who trained so hard for Ironman 2013 only to have been seriously injured in an accident two weeks before the event. Jeff would have finished a lot quicker than I did. Hope you are there next year mate!

Dean Allen

August 2013

Now having historically spent a fortune on pre-race hotels and then arriving "in the nick of time" to rack my bike in the morning, I observed that many triathlons have adjoining campsites, and thought this could reduce stress levels on the day. So three weeks before the race found me walking around camping shops looking at tents, discarding any that did not have enough room inside them for my bike, an exercise mat, sufficient storage space for race stuff, space for a large inflatable mattress, oh, and sleeping/living space for my long suffering wife.

After identifying the object I required, 3 days of watching and waiting on E-bay boiled down to an electronic game of chicken with my winning bid arriving 2 seconds before the auction ended. 1 x Outwell Montana 6 tent is now in my possession. Phase one of my plan was complete, phase two (going racing) could now commence.

After a leisurely drive to Tamworth, we arrived at the West Midlands Water centre in plenty of time to register on the Saturday, pitched our tent, sat back and waited 26mins for the kettle to boil via the 12v power supply. Our next door neighbours then arrived with their "charming" children, and promptly started having a domestic before striking camp and arguing about which car the kids would travel in for the journey home (and which one of them would therefore have to "put up with them").

The allure of camping was becoming clear to me.

Once they left however, things started looking up as other triathletes started arriving and comparing bikes. Take-away was planned, purchased, and consumed - and I retired to my bed which was kitted out with feather pillows and a duck down duvet (my wife does not do sleeping bags).

I awoke at 5:30am to force down my pre-race breakfast of oat bars, bananas, and fluid. By 06:10the bike was racked and I had achieved a PB in the porta-loo.

Now, whilst it is great to be on-site with zero stress, I now had everything ready with 1hr 20mins until race start. An unprecedented level of organisation for me.

Race brief followed, with a small panic when I noticed that no-one else had the same colour swim hat as me - it appears the BTF were using this event to get rid of their odd stock, and the colour bore no relation to my wave. Wetsuits were optional at 19.5 deg, but as I sink like a stone without one, I opted to keep mine on.

Everyone appeared to be organising themselves according to the swim lanes at the Dolphin, so I joined my fellow "athletes" on the far left and we got given the horn. Off I went drafting where I could and for once steering a pretty good course to the 750m buoy. Downhill to the finish line and out the water in an uneventful 27mins, but just to stop me getting too cocky, my tri suit zipper tag got caught in my wetsuit zip, and my first flap of the day began in earnest.

Problem solved in the 150m run to the bike, and my T1 began properly. Drills were OK, and another 100m run with the bike put me at the mount line.

So excited was I to be racing, I had gone about two miles before I realised my Garmin 310 was still showing timing for "T1" - so accurate pacing of my bike effort was going to be down to judgement rather than data. After about 10mins, I realised I had a shadow, and I spent the next 55mins swapping places with my new "friend" exchanging a bit of good natured banter each time. Nutrition worked well, with gels and water going down at a well-judged 15mins before the bike element ended.

The bike course itself was great with two loops of a course that has a couple of hills, but nothing too challenging. There was a very tight 90deg left hander which one guy screwed up taking out a Volvo coming the opposite way. He ended up with a dislocated shoulder, but the Volvo will need a new wing, bonnet, windscreen, and roof, as he managed to dent to break all of these on his way to the other side of the road.

Anyway, into T2 (slick drills on removing feet from shoes), and out onto the run pausing only to take on more fluid.

My biking buddy (Stuart) put on a spurt and came past me as we came out of T2, and we started our four lap run at about 7:30 pace. Each lap took us up and over a huge earth berm (about 80foot tall and 600ft long), and after the first lap I succeeded in getting ahead of Stuart. I then spent the next two laps overtaking another racer only for him to take offense and put in a spurt, so after wearing him out a bit by doing it a few times deliberately, I put in a big push and dropped him (heh, heh, heh). One more lap and we reached the finish. Big sprint, great finish, and then heard my new PB time over the tannoy - 2:22:17 - oh yes, who's the daddy.

Grabbed some water, and turned to shout encouragement for Stuart as he came into the finishing straight - I had a great race with him, and he with me.

The event was superb, the marshalls excellent, and I made some new friends - it kind of sums up triathlons.

Looking forward to racing again on the 22^nd September at the Portsmouth Triathlon - closed road racing should make for a fast race! Our campsite in Southsea has already been identified - but I will be buying a kettle that boils quickly.

Andrew Lennox