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Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail
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griffin100 wrote: »Nice one Fran, you finished a race safely
and finished it well. Well done.
+1
Sweet result JB. Well done 0 -
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Not a wind up unfortuneatly, eventful morning which included over an hour of stripping a rental car apart to get to the car keys which Michelle accidentally dropped. We had a slim chance of making it but hit traffic and Michelle entered wrong GPS address into car rental drop off
€330 lighter and now flying to Belfast, never easy with me!!0 -
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »make require some energy products to get through.:)
I'll sponsor a box of gels to get the readers through.
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amphkingwest wrote: »I'll sponsor a box of gels to get the readers through.
Make them caffeinated to keep people awake too.0 -
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »Should have race report up after lunch
Is it possible that someone could check on JB ? Hopefully he gets across the line with the report and hasn't ended up in the nurses station at work
Cmon Fran, throw in a few pics and be done with it.0 -
interested wrote: »Is it possible that someone could check on JB ? Hopefully he gets across the line with the report and hasn't ended up in the nurses station at work
Cmon Fran, throw in a few pics and be done with it.
With that ****ing horrible gear you want photos????
moral of the story - never let a blind (simple) child design your gear0 -
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Challenge Barcelona - Race Report
So after the well documented disaster that was Challenge Roth back in July I let ideas of quitting and giving up the sport of long distance tri enter my head. I was angry having put so much into something to get nothing out of it. That was until I headed away on the family holiday soon after Roth and Michelle told me I had invested too much throughout the year, made so many sacrifices with early morning sessions etc to not get my reward of racing and completing my 2nd IM. With that sort of encouragement how could I not sign up for Challenge Barcelona and have another go.
I had another 7 week block of training to get me back in shape as I had done very little for the 4 weeks after Roth what with hospitals and holidays. I will be honest I really struggled for those first few weeks back. It’s difficult having trained so hard and long for a peak race only for things to not go right and then try go back at it again to peak another time. I think as an AG’er it’s hard to expect your body to peak over and over again for races, especially over the IM distance.
In fairness to my coach Dave he told me to be patient throughout as it will start to feel better which it did to some extent but I knew from the outset I would not get back into the same sort of shape as I was in for Roth.
Coming to the end of the training cycle I felt my swim had improved from pre Roth, my bike power was down around 10% and my run felt close enough. Taper as usual resulted in me picking up a head cold which stayed with me for near a week and a half and to some extent the weekend of the race. My body does not handle the reduced training load so well, no matter how many vits, echinacea and rest I take during taper. It is frustrating and something I will need to look at and discuss with coach.
Travel
Michelle was making sure she was going over for this one as she was having kittens last time around not knowing if I was dead or alive in Roth. Not to make the same mistakes with being rushed in Roth I decided on flying out a day earlier. This is something I will do from now on for my big races as I felt really relaxed and not rushed for time!!
Travel went fine with no flight or rental car cancellations!! We reached the hotel late on the Thursday night and settled in to sleep to rise early the next morning to build up the bike.
Pre Race
Friday morning was spent unpacking the bike and building it up. I met the other two girls Mike and Joe that morning, who will be referred to muffin man and obe one in this report:) We headed out for a spin along the course with a short run planned off the bike. We were out for 40mins total and the wind was flying around a bit, avg 38.5kmph heading out and just over 30kmph coming back. Short run off had me feeling ok at 4:2x pace for around 15mins. We met up later in the day for a swim along the course. The swell was unreal and I had to turn around after a while as it did not feel safe, not the type of confidence booster I had been looking for in the water so close to the start of the race.
Saturday I headed back down early to the water, there had been weather reports of a storm brewing and torrential rain. Sure enough as I was getting into the water the heavens opened with thunder and lightening in the background for added effect. Got in and swam 1650mtrs along the first part of the course, the swell was not as bad and I swam well so a big confidence boost. Poor Michelle had been waiting on the beach with only a spar plastic bag on her head for some protection from the rain, ala rubber bandit style some trooper that lady is!! After the swim I set out for a final short run and again got caught in the rain coming back. The work was done and there was little I could do now to influence things.
The evening was spent with the muffin man and Caz his better half. There was no fancy prawns or seafood this time around but safe to say Mike made a plain pasta dish taste fantastic. The chatting and good company took my mind off the race and Mike himself felt relaxed about the race.
Race morning
I woke up around 4:30am after getting around 3hrs broken sleep. I had a large bowl of porridge, boiled egg, yoghurt, powerbar and a nutrigrain. We met Caz and Mike and the 4 of us headed down to the race venue. We both could tell each others nerves were building for the big day ahead. I don’t care what anyone says no matter if you are a pro there is no avoiding that nervous feeling on the morning of an IM race, those known unknowns and the like!!
We finally got into transition to get the bike and nutrition sorted. There was a good group of Irish about all racked in the same area which was a nice touch. I bumped into Gary in transition from Phoenix tri who was looking as nervous as me. We met up with obe one who must have been the oldest competitor in the race Photo below shows the nervous smiles of “sh1te what are we doing here”
Pulled up the wetsuit “sh1te” I tore two small holes in the leg “you donkey” I thought. Feck it no point worrying about it now even if it is a newish suit!! Said my goodbyes to the two aul wans Joe/Mike and I gave Michelle a big hug, not sure if it was the sand from the beach or in fact she had a little tear in her eye Headed in for a warm up swim and a couple of fast strokes, they felt good. I got back out and had a panic attack when I seen what I thought was my wave starting the race. Legged it over only to realise it was another wave with a near identical colour swim hat, heart rate well and truly elevated now. I made my way in to the start area ready to do battle.
Swim
Guess where Wally is?
I was focussed and in the zone, boom goes the cannon and off we go. It was a 200mtr swim to the first buoy and I took a very straight line having started on the right hand side. I was surprised to see myself up towards the top half of the group turning the first buoy and heading right for 1450mtrs to the next turnaround.
I settled into a nice relaxed stroke and was jumping from feet to feet trying to find a fast set to follow. I was hitting each of the buoys bang on and sighting every 7th stroke. As we reached the 1650mtr mark I took a quick look and seen 36mins on the stopwatch, “crap I took it far too relaxed on the out section” I thought.
I picked up the effort coming back and was really focussing on finishing off the stroke as Tango had thought me. I was in my element and really enjoying this swim to the extent I did not want it to end. This is unlike me as being a weak swimmer normally the swim is about getting through it for me. I knew I was going well as I started to pass a good few from my wave, the odd time a fast swimmer from a later wave would come through and I would jump on his feet for a while.
As we turned what was supposed to be the 3500mtr mark I looked at the watch to see just under 70mins, “bloody well yes I am on for a 75min swim here” I thought which would have exceeded expectations. However it would turn out the swim was about 400mtrs long at 4.2kms with most of it being in the last swim section in. Watch came up with 1:20:19 as I reached the shore, in reality probably a 1:14 IM swim taking off the extra distance which is a big improvement from the 1:32 last year in UKIM. That 280kms of swim training and coaching sessions with Tango paying off!! The good thing is I felt fresh out of the water with no fatigue, I would lie if I did not start thinking about sub 10 but put thoughts out of my head as it was too early in the race for that.
Headed into T1 and spotted Michelle I gave her a big grin as I was happy out!!
T1
In and out within 5mins, could have been quicker but I was faffing around a bit getting my stuff together.
Bike
Straight onto the bike, the first 5mins was slow enough weaving in and out of traffic on a narrow road until we got out onto the main route. My nutrition plan and what I had set the garmin alarm to every 20mins was to take on board gel, solid, gel each hour whilst sipping on double concentrate carb mix drink and water with electrolytes.
The first part of the course out to Barcelona was into what felt like a headwind but I was not overly sure. The first hour the legs felt a little sluggish but soon cleared. I hit the first turnaround of the 3 loops and had a quick glance and seen 33.9kmph, not too bad I thought. Heading back towards Calella and it felt like we had some form of tailwind, I averaged 37kmph coming back in so I was on 5:05 bike pace after 75km even though I was still 20watts off my race plan.
Turning back to do a 2nd loop the wind had picked up a bit and this was slower. I noticed some of the big lads powering by me up the hills, I just kept the power steady going up them which is one of the benefits of using a power meter. I was however passing a lot on the flat so much so that I had a good few illegally drafting off my wheel whilst I was out doing the donkey work. My cold was festering a bit so I let out a few snot rockets bulls eye hit the guy sucking my wheel right behind me, he soon got the message. There was lots of drafting going on but at least penalties were being handed out.
My nutrition/hydration had being going well although in hindsight I only done 2 pisses on the bike, the difficulty I had was the on course bottles were only half full and aid stations probably too far apart. I went 40mins on the bike with just one bottle of ISO drink which was rank and I could not stomach. I passed through 150kms now on around a 5:15 projected bike split and I pretty much thought yes sub 10 could be on here that is until we turned one last time and wind had picked up further again and with some rain coming down.
My power had now dropped off a bit so I had a choice, push for the last hour or maintain current pace for sub 5:20, I stuck with the later. Good points on the bike, pretty evenly paced, kept the hills paced sensibly, Bad points, should/could have pushed harder, 173 watts normalized should be a walk in the park, should have been closer to 195/200 NP watts.
I was off the bike in 5:19 and ready to have a right go at the sub 10, I decided I would kill myself on the run for it. Michelle got a pic of me coming off the bike and I was focussed on what lay ahead…she did not even get a wave:)
T2
Out sharp enough, hat on, runners on and gels in back pockets
Run
So out onto the run and I knew I needed to run a sub 3:10 to stand any chance of sneaking in under 10hrs. After a few kms I knew it was gone, the easy pre planned pace of 4.45km pace heading out was not feeling easy at all. In fact I hit my first low point of the day at 5k into the run wondering how I was going to run another 37km. The legs felt very heavy almost on the verge of quads cramping which I should not be feeling until at least 30kms into the run. I spotted muffin man who had about a 35min gap on me and seemed to be moving well at the time and on track for a possible sub 10. As I turned heading back I seen obe one fast approaching, sure why would he not being a 2:36 marathon runner!!
The course was a 4 loop affair and after the 1st loop we headed back into the finish area and I passed Michelle who was roaring encouragement. I gave a look “she knew the look” of someone who was not enjoying things and suffering far too early on the run. However I got a great lift from her words of encouragement and the atmosphere about the place.
For the 10-15k segments the legs were really starting to shout and the pace had slowed to over 5min km pace. The pain was there and I was not dealing with it well at all, this is something I pride myself on being able to hurt and pain management. I stopped at the 15k aid station for what seemed like an eternity helping myself to Coke, oranges and got some water over me. I had noticed the gap had closed slightly to the muffin man and grew out a bit further to obe one.
Back at halfway and the finish area, Michelle is still roaring encouragement. I sprint through and give her that “other look” one which said we are doing this. This is it I thought time to embrace the pain. I started to employ the tricks to deal with the now cramped quads and swelling feet. First up kids at home cheering Dad on and Ryan waiting for his medal, the disappointment of not getting his medal from Roth, memories of sitting on the bank after being released from the medical tent in Roth and weeping like a baby, the hard days, the early mornings, the sacrifices, coach yelling on my shoulder push/push/push little guy, everyone tracking me at home, the marathon groups in the run club and trying to be the guy that “leads by example” on how not to give up or give in. I even had the song “Till I Collpase” going off in my head.
I was there in the pain cave with the deck chair pulled out ready to tackle it head on. Every time the pain overwhelmed me I just repeated my thought process as above. My pace was still relatively slow but it was consistent. I now noticed the muffin man was suffering badly and reckon I had cut the gap down to about 15mins at the 25k mark, I also noticed obe one was not pulling the gap out much further on me and was showing signs things were getting tough, I was bolstered by that knowing I was not the only one suffering out there. What further compounded that was passing both Baylsis pro racers who had been resigned to shuffling along at walking pace, the IM distance gets them all!!
I treated myself to a short aid break at around 27k and headed back to the finish area and start of the final loop. As I was heading back in I seen muffin man who was firmly in the hurt locker and now only had a 1km lead on me. As I entered the finish area for my last loop I let Michelle and the rest of the spectators know I was on the last one, I got the chills and an adrenaline rush from this.
This is it, head down keep grinding it out ignoring everything around me and focussing on the 10mtrs ahead
I come up to 35km and I see muffin man ahead. Right compose yourself, be strong and run hard by him to deter him latching on. I fly by but I am hurting with 7km to go, I take a look around after a few minutes and I cannot see him. I badly tie up with 5km to, oh fvk went to early the big lad is coming to get me. Ok treat it as a 5km training run, I near the finish area, each step now agonising. 500mtrs to go I zip up the tri suit, flip the hat back. I get chills, I get flashes of Roth, everything I have worked so hard for right here and now about to get my rewards. I am now entering the finish area, the noise is deafening, emotions going haywire. I spot Michelle, smile and lift the Irish flag and cross the line in 10:33 with a 3:42 marathon and a pb of 1hr 25mins. Not the time I had wanted and a very poor run as I am capable of much better. It was about getting to that finish line and salvaging something from what has been a tough and disappointing season with misfortune, injury and illness at key races.
I take a few minutes to myself to recover, muffin man comes in a while later and we congratulate each other, crazy lad does a tumble turn across the line. I make my way out and give Michelle the biggest hug and thank her for everything. My pain quickly turns to concern though as obe one who done a massive 10:08 on his debut looks in a bad way so we quickly get his gear to get warmed up and head off for much deserved beers and food later in the night. Two great lads to be out there racing with and the banter was good, they pretty much helped me in some way to keep concentrating.
Thanks
Massive thanks to DDAC my running club, humbled by all the messages of support leading up to this along with tracking on the day, a remarkable bunch of people. A big thank you to all the boards tri community, you all know who you are.
A big thanks to family and friends who at this stage are probably sick listening to me bark on about my IM exploits Thanks to Darren Cranston aka Tango who has helped me with my swim and it shows, looking forward to a Winter of further improvements and trying to get my swim times down further.
A special mention to my coach Dave Tunney who had to literally pick up the pieces of what was left of me over in Roth and assist with dealing with the aftermath. He worked hard getting me back in some sort of shape to even attempt having another go over in Barcelona. I am probably not the easiest to work with but I thank you a lot for coaching and having to suffer listening to me moan at times when things not going my way!!.
And then there is Michelle, I simply cannot put into words how much she has helped me since taking all this up. It takes a certain sort of person to accept someone sneaking around in lycra at 5am on a weekend to go out and do a 5hr bike, well she is that person. I think she gets why I do it having taken up running herself this year with plans on a marathon next year!!
What Next
I plan on taking 2 to 3 weeks out doing unstructured training, then pace DCM 3:30 group and ensure the DDAC crew achieve their marathon goals. Focus will then shift to a solid Winters training and work on some of my weaknesses and try make further gains.
What this season has thought me is I need to be more patient with progress. I am only two years doing long distance tri and it may take me a few more years to get to Kona World Champs. One thing I will be doing is racing more next year and learning to not only “train well” but “race well” as otherwise it’s pointless.
I have a few races in mind but will discuss season plans with coach soon enough, the A race is already booked next year in Frankfurt IM.
He finally got his medal in the end!!
Kia Kaha
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