Xman XXX full distance Tri, Exmoor

The site of the long standing Half Ironman (aka 70.3) event, and one of my favourite places in the summertime, I’ve often pondered the possibility of racing a full distance race from the venue. Renowned as one of the toughest courses on the 70.3 circuit, even that race stays close to the venue which is barely the edge of the moor, whereas with 180km to play with, there is a whole lot more fantastic riding to explore. So it was with real excitement that I heard of Xman Events ’s proposals to stage their first Iron-distance race from the venue, and much curiosity as to where they’d take the route.  There would have been a few options to make it a more “average” ride, around the area  - the lake is within 30 miles of the  pan-flat Somerset Levels after all – but my hope was that they’d make the most of the stunning scenery and quiet roads one finds by heading deeper onto Exmoor.

Being locals themselves, of course this is what they did, and what fantastic a route they chose. 

Fantastic, but with ~4000m of climbing on the bike route, and an entirely off-road marathon this would by no means be an easy feat. The fastest athletes could expect to take 2 hours more than they might on a regular iron-distance course, and the organisers weren’t shy in their statement that they expected a high proportion of the field would NOT finish at all. We needed all the daylight that was available, so as dawn broke on Sunday 31^st July 2016, approximately 50 competitors started arriving to organise their equipment in transition for the adventure that lay ahead of them in the inaugural  XXX Extreme Triathlon. 

SWIM 

The weather forecast was good and the early morning air reflected that, as we listened to the final race briefing, surveyed the flat calm waters of Wimbleball lake and contemplated 4 laps of the triangular course that had been set out for us. A few people said that they thought it looked rather far –but, don’t people always think that?? 19 or 20 degrees and still, we had perfect conditions. I positioned myself close to the front and got a good start, remaining inside a pack for most of my first lap. Though not a strength of mine, my swim training in the pool has been going well recently, and I have been fortunate to have had quite a bit of open water swimming experience in my new BlueSeventy Helix suit thanks to the races with Team Reko, organised by Freak Events through the summer.  I felt I was swimming well – drafting off one swimmer for most of my second lap, before their exit point (for the popular Intro distance race) at half way. As I swam I felt relatively strong but relaxed and able to enjoy the sight of ducks flying in “V” formation over head, the mist hanging over the water and the changing colour of the sky in the early morning sunshine, and appreciate what a wonderful experience I was having.  On the third lap my left arm started to ache as usual, I found myself veering to the left if unchecked and was pretty desperate to reach dry land. But 75% good :o) I was disappointed with the apparent swim time of 1hr 08…but still, there were plenty of bikes left in transition, and it turns out that those “over distance” speculators were (probably) correct . I didn’t know it at the time but I was 3^rd out of the water.

It wasn’t a rapid transition, I put on socks, a cycle jersey (with Powerbars loaded into the pockets) and - a first in a race for me - gloves. I knew it was going to be a long and tough ride, and my ‘plan’ was really not to treat it as a race but to just ride it steady and efficiently.

BIKE

After an initial 20 km gradually ascending from the Lake to Wheddon Cross (a high point on this side of Exmoor) begins a 70km loop that begins with a very nice descent to Timberscombe. I’d set out at a fairly moderate pace, with no one in sight to chase or race, and following my stated plan to approach this challenging course as a “solid ride” rather than attempt to ride Race Pace. I was relaxing on this descent when Bonnie, who’d started a few minutes behind me, caught and passed. Perhaps I’m taking things just a little too steady, I wondered, and started pedalling a bit in order to maintain a small distance behind her. The route makes a turn at the bottom of the hill, and then winds and rolls up and down through a series of small typical Somerset-y lanes and hamlets. It was great fun chasing her along this terrain, though harder work, and somewhat more risky, than I felt sensible given my knowledge of the route ahead.  We were only 2 hours into a very long day…so slightly reluctant I eased off and let her go, aware that she might be the only chance I had of company for the rest of the ride!! We emerged onto the A39, which provides a break from the intense concentration required in the lanes, and could see her flashing rear light in the distance. She obviously had her head down and was soon out of sight!  This rolling section of A-road leads to Porlock Weir – a seaside town and foot of the first climb Porlock Toll Road.  A favourite of the local cycle clubs who Time Trial up it’s relatively gentle “Alpine” 5% gradient,  it’s just under 7km long finishing  back up at 370m, with stunning views over of the Bristol Channel and Wales along the way. https://www.strava.com/activities/660680834/segments/16181172536.

A feed station at the top was a welcome short break (get off the bike to fill your own bottles) before the next section, along the top of the moor. This is an A-road (A39), so nice and open with a good surface, but still very little traffic passes here. It was  great to have a chance to get down on the tri bars and into a rhythm for 15km to Countisbury and then it was time for  the terrifyingly steep descent into Lynmouth Bay.  Yup, this picturesque little fishing town is back down at sea level and that means only one thing….another climb! The longest climb of the route is  11km long with an average gradient of 4%, the road initially follows the river up through Watersmeet, then opens up onto moorland.

https://www.strava.com/activities/660680834/segments/16181170939

Fortunately, having fought the headwind along the A39 from Porlock, the wind was on our backs for this lengthy slope and we had the second feed station in Simonsbath to look forward to soon after we’d passed the summit. Friendly faces (who were probably just as pleased to see us a we were them, since the small field of athletes were spread across several hours even by this point in the first lap of the race) welcomed us with drinks gels and homemade treats to see us onto what I found to be the most challenging part of the loop.

Although from Simonsbath back to Wheddon cross you actually loose height, it’s reached by tackling a constant onslaught of short and sharp climbs and descents of 15% or more, which come upon you suddenly and are very draining.

Still, by the time I arrived back at Wheddon cross, I felt much fresher than I had ever on any training ride around the loop, and was quite happy to wave at the marshal as I made the left turn to repeat all of the above.  

For the preceding hour, I’d been catching the occasional glimpse of Steven in his distinctive white EverydayTraining kit as it glinted in the sunshine, and realised that I was gradually gaining on him. Steven had entered the race somewhat last minute, and as an afterthought to his race season. As such, he was really viewing it as a training race, and I suspected keeping to his training heart-rate cap on the climbs, thus I was gaining on him on these sections. He tore away on the descent, but I knew I’d catch him in that section of lanes (where I’d been chasing Bonny some 3.5 hours earlier!) and it was nice to have a little bit of conversation. I asked if he was OK. He was fine, and confirmed just riding to his HR cap.  He passed me back a little later whilst I took a pee break, and then sneakily decided to drop the heart-rate cap and hit the Porlock Toll road climb hard on his second round– just to mess with my head!!! I didn’t see him again after that, though the expectation of doing so did help provide motivation in the later stages of the ride….

5 and a half hours passed (I think I was in Lymnouth at 125km then) …then 6 hours ( Simonsbath, 140km – the last feed stop and at least on my way “home”) …then 6 and a half (at last,  Wheddon Cross!!) and by then I was really counting down the kms – not because I really felt terrible ( to my surprise – I’d never felt so comfortable at this point in an Ironman – not that I’d ever got to 6.5 hours on the bike  in an Ironman before! ) but because I’d just been out sooooo  long I’d run out of stuff to think about.  From Wheddon Cross it was 20km back to the Lake, the way we’d come  - just another 45 minutes for me.

I’d estimated that, based on training rides, it could take me 7.5 hours to ride the loop, so at 7hr19 elapsed (7:13 ride time = 6 minutes of stoppage at aid stations and that toilet break)  I was just ahead of schedule, and hitting T2 just before 3pm.

My friend Tanya had probably been waiting for some time to support me on the run. She gave me the best welcome ever, yelling “she’s here!!”  and as I ran out of transition after a pretty comprehensive change of kit, immediately started offering me coke, redbull…and did I need her to run with me? I thought “ surely I don’t look that bad yet??” but I knew I had something to look forward to when I completed the first lap. 

RUN 

The run portion of the race really was what I had been concerned about. I’ve been “managing” a minor but persistent niggle in my left calf and foot, which has limited my run mileage for the last few months. Some days I can run, some days I just can’t. put weight on it.  So distance of longest my run all year was a painful 24km (on this very course 2 weeks prior) and  overall run volume has been low, and my confidence with it. But, as I hit the grass at Wimbleball Lake that afternoon, I was feeling fantastic! I’d decided that rather than asking organisers to send “special needs” nutrition out to aid stations for me, I was going to be self sufficient– at least to the extent of carrying it with me and depositing it at the far aid station myself to pick up on subsequent laps. But within the first few hundred, meters I was already so annoyed by the large water bottle in my belt and the food pouch in my hand that I threw them in a bush (to retrieve later). It was a warm afternoon and almost immediately I began doubting that was a good idea. However, it gave me something to worry about for the next hour, and having something other than my foot to worry about was quite comforting. 

The run course was very simply 3 laps of the footpath around the perimeter of the lake. A lovely trail run – with a variety of terrain to keep us focused. My favourite parts were the rooty single-track sections through the woods – requiring intense concentration, but flat and cool and solid under foot.   The toughest parts were, rather surprisingly,  as we emerged from the woods to cross grassy meadows . Not only were we in direct sunshine, but the ground was cambered, uneven and cluttered with clumps of long grass. Very wearing indeed, and these were also the most inaccessible sections so it was a long stretch between aid stations. I was super pleased to come across Lydia, who’d been positioned as a marshal in the middle of this hell, and happened to have a drink of water when I asked her on my first lap. Only 8km in and I was parched and really feeling that I needed to take a gel but was now carrying nothing to wash that down with. So she saved me there by giving me her own water. Telling me that there was an extra aid station laid on at the Bridge too helped to keep me going through to that 12km point.

By the time I’d completed my first 14km lap – passing Steven again in the process ( he wasn’t moving well and confirmed that he was going to with draw at the end of one lap)  - I was still feeling really good, and had not even a twinge of discomfort in that troublesome foot. Tanya had found herself a job on the aid-station too!  Actually that was a relief to me since a) it enabled me to take the coke, red bull and peanut Kit Kat that she’d brought me without accepting “outside assistance”, but also b) I was worried about how bored she’d get waiting for me to come round each time. She was giving me rough splits to Bonnie, who’d continued her pace on the bike, putting almost half an hour into me by T1. Fortunately the time gap  was so great I felt no need to push my pace and chase her down. I’ll just keep going and see what happens.  That time gap remained pretty constant, and I continued to feel unbelievably comfortable!  More so than I’d ever felt in an Ironman before, where I’d either been racing hard or blown up and suffering in an entirely different way. Today I was just out on my longest run of the year, in a wonderful location, in the sunshine. And every now and then along the way I’d stop briefly for someone to give me a drink and tell me how well I was doing! I was also rather enjoying eating solid food on the run (or semi melted Mars bars and kit kats!) rather than just squeezing gels and slurping coke…..In all, I felt very happy for most of the run. Of course, by the time I was on the 3^rd lap, legs were getting a bit heavy, and a little bit “walky” when we came across any sort of incline if I did not keep an eye on them.  I also had to watch out for even the smallest stone or twig, which could very easily jump up and trip me over. I made a few great stumbling saves (though only I was there to congratulate myself) and had just  one  “miss”.  I heard strange cracking noises from my index finger, which took the full impact of the fall, heroically bending fully back on itself, which made me feel a bit sick. But I was able to wiggle it and despite swelling and going purple, I think it was just seeking attention which, to be honest, was a welcome distraction from the increasing strain of the running.

I’d estimated that a good run on that course, for me, would take 4 hours.  I ran 4hrs 15, and accumulated 13 minutes of stoppage on top of that to finish in just under 4.5hrs….completing the Xman XXX Extreme Triathlon, Exmoor in just over 13 hours!

The fact that I was 5^th overall, and 2^nd woman (Bonnie actually placed 2^nd overall) and 1^st in my Age Group meant little to me compared to how satisfied I was to have completed this extremely challenging event, to have paced it well and felt so strong all day, and had a genuinely great time!

By the way – organisers were dead right – only a about a dozen finished the full Xman XXX this year (and so far in history) ….so if this sounds like you’re cup of tea, get your name in for 2017 !

2015 recap - and Pro Jo No Mo'

A promise to resurrect my blogging was made, and I so wrote this one -  then forgot to post it...
oops!!

So here goes, Take Two:

I guess that last year I just got so behind it seemed like too much to ever catch up on ...so here's the breif summary of my 2015 racing:

Having had  a pretty good race season, or at least end to it in 2014 - and I measure that cheifly by a couple of podium positions in home races paying me well enough in prize money to temp me to invest in just one more year racing with the Pro licence through 2015.  It certainly made financial sense, I'd just achaibed a new PB in Ironman Barcelona (falling short of my sub 9:30 goal due to a 6-minute stand in a penatly tent) ...and I remained succeful by my own measures as a Pro.

But even with the planned close of my professonal racing postponed a year, I found myself investing more of my time, energy and enthusiam into my coaching and developing local projects under EvereydayTraining. Anyone with their own business knows how time consuming any new venture is, I suppose in truth that's really what I wanted to be doing, and not the 25-30 hour training weeks that had enabled me to be competative in Ironman. So I went through the motions ...picking it up as best I could each time a scheduled race was on teh horizon...and my 11th place finish at IM 70.3 Staffs (my first race of the season) showed me the truth loud and clear - you can't blag it!!! Despite having been in great shape through Feb and March running training camps in Lanzarote in truth I'd put in minimal work to maintain that abd certainly not trained myself into race readiness.

That was a good kick up the backside for me though, and with Ironman UK on the scheudle about a month later just what I needed,  and I really did manage to pull my finger out (still juggling a lot of lifestyle changes) for what I felt was a decent race n Bolton. True, it was one of my slowest Ironman finishes, and 6th is the furtherst down the feild that I've finished there...but it was an absolutly gruesome day and given where my fitness was and that I stood on the start line just wishing that I didn't have to do it, I truely raced to the best of my fitness.  Beyond it actually, due to the incredible support that I recieved on the day - bth from fellow copetitors and friends who had made the effort to come over to support. And, more importnat I really really enjoyed the day, which was just the tonic that I needed.
Going into Ironman 70.3 Dublin, a new race in 2015, I was feeling more confident on the start line...although for me it was really another medicore race performance, only just getting into my stride on the run to finsih 6th (again), but like IMUK it was a real blast of a weekend, including the race itself.

The Big One in my mind was Challenge Weymouth...where I'd placed 2nd last year and had all season to train and race into shape. Past experience shows that I tend to race my best later in the year...so my hopes were on this one to be a race that would end my season and life racing as a Pro on a high note. being the ETU championships did mean that this Challenge race attracted a stronger feild than had assembled last year - most of whom registered rather last minute - but I still backed myself for this one based on my knowldege of the area and expereince on the course. It's pretty much on my own doorstep too, so I was in my comfort zone in that regard and would have a lot of support on the day as well as being freindly with the race crew. It all helps.

Whilst it's quite normal myself disconnected from the front of the race after the swim, at the back of my mind was the knowlegde that I really had not put in the sort of training over the season that I'd been doing in previous years (even as an age-grouper!) and so, I suppose that I cant be too surprised to discover that I didn't really have the legs to put in much of a chase on the bike. I've heard people talk about "having no legs" on the day ...and I'd not understood it before as my legs have always been pretty reliable and showed up when they heard that there was a race on.... I reckon that the  truth is that you make it happen if you believe you can.
Racing Ironman is so painful at times (yes, even for those who are the very best in the world at it) that you have to KNOW that you can push that hard, to KNOW that it'll be worthwhile if you do....any doubt in your ability to do so and "common sense" kicks in.
So, having made up virtulaly nothing on the bike, that run was a pretty misreable exercise in will power. By the halfway point it was clear that I wasn't improving my position, and was on track for a pretty dissaponting time result too. The weather had turned proper nasty. Had I not been in a paying position (and I had my sister check that there were no time % rules in pace), I'd have withdrawn.  But, the fact that my mum and sister had travelled to watch me trudge up and down in that weather, and both believied that I could still turn things around,  kept me going. As ever, crossing the finish line ( which I crossed in 8th place) felt great and I enjoyed the rest of the weekend. I didnt really spend too much time beating myself up about it ...at the end of the day I was pleased that I had perserved and finished, and knew that I had only gotten the result that I'd earned.

So the racing season finished on a bit of a downer rather than the swan song I'd have liked  ....but I wont say the same of my time racing as a Pro. Maybe I ought to have stuck to my plan of "retiring" after 2014, and in my head it was already over hence why my lack of commitement to it in favour of thinsg that I felt had a "future" ...but there were some fun times, great moments, and learning all the time.

I've had fantastic support since 2010 and even before from sponsors, friends, family, employers, coaches, race organisers, homestays and most of all other athletes in the community. I will contuine to race, seek new challenges but more of my time will ( legimitmatly) be given over to feeding back into that community, with EverydayTraining and Team Reko.

Now that's got that cleared up, on with 2016 ....shall, we?

So that was April .....

Following 3 weesk in Lanza to get fit for and then deliver our annual EDT Camp in March, I whizzed off to the Amazon for a "proper" holiday - and this time it was a genuine break with over a week not logging a single training session - so come April I was itching to get my fitness back again after a long winter off.

I'm very goal-driven, but the levels of fitness that I aim to acheive by mid summer seem so far distant at this point, so April was all about setting some intermediate goals designed to get me back on the path and the mojo rolling.

One of my favourite "tricks" to getting my running fitness back is the "30 runs in 30 days" challenge. I probably do this at least once every year ...a very simple premis i.e. run 30 times in 30 days. What "counts" as a run and the paticular rule variations that you make depending on goals is up to the individual...for me it's completion of 30 distinct runs of at least 8km within the 30 day time-frame. So runs can be "banked" by running 2 or 3 times in a  day in order to enable days off from running, which I find I need at least once a week to enable a long ride day.  I have several loops from home of this distance, and my route back from the pool where I train happens to be just over 8km so this is a convienient minimum distance. I was not worried about pace for any of my runs, and looking at my training log, I see that none of them were faster than 5:20/km average pace! 

The biggest difficulty I saw in achieving this was due to another challenge I'd set myself for April - entering a 200km gravel race - the Dirty Reiver! It was fortunate that I'd planned to get out to Lanzarote a couple of weeks before camp and had some good training company whilst there enabling me to clock up some longer rides after a winter spent going up and down a bike path in Sao Paulo! The plan had been to return from camp and then focus on learning some off road skills in the 3 weeks before the event, which would did not depend on good weather in the way that road riding does. It was NOT in the plan to break my cross bike on the 2nd or third ride of this stage in the project  ...necessitating a trip to the Carbon Hostpital and eventualy resulted in a loan of a rather nice Kinesis Pro 6 cross bike....  anyway, that's all written about in this post ....I digress. The point was that a 200km ride, plus 4 days of travel in total  was gonna give me a bit of a logistaical challenge regarding getting my run quota in. Fortunatly, I had no pace requirement and it was rather pleasant to jog around Keilder lake a few times the day after the ride, and I caught up. 

As ever, the real stumbling block with this challenge was due to sickess. Picking up a cold cough and chest infection with 2 runs remaining to do on the 30th, I had to admit defeat. I think it's the first time that I've failed at this challenge (probably not!) ...BUT I did achieve what the challenge was intended to help me do: get back running regularly.  On average I ran 68km/week through April and extending the length of my longest run. Still a long way to go on that front, but I now have the momentum, and it's just a case of starting to build up the pace through MAY.  

The press up challenge continues succesfully through April - up to 120 ( 30x4) on the final day of the month, which now feels perefctly manageable ( even with the Iron flu). I resets to 1x5 on 1st May, and continue to build through the next month. To be honest- there's not a lot of real "point" to this challeneg - although the press up is a very good core exercise - other than out of interest to see how lomg I can keep it up!! 

So...here comes May. An exciting month bacause here's my racing season starts!! 

The 8th may ( next week!!) will be my first hit-out of the year at the Leaky Freaky Duathlon....an inventive run/bike/run /bike/run duathlon held between two venues. No easy task actually as I discovered when I looked at it in a bit more detail...it'll be a 3.5-4 hour race, if I'm fit. And as I write this one week prior still full of snot and feeling like I've got the lungs of a heavy smoker on, I doubt if I will be on my best!! 

BUT still, I cant wait to get the pink Team Reko race suit on and have a go at some intensity alongside my team mates - hopefully not too far behind :o) 

Following that all my energy will be devoted to a race that I organise on behalf of my Tri Club ( but sadly wont have teh chance to race) the Taunton Deane Triathlon on the 15th (entries are still open if you're quick!!) and then the week after another Freak Events race - this time getting into the open water down at The Roadford Lake Standrad Distance Triathlon ...and maaaaaybe I'll be able to round off the month with some more Pro 6 loving down in Dorset at the Dorest Gravel Bash 

Bring it on!! ( err. but first, please pass the Lemsip) 

The Dirty Reiver

Crikey -  it's been a year since I posted anything up here!!
As I'm sure you can imagine and hopefully have seen through various other media, this does not mean I've not been active last year...perhaps another post to wrap up my 2106 racing season, my last as a Pro, and plans for what's next is in order.

But for now, a race report with a bit of a difference !!

The Dirty Reiver 200km

In all I was surprised that not only did I survive this new challenge, but enjoyed every minute of it, and finished as the second female.

This is the first step towards an ambition of mine to compete in the 3peaks cyclocross race this year.
More on that will follow here, for now fingers crossed I can get a start in this popular race.

2015 so far...

Well once again I'm apologising for the distinct lack of updates to this blog recently!

2015 came in with style in on that great relaxed12-day camp at Trisports Lanzarote. We had a real mix of people come and go through that period - with wide ranging levels of experience, fitness and alcohol tolerance. This made that particular camp very varied with Daz and I doing our best to accommodate the needs of each athlete, most of whom were primarily there for a low-key training week in the sunshine over the festive period. It was then back to the UK for a month...i grit my teeth ad bore it, spent plenty of hours with my housemates on the rollers and turbo-ing, but just ticking over really with very little real training focus, until it was time to pack up my bags and bike for a return to Lanzarote for a couple more camps. My approach this year has been to deliberately start my own training and racing campaign later in the  year - I've learned enough hard lessons in early season races to know that I don't want to show up on another race line exhausted and underprepared, so through until April/May time its all about my coaching work, organising my races and setting up a new swim session on Exmoor, and working camps.

The first of which was a new camp for this year, working with a Dutch Super-Endurance triathlete Josta, who I met last year on Epic Woman camp. Josta and I have similar views on what makes great camp within an all-female environment, and her involvement with the Dutch team WomEndurance encouraged her to partner with me in setting this one up. We did allow a couple of guys to join us too for this one, and no, we did not make them wear skirts (although they assured us that they were willing to do so!) or expect them to keep up ;o)

We blogged each day from camp, read them here
Intro
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Following this intense camp I'd scheduled myself a week off to recover before starting work with Steven on our big EverydayTraining camp ... I managed to get a few days of work helping Daz at TriSports Lanzarotewith a few beginners, which actually proved to be a great way to recover as well as spending a bit more time with TriSports (and getting a good look at the Dutch Team for Talent boys  who were also staying there that week in action!)

The EDT camp Lanza is always a massive week of training and often at quite a solid pace. I admit that having had such a laid back approach to my own training through the winter, i was a little apprehensive - especially knowing that Steven's preps for Ironman South Africa were going well and he was in awesome shape.  We had a full camp of 20 athletes for this, our 5th year, and 6 staff. We returned to our 'usual' hotel who looked after us brilliantly...it probably was one of the best years on camp yet - a great group with some real characters and, to my surprise and delight, I found that the past 4 weeks spent doing lots of low intensity long stuff with the Dutch Ladies and beginners had gotten me into pretty good shape too! So, I was really able to enjoy some fast riding at times, set a PB up Tabeyasco, completed the camp and smashed pretty much all the handicap "races". I admit that I was a bit pathetic at the end of camp partying though...

We blogged daily from this camp too:
Arrivals
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Wrap up 

Its now almost a full month since we got back. That month took a fair bit of recovering from .. the time has been well spent doing coaching and training courses and work with the Tri Club...Easter brought  with it sunshine which has prompted me to finally get my race season planned out, and training underway!!

Ironman Barcelona

It's Boxing day and I'm killing time in Bristol airport once again. As I prepare to kickstart my 2015 season, I realise that I've yet to write a report on the final race in my 2014 season; Ironman Barcelona which was back in October! An indication of just how busy I am able to make myself once the training and racing is on hold for a couple of months…and also that some recent crap in my personal life took a lot of energy from me, and made it hard to focus on such things.

But as we approach 2015 and the opportunities it brings - I feel that the review of this great race will help me back in the frame of mind to make the most of the two weeks I'm about to spend coaching a festive New Years' tri training camp with my good friends at Trisports Lanzarote. So be warned - this could be a long post!

Whilst the home races of Ironman UK and Challenge Weymouth were the real focus of my racing season, I entered this former Challenge race in Barcelona on a high after  what I measure as a successful season on the suggestion of friends who were also planning to do the race. With the fast course, end of season timing and an easy to access location it was appealing on a number of levels. The choice to do this race was primarily for fun, and also to see how fast a time I could manage. 3 weeks after Weymouth is not long, but that was a relatively undemanding race and experience of the last few years has shown that I do tend to perform at my best with a few months of racing behind me…as long as i'm not too fatigued buy that point. So basically it was a 50-50, but since it was "for fun" I felt under little pressure here. The recent takeover by Ironman meant that the original prize purse offered by Challenge was still honoured and therefor  superior to a typical P2000 event. There was a large and  strong field - kind of an alternate Kona - so a top 3 never seemed likely for me, but being in the top 8 was my goal, would cover my race expenses and possibly leave me a few quid for a holiday afterwards too.

Travelling alone to Calella was somewhat of an experience, arriving late at night with bleary eyed and uncertain navigation and a broken rental cars taking up the small hours, I was extremely displeased to spend the following morning making an additional trip back to the airport to deal with what turned out to be a very small oversight by the car hire firm. At least I knew my way between airport and hotel well enough for a confident return trip! Having established a parking space near my hotel, I did not need to move the car once for the whole stay; Ironman Barcelona is actually cited in Calella - a small resort on the Costa Brava just north of the city - and is  one of those great race locations where everything to do with the event is easily accessible on foot.

The ocean was beautiful and felt almost warm enough to be non wetsuit, but we were assured that it was still safely within the range for a wetsuit "optional" swim. The bike course was simple - out and back along the main coastal road. Not entirely but mostly flat, making it fun to ride and with fantastic views of the coast as it wound through the various coastal resorts, the potential speed came from the lack of junctions and almost perfectly smooth road surface. The run followed the beachside path up and down between Calella and the small neighbouring resort with a variety of running surface and this was absolutely pan-flat. The potentially difficult aspect of this would be the monotony of 4 flat laps, and possible heat. I loved the location, was enjoying chilling out mostly on my own, and was really looking forward to riding that course.

Come race day's early start  -and just as i'm leaving my hotel rain starts. Storms had been forecast and not materialised …and oh ,what timing ,now it was. Within 5 minutes the spitting rain was an absolute torrent and in the 20 minute walk to transition I was soaked through. The torrent continued, accompanied now by thunder and fork lightening as we quickly set up bikes in transition, shivering now in the drenched lightweight waterproof that I had on me. 2000 bodies sought shelter in the transition tent as the storm continued and cut the power. Most people got into wetsuits for warmth - few of us believing that the race would go on in these conditions! But no announcements were given and, despite the continuing wind, rain and most worrying forked lightening, we made out way to the starting pens. With approximate 10 minutes to go before the male pro start, news reached us that they were announcing a delay. We gathered in one of the large marquees whilst race organisers advised us of a 30 minute delay. At this time it did seem that the storm was getting lighter and local understanding of the weather patterns proved to be correct as 20 minutes later conditions had almost completely calmed, other than the ocean being choppier than it had been during the last few days. I have to admit that by this time, being wet and cold and rather intimidated by the long, single loop swim within a small wave of female pros and wet conditions on the roads, i was not wholly enthusiastic about starting the race - lucky for me Elle Haresign was also racing and we get along well, have a good laugh and her positivity was a good motivation for me. The time came, they announced us each by name into the water, the rain eased to a stop and we got on with it!

I'm afraid that it's another terrible swim experience to report. Though I started well and remained connected to a small group, I found myself shortly at the front of it, sighting off one of the large yellow buoys. I could see the main group over to one side through the chop, but continued swimming on my line. A canoeist was close by - not necessarily a bad sign, but eventually she pointed out to me that the buoy that i was heading for was not actually part of the course - in fact i'd swum a long way off to the left and had quite a lot of chop to cut across to get back to the first turn buoy. I had seen the course layout mapped and not felt that there was anything complicated by it. With all the power outage, the very large transition area and confusion prior to the race, it had not been made clear that the line of permanent yellow swim buoys were not actually in line with the course and not to be used for sighting off - and I'd not taken the trouble to make sure I knew this. A hard lesson learned as the majority of the swim is a 2.2km stretch northwards into a choppy current …which I after this error i was left to face solo. It seemed to take forever!!

Time has passed now and I can't remember whether I was actually last out of my wave to grab her bike - but it seems likely given the 1:07 swim split…

The start of the ride was rather treacherous, 3km through narrow and winding streets of the town, recently soaked slick drain covers and aggressive speed bumps. I was leaving transition at just about the same time as the fastest male age groupers, amped up, racing these streets and taking each corner far too fast. Amazed that no one came off, it was great relief to finally exit the town via a small hill and onto the highway where the fun would finally begin. The sun was fully out now and drying the roads, no noticeable wind (in fact it was a slight tail-wind out, headwind back) and as described earlier this beautiful 50km stretch of road offered a smooth ride with great views…3 or 4 distinct "bumps" in the first 20km or so, then flattening off almost entirely. Closed to traffic there were just the roundabouts that gave cause to reduce speed occasionally…and a few patches of sand and debris left by the earlier storms. The perfect road to ride, and ride fast! Knowing that Eleanor would have likely been a good 10 minutes ahead of me out of the water, I had some riding to do to make up ground on her if i was to redress the 2-0 balance of the season so far. She's pipped me by one place one both the previous occasions we'd raced and despite the respect I have for her, in both cases I'd felt that it was more down to error on my part than superiority on hers. So I was very to pleased to see that at the far turn point, she was only ~2 minutes ahead  -had I closed such a gap already?  I was riding as well as I felt! I got ready to bring her in on the return to Calella, feeling sure that I could hold this effort for the duration.

Well, that would have been the case had there not been 2500 other competitors out on that same road, and with little to separate them they seemed to be gravitating into packs. During my first lap it was not so bad - fewer riders out on the course, and it was really the stronger male age groupers who tended to be riding solo or at least in legally spaced pace lines. The next lot of groups that passed me were still pretty small and were going rather faster than I was and did not disrupt my rhythm too much if I hung back  just a few pedal strokes to let them go. But I found that on any slight rise I'd be cruising up past them again, find myself on the front and over the next km or so get sucked in, through and since not willing to engage in the drafting, out the back of the group again. Rather frustrating and somewhat disruptive, but at this point still quite entertaining and giving me something to focus on and pass the ride time. As we rode further into the course, and more and more riders joined the laps, the conditions on the road became crowded with large bunches of riders forming - whether deliberately or simply an inevitable outcome of putting such large numbers of cyclists out on a course of this nature, there was a lot of drafting going on. It soon got to the point where easing off to avoid riding within the draft of a group that had just caught me simply meant drifting into the front of the next, slower moving, one. With the application of a few more watts I was able to ride past most of these groups - but they'd soon bridge the gap back up to my rear wheel, before one or two riders would come round to "take their turn" ….this pattern of riding was detremental to my own pacing and utterly frustrating. As such I spent the middle lap of the bike surging -  and pondering possible solutions to this problem . I felt sure that most people would prefer not to have been caught in this situation, but had succumbed to the reality that everyone else was doing it and that a genuine effort to follow the rules was effectively a decision not to "race".  That was the situation I found myself in, and eventually decided that my best resort was to ride just a bit off the back of a decent paced group - keeping the legal distances much as possible - though this was easier said than done due to the rolling nature of the course which meant that if i did not ease off significantly on even the smallest climbs, or lost focus and allowed my power to climb up on the flats, I'd find myself riding right into the back of the bunch. It was probably after having observed a few of these moments that a motor ref decided to single me out for a penalty and I was shown the red card. I have to admit that it never even crosses my mind that this part of the pre race briefing would apply to me, and was a bit unsure of what exactly I had to do!  I knew not to dispute it…and that I'd have to stop and serve a 6 minute penalty at some point…but could I choose where? or did it have to be the next box? and where were the boxes?? My hopes of catching Elle disappeared and were replaced by a big struggle to maintain positivity for the remainder of the race; we were about 4.5 hours in, with another 90minutes or so left to ride and a marathon to run - I couldn't give up on it yet; there was certainly still all to race for, although I was only in 8th place at that point and 6 minutes would surely see me off the bike outside of the top 10. I had to remain positive of my ability to run it back, and the generally unknown nature of what's going on "up the road". For all I knew all of the top 10 women had been served penalties!

Decent runs in both of my two previous Ironman races had given me plenty of confidence for the foot portion of the race -  my running does especially improve with a few races behind me and I felt well recovered from Weymouth's 38km flat "marathon".  This experience of long and full race seasons is something that I felt I had over Elle, and most people, at this time in the year. It was a great run course - dead flat and with an interesting variety of surface and scenery - with plenty of vibrant support on a hot and sunny afternoon. Although I'd travelled out alone, I am lucky enough to know plenty of people on "the circuit" and was getting some great support - and bottle aid - along the way. Although there seem to have been fewer aid stations on Ironman run courses this year, they were distributing drinks in bottles at this event - with the caps on if requested - which I really appreciated as it enabled me to run with a drink in hand pretty much the whole way around. This is especially valuable later on in the run when the course gets very congested around the aid stations.

I don't remember the run very clearly; like all marathons it got pretty painful, but my recollection is that throughout I was running pretty well and felt strong. There was no walking and no toilet stops anyway!  I passed a couple of Pro women…thinking "maybe now i'm back in the money" …but was later on passed by Katrina Gossman - who I tried to keep pace with briefly but she was in another gear altogether..and that threw me into a bit of a wobble, and another girl passed me…she didn't pull far ahead and I  like to think that I dug in a bit and caught her back..but am unsure of that fact now. Anyway with about 5 km to go I became aware that I was damn close to being caught again ( maybe it was the one that I had re-passed and was going for another go at it, perhaps I was facing the loss of another position) and had to drive deep to prevent it.  As I write this I now remember the agony of that last half-lap!!! But for me that's the sign of a good race - when I can push that hard after  9hours of racing and pick up the pace. It always seems to be the same situation that provides the motivation for me- not wanting to be caught (again) at such a late stage! All whilst these "twos and fro"s were going on, I was somehow oblivious to the fact that Elle was having a tough run a very short distance ( like a couple hundred  meters!!) ahead of me, and going through the same fear of being caught  -by me! She was being damn sneaky to evade me spying her at the turn-arounds as she told me later just how close I was. I know that if I'd been alert enough to see that, I'd have pushed on and caught her, and she admitted how relived she felt as she realised she'd managed to stay out of sight!

So, I finished in just over 9hrs 30 - a new PB even with the 6 minutes stop time - but in 14th position, which was disappointing for me. If it were legitimate to take that penally time off, then yes, i'd be in the top 10 and getting paid. I'd have finished in front of Elle and have a sub 9:30PB. But of course I can't really claim that, and although it's unfortunate that the ref took the decision to punish me - a lone female Pro caught within the masses of bunches of guys - I can't deny that there were plenty of moments when I was way too close to other riders out on that course. As a professional you just have to accept that this is something that will happen, and deal with it as part of the sport, in the same way that punctures, crashes, mechanicals and wrong turns can effect your race, and if you do enough races it will inevitably happen to you at some point.  Overall it was a great race experience, and one that I'd return to under similar circumstances-  an end of season race for the joy of racing and without pressure to earn money or points.  

Challenge Weymouth 2014 - race report

I’ve just returned from another great weekend of British Long Distance racing at the inaugural Challenge Weymouth. Great for me as it’s just about 90 minutes drive from home, and I have friends with a wonderful holiday home close to the course so it’s a low stress and low cost event for me to race - with the added advantage of certain amount of knowledge of the bike course. It’s a little out of my radius for cycling from home, but still close enough to make a day trip by car feasible.  Billed as fast and flat, some might have been a bit surprised to have accumulated 1800m of climbing on the bike, but it was certainly about as flat as possible given the local Dorset terrain! The race was a few km short here and there, in particular on the run which appears to have been set out to enable an accurate Half Challenge course and there was thus half a lap missing from the Full Distance race..but I know that will be adjusted for 2015 when the event will be the ITU European Long Distance Championships. 

On the day, unusual and strong easterly winds created a humungous surf in the bay and the swim portion was reduced for the Full Distance athletes to enable a denser covering of swim safety crew. This was announced to us as we prepared in transition at 5:30am on race morning - the start times would all be pushed back 30 minutes to enable the reorganisation of the course marker buoys and water safety team. The change was managed and communicated well - and though many people we disappointed that they’d not be completing the entire Challenge that they’d train so hard for, when we saw the size of the surf and swell out there, no one was thinking that even the shortened swim would be an easy option! 

Getting in and out through the waves was exhausting and with a strong current pulling to the west, I think I was washed most of the way to Portland! There was a stoney groin just to the west of the course and there was sa real danger of ending up on the wrong side of that at the end of each lap - I did manage to correct myself there and swam a better line second time around, but this diversion and lack of practice in surf conditions, I exited the water exhausted to find my gear back all alone left in transition. As the last Pro out nto the bike I wasn’t feeling very happy and the overcast morning did not help my mood. However, if wasn’t long before I caught up to and passed a couple of the other girls on the climb out of town. They then stuck around just behind me, where they seemed to stay for most of the ride. Eventually I also picked up Tamsyn Hayes and on the second lap the tiny Michi Herblauer. The three of us would occasionally exchange positions but for the most part each time one of them came to the front, it felt that the pace slowed a lot and within a few seconds i found myself moving past again. However, any gap i gained stayed pretty small and although I knew that there were still at least 2 women ahead of us, I was reluctant to really push the bike,  knowing that they'd benefit from that so in all it wasn’t a hard ride. I suppose the lack of punishing hills, the good conditions and a better (more ample) nutrition plan on the bike all combined and I felt pretty strong and enjoying being “in” the race. Michi seemed to decide to make a move at the 120km point, opening up a small gap - which took a bit of pressure to close down again and at that point we lost the others.  We’d just been through the part of the route which is an out-and back, enabling me to establish that Caroline Livesay was about 3 minutes ahead, and as I passed again Michi I communicated to her. Regardless of what she decided to to, I was going to try to close that down and with a bit of a push along the flat parts of the course I didn’t see her again. However, as I turned back into Weymouth we were slowed up by traffic, and the next time I looked around there she was. 

We entered and left transition together, and I was thankful that I’d had a pretty "steady" ride - there was going to be lot of work to do on the run. With this small, light and fast looking rival on my heels, I knew the first few kilometers had to be fast to shake her off .That’s all I thought about - get rid of her and then settle into a sensible pace, figure out who it is that’s leading , and by how much.  Michi was left behind me after those first couple of km, and Caroline was not too far ahead. I reckoned she was a bit tall for a very fast runner…and that left only Eleanor Haresign in front, a couple of minutes ahead of her. I reckoned i'm faster on foot than she…we'd raced together once in Lanzarote but it had been more like leap -frogging between toilets stops for the both of us. She made it to the line first on that day but i didn't think that proved anything…so set out to get her. If i can maintain it, my “sensible” pace will yield a 3:15-20 marathon.  In first half marathon i managed to close the gap to the lead from 4 mins to under 2…passing Caroline in the process. The win was in my grasp! I just had to keep fighting for it. The support that I had was fantastic. My Mum was there on the side of the course passing me my bottle each lap - I’d hand it back to her as I passed in the opposite direction, and she’d fill it ready for the next time around. She was spot on with that, and had hooked up with Joe Skipper’s family and other serious Iron-Parents -even Elle's crew were giving me splits - and lads from the tri club came down for the day and between them I all got great support.  Of course every single person who encourages me out there is appreciated, but it’s even more motivating when it’s people I know. Of course Elle was getting even more encouragement as the leader having the lead bike is a real advantage as everyone gets behind you. So, she wasn't gonna give it over that easy, and although i heard that she was "having a wobble", she rallied back after 25km and opened in that gap right back up to 4+ minutes just as I had a wobble of my own & pace had dropped to barely faster than 5mins for 25-30km. As we rounded the turn around on the last lap, I became aware that my position was in danger from behind - Michi was making up group and fast! With a lap to go it was down to under 1min…I knew i'd have to pick it up or else. Luckily i have some experience of running scared in the last 5km of a race …and i knew that the run course was short -  so that last half lap really was a frantic "sprint" to the finish! So much so that the finish line crew did not see me coming…and I took a wrong turn rather than into the finish chute, headed off out onto another lap! My legs gave out as I crossed the line,  but it feels good to finish like that,  in 2nd place and to a super strong winner.  

Thanks to my good friends Olivia and Andy who put me up in their lovely cottage for the long weekend. Olivia placed 3rd in her AG in the Half Distance race, despite being full of cold and caffeine! And thanks to my mum who made the trip down to support me by train, having lent me her car.