Trains, Travels

Twelve Ironmans down and I’m still learning lessons from them. The two big ones from yesterday being save your doubts for the finish line and you can only go so fast on three weeks of consistent run training! There were some serious cracks in my fitness and there’s a limit to what three weeks of hard training can achieve.

I went into the race with far more nerves and trepidation than I’m used to. Probably focussed around my ability to perform more than anything else. Even before the gun had fired I was having to push doubts about performance to the back of my mind. I was calm about the process, but nervous about the outcome and how much it would hurt to deliver.

That said when my rear tube apparently punctured as I inflated it in transition I was remarkably calm about the whole thing. A quick change over and it’s all good. I figured I’d have to be really unlucky to puncture a second time so if anything that made it a positive!

Last year I’d ended up way back in the starting pen which did nothing to help me have a good swim. So this year I skipped a proper warm-up and ensured I got myself up front and over to the right. Putting myself almost exactly where I wanted and then just relaxing till the start.

It seemed to work well. When the gun went everyone stumbled forward in as much of a run as could be managed in the throng. I was able to quickly find clear water and avoided any rough swimming. At the same time there was a nice big draft to follow and I was comfortable cruising round the course at a good pace. It felt far easier than any of my training swims out there.

Lap one was completed in a pleasing sub-30 minute time which meant I got back in the water knowing if I could maintain pace I should break the hour. Things had thinned out so the draft wasn’t quite as impressive, but I was still sure I was making good time. In fact I was quite surprised to find myself overtaking one or two male pros. Not sure what they were doing back here!

I’m pretty sure the conditions were very kind this year. Even so I’m happy to have got out the water in under the hour. It’s slowly working to build up my confidence both in the race and that I’m heading down the right track with my swim training.

Out onto the bike and things weren’t so much fun. They started well enough though it felt like a lot of hard work to maintain a reasonable pace. My left calf and ITB felt pretty tight too a couple of times I was worried it was about to cramp up. Not usually a major issue for me, it was a little frustrating to start.

It wasn’t long before the odd cyclist would overtake me. Actually the number of cyclists blasting past me was alarming! I wished I had the reassurance of a power meter and the absolute measure of workit gives. Without it I relied on perceived effort and heart rate. The former was definitely telling me I was working whilst the latter was more ambiguous.

I didn’t feel I could do any more so had to let people go reminding myself that they were probably over doing it and I’d see them again. Of course I also recalled that last year lots of athletes went by and I never saw them again. At least this time I could actually sit on the bike. I had a fighting chance.

This pattern continued all the way to the bottom of Haria. I was getting some seriously negative thoughts about the race and doubts about how things were going to go. Then all of a sudden I picked up and was moving forwards through the field. Finally I overtook people on a climb and from then on there was no looking back.

I realised I’d hit Mirador del Rio at a ride time of 3:50 which based on experience meant I could go 5:30 for the bike here. Sub 10 hours might be on the cards today despite what I’d thought was a weak start. The last section of the bike course is fast and more importantly plays to my strengths.

Apart from nearly wiping myself out by clipping the kerb on the descent off del Rio the rest of the ride was perfect. Once on the highway I was in full time trial mode and pushed all the way to Tahiche leaving plenty of athletes in my wake. Now I started to catch those cyclists who’d stormed by early on. I pushed up to Teguise, the final piece of real work, then it was back to time trialling all the way to Conil.

The final descent was a pleasure, knowing I’d taken so many places back and made up for the slow start. All the early doubts were gone as was the pain in my legs. All I needed to do was to run a sub 3:20 marathon and that should be a piece of cake!

Heading out onto the run I felt good, but I wanted to hold back a little after going out too hard and suffering in New Zealand. With no distance markers on the course this would prove a bit difficult. I had a rough idea of distances to certain landmarks, but didn’t bother to closely track pace. I went out quickly and sustained this for the whole of the longer first lap.

From then on the race was all about suffering. I can’t remember hurting that much whilst running or at least previous occasions have been wiped from my memory (hopefully the same will happen here). What was most disappointing was how little return I was getting for the effort. I’ll be honest I knew the lack of training in the run of late would make me pay here, but I’d hoped for more.

There was a lot of negativity during the second lap in particular, but I pushed through doing my best to maintain what pace I had. My stomach was acting up a little too making me hesitant to take on more gels. I stuck to the minimum I felt I could get away with to keep me going.

The third and final lap was where I would hope to pick things up, but it wasn’t happening today. I didn’t have the willingness or strength to push any harder and just slogged on slower than a training run. Out at the far turn around having been overtaken by Cat Morisson I tried to push again.

I was joined by another age grouper and I did my best to surge and convince him he couldn’t stick to my pace. Unfortunately he was more comfortable than I was and it wasn’t long before I was the one left behind. A vague idea that I might still be able to sneak under 10 hours evaporated as a bit of mental maths convinced me I couldn’t cover the last 3km at under 4 minute/km pace!

So I pushed as hard as I could which hurt, but was no faster than I’d managed on lap two. Still I kept it up to the end, took a couple more places in the final few hundred metres and got the job done. Glad it was over, happy that my performance wasn’t a complete disaster and just a little frustrated that my legs had failed me on the run.

I’m going to come back and look at my training and fitness levels coming into this race in another post. Also talk about the plans to deal with the issues before my next couple of races. From this point on in the focus is preparation for Kona. For once I’ve the luxury of a long block of training and a good level of fitness to work from.

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With registration done, bike prepared and bags packed I’m sat in the McDonalds that’s become an unofficial office in Puerto del Carmen. Clientele can be divided into two groups – holiday makers genuinely here to eat and athletes here for wi-fi. Cheap coffee is the menu item of choice for those just needing internet access during race build up. Perhaps a McFlurry after the race though.

All that’s left between now and race day is checking my bike in. Aiming for three on the dot to get it done and out the way. There’s the risk of ending up in a queue, but I like to get the job done and just be able to chill out for the remaining hours of the day. Whatever helps you stay calm and relaxed.

As mentioned I really don’t know what to expect from this race. My preparation has been unusual way more of a break than planned and a relatively short span of hard training. I feel like I’ve put a band aid over the cracks and am hoping it’ll hold out. That said I have a simple race strategy in mind – go hard till the line.

It’s hard to predict times and last year’s race gives me little to go by. I swam just under a 1:04 here last year which wasn’t very good. The target is to swim an hour on what seems to be a slower swim course than some of the others. My first step to my goal is getting myself well placed in the swim start. That’s going to mean getting in the starting line earlier and being up front. I’ll be going out to the right hand side so there’s a little more choice in avoiding the throng at the start.

Once out into the water it’s going to be a matter of settling into a solid, working pace. Not getting carried away early on and tiring myself, but pushing just enough. There should be plenty of feet to swim on so once I’m in a good draft it’s a matter of keeping going and making sure I don’t let things flag. I’m definitely swimming better than I was this time last year so at the very least beating 1:04 shouldn’t be a problem.

They’ll be no powermeter to help guide me on the bike course this time round. I’m going with my Zipp 404s instead as I don’t fancy using a heavy training wheel or covering it up as a disc. So my primary guide is perceived effort along with my heart rate. I’ve spent some time plotting heart rate and power from all my training out here so I’ve a fair idea of the sort of effort I’m considering.

As with New Zealand I’ll aim to hold at around 140-145BPM for the entire bike. The reality is I’ll come out the swim and through transition to start with my heart going in the 150s. It always happens and my currently feeling it you’re best just to go with it for the first half hour or so. It will settle you just have to watch you don’t cook things at this point.

There’s a few bits of minor climbing early on in the race and one of my few memories of last year is athletes pounding there way up them. I’ll be conservative and hold a steady effort looking to pick things up a lot later in the ride. My best races have started out feeling far too slow, but ended hard.

One key focus will be nutrition on this ride. Typically I find I dip a little in the mid-portion of the bike and come back towards the end. I distinctly noted this in Taupo where a bit of Powerbar seemed to pick me up and once I kept on top of feeding I was able to push the whole of the second half. I’ve a tendency to hold out on eating in the earlier half, drop in energy, ease up and eat more and then finally pick up. I’ll be starting on my gels and bars sooner and conscientiously eating on a regular basis. Hopefully this will keep a more consistent strong effort throughout the day.

Winds are forecast to be lighter than usual which is a little disappointing to be honest. I’ve been here a month and experienced a range of conditions. High winds won’t make for a fast day, but they’ll test and split the field more and I think would work to my favour. Whatever comes though it’s about riding a consistently high and sustainable pace that can carry me through to a decent run. As for a time, on this course I really couldn’t say, but I’d expect to be last year’s saddle sore induced 6:20!

If I think I’m underprepared in any area of this race it’s the run. My run training is at a particular low in the cycle at the moment and whilst it is picking up the race has come too soon to take advantage of that. I don’t think it’ll be a real weakness, but it won’t be the strength it could be.

Light winds mean hot conditions which could work in my favour. I know the focus will be on keeping myself cool. Taking any ice at aid stations or at the least dousing myself with water as much as possible. Temperature and nutrition will be the key to maintaining a good run pace. On the food side I’ll be following the usual gel routine alternating with aid stations between gels and water or just a little energy drink.

Overall pacing will be to hold steady for the first 30K or so and then pick things up for the final lap. How I feel my dictate my ability to do this of course, but what I do want to avoid is going out as hard as I did in New Zealand. This time if the pace seems too hot I won’t just give it a go I’ll be a little more controlled. I had a big dip during the mid-section of Taupo and I’d like to avoid that here.

Once again last year presents me with what should be an easy target to beat a 4:20 marathon. My slowest and longest run ever! This time round I’ll be aiming to go 3:15 or better with a proper strong finish to my race.

Way back I had goals of getting on the podium here and whilst I’ll keep that in mind I really don’t know now. I’ll go into the race with the mentality that I can do it, but will take what my current fitness gives me on the day. I think breaking into the top 10 in my age group is certainly within my reach, how far is the question.

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Three hard weeks in Lanzarote have dragged me back into something I’d call fitness. The lazy post-Ironman New Zealand weeks seem a long time ago and are happily forgotten. Day after day of long training is the routine again with harder work than ever before. It’s good to be back.

Both physically and mentally there were times when I felt I was close to the edge. Right at the limit needed to make the desired improvements, but verging on crashing down in exhaustion. A grand way to say that at times I felt shattered.

There were mornings when I struggled to drag myself out of bed and days when the legs did nothing, but ache as I rode. I ran up and down trails that left me struggling with the hotel stairs then went back for more. I swam up and down La Santa pool until it felt like my arms would fall off (well on one occasion at least).

Fortunately Aurelie from The Tri Touch was also staying at Club La Santa. A couple of massages helped bring the legs back round. There were no knots or problems with my muscles all the soreness and pain came from fatigue. On the one hand good news as all the hard training had done no damage, but it meant I could expect more pain to come!

Except the body does adapt and things progressively got easier. Not necessarily in pace or perceived effort, but the physical impact slowly changed. Hotel stairs became less of a challenge after further undulating trail run. Pushing up hills and into the wind was less of a grind on the bike. It was a clear demonstration of how training produces adaptation and fitness (I do have charts to back this up, but I’ll spare you).

Having worked through this I’m now enjoying the taper for Ironman Lanzarote. A lot less activity and hopefully daily recovery that will put me in great race shape on Saturday. In comparison to the last few weeks the empty days drag by. My already easy pace of life slows dramatically.

A few Spanish cappuccinos and some long chats in cafes have helped fill time. A little bit of work as I build a proper website to promote my coaching (more to come on that soon). Then the obligatory over-analysis of Powertap data to try and determine how the race will go. Comparing heart rate and power then trying to judge what my pace could be.

I’m a little nervous, probably because of the disastrous race here last year. It gives me an easy time to beat, but that’s a small part of the game. I want to be up there in my age group and posting a good time. Will three weeks of working near my limit have got me ready for that?

The truth is I don’t know! I do know I’ll approach the race just as I did in New Zealand – get in there, work hard, hurt as much as I can and hope it doesn’t last more than ten hours! I know how important it is not to succumb to doubts or concerns at this point. Approach the race assuming you’re a top age grouper, race hard and let the result follow.

I feel underprepared. Another two months of this hard training would be great unfortunately the race is in less than three days!

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