Trains, Travels

That lump sticking out in the wind is me on my race bike taken at Ironman Western Australia. Sure I’m about to have a snack (race photographers always seem to catch me eating or sticking my tongue out), but I’m not going to win prizes for aerodynamics. I’ve not let this bother me over the past couple of years the practicalities of moving around meant only one bike could accompany me and a road bike seemed the smarter option.

Earlier this week I went out and did my first threshold session of my Kona preparations. Me and another rider using a section of the A4 for a couple of 20 minute out and backs with a 10 minute steady ride in between. Two of us meant we could do it time trial style and act as each others minute man. A little added performance incentive for the session.

With races a way off I’ve removed the clip-on aerobars from my bike. It’s more comfortable without them as I can hold the top of the bars if I want. Taking them off makes the bike more pleasurable to ride and they go back on easily enough once I’m near to racing again. So in effect I’m riding a plain old road bike and enjoying it.

There I am on a road bike and planning to ride the session on the drops. My companion however is on a Cervelo P3C along with tri bars. We’re both equipped with powermeters a powertap in my case and a Quarq in his. So as well as knowing the time it took we’ll know the power for each interval. Things are lining up for a good session as my friend goes off and I time a minute before I start.

What follows is 21 minutes of pain! Working hard to keep my power up over the course. Into a head wind on the way out and then pushing to go faster with the tailwind. It doesn’t matter how tired I am when I’m in that mode I’ll push as hard as I can. As I cruise along on a side road for the steady section and regroup with my friend I discover he did it in 20 minutes.

Round two and I’m keen to make some inroads into my time. This time I go off first and within 5 minutes my friend comes flying past. Actually having him in sight makes a big difference to motivation as I manage to keep him there for the rest of the ride. The result is another 21 minute lap and my friend done in 20.

So unsurprisingly being on the drops on a road bike is slower than on a time trial bike and aerobars. Hardly revolutionary and not something I’ve worried too much about over the course of my Ironman career. When we download our respective data what shocks me is the difference in average power. On both laps I average 15-20 watts more than my friend to go a minute slower!

Again drops versus aerobars it’s not so surprising, but seeing this in raw numbers is enough to make me think. Clearly the next time we do this session I need to have the clip-ons back on the bike. I want to see what difference that makes to our respective power and time. Assuming a similar difference in average power how much closer will being a bit more aero make me?

Whilst this started me pondering the issue of aerodynamics a couple of friends sent me power files from a recent race they’d done. Both very good athletes and had great races. What was most interesting though was looking at the power data. Rider A has a powertap whilst rider B has an SRM both were riding similar wheel setups (disc and aero front) and time trial bikes.

Rider A averaged 245 watts whilst rider B averaged 242. Despite such similar efforts and being on the course at roughly the same time Rider A went 10 minutes faster than B. Allowing for the powertap power figures to be a little lower than the SRM due to being later in the drive chain that’s perhaps a 5-10 watt difference between the two of them. That difference was seemingly enough to give rider A 10 minutes on B over 120km.

Rider B has a new coach who has suggested his time trial postion needs looking at. He also admits that it is quite up right and ‘similar to mine’. Seeing the data from this race brought home to him the difference it is potentially making. If he could ride the same effort, but in a more aerodynamic position then rider A shouldn’t be able to get 10 minutes on him.

Obviously this also makes me thing. I love my road bike it’s a pleasure to ride and I have had great results on it (that picture from IM Western Australia is taken during a 4:55 bike). It’s not stopped me getting the odd top thirty Ironman finish.

The question is if I averaged the same power in those races, but was on a time trial bike and in a more aerodynamic position how much faster would I go? Or another way to think of it how much harder am I working on the bike compared to the other guys finishing the bike around me?

I haven’t worried about this in a long time, but now I wonder if I need to dig out and clean up the old, old Cervelo P2SL frame I have. Or perhaps start looking for cheap time trial frames out there. Of course if any bike manufacturers, retailers or others feel like providing me a frame that I can use to beat my 5:15 in Kona this year don’t hesitate to get in touch!!

Kona is a tough race and I’m getting fitter than ever, but I want to make sure I’m not giving a single minute or ounce of energy away to my competitors.

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.

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.