1.9km Swim 90km Bike 21km Run - Temperature 15oF
Swim 32:23 - T1 04:14 - Bike 02:39:57 - T2 02:18 – Run 01:27:06
Total Time 4:45:58
50-54 Age Group Champion, 54th overall
I have done Wimbleball 70.3 a couple of times so it was
great that WTC have put another 70.3 in the UK calendar. I needed a World Champs
qualification backup in case Barcelona didn’t work out and it hadn’t worked out
so Staffordshire was my only shot now.
The swim was a wave start and our age group was all in one
wave, great. This was way better than the rolling start of Barcelona and the absence
of any head to head racing. I was at the front of the white caps treading water
feeling confident about my ability stay clear of the washing machine start. The
air horn sounded and we were off and a strong start meant lactate filled
shoulders but no right hooks! Half way round and I was at the point of the
white caps, about half a dozen of us ploughing ahead of the field. As we
rounded a buoy the right hook finally landed and I had to momentarily roll over
to straighten my goggles. By the time of righted myself I had lost the group,
not critical time wise, but actually I was enjoying the very novel sensation of
being at the tip of the spear. Oh well, nice whilst it lasted.
A rather lengthy run over a stony path to T1, a reasonably
unremarkable transition and onto the bike; I figured there were a maximum of
two or three ahead of me. The first ten miles were over dreadful roads,
potholed and narrow and since we were almost the last wave they were full of
bikes weaving from side to side. It wasn’t time to push so I kept a firm tempo
and focussed on safely picking my way through the field. Once I had navigated that
initial stretch the roads opened up a
little more but the route was constantly
punctuated with sharp rises and tight turns. Throughout the whole 90k there was
little opportunity to settle into a rhythm and sit on a big gear for a few ks,
a split of 2:30 was looking increasingly optimistic. I had not been paying much
attention to race numbers but couldn’t recall passing anyone on the bike in my
age group. When I leave T2 it’s always nice to know how far behind I am. I
reckon 10 minutes is doable if I put my race face on and am prepared to hurt a
little, more than that and its a dependent on the other athletes running
ability.
Post-race it transpired I had been 3rd out the swim
and 1st off the bike but I didn’t know that as I set off out of T2. I
settled into a comfortable pace for the first couple of ks and purposely didn’t
look at my splits. Relaxing and establishing a good rhythm is more important at
this stage than outright speed. I finally looked down once I had taken on some
coke and got away from the crowds; 4k down and just over 16 minutes. I just had
to concentrate on rolling along at this speed and the time would
take care of
itself. The run course was great, always something different in terms of terrain
and scenery with a good number of noisy supporters throughout, I would come
back just for that course alone. A couple of ups and downs took the edge of my
speed but sub 90 minutes was never in doubt.
I crossed the line pretty confident I was on the podium but
it wasn’t until a friend got the update from Ironmanlive that I knew I had won
my first Ironman 70.3 event, and by nearly 20 minutes. That was brilliant as I had
no real expectation of winning at this distance. I took my slot and booked my
trip to Austria where there will be some very serious European 70.3
specialists, should be fun. Presently I have my foot in a bucket of ice to
treat what I hope is some simple bruising on the ball of my foot…….fingers
crossed I can start training again by the end of the week to race at
the Grafman and then enjoy my week in Roth, taking part in the legendary event.
