When: 28 July 2013
Organiser: Challeger World
Distance(s): Olympic (1500m / 40km / 10km) - except not really
Marshalling:
Facilities: Big expo area, massive transition, all the usual bells & whistles coming with a mass event like this one
Technical: Thames dock swim, closed roads bike, windy out & back run
Freebies: medal, exercise towel, water or cocoa water (yuck), virtual goodie bag with discounts from event sponsors
Preamble
OK, so originally this was supposed to be my A race for the year - big event, lovely bike ride all the way to Westminster and back on closed roads, opportunity to crack 2:30 for Oly in only my second race at this distance. Since this original target was set, a few things have happened that turned this race into my first oly with a boring bike ride (half of which was in a tunnel) and with just a glimmer of hope in terms of actually reaching the finish line. If I say motivation wasn't really there, I will not be too far off my true mental state ahead of the event.
Pre-race
It took us 2.5 hours to get to ExCel last year (and even longer to get back home), so this year I decided to leave home with plenty of time to spare - my wave wasn't to set out until 2:55pm, but by 10:20 or so I was already on the road. We decided that this time round it'll only be me going, with Mrs. Kfjatek staying at home and chilling out instead of spending 10hrs en route or getting bored in the middle of an east London expo centre.
Surprisingly, I was at Excel in less than 90 minutes, which meant I had more than three hours to spare. Took the opportunity to chat to Gingertri, who happened to be there supporting one of his friends, about his Alpe d'Huez challenge - which sounded amazing and made me wonder if in two years' time, when Simon goes back to face his nemesis once again, I would be fit enough to join him.
Bike racked, a quick banana chomped to ensure I don't get empty-stomach cramps when I'm half-way through, and starting to put the wetsuit on for swim assembly and briefing. Here, the first surprise - if you take too long to swim, they will modify your bike route and instead of doing two loops between ExCel and Tower Hill, you'll do one of these and two smaller, local ones. Great - that means that when you ride out you don't really know what your bike route will be. Sub par - but oh well. Swim cap on and downstairs to the swim start.
Swim
A brave jump in and - ah yes, almost forgot about the diesel taste the water has in the dock. Somewhat less so that last year, I thought, which has to be taken as an improvement. Big group of us setting out, so trying to cleverly position myself slightly wide, but still towards the front, so that I get as much clear water and breathing space as possible. Horn goes off and we begin.
Choice of swimming line at the start was this time impeccable - overtook one guy who set out ahead of me and spent the first portion of the course in my own water - that let me quickly get into a rhythm I was comfortable with. Possibly a little bit too leisurely (kick optional), but stable and even nevertheless. First buoy - turn right, no issue, short straight and second turn right onto the long straight leading back towards the ExCel end of the dock. Crap, cut that second one too fine - ended up on the inside with no space on the right (the swim course was limited by a stretched rope on both sides) and nowhere to hide from folks on my left trying to limit the over-distance they swam. A few collisions were on the cards, which cost me probably in the region of a minute - but in the end I did get to the second set of turning points that were some 100m from the finish pontoon. A quick last minute effort and out I go. Time: 27:44 - a bit too slow, I know I could do it in under 26mins.
T1
Out of the water, wetsuit off, into a bag, bag on my back and the uncomfortable, long jog into T1. Uneventful - except for the second time in an event I fail to properly fasten my cycling shoes and end up doing the bike leg loose. Tri shoes need to get added to the long list of things to buy. Time: 04:31.
Bike
Some easy spinning at the beginning, to remind myself what it feels to sit on a bike. Down the ramp and out onto the street getting a bit more confident. 200m later, the head/side wind hit - hmmm, I thought that dock was getting a bit choppy on the way in. So that is why. Pretty strong gusts too - with my arms still quite tired after the swim it felt like I was all over the place.
A few short sharp inclines over bridges etc. and into the tunnel. Long and fast, apart from the last bit, which was an uphill. A few kms down the road and a U-turn. Hey, where's that Tower Hill? What a crap bike ride, no views whatsoever. The road gets busy too - lots of drafting and double/triple overtaking (at one point I think there was four of us riding side by side, with me overtaking a guy to my left while being overtaken by a guy to my right). Back through the parallel tunnel and this one was a treat - a long, steady downhill section where I could do some work and catch up with a bunch of folks who overtook me seconds before - turns out people are afraid of their speed even in a safe, controlled environment like this one - going downhill I was overtaking them by the dozen.
By the end of the first loop I'm back to my normal bike-riding self - stable cadence, focus, steady pace. Second loop similar to the first one - people overtake me on the inclines, but I catch up on the flats and descents. Not enjoying it though - the bike fails to deliver on the promise of a scenic cityscape ride, offering little more than the black of the tarmac and the grey of the sky and the buildings around me. Oh, and it started to rain towards the end. Fantastico.
Second loop done, I pull off to the side to take on the last uphill - the ramp back to transition - but suddenly
what the fuck is this? They've moved the dismount point some 300m back! Apparently when wet the last bit gets super slippery, so they decided to make some changes mid-race. That meant I had to push the bike up the ramp in my cleated shoes, which was a nightmare. Lost tons of time there before I got to the timing mat. Time: 01:08:55.T2
Spent stretching and thinking hard whether I should or should not get out on the run course. Knee wasn't exactly feeling sore, but ever so slightly tender. Took my time there, which was the right thing to do. Time: 04:16
Run
OK, final decision - let's run/walk it, thinking hard about the form; just turn it into a physio-prescribed training session. Off I go. The first 3-4k goes fairly smoothly - 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off, and I easily keep up with some of the slower runners. Pulling off 5:30-6-minute kilometres, not bad at all. I get pats on the back and patronising remarks by some folks as I walk down the track in my rest intervals, but repay them like for like when I start running, as in the 2 mins I'm overtaking like crazy. Actually quite enjoying the little banter. On the second lap I catch up with a fellow Kingfisher James (who's doing his first oly too and is on lap 1 of the run) and we run for a bit together chatting away like it's a midweek jog. But then my 2 mins are up and I let him drop me.
Around the 3.5km mark Mr Knee decides he won't have any more of that interval nonsense. I try to convince him a couple of more times to push for 2 minutes of steady efforts, but he's pretty persuasive. Now I only run about 1.5 minutes, with rests of 2 minutes. By the end I shorten the run intervals to 1 minute, or as long as I can go on without pain. Towards the end of the second lap I stop and stretch. I consider quitting, but now it's just 3km left and even if I walk it completely I *have* to finish. Full stop.
At the beginning of the final lap James laps me and gives me some encouragement. A few more efforts and I'm in the hall - no stopping now, I dig deep and pull off a nice fast (though tremendously painful) finish. Time: 01:02:14
After uploading Garmin data the HR graph shows 19 lovely spikes. Toughest 8.6k (yep, short too) I've ever run. But it's done. And that's what counts. Next A-level stop: HIM distance in Poland at the end of May next year.
Total time: 2h47m38s
Observations, thoughts, etc.
- Won't be coming back next year. The race just lost all its appeal to me. The cycle route especially was a big anticlimax, and the fact that they essentially ran with three different cycle routes during the day (different distance too) and then put everyone on the same finishers list shows exactly how little the organisers care about fair play.
- The bike route was a couple of miles short, but even if it hadn't been, I'm convinced I could have pulled off a sub-2:30 result if I hadn't been injured. That's good.
- Getting rid of the bloody injury is priority 1 now. That run was horrendous, and even though I know I could pull off a HM using the same technique (the rest intervals do wonders to my cardio recovery), I have no intention of putting myself through this type of ordeal ever again.
- Motivation is more important to me than I thought. I could have worked harder on the swim, I probably also could have pushed myself a bit harder on the bike. I got through the run as best I could, but this was more determination than the positive motivation I know and like about this sport.
