Middle distance triathlon: an obituary (Vitruvian 2013)

[CCS]

So.
Farewell then,
middle distance triathlon.

Middle?
You seem like
a very long way
to me.

I am not very good at you either.
Farewell!


Where: Rutland Water
When: 31 August 2013
Organiser: Pacesetter events http://www.pacesetterevents.com/vitruvian-triathlon.php
Course details: Undlating bike and flatish run
Distance(s): Distances 1.9km Swim, 85km Bike, 21km Run
Marshalling: Plenty – and loads of snack stops (though jaffa cakes don’t do well in the sun…)
Facilities: Cafe, trade stands, portaloos (not enough, and could have done with one in transition)
Technical: chip timing
Freebies: Hoody, red bull, High 5 bottle, finishers T-shirt, medal

Perfect weather conditions – sun (but not too hot), little wind, warm water in the lake (despite it being oop north) – what could possibly go wrong?


Pre-Race:
Alarm went off at silly o’clock (you know something isn’t right when there are still folks wandering around the hotel clutching bottles of beer, and you are getting up and going out!). Quick banana; cup of coffee made to drink in the car; loaded up (including a random punter and his kit, who I found wandering in the hotel reception looking for a lift); and off to Rutland water.
Got to transition, to find that the racking (which was definitely designed for those of restricted growth) had sagged under the weight of the additional bikes, and there wasn’t even space for my bike to stand upright, so had to sit it on a bit of an angle. Now, I know that I am tall for an old lady – but there are many gents racing who are way taller than me. No idea how they cope with such stumpy racking? Can’t complain about my space though – on an outside row in the special ‘elderly gents and ladies’ transition section, with plenty of room to spread out all my stuff.
Not feeling too good at this point – and still hadn’t managed any breakfast. Headed off to the race briefing, and sat shivering on a grassy bank feeling steadily worse. Then, back into transition, feeling much worse by now… it was just like Windsor all over again – except worse! Left a series of neat piles of vomit in various corners / under trees of transition all the way to my bike. Why oh why oh why???? To vomit once before a race (Thames Turbo 2011) may be regarded as a misfortune; to do it twice (Windsor 2013) looks like carelessness; to do it three times – well, that looks like a downright habit!
I am not very good at bouncing back after being sick… but seeing as this seems to be becoming something of a regular occurrence, can only assume it is nerves related (though why it seems to be getting worse, I don’t know… perhaps I should avoid big, busy events?)


Swim:
Talking to Jimba before the race, we both agreed that the bouys didn’t look very far away…. Wrong! In the water, they looked wav hell of a long way off, and didn’t seem to get any closer quickly. Water nice and warm, but very weedy – and in the morning sun, I was very glad of my new (high risk, untested) tinted goggles (replacing a very leaky pair) – thank you , Wiggle express delivery!
Nothing much of note on the swim. First lap was congested; second less so, though feeling a bit nauseous again after the brief run between laps. It was all just about getting round.
Think I am about ready for a swim lesson – think my body position isn’t great – legs float too much in a wetsuit, which makes my lower back ache over longer distances, and was feeling that a bit on the bike, and in the early part of the run.
Out of the water in 42:33 (1:43 slower than 2 years ago – but that year, there was a strong wind from behind on the long stretch between the 1st and 2nd bouys, which whipped up a swell, and made it feel like you were surfing along).

T1
1:45
Fairly smooth – though poor planning in having a squeezy flask containing 4 gels to stuff in the pocket of my tri top… it was too big, and fell out on my way out of transition. Debated abandoning it, but given the lack of food inside me, went back to pick it up, and ended up using my race belt to try and hold it in the pocket.

Bike :
Felt a bit pedestrian – though was passing people fairly easily. Lovely smooth tarmac; great weather; and am now brave enough to actually pedal on the descents. Max speed of 63.7 kph (which is very fast for me). Ripple was OK too, and the TT bike seemed to enjoy itself – though my wrists don’t particularly enjoy the shape of those tri bars over more than about 20km – may be a change needed?
Started to get a bit windy on the A606 towards the end of the first lap.
Feed station a bit of a mess up – the top of the water bottle kept closing as a tried to replenish my Speedfil – got about half a bottle, then gave up.
Legs a bit tired on the second leg.
Overall, a bit disappointed. Obviously, my endurance isn’t what it might be. Saw at least one name on the results sheet who I know I can beat on the bike on a sprint, but who was almost 10 mins ahead of me here.
2:44:27 (4 mins faster than 2011)

T2
Slower – ducked out through the fence to the portaloos for a quick wee. Can’t bring myself to do this in my wetsuit / on the bike like a real triathlete!

Run
Horrible!!!
There is nothing worse than setting out on something you really aren’t keen on knowing that you are going to be gone for in excess of a couple of hours. Tired; back aching to start with; lots of walking (though kept that fairly brisk). Loads of time to ponder life. Came to the conclusion that in 2011, what got me round was the novelty factor of not having done the distance before – could find very little incentive this time – and that church seemed a very long way around the lake. Very tempted to give up, but was damned if I was going to travel all that distance and not come back with a medal and a finisher’s t shirt.
Stopped for a quiet sit down in the loo towards the end of the final lap. Just don’t think I have the mental resolve for this distance.
2:19:00 – that’s shockingly slow, even by my own slow standards!

Overall time 5:50:04 - had hoped for 5:30 ish - but that wasn't to be. Disappointed - but no one to blame but myself. Mainly a lack of endurance fitness; but also a complete unwillingness to exert myself properly on the run.

Afterwards, it was lovely to have a catch up with Jimba & King Sad (and now I know how to set up my Garmin to me a bit more useful on race day – thanks!)
Painful drive home, fuelled by a great deal of caffeine!

Thanks to everyone for all the support - it means a lot!

So, after a season of a complete scattergun approach to racing, at least this event has shown me that there is no love for longer distances... short stuff for me!

[jonathon.e]

Brilliant report, warts and all. Real tough day at the office. The G.I. Problems are maybe from a cumulative effect of things, anxiety, but why,
You have done the race before- but you want and know you can be better.
Anxiety from failing to improve and fear that you are letting yourself and others down. We expect linear improvement, and hate disappointment.
Lack of nutrition, no breakfast and coffee( which makes things worse)
Race day nerves.
Generally tired from all the effort over the last two months, your results clearly show the fantastic effort you have put in.
Concentration on short course events, but trying to replicate over a middle distance, again may contribute to anxiety.

All small things but added together, they always say, the worst enemy is yourself
Trying to fight a fatigued body on the run, you did the right thing, slowed down, and prevented further damage. Your weren't letting anyone down, if you preserve your own well being.

Look on the positives,
You raced when you were under par,
You rode conservatively, listening to your body, and PRODUCED A FAST TIME.
You completed the run, a discipline you haven't spent much work on.
It has allowed the mist to clear and show where the focus lies.

Try peppermint tea, rather than coffee, and a teaspoon of Andrews liver salts in a glass of water about 20 mins later to relieve symptoms of G.I.

Bloody well done.

[Worrying Will]

Sounds a very tough one. I havent been sick at a race yet but come close. I have started sucing on mints which help settle the stomach a little . A very tough race but a cracking effort and result.

[kfjatek]

Sounds like a bit of an ordeal, the morning events could hardly have set you in the right mind for this.

Agree with Jon.e's thoughts on expectations of linear progression, I think we're all guilty of this to a certain extent.

Saw your bike leg on Strava, looks like you smashed it - that's a definite positive.

Well don for powering through it and crossing the line despite all the funky things that were waiting for you on the way. Takes SOME mental strength.

[IanM]

As said by the others - well done for getting yourself through it and still posting a very respectable time.

Interested to see where your focus ends up next year - mix of shorter Tris and TTs, or a main focus on one, with the other to supplement the season/training/enjoyment?

[King Sad]

I think you did rather damn well Clare, certainly pasted me

Sorry to hear about the GI issues, they do tend to become more of an issue on longer events but vomming before an event that is upsetting What did you eat the night before? I had spicy chicken burger and chips but then I have no willpower.

Clare from what the others have been saying about you and the way you cruised past me IMHO there is nothing to be anxious about, you can wipe the floor with most of the people there so pre-race nerves get thee hither, you can rock.

Funny you should mention about giving a punter a lift, same thing almost happened to me on the way out from the Travelodge and this chap was sat down, looked up and said 'oh you got my text' and started walking to the car with me and before I could say anything he said 'sorry thought you were somebody else' I was going to offer a lift but the other person turned up.

Think we got the long legged racks on the 'elderly gents' racks - sauce - as mine was almost hanging vertically.

It was smashing to have finally met the famous CCS and Jimba, I reckon you can smash the 5:30 you just need some fish n chips the night before

[Tritans]

Ah Middle disatance triathlon. What a horrible bastard he was. I hope it was a slow painful death.

Respect for racking up and having a crack at this. It didn't sound like your heart was in it for quite some time. Would have been very easy just to DNS.

I don't know what else to say. I think binning MD is the right decision, if you don't enjoy it, what's the point especially as you excell at what you enjoy.

[Sir Jibbenstein]

Great effort in getting through the race. Not nice feeling ill beforehand, but you had the mental resolve to finish it!That is certainly a big success.

If you are beating some of the women in sprints but not at middle distance then maybe that is a sign that you should focuss on shorter events next year. The whole long distance racing thing is over rated anyway

[Bopomofo]

So. Farewell then.
Clare's middle distance career
Is over.

But is it really dead?
She should join us
In Poland.

My friend Keithwaitek
said it would be fun.
So we're all going.

[birdyman]

I'd say that posting a time like that after puking and shivering and generally having a crappy time before the off is pretty good. I'd say that maybe if you could post a time like that with those issues....what could you do if it all went smoothly and you managed to start the event properly fuelled and hydrated.

Bloody well done I'd say. I know that a fair few people would not have even started, let alone finished after all that.