South Africa RACE REPORT
Ironman SA Race Report
Pete “Casey Ryback” Hayward and I had trained well although the harsh UK winter had thrown a few grenades at us with me crashing on ice twice and nearly breaking my neck and Pete being taken out by a twig whilst going around Regents Park. We left for South Africa in good spirits and Pete was eager to get racing as he had unfinished business to take care of. We landed in Jo Berg and transferred to Port Elizabeth where the Ironman takes place settled into the hotel rooms built the bikes and checked all was in order. Pete’s energy powder had exploded over his kit so I had visions of people sucking his race kit on the marathon in a desperate effort to get hydrated, he would be like a walking gel. We went for one of our many walks soaking in the sun and trying our hardest to intimidate anyone who looked like a triathlete with our Bodylab death stares learnt from Grand Master Wilson.
We swam each day and got stung in the face and body by Blue Bottle jelly fish which had been blown in by a strong wind. The locals wouldn’t even get in the water and were again impressed by the Bodylab spirit of who dares swims. We both felt good and continued to eat well and Carb up for the race at out local favourite café “the blue water café” Gaelle arrived a few days later and Pete’s sister and nieces also arrived with her boyfriend who all gave us fantastic support during the Ironman and certainly kept me going in the baking sun.
Race Day
Alarm went off and I crawled out of bed and into a warm shower to get the blood flowing. Knocked on Pete’s door and went for a breakfast at 5 30. Went down to the bikes added Gels to top tube pumped up tyres and went back to the hotel to change arriving at the swim start with 7 minutes to spare. The African dancers were in full flow probably because they knew team bodylab were in town and Pete and I shook hands patted each other on the back and said to each other “just make sure you finish”
Alarm horn goes and we go crashing into the Indian Ocean for 2 laps and a run onto the beach. I felt ok but never really felt super strong but was pleased with 59 minutes based on my limited swim training which started 6 weeks before the event in Lanzerote. Pete came out just behind me and I am sure we must have been in T1 together but didn’t realize at the time. Probably just as well as I had to urinate on the seat I was sitting on as I didn’t intend to stop on the bike and this was my last chance as I was changing not to loose any time. I felt awesome on the bike but I don’t use any form of computer so just go on feeling and perceived effort. I have no computer no power no heart rate but just felt great and flew up the 3 x 10km climbs on each lap in the big chain ring and at a good speed passing a good few age groupers and a couple of Pros. I saw Pete on laps one and two and again he was close to me so at this point we were both going very well. We both cramped on lap 3 but Pete was in a lot of pain and had to stop as he couldn’t turn the peddle, I managed to get out of the saddle and pump my legs whilst drinking 500ml of electrolyte and my cramp subsided and I pushed a hard gear to get the legs working. Towards the end of the bike I went pass Rob Johnson the Full time sponsored British triathlete and another 2 other Pros although one passed me just before T2. I felt great and I suspected I had done around 4 hours 57 which turned out to be 4 hours 55 and I was delighted. (23 mph average) Pete did 5 hours 37 which given his cramp was an excellent time and put him well up the field.
I took my time in T2 and pulled my compression socks on and 7 gels which I stuffed inside my race kit and set off. Rob Johnson ran ahead of me and I planned to try and stick to him although I knew he was a 3 hour man so did think about this but he ran past his girlfriend and stopped and pulled out which made up my mind for me. I had spoken to Bodylab chief Chris “the human powertap” Wilson and I was going to run easy and then aim to step it up which worked until the third lap when the average of 38-40 degree heat basically baked me from the inside out and I just couldn’t cool down. After the race I found out that over 300 people had pulled out and the marathon times were the slowest I had seen in any Ironman based on the intense heat and no shade. There was no wind and it was virtually unbearable although one pro managed less than 3 hours and I take my hat off to him for that. On reflection I have decided that I will start wearing a watch on the marathon as I need to decide on a split time and stick to it as I watched some Pros do this and their consistency paid off with good times rather than my approach of running on feeling which resulted in big irregularities and me getting slower although the heat did play a big part. I finished the marathon in 3 hours 42 mins which gave me an overall time of 9 hours 45 and 24th position overall which I was thrilled about. I led my age group until 2 miles from the end when a south African local ran past me but he was a really nice guy and as we had both qualified and I was having an ice cream I couldn’t care less as I thought to myself I would have him in Hawaii when it matters J
Pete was still suffering from a loss of fluid and cramp and in that heat it is virtually impossible to get back to hydration. He pushed on and finished in 13 hours 9 mins. He knew he had Ironman Switzerland in July so it was about taking the positive swim time and bike time and preserving as mush as possible so he could get back training for Zurich.
At the time of the race I did not know I had qualified and I have to say that when I was told it was one of the best feelings I have ever had. I had not expected to qualify at SA and was aiming for Zurich but I was delighted. I went to the award ceremony and received my trophy and bumped into third place in my age who was devastated that first and second had taken their slots and he had missed out. It just shows how harsh tings can be as 35-39 had some roll downs and they had 4 slots.
We were both pleased to finish and thanked Pete’s family for their support. Gaelle was amazing and is probably the best supporter in the world and I was so happy to qualify so she didn’t give me a bollocking like last year as I crossed the line. The little French one has a fierce side J
Team Bodylab had left its mark and we are looking forward to the next step on the Ironman journey. Thanks for the emails and support and I look forward to returning the support when you race. Apologies for any spelling errors but have to rush off and have not proof read
Thanks again and kind regards
Rich
Roth Race Report
Quelle Challenge – Quelle Equipe Bodylab
13-07-08 - 2.5 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26 mile run.
Overall Time ; 10:58:00
Quelle Challenge Roth was the original Ironman Germany until a few years ago when it broke away from the Ironman ‘corporation’. The race has a fantastic reputation, great rolling and fast course, thousands of spectators particularly on two climbs and really well organised. It’s also the largest ‘Ironman’ distance event in the world (I think) with 2800 individuals and 600 relay teams starting in waves of 250.
Getting there
Roth is a small town about 30 miles from Nuremburg. We flew into Nuremburg, there are plenty of flights available. I would strongly recommend that you hire transport from the airport as we found logistics around the race a bit of a nightmare.
Hotels
We left booking hotels a little late, however, having been to the area, I believe that if you stay in or close to Roth, you’ll find the town a little small regarding choice of places to eat etc. We Stayed in Southern Nuremburg, a 20 minute drive away. But Nuremburg is a city worth visiting and there is a massive choice of restaurants, shops etc. Looking back, we had the best of both worlds.
The build up
Team Bodylab consisted of Myself, Pete Hayward and Richard Stabler, with support coming from Gaelle and Gill (Pete’s Mum). The three of us arrived on Thursday and spent that day building up bikes before going for a short run and a quick ride to check out the bikes were working.
Friday Morning, we set out for Roth, the swim course was open until 9:30a.m. We made our way to the expo in Roth. Only to find the swim course was on the road out of Roth. Our main criticism of the whole race was the logistics, there was no signage and maps weren’t clear, we found the canal, 4 kms away, unfortunately it wasn’t the right canal!! We returned to the expo, to find the swim was further away, around 10km away!! It was way past 10 a.m by the time we found it, so after having a walk around the area, we headed to Rothsee Lake, the original swim venue and for anyone going to do this race, a great place to relax and swim prior to race day.
The Rest of Friday we spent at the expo and registration – nice goody bag and a great range of stands at the expo, far better than at the Ironman events.
Saturday is bike racking and briefing day, we went to the French briefing at noon rather than hang around until 6 for the English version. Bike racking was over at the canal, if I remember rightly, you had to take your t2 bag with you, but not your dry bag or t1 bag. No major problems, as long as you could find it!!
The reason for telling you this is to illustrate the need for transport and planning out trips, should you go to this event.
The Course
The swim is in a very wide canal, the water is clean and pretty warm. The course heads up stream to a bridge before turning back down, passing the start, another bridge and the turning back up to the finish, just below the start.
The Bike
The bike is a two lap affair, with a little extra on the end taking you to t2, approximately 1.5 km from Roth.
The Bike course is fast, the second half of the loop takes you over a decent climb at Greding, with a long false top and towards the end of the loop in Hippolstein, another hill - Solarberg. This is probably the equivalent of Archway Hill, but with a sea of maybe 10/20,000 spectators screaming in your ear and standing literally inches away from you – it’s just like climbing Alpe D’Huez!!
The run
A lovely run, a kind of out and back, following a canal, before looping around a village and heading back down to the canal to another village, a similar loop and then returning past t2 and down into Roth for the Finish. The surface is mainly gravel track, with some road running around the villages.
The race
A 4am rise saw the three of us in good spirit and very relaxed – just like one of our bike rides.
We flew down to the Roth in the van, but then came a cropper in a massive traffic jam. Again logistics for the race could have been better organised by the organisers / police. The weather had turned from 32 degrees and sun on Friday to 18-ish and pouring down, it really felt cold and wet, it was to stay this way for the day.
Richard was in the first wave at 6:20, whilst Pete and I would part an hour or so later. Eventually we resorted to driving down the other side of the road (we’re English!!) and got Richard to transition 25 minutes before the start.
For me, I started at 7:10. My race plan was to sit at the back and on the outside of the canal, away from the race. I had watched clips on ‘you tube’ and so knew I would get a quieter swim here, all be it, longer and slower then swimming in the mass, but having completed maybe 12 swim sessions this year, I didn’t want to waste energy and struggle towards the end of the swim. My strategy worked, I had a lovely dip in the water! 1:06, hardly out of breath.
T1 was going to be a slow affair, I planned for this, I wanted to be comfortable and relaxed going into the bike. 7 minutes something…
The bike, I got on the bike and found hamstrings were very tight and cold, so I spun along to get going. The climb at Greding (after 40km) was great, not as hard as I expected and I passed a lot of people. But at the top, it drags on, and we were met by a head wind which made getting going again, a little tough. It was about here, my back started to ache. Very soon, I was unable to stay down on the tri bars and people seemed to flood past me on the flat sections. I started to think about pulling out and several times tried to get off the bike and stretch out the back and hamstrings, to little avail.
I guess I was pretty low at this stage, I decided to relax, sit up right and focused on maintaining an even pace.
One of the great things is that on the two climbs, commentators call out your name/ nationality, obviously the spectators hear this and cry out your name and literally dragging you up the hill, fantastic. When a girl said to me on the second loop ‘go Chris, You can do it’ I thought yes, easy, and I just carried on to the end of the bike. My legs felt great, hardly tired, just the back was tight. 5:58, Av speed 19mph.
After all the trouble on bike, I was resolved to an aching back and being bent double for 26 miles. Again, as planned, I sat in t2, ate half a sandwich, walked out and over the next few hundred meters started to run, NO PAIN!! I ran along the canal, counting down the Km’s, when I got to feed stations, I walked picked up banana and coke and ran again. When I went up hills, I listened to my heart, when I felt it was starting to work, I slowed down even walked on two occasions but only for 20 m. It was all in my race plan. At 19km, I was kicking myself that I hadn’t checked the time I started running, so I made a note of the time. After a km, I worked out I was doing something over 5minutes per kilo. This was great, I really focused on each KM, an hour later I had ran 11.5km, except for a little tightness in the quads, I was feeling great. At 29km and at the bottom of the longest hill, the heavens opened, I was drenched, it didn’t stop raining for the rest of the race. I kept watching the km times and worked out how much longer I had to keep running for. It went so quickly, I felt like my heart beat never went over 140, and I had bags of energy, my only concern was if my quads cramped. 1km from the end was a sharp little hill, I had seen this earlier and planned to walk it, just to look after the quads…However Gaelle and Richard were there, Gaelle started running with me shouting in my ear, so I had to run. I didn’t really notice the finish, I just waved my England flag and that was it!! A pint of beer for all finishers – excellent. Run 3:44
Conclusion
A great race, although the weather was atrocious the crowds were amazing and this will be my memory of the race. Off course, I have to mention the fantastic team bodylab effort – Richard 9:50 and Pete 10:30 - Two great performances and two great comrades to have alongside you.
Special thanks to Gaelle and Gill and everyone who sent me messages of support, every single message came to my mind as my back throbbed.
Finally, If you are doing an Ironman soon or plan to do one in the future, get your mind right, be relaxed, don’t get tense or stressed. There is a big ‘fear’ factor, get strength from it, plan your race and stick to the plan. I was under trained for this race, I set no time goals and never pushed myself, I just went with the flow and enjoyed it. Get through your first few and then think about times, but enjoy it.
