 Finishers medal(click to enlarge) |
This was to be my big training-race in the leadup to Wanaka, and I learned plenty of lessons from it.
The Rolf Prima Half Ironman is fairly early in the season for such a big race but it's very well timed for building up to Challenge Wanaka. As such we had a couple of the big names competing who are going for the win in Wanaka next year.
The Plan
Because I'm still rebuilding my running from the stress fracture and achilles flareup I suffered during the Christchurch Marathon, I went in with the following objectives (in no particular order):
- Get through the swim without drowning;
- Get some race-day transition practice;
- Practice a new nutrition strategy (yes I actually had one);
- Get myself to pee on the bike / run without stopping (I couldn't bring myself to do this in training due to the cleanup required);
- Go fairly hard on the bike to see how it goes in full race gear. I knew I could go harder than I otherwise could because of my run plan;
- Do the run as a run / walk for the first lap, and possibly walk the second lap or pull out if the injuries play up.
The Result
I ended up getting around the course and finishing in a time of 6hrs40. Not a good time - I was last in my age group (not counting the DNFs).
The conditions weren't the best, I think it was about 10 degrees on the day but there was pretty much no wind until I was well into the run. It started out with a little bit of drizzle but this cleared away as forecast.
I had a number of good points to take out and also a few important lessons learned, so it was quite a productive day for me.
The Mistakes
Firstly I didn't get into the water early enough, but that wasn't really my fault as the race briefing was right before the start. I suffer from cold-water shock pretty badly so I wasn't able to get fully accustomed to the water by the start. So I was fairly short of breath for a while and had to take a couple of short pauses as a result. Wanaka is better in this regard as the briefing is held the previous day. Also I'll be down there for a few days beforehand so I'll have some opportunity to jump into the lake a few times to help acclimatise.
The next mistake is well and truly my own stupid fault. I turned at the first buoy and started heading for the next one... which was actually a marker for the sprint race. When I'd looked at the course earlier I hadn't noticed the buoy up the other end of the lake. Little wonder I'd thought the course looked short. One of the safety boats was parked in the way and the guys on it were yelling and pointing in the right direction. I think they must have anticipated a few people might go the wrong way. Again, Wanaka will be better because I've swum the course before.
On the bike the only mistake I made was eating too much. At least, that's what I think... I'm still working out some strange digestive issues so "watch this space" as they say.
On the surface the run went to plan: I ran/walked the first lap then walked about the last 15km of the second lap. But I wasn't able to stick to the run/walk schedule I'd planned because of the digestive issue: I just wasn't able to run comfortably for more than a few minutes at a time, and towards the end I was feeling uncomfortable just walking.
I'd better not forget the transitions. They were far too slow. I just didn't feel motivated to do them quickly. In T1 I had a lot of trouble with one of my earplugs which cost a bit of time.
And lastly my sunscreen strategy was a dismal failure. I should have put some on as my shoulders came out pretty red.
The Positive Aspects
I've already mentioned that I'm quite pleased with my swim overall. Even with the detour and the fairly steady pace the time was within my expectations and I was able to keep in a fairly straight line despite the difficult sighting.
For T1 I'm just glad I read the conditions well. I'd come prepared for cold weather so I had a jacket and tights, but I just stuck with arm warmers in the end. It seemed slightly risky at the time but with no wind I felt comfortable. My feet did feel quite cold and a little numb during the ride and I've heard others had that problem as well.
On the bike the big positive for me was being able to pee without stopping. It's quite hard to bring yourself to do this but I have to admit I did get some enjoyment out of it as it's something I've had to not do for the past 35+ years.
It was very strange drinking only two bottles of fluid during the bike, but that's all the conditions warranted as I was well hydrated throughout. If the race had been held on the following day, when it was a 25-degree nor'wester, I'd have gone through two bottles per lap.
I hit the splits I'd anticipated pretty much exactly for the first two laps, but the third was about 2 minutes slower. Following a slow car into transition cost me at least 30 seconds of that. I was starting to feel uncomfortable during the last lap and had been sitting up a little more.
The roads around Lake Hood are amazingly smooth and I would have run a much higher tyre pressure if I'd known. I'd deliberately inflated the tyres a little low in anticipation of them being rough like the roads I train on. But I doubt that would have made a huge difference to my time.
T2 went smoothly. I remembered to take my bike shorts off which is an improvement over my Wanaka performance.
I don't really have much more to add about the run, except it's the slowest half-marathon I've ever done!
One last positive is quite a major one. After Wanaka it took me about 3 weeks to feel human again - I felt really run down and needed to have naps all the time. This time around I've felt a little bit tired for a couple of days but that's it. It just feels like I'd had a long training session.
I think most of the reason for my issues after Wanaka was nutritional. I hadn't been eating nearly enough as my training load increased, and I pretty much carried that ignorance through to the recovery. It took me nearly a week to realise that eating perked me up so I was able to alleviate the tiredness a bit by eating some more.
Since then I've actually worked out my dietary requirements for training so things have gone a lot better, especially as I've kept my calories up this week despite doing only very light exercise.
What's Next?
Obviously it's the final buildup to Wanaka once I've had a recovery week, but I can specifically target a few things in my training:
- Get some open water swims in, especially in cold water.
- Rethink my nutrition on the bike and practice in training - try less solid and more liquid carbs
- Get the legs & feet into good shape so I can actually run a half-marathon again
- Transition practice, especially when tired. The transitions in Wanaka are done differently and will be slower anyway, but the more practice I can get the better.
- Sort out my weird digestive issues - I'm off to see the doctor again tomorrow, but I've started thinking a dietitian may be a better idea. This is the one thing that threatens to derail any attempt I make at endurance sport so I am pretty concerned about it.
Aside from that it's just a matter of getting plenty of good swimming and riding in, with plenty of adaptation to the TT position.
