XTT 2009 report
Long overdue race report on XTT 2009 on the 26th of September 2009
The day before;
On the Friday I took a half day from work as it was the eldest boys "harvest service" at school which was a lightly religious harvest season celebration with a few songs and such. He was very pleased to see us there. Between that and picking up the youngest guy from nursery I had left little time for packing so it was done in a bit of a rush (which is not good). Luckily, and most unlike me, nothing was forgotten.
So fully packed it was off down to the outlaws in Farnham, which happens to be very close to the race venue. In marked contrast to the Little Woody dinner went down very well, followed by two of Chris's beers and a very good night's sleep!
Race day;
With a very civilised start time of 11:30 race morning allowed for a leisurely breakfast, packing the car and last-minute kit checks. Very little by way of panic or stress and the usual problems with my belly, which was nice. Lisa ascribes this to being "in the bosom of my family". I can't recall bosoms really coming into it but certainly having nice folks around and not being left to myself helps keep stress levels down.
I arrived in good time for registration and really my only panic of the day was thinking that I had lost my race timing chip. It had dropped into the gap between the car and the door of the boot (that's the trunk to our North American readers) and it popped into the air when I finally closed the boot, reconciled to the fact that I would have no timing chip for the day. I racked my bike in plenty of time and was quite impressed with how much racking space was available. Not a big surprise really as I had racked my bike in the wrong race slots (Muppet). After hastily repositioning my kit it was time to get into character. As usual there was plenty of good chat and banter to be had in the transition area.
At about 11:20 we were called through to the start area and allowed into the water. I took the opportunity to get my head in and get some water in the suit so as to avoid the initial shock of the cold water. Water temperature was only slightly lower than the normal temperature in the lake. Just before the off we were called for a pretty informal race briefing and then I lined up with 140 or so fellow athletes ready for the start. It seems that there are two distinct groups in triathlon, with those who are keen to push to the front of the swim start and those who are keen to push to the back.
After the longest countdown in Christendom (he was genuinely taking the Mickey) the horn went and we were away!
The swim;
In a word "bumpy". Bumpy bumpy bumpy swim. As per last year and the water was very murky and with there being quite a few competitors it was all a bit rough-and-tumble in the swim. This was probably compounded by the fact that this year I wasn't immediately dropped off the back of the pack. Without being rough I pretty much gave as good as I got and held my line reasonably well (more on holding one's line later). There was one incident where I was getting sandwiched between two other competitors, both of which seem to be determined to swim diagonally towards each other. Somebody needed a bit of a shove!
Even though the first time was over 350 m out going around the bouy was a bit of a scrum. Now this may all sound very stressful and unpleasant but it wasn't. In fact it was a lot of fun and importantly from me a marked improvement over last year's flap and panic. After the main turn there was a reasonable amount of clear water to be had and with the exception of a minor goggle leak the rest of the swim was relatively uneventful (although calf cramp did threaten on one occasion).
Although I probably sighted a little too often on the swim there were good periods in which I managed to settle into a strong rhythm and overall form was pretty good (punch-ups aside). The official timing has me at 36 minutes but my own stopwatch has me at 28 minutes. I haven't taken 36 minutes to swim 1500 m since last year and it sure felt like a 28 minute swim to me. I exited the water kind of back of the main pack, as opposed to hanging off the end last year (which was a 39 minute swim). Very odd indeed. At any rate it was a good swim from my point of view and I was quite pleased with how it went.
T1 transition;
Now I'm not the slickest at transition, particularly swim to bike as this gets very little practice. I also like socks, can I be forgiven this one small vice?
Socks aside faffing with a hydration pack and putting on my GPS did take a bit of extra time, as did putting on gloves. As an improvement point I think ditching the hydration Pack and loading kit on the bike is probably the way forward. The GPS could also be fastened to the bike for the bike leg and talc in the gloves could be a good move. I would be loath to ride mountain bike without gloves for sake of the fingers.
Bike;
So a bit of time in transition but not ages as before.So out of T1 and off on the bike starting out with a low ratio and easy spin. My swim to bike transition or slow in terms of getting my legs up to speed, as with the previous races the auld gluteus maximus were burning for the first few minutes. I continue to be amazed at how fast some other people make the transition. The bike course was largely non-technical, dry but steep in part making it ideal for a light hard tale but I don't have any light hard tail with gears so I used the hi-fi!
People are fast on bikes, like really very fast. As this was a much shorter race than the little Woody I was happy to go pretty much full burn on the bike and climb the hills more or less as fast as I could and still I was being passed by people as if I was stopped by the side of the trail. I seemed to be surrounded by guys with big calves were liked to dance up hills on mountain bikes. What I did notice (but was not particularly surprised by) was the difference in position and application of effort between road riding on a triathlon bike and off-road on a mountain bike. If you really want to race well off road you really have to train well off-road.
I did occasionally get stuck in traffic on the decent sections of the course (as many people descend like complete Muppets) but the time lost in traffic was minor by comparison with the time lost climbing. I did have to shout at one guy for cutting my line really badly. He shouted "on your right" and I gave him some leeway on the right-hand line but he was unable to make the pass before the trail tightened and cut hard across my front wheel. I explained to him (in words of one syllable or less) that just shouting "on your right" doesn't give you the right to push people off the line. I think he had a good understanding of the concept after our brief conversation!
On the bike I did manage to take on board some gels, plenty of fluid and a full power bar. Overall and enjoyable ride which I finished strong on (the last climb is the kicker) and stormed into transition.
T2 transition;
Rack bike.
Shoes off.
Helmet off.
Runners on.
Grab gel.
Whoosh! Gone!
About as slick transition as I have ever managed!
Run;
I headed out on the run quickly establishing a 5:30 pace. With a lot of bike to run transitions under my belt I was able to maintain very good form after bike. Having established a good run place and settled into my stride I started thinking about where I could stop for my inevitable mid-race p! Shocking every bloody race, and made all the more dramatic by the wearing of a one-piece tri-suit. Quick detour and much scratches from a conveniently placed gorse bush (scratches on my leg) I was back up and running and feeling a lot more comfortable.
Comfortable that is apart from numbness in the feet and due to new elasticated lace is being poorly adjusted which is a schoolboy error of new kit near race day. This discomfort amounted to a minor annoyance rather than a race limiting issue.
On the run I started to overtake people who were fading at this stage of the race. However I was still being passed by people of quite unlikely shapes ranging from muscleman to wide bottomed lady, demonstrating yet again that "fit" comes in a wide variety of shapes.
I was storming along on the run until I decided that I would take a detour down the finishing route rather than start the second lap. Doh! I misread the way marker sign and ran 500m in the wrong direction. I realised just before I entered the finishing enclosure which saved some embarrassment But this added a full kilometre to the run and had a slightly negative effect on morale. Once back on course I took a caffeine gel, gave myself a kick up the arse and got busy trying to pull back some of the lost time. I ran between 5:00 and 5:30 on the second lap and finished a strong, but pushing hard for an overall time of 2:58(Less 5:00 minutes for the extra 1 km giving a true time of 2:53). This represents an improvement of 17 min over last year on the same course using the same kit.
Overall;
A great race with cracking weather run over a good course. I was very happy with the improved time and particularly happy with the improved confidence in the swim. The race had a much better atmosphere than the little Woody, particularly at the finish line where people hung out and chatted post race.
Learning points will include;
More hills on the bike.
TT training does not equal MTB fitness.
Road miles do not equal trail miles on the run, but I did have some trial miles in the legs.
Don't get lost you Muppet.
Caffeine gels rock on the run.
The day before;
On the Friday I took a half day from work as it was the eldest boys "harvest service" at school which was a lightly religious harvest season celebration with a few songs and such. He was very pleased to see us there. Between that and picking up the youngest guy from nursery I had left little time for packing so it was done in a bit of a rush (which is not good). Luckily, and most unlike me, nothing was forgotten.
So fully packed it was off down to the outlaws in Farnham, which happens to be very close to the race venue. In marked contrast to the Little Woody dinner went down very well, followed by two of Chris's beers and a very good night's sleep!
Race day;
With a very civilised start time of 11:30 race morning allowed for a leisurely breakfast, packing the car and last-minute kit checks. Very little by way of panic or stress and the usual problems with my belly, which was nice. Lisa ascribes this to being "in the bosom of my family". I can't recall bosoms really coming into it but certainly having nice folks around and not being left to myself helps keep stress levels down.
I arrived in good time for registration and really my only panic of the day was thinking that I had lost my race timing chip. It had dropped into the gap between the car and the door of the boot (that's the trunk to our North American readers) and it popped into the air when I finally closed the boot, reconciled to the fact that I would have no timing chip for the day. I racked my bike in plenty of time and was quite impressed with how much racking space was available. Not a big surprise really as I had racked my bike in the wrong race slots (Muppet). After hastily repositioning my kit it was time to get into character. As usual there was plenty of good chat and banter to be had in the transition area.
At about 11:20 we were called through to the start area and allowed into the water. I took the opportunity to get my head in and get some water in the suit so as to avoid the initial shock of the cold water. Water temperature was only slightly lower than the normal temperature in the lake. Just before the off we were called for a pretty informal race briefing and then I lined up with 140 or so fellow athletes ready for the start. It seems that there are two distinct groups in triathlon, with those who are keen to push to the front of the swim start and those who are keen to push to the back.
After the longest countdown in Christendom (he was genuinely taking the Mickey) the horn went and we were away!
The swim;
In a word "bumpy". Bumpy bumpy bumpy swim. As per last year and the water was very murky and with there being quite a few competitors it was all a bit rough-and-tumble in the swim. This was probably compounded by the fact that this year I wasn't immediately dropped off the back of the pack. Without being rough I pretty much gave as good as I got and held my line reasonably well (more on holding one's line later). There was one incident where I was getting sandwiched between two other competitors, both of which seem to be determined to swim diagonally towards each other. Somebody needed a bit of a shove!
Even though the first time was over 350 m out going around the bouy was a bit of a scrum. Now this may all sound very stressful and unpleasant but it wasn't. In fact it was a lot of fun and importantly from me a marked improvement over last year's flap and panic. After the main turn there was a reasonable amount of clear water to be had and with the exception of a minor goggle leak the rest of the swim was relatively uneventful (although calf cramp did threaten on one occasion).
Although I probably sighted a little too often on the swim there were good periods in which I managed to settle into a strong rhythm and overall form was pretty good (punch-ups aside). The official timing has me at 36 minutes but my own stopwatch has me at 28 minutes. I haven't taken 36 minutes to swim 1500 m since last year and it sure felt like a 28 minute swim to me. I exited the water kind of back of the main pack, as opposed to hanging off the end last year (which was a 39 minute swim). Very odd indeed. At any rate it was a good swim from my point of view and I was quite pleased with how it went.
T1 transition;
Now I'm not the slickest at transition, particularly swim to bike as this gets very little practice. I also like socks, can I be forgiven this one small vice?
Socks aside faffing with a hydration pack and putting on my GPS did take a bit of extra time, as did putting on gloves. As an improvement point I think ditching the hydration Pack and loading kit on the bike is probably the way forward. The GPS could also be fastened to the bike for the bike leg and talc in the gloves could be a good move. I would be loath to ride mountain bike without gloves for sake of the fingers.
Bike;
So a bit of time in transition but not ages as before.So out of T1 and off on the bike starting out with a low ratio and easy spin. My swim to bike transition or slow in terms of getting my legs up to speed, as with the previous races the auld gluteus maximus were burning for the first few minutes. I continue to be amazed at how fast some other people make the transition. The bike course was largely non-technical, dry but steep in part making it ideal for a light hard tale but I don't have any light hard tail with gears so I used the hi-fi!
People are fast on bikes, like really very fast. As this was a much shorter race than the little Woody I was happy to go pretty much full burn on the bike and climb the hills more or less as fast as I could and still I was being passed by people as if I was stopped by the side of the trail. I seemed to be surrounded by guys with big calves were liked to dance up hills on mountain bikes. What I did notice (but was not particularly surprised by) was the difference in position and application of effort between road riding on a triathlon bike and off-road on a mountain bike. If you really want to race well off road you really have to train well off-road.
I did occasionally get stuck in traffic on the decent sections of the course (as many people descend like complete Muppets) but the time lost in traffic was minor by comparison with the time lost climbing. I did have to shout at one guy for cutting my line really badly. He shouted "on your right" and I gave him some leeway on the right-hand line but he was unable to make the pass before the trail tightened and cut hard across my front wheel. I explained to him (in words of one syllable or less) that just shouting "on your right" doesn't give you the right to push people off the line. I think he had a good understanding of the concept after our brief conversation!
On the bike I did manage to take on board some gels, plenty of fluid and a full power bar. Overall and enjoyable ride which I finished strong on (the last climb is the kicker) and stormed into transition.
T2 transition;
Rack bike.
Shoes off.
Helmet off.
Runners on.
Grab gel.
Whoosh! Gone!
About as slick transition as I have ever managed!
Run;
I headed out on the run quickly establishing a 5:30 pace. With a lot of bike to run transitions under my belt I was able to maintain very good form after bike. Having established a good run place and settled into my stride I started thinking about where I could stop for my inevitable mid-race p! Shocking every bloody race, and made all the more dramatic by the wearing of a one-piece tri-suit. Quick detour and much scratches from a conveniently placed gorse bush (scratches on my leg) I was back up and running and feeling a lot more comfortable.
Comfortable that is apart from numbness in the feet and due to new elasticated lace is being poorly adjusted which is a schoolboy error of new kit near race day. This discomfort amounted to a minor annoyance rather than a race limiting issue.
On the run I started to overtake people who were fading at this stage of the race. However I was still being passed by people of quite unlikely shapes ranging from muscleman to wide bottomed lady, demonstrating yet again that "fit" comes in a wide variety of shapes.
I was storming along on the run until I decided that I would take a detour down the finishing route rather than start the second lap. Doh! I misread the way marker sign and ran 500m in the wrong direction. I realised just before I entered the finishing enclosure which saved some embarrassment But this added a full kilometre to the run and had a slightly negative effect on morale. Once back on course I took a caffeine gel, gave myself a kick up the arse and got busy trying to pull back some of the lost time. I ran between 5:00 and 5:30 on the second lap and finished a strong, but pushing hard for an overall time of 2:58(Less 5:00 minutes for the extra 1 km giving a true time of 2:53). This represents an improvement of 17 min over last year on the same course using the same kit.
Overall;
A great race with cracking weather run over a good course. I was very happy with the improved time and particularly happy with the improved confidence in the swim. The race had a much better atmosphere than the little Woody, particularly at the finish line where people hung out and chatted post race.
Learning points will include;
More hills on the bike.
TT training does not equal MTB fitness.
Road miles do not equal trail miles on the run, but I did have some trial miles in the legs.
Don't get lost you Muppet.
Caffeine gels rock on the run.
posted by Setanta at
9.11.09
1 Comments:
Great work! Way to HTFU and go for an offroad tri! Me? No way - I'll take road rash over rocks any day!
I just hope that the recovery from the race is not reflected in the length of time it took to post this report. :D
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