ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships

On Sunday I raced at the ITU World Championships in Immenstadt, Germany as part of the British age group team. As I didn't qualify for the Ironman World Championships this was going to be my ocassion to measure myself against some of the best triathletes in the world in my age group, so I wanted to do well in this race.

Immenstadt is located in a beautiful area of Germany called Algau, in the mountains, approximately 100 mile from Munich.

My preparation going into the race wasn't ideal as we've been quite busy recently. My last couple of training races went quite well though and I did a good ride at the Richmond Park 10M TT and a week ago came second overall in the Eaton sprint triathlon, improving on my time from May.

To make the situation worse on thursday on my way back from work my chain on the bike broke, which meant that I didn't get back home till 11pm and on Friday my flight to Munich was delayed by almost 2.5 hours and when I eventually arrived in Immenstadt at 2am I was very tired.

The team GB was staying in the comfortable Algau Stern Hotel, 12km from Immenstadt and it was interesting to stay with the rest of the team and see their preparations.

The race was very well organised and it was great to be able to rack the bikes on race morning and not having to worry about doing it a day before.

On the race day I woke up feeling relaxed and ready to go having had an unusually good night's sleep. We arrived at the start with plenty of time and I even had time to take some pictures. Just before the start as I was warming up I felt sharp pain in my back and it immediately went into a spasm and I could hardly breathe. There was no time to do anything about it with 10 minutes to the start and I was worried that I might get into trouble in the water, so I wasn't sure if I should even be starting the race. Eventually I decided to get in the water try to relax and give it a go. Somehow when I got in the water it felt a little bit better and was able to breathe and swim.

The swim was fairly uneventful, I had a conservative start as I wasn't sure how hard I was going to be able to push with a locked up back, but I had clear water and managed to stay out of trouble. On the return leg of the 4km loop I pushed a little bit harder and came out of the water in 1:12:20. Not bad, considering the circumstances and I was happy with that. Quick transition and I was on the bike, but my legs didn't feel great, so I decided to keep it steady hoping that it may improve. The bike course was simply brutal - up, down, left, right on some narrow roads. Luckily it was dry and the road surface was good, so descending wasn't a problem. The 2200m of climbing recorded by my watch doesn't really do the course justice - some of the climbs were so steep that I had to be out of the saddle for the entire climb pushing 300W just to keep the bike moving. There was 8 climbs recorded on the official course profile and about 10 other unclassified "bonus climbs". Of course such a tough bike course had one advantage - the drafting was non-existing so it was a fair race. Somehow I was really enjoying this bike course and I was even descending well, overtaking loads of people. Whenever passing a GB athlete I also tried to shout some encouragement. I went though a bit of a bad patch after about 40 miles, but recovered fairly well and was even able to push a bit harder on the second, shorter lap. Unfortunately the back was still very tight, which made climbing and riding hard on aerobars quite uncomfortable. After another exhilarating descent into Immenstadt I was finally happy to be back in transition in 4:17, which I though was a reasonable time given the nature of the course.

Onto the run and unsurprisingly legs felt quite tired after all the climbing and suddenly it was very hot. Nevertheless I locked into a solid 4:25/km pace and tried to take in some gels an as much coke and water as I could get from the aid stations. My plan was again to try to take it steady for the first of the 10 laps and try to push it for the second and third lap. Solid strategy but this time it wasn't going to work as almost immediately after I started the second lap I started to feel very weak and was getting cramps in both legs. Quads first, calves and then hamstrings. Whenever I tried to pick up the pace I would get a cramp and was reduced to a gently shuffle. I walked through a couple of aid stations trying to get as much fluid as possible but it wasn't helping, so I had to resign to running a 5min/km pace. As I started the last lap I calculated that if I kept that pace I still has 2 minutes to spare to get in under 8 hours and this become my next target. Over the next 8km I've even managed to make up another 2 minutes which was just as well because as I entered the stadium it turned out that the finish was not at 3okm, but another 500m further. Eventually I finished in 7:58:45 with a 2:26 run split. This gave me 98th position overall and 20th place in my age group. Not what I had imagined and hoped for, being already 8th in the world twice, but a respectable result nevertheless.

Am I happy with my race? Mixed feelings again. It was a truly epic race with a fair, tough course, very well organised and possibly one of the most beautiful bike courses I've ever done. The whole town was clearly behind the race with posters everywhere and the course lined with spectators, particularly on the climbs. Being 20th in the world in my age group, on a course that theoretically did not suit me is a respectable result and I've beaten some good athletes and as a 4th GB athlete home. Many athletes would be very happy with that. On the other hand the result also shows how the sport has moved on in the last few years, how much more competitive the age groups are and how the gap I have to the top age-grouper has grown. I haven't really improved my swim in the last few years, my bike is similar to what it was 5 years ago and my run results have not been consistent. It was great to be a part of the GB team and the beers (perhaps a few too many) and banter after the race was great, but is that all I really want? It's pretty clear that I'm not going to acheive my goal of winning a World Championship medal.

Where to from now? Was this my last international race? I'm not sure - I'll give it a few weeks before making a decision. It may not be a bad time to refocus on other things and say I'm happy with what I've achieved. No regrets.

Ironman European Championships

So close yet so far away... This pretty much sums up my performance at the European Ironman Championships in Frankfurt on the 4th July.

This is one of my favorite races on the Ironman circuit and the race where I qualified for Hawaii in 2005 so I was going into the race with a clear objective: qualify for the World Championships in Hawaii in the 40-44 age group. My preparation has gone well, despite having only 6 weeks of hard training, but I was feeling strong, rested and confident.

We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday, before the German World Cup game against Argentina. It was a hot couple of nights, both weather-wise and with the electric atmosphere after the German win.

The day before race the organizers announced that the water temperature in the lake reached over 24C and it will be a non-wetsuit swim. They've also announced a new rule that any race suits that contain silicone will not be allowed. This caused a great deal of consternation to both all the retailers and athletes as nobody knew what will actually be allowed on the race day as this contradicted previous rules. I decided to go with my old and tried 2XU suit.

The night before the race day was hot and sleepless as usual, this time mainly due to all the Germans celebrating the World Cup win, but on race morning I woke up rested and ready to go nevertheless and the weather was cooler than in the days preceding the race.

I got to race start in plenty of time for a change, pumped my tires, took care of "nature call" and even had plenty of time to relax. I wanted to get into the water in plenty of time so I proceeded to the start early but got stopped by a referee saying that my tri suit is illegal and I will not be allowed to start. There was a growing group of athletes who have also been stopped. After much discussions, stomping and cursing in German, English and Spanish we were eventually allowed to go to the swim, but by then it was too late for any warmup or start place selection. I knew that with 2300 athletes starting it was going to be a rough swim but had not much choice but to position myself in the middle and try to move as forward as possible.

The gun soon went off and it immediately felt like I was in a washing machine. I've never been in such a rough swim. I went under water several times, drank plenty of water, got hit and kicked and goggles knocked off twice. I was hoping that it would get better after a couple of hundred meters, but then the swimmers from the right and left side decided to converge in the middle it after a while I was loosing all hope. I got out after the first lap and was shocked looking the the watch showing 45 min for the first lap. Fortunately the second lap was a bit better I had a bit more space and picked up the paces slightly coming out in 1:24. Still by far my slowest swim ever, even slower than the Hawii non-wetsuit swim.

Onto the bike and I felt immediately better and much happier having survived the swim. The bike was fairly uneventful. I rode strongly but within myself on the three climbs and picked up a lot of places on the descents. 5:14 bike split for 185 km as the course was extended by 5km because of roadworks. Happy with that as the extra 5km was worth at least 7 min, which would make it close to my best time on this course.

The run is 4 laps, flat and fast and I knew it was going to be hot. I started conservatively and after the first lap Alex told me I was in 90 place in my age group and passed 30 on the first lap. I try to keep the pace going throwing down as much coke as I could and an occasional gel. I went through a bit of a bad patch at half way but after some extra coke and some red bull I got a bit better and was able to push through to the finish. 3:17 run split - not my best, but respectable.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to pass enough runners to get into the qualifying places (24) and ended up in 35th place in my age group with a time 2 seconds outside 10 hours.

In the end I missed the automatic qualifying spot by 10 minutes and a roll-down slot by just over 3 minutes. Disappointing not to achieve the big goal of the season of qualifying for Hawaii, but that's racing and that's how it goes sometimes. No excuses, though, I had a reasonable race, except for the swim, but just wasn't good enough to contend. Next race - ITU LD World Championships in Immenstadt.

my travel blog: http://alexmike-travel.blogspot.com/

Austria 70.3

Last weekend Chris and I raced the 70.3 St Polten Ironman in Austria. I was using the race as a preparation for the upcoming European IM Championships in Frankfurt and didn't really taper for the race, but wanted to go hard and check my form.

The race was held in a small town town 1 hour drive from Vienna in a rural location. We stayed in a local guesthouse 10km from the start in a rural location. It was basic, but comfortable and adequate..

Leading up to the race I wasn't feeling well and felt tired and sluggish with some hayfever. In the last 2 days we all slept a lot and managed to avoid the usual pre-race nervousness, despite the fact that we arrived in transition 5 minutes before it closed.

The race course is quite unique with the swim starting in one small lake and finishing in a different lake with a 300 meters run in between. The bike course is on good roads, completely closed to traffic and contains a nice and fast motorway section as well as 2 significant climbs with some technical descending.

The swim went quite well, I got to a clean start immediately from the gun and felt quite relaxed all the way to the exit. I thought the run might affect the rhythm of the swim, but after the run and a jump into the second lake (in my case I just fell in) I still felt good and I came out of the water in just over 33 minutes, which I was happy with.


Onto the bike I was feeling quite strong and passing lots of cyclist. A couple of strong bikers came up and we rode together until we hit the hills and I just didn't have the power to stay with them. I came into transition in just over 2:20, which again I was happy with, but as I tried to run my legs were very tired and didn't want to cooperate.

Here is the power date from the bike:
Duration: 2:24:54 (2:26:38)
Work: 1796 kJ
TSS: 204.4 (intensity factor 0.92)
Norm Power: 221
VI: 1.07
Pw:HR: -22.31%
Pa:HR: -8.35%
Distance: 87.008 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 621 207 watts
Heart Rate: 34 178 149 bpm
Cadence: 29 101 82 rpm
Speed: 9.8 70.8 36.0 kph
Pace 0:51 6:07 1:40 min/km
Crank Torque: 0 121 24.8 N-m
Temperature: 15 25 18.0 Celsius

After a few kilometers of the run was feeling a little bit better and tried to hold 4 min kilometers, which was reasonably comfortable, but couldn't go any quicker. I finished the run in just over 1:26 for a total time of 4:31 and 143rd place overall which gave me a 17th place in my age group.
Overall I was happy with my performance, but a little bit annoyed that I didn't have the power to stay with the strong bikers on the hills or run a little bit quicker as 5 minutes quicker overall time would put me in the top 5 in my age group. Something to work on over the new few weeks before the Ironman.

Oh, and a week before the race in Austria I raced a sprint triathlon at Eaton and won my age group. Good start to the season.

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London Marathon

Another London Marathon done and dusted for this year. I finished in 2:57:36 which is my personal slowest time. The result is slightly disappointing as I thought my preparation actually went reasonably this year. I felt well rested and capable of going under 2:50, but just didn't have it on the day – no excuses

In the last days leading to the race day went well and I was feeling good and loose. The weather was good and it looked like it was going to be a hot race day. What a change on the race day – when I woke up the sky was overcast and with it my legs felt quite sore somehow. By the time we got to the start it was raining and it felt quite cold.

This year I was starting from the red “good for age” start which follows a different route for the first 3 miles. Despite being late I managed to get right to the front and was in the first line. Soon enough the gun went and we were off.

The first 5 miles, as usual, were quite quick, perhaps a little bit too quick, but felt very comfortable. After 5 miles quite suddenly my hamstring locked up and the pace immediately dropped by 30 seconds per mile. Just like this, no warning, no gradual slow down, it just happened and the race for time was over. From that point I knew it was going to be a long 20 miles to the finish, shuffling along. I think Jim passed me at about 10 miles, but I was in a world of pain and didn't even recognise him.

I got to 20 miles in 2:14 and had to pick up the pace to make sure I got in under 3 hours. Why? No reason really but 2 things I really didn't want to do was to drop out or finish outside 3 hours. The last few miles were not so bad and even actually quicker than last time I run the marathon. Seeing Big Ben and then Alex at 800m to go and eventually the finish was a welcome relief. It was over for another year, I didn't drop out and was in under 3 hours!

Very sore now on the plane to China for some well deserved rest. On reflection happy to have finished and I think the training done and completing the marathon is going to pay off later in the season. I've made some mistakes in the lead up to the race, for example slightly low on mileage, not enough race pace preparation and only completing one half marathon in spring. Something to learn from for next year.

Easter 3-day

The official annual Easter 3-day Surrey League cycling race was cancelled this year. To avoid disappointment I created my own version of the 3-day event. It comprised of
- Surrey League race at Milland Hill on Saturday

- Surrey League race at Cutmill on Sunday

- The Steying Duathlon on Monday.

Due to my lack of bike fitness it was always going to be a difficult challenge but it turned out to be a real lesson in suffering.

The first race started with me arriving late after a drive in torrential rain and making the start line with a minute to spare. Luckily once the race started the rain eased up and the conditions were reasonable. I felt quite comfortable in the bunch until we got to The Hill, which turned out to be a fairly short climb but topping out at 25%. I got over the hill in the bunch but I knew straight away that I didn't have the legs to do it 6 more times on each lap. I tried to get away from the bunch with a couple of riders on the descent to get to the hill with some time to spare, but we were caught before the hill and sure enough I couldn't hold the wheel on the climb and got dropped. Unable to get back on the descent I rode hard for the next 5 laps on my own with nobody from behind catching me. In summary: a tough day and a big mistake even entering.

The next day was another Surrey League road race, this time held on the Cutmill course. This time the hill wasn't as steep but it was quite a bit longer and the course was dotted with big potholes in many places and featured a nice hairpin bend covered with gravel. Even before the start I knew that I didn't have the legs to race this after the previous day, but decided to give it a go and try to stay in the bunch for as long as possible. This time it turned out to be 4 laps as I got dropped on the 5th ascent of the hill and this time it was like someone just turned the lights off - darkness and I couldn't even go steady anymore. I've managed to ride easy for 2 more laps on my own without being caught by the bunch to make sure I finished what I started, but it felt like a very long 14 miles. To add insult to injury I was marked as the dreaded DNF in the official results. Another mistake to even enter this.

Easter Monday featured the Steyning Duathlon. After 2 days of racing I knew this was going to hurt. Right from the gun my legs refused to cooperate, I tried my best but my pace just wasn't there. Onto the bike hoping that things might improved and straight away I made a mistake and my velcro strap in one of the shoes came out loose and I couldn't put it back in so I had to resign to riding with one shoe open. The course was quite windy with some rolling hills and I never really got into a rhythm. My power was down by about 30W to what I expected, so I just had to try to do the best I could with what I had left. Coming into transition I was so tired that the lights switched off again and I couldn't see my run shoes for about a minute. Strangely enough this probably gave me a little bit of much needed rest and I felt better on the second run. I was even able to pick up the pace a bit and was finally passing some people. To little too late though and eventually I ended up finishing in 44th place overall an 6th in my age group.

Very hard weekend , but I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Now a little bit of rest and putting in some final touches to my preparation for the London Marathon.

Winter Training

Training has been going so-so since Ironman Florida. I took 2 weeks recovery and started getting back into the swing of things slowly.

By mid- December I was actually getting into quite a good shape. Chris and I did our usual "Ballbuster" training session, named after the infamous duathlon race held typically in November. The course consists of an 8 mile run followed by a 24 mile bike time trial and finishes with another 8 mile run. Taking in the fearsome zig-zag climb 5 times the course features over 1500 meters of climbing and then descending and the last run is usually particularly strength-sapping. This time I felt good on both runs, and despite suffering a bit in the hands (or should I say legs) of Chris who is a much better cyclist I was happy with completing the whole course and within a reasonable time of 3h 30min.

Unfortunately due to work commitments things have not been going so well since. I've been spending a lot of time travelling on business and I found being away from a familiar surroundings not very conducive to training. I had a good 5 days of training when Alex and I went to Lanzarote during the Christmas break, covering about 400km cycling, 12km swimming and about 50km running. Since the return from Lanzarote, however, things have not been going so well with work commitments and travel again. While away my objective is to do "something" every day. It may be a yoga class, a short run, a gym session or sometimes even a longer run. It keeps the fitness at a reasonable level, but I don't count it as training.


Hopefully things will get better now as the weather is improving, days are getting longer and if I can only reduce the amount of travel the motivation and form is bound to return.

Chris and I are due to do another "Ballbuster" session on Sunday and this will give me a better idea of where I am fitness-wise, but I'm not looking forward to it - it will be painful. Pain is only temporary though and you can learn to accept it and deal with it. Hopefully I will on Sunday...

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Ironman Florida

Yesterday I finished Ironman Florida in a personal best time of 9:28:08, but I'm leaving with mixed feelings as I've not achieved my goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Championships in Hawaii.

My pre-race preparations have gone well, but I knew coming into the race that I was short of training as I've only managed 3 good weeks of high volume training, yet I was hoping that this will get me through the race in a reasonable form.

We arrived in Florida on Saturday and the week before the race had gone very quickly and was unusually relaxing with just enough training to keep loose and no last-minute disasters except for a swollen foot 3 days before the race.

By the time we realised the race morning was upon us and I was feeling well an had my whole support crew behind me.

The race morning started with a fairly warm temperature, but unlike the previous few days there was a bit of a chop in the Bay of Mexico where the swim was taking place. It actually didn't look too bad from the shore, but as soon as I got in the water it was up and down all the time and you couldn't see the buoys. I decided to start far on the right hand side of the anti-clockwise rectangular course and I had a fairly clean start until the first turn-around buoy where I got kicked a few times, but overall the swim was fairly clean. I exited the water in 1:08, which was disappointing, but as I later discovered the conditions made the swim 5-4 minutes slower than usual for everybody.

The bike is flat with some long straight sections typically with some strong head and tail winds. As soon as I got on the bike I tried to get into a good rhythm and keep a steady pace. Unfortunately he nature of the course meant that drafting was always going to be a problem and soon enough large packs of riders started forming. It's pretty impossible to drop a large pack of drafting athletes of similar abilities on such a flat course so I decided to stay on the back of the group with a legal distance of 10 meters, which still gives you enough benefit to be faster that riding solo. I had to work a little too had on some rolling sections up the small hills and then coast downhill to stay legal. I came into transition with a 4:50 bike split which I was happy with, but my legs felt tired.

Starting the run I didn't feel too good, but decided just to keep it steady and see what happens. I had to walk through some aid stations to make sure I get enough fluids on board. A few people passed me and I've had to let them go. I finally started to feel a little bit better after about 10 miles and started to pass people back. the last 3 miles were difficult but my support crew gave me a lot of encouragement along the route and there was good crowd support in the last 2 miles which kept me going. I finished the marathon in 3:18, very tired and with nothing more to give in the tank.

My time of 9:28:08 was good enough for 62nd place overall and 18th place in my age group, some 12 minutes short of the last Kona place. I was happy with my performance and given my training I don't think I could have done any better. I wonder what the result would have been if everybody was riding solo because as soon as a marshal pulled alongside our cycling group and started giving out warnings the gaps opened and I found myself off the front the he group. Unfortunately I don't think enough penalties were given out. There is no point in dwelling on it, though, I'm happy with how I performed, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to get a qualifying spot. Maybe next year in Germany.

That's it for this year. Time for some R&R...

Mike.

My travel blog: http://alexmike-travel.blogspot.com