Ironman Staffordshire 70.3 2015
June 14th 2015
1900 m open water swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
As the newest kid on the block of the Ironman branded races, I couldn't resist entering this one. Nor could a lot of others apparently - entries sold out in under 11 minutes! Normally I avoid the Ironman races as they are too expensive and indeed this cost a similar amount to the Outlaw full, but because it was just 20 minutes from home and I could do without hotels etc then I could just about justify it.
This was my first ever split transition race, and what a faff that is... It took my friend and I six hours on the Saturday to set up, and all in the pouring rain - an organisational nightmare. However, when we arrived at Chasewater on the Saturday the sun was shining and we felt much more positive about the race (whilst hoping that everything we needed was in our T2 bags). The aim of this race for me was to test out kit and nutrition ready for Outlaw, as well as to enjoy the familiar scenery.
Last to the party as usual, we went off about an hour after the first men. Chasewater is a fairly large lake by open-water swim standards, and can be a little choppy in the middle. Today it was in a flatter mood, but I still didn't have a fantastic swim. Aside from losing the pack, nothing went horrifically wrong, I just wasn't fast! Transition went pretty well though and I grabbed my (now dry) bike on the way through T1.
The start of the bike course can most flatteringly be described as "technical". The potholes were large and the gravel prevalent, with the road along the wall of the lake being narrow to boot. For those expecting this, it wasn't too bad, just time to recover from the swim. I did see a few people taking this bit a little faster than I'd have dared though!
The undulations continued for a few miles until around Yoxhall where the course really flattened out. This is the first point where I was aware of a fair few people overtaking me. Something about long stretches on the flat doesn't generally make me fair better than others, possibly because I prefer smaller gears. I enjoyed the Needwood loop and its undulations a little more, and coming back across six-ways junction was ready to grab my first Powerbar feed. This proved to be nothing other than disgusting - the gel was very thick in consistency and so strong it reminded me of mango concentrate. Bleurgh. I wasn't going to have any more of those!
Getting back to the riding, I was enjoying the descent down to Abbots Bromley reservoir, and even the teeny climb the other side didn't bother me. In fact here I re-overtook a couple of people who'd powered past me on the flat. After the reservoir climb there is a long descent down to Rugeley, through which you gradually make your way to Cannock Chase. Within the chase there was a fair bit of climbing, but I found it all to be a pleasant gradient where you can just get in one gear and go. Others seemed not to like it so much and I took great pleasure in "speeding" past, especially as I was now coming across the men's waves....
It was further than I thought from the end of the chase descent to Shugborough. Although it was fairly flat there was a little breeze which made this a bit of a sting in the tail. However, I eventually made it and managed another smooth transition to the run. At this point I expected to see some of my own spectators, but even squinting around at the crowd didn't aid me to spot them (I would find out later that they had gotten lost on the roads and only made it for my very last lap!). A little disappointed, I cracked on with the first 4.4 mile run lap, which started by going through the estate before a gentle (on the first lap anyway!) climb to Little Haywood and then back down the A513 pavement.
The larger part of the run lap was pretty and I did try to relax. There was a fantastic amount of support at Little Haywood (I saw a work colleague there!) and by my second lap I was overtaking loads of men. I think they were on their third lap, but still... Thanks to being female and starting last, tri runs generally get emptier and emptier as my race goes on, but there were still a decent amount of people around for my last lap, in which I pushed on to finish in two hours - not far off my standalone half marathon time!
Crossing the finish line my hand was shaken by Gordan Ramsay, who had finished earlier and was awaiting his wife. A nice touch! My spectators had finally arrived too and I could reflect on what had been a good race (setting up problems aside).
Times
Total time: 6:18:30
Swim: 00:39:22
T1: 00:05:52
Bike: 03:29:51
T2: 00:02:48
Run: 02:00:37
Standings
Age category: 12/45 27%
Gender category: 102/385 26%
Overall: 1068/1952 55%
Female 25-29
Swim: 20/45 44%
Bike: 18/45 40%
Run: 10/45 22%
1900 m open water swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
As the newest kid on the block of the Ironman branded races, I couldn't resist entering this one. Nor could a lot of others apparently - entries sold out in under 11 minutes! Normally I avoid the Ironman races as they are too expensive and indeed this cost a similar amount to the Outlaw full, but because it was just 20 minutes from home and I could do without hotels etc then I could just about justify it.This was my first ever split transition race, and what a faff that is... It took my friend and I six hours on the Saturday to set up, and all in the pouring rain - an organisational nightmare. However, when we arrived at Chasewater on the Saturday the sun was shining and we felt much more positive about the race (whilst hoping that everything we needed was in our T2 bags). The aim of this race for me was to test out kit and nutrition ready for Outlaw, as well as to enjoy the familiar scenery.
Last to the party as usual, we went off about an hour after the first men. Chasewater is a fairly large lake by open-water swim standards, and can be a little choppy in the middle. Today it was in a flatter mood, but I still didn't have a fantastic swim. Aside from losing the pack, nothing went horrifically wrong, I just wasn't fast! Transition went pretty well though and I grabbed my (now dry) bike on the way through T1.
The start of the bike course can most flatteringly be described as "technical". The potholes were large and the gravel prevalent, with the road along the wall of the lake being narrow to boot. For those expecting this, it wasn't too bad, just time to recover from the swim. I did see a few people taking this bit a little faster than I'd have dared though!The undulations continued for a few miles until around Yoxhall where the course really flattened out. This is the first point where I was aware of a fair few people overtaking me. Something about long stretches on the flat doesn't generally make me fair better than others, possibly because I prefer smaller gears. I enjoyed the Needwood loop and its undulations a little more, and coming back across six-ways junction was ready to grab my first Powerbar feed. This proved to be nothing other than disgusting - the gel was very thick in consistency and so strong it reminded me of mango concentrate. Bleurgh. I wasn't going to have any more of those!
Getting back to the riding, I was enjoying the descent down to Abbots Bromley reservoir, and even the teeny climb the other side didn't bother me. In fact here I re-overtook a couple of people who'd powered past me on the flat. After the reservoir climb there is a long descent down to Rugeley, through which you gradually make your way to Cannock Chase. Within the chase there was a fair bit of climbing, but I found it all to be a pleasant gradient where you can just get in one gear and go. Others seemed not to like it so much and I took great pleasure in "speeding" past, especially as I was now coming across the men's waves....
It was further than I thought from the end of the chase descent to Shugborough. Although it was fairly flat there was a little breeze which made this a bit of a sting in the tail. However, I eventually made it and managed another smooth transition to the run. At this point I expected to see some of my own spectators, but even squinting around at the crowd didn't aid me to spot them (I would find out later that they had gotten lost on the roads and only made it for my very last lap!). A little disappointed, I cracked on with the first 4.4 mile run lap, which started by going through the estate before a gentle (on the first lap anyway!) climb to Little Haywood and then back down the A513 pavement.
The larger part of the run lap was pretty and I did try to relax. There was a fantastic amount of support at Little Haywood (I saw a work colleague there!) and by my second lap I was overtaking loads of men. I think they were on their third lap, but still... Thanks to being female and starting last, tri runs generally get emptier and emptier as my race goes on, but there were still a decent amount of people around for my last lap, in which I pushed on to finish in two hours - not far off my standalone half marathon time!
Crossing the finish line my hand was shaken by Gordan Ramsay, who had finished earlier and was awaiting his wife. A nice touch! My spectators had finally arrived too and I could reflect on what had been a good race (setting up problems aside).
Times
Total time: 6:18:30
Swim: 00:39:22
T1: 00:05:52
Bike: 03:29:51
T2: 00:02:48
Run: 02:00:37
Standings
Age category: 12/45 27%
Gender category: 102/385 26%
Overall: 1068/1952 55%
Female 25-29
Swim: 20/45 44%
Bike: 18/45 40%
Run: 10/45 22%
Comments
Post a Comment