The Dream Team

This weekend marked the next chapter in my ‘tri career’ as it was my first set of group training sessions since joining Team Tri2Aspire. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it.

Being the type of person who likes to dive in head first (swimming reference...see what I did there, eh?) I guess this was the perfect weekend to start – it was Eid Al Adha here in the UAE which meant a four-day weekend for most folks. For us, that meant extra training sessions.

So, I popped my T2A cherry with a 120km group ride on Friday morning, which was a good session and a nice way to meet a few more people. We all have slightly different programmes to follow but mine had me jumping off the bike and doing an 8k run – my legs had me doing 6k instead of 8 tho, as they were in bits from a 23k run earlier in the week.  

The following morning, we were all on the beach at JBR at 7am for a sea swim session which I really enjoyed. A bit of warm-up and a few sprints were followed by an all-in race of about 900m. I sat on the feet of coach and Ian LP for the first 450m and then smashed the second half as hard as I could. I just beat coach to the beach but we were all at our absolute limits the whole way in, which was really knackering but cool. On the bad side, I got my first ever jellyfish stings – another, less desirable, cherry popped!

After a few hours at home, that night I tackled what the guys in the team have affectionately named the Coach Dirt run. And a fine name that is – it is dirty. Not in an unclean way; more of a filthy, disgusting, hideous painfest from hell...y’know, that kind of way. It involves an 8.5k cross-country run on tracks and dunes, followed immediately by a 5k all-in race back, with us all being set off at handicapped intervals based on our run times. I went out way too fast and then died a long, painful death...not a good performance but I know I’ll improve.

On Sunday morning, Longtoot called again – laps on the bike. I managed 95k (programme said 75k, but some others were carrying on for 120k, so 95k seemed like a good compromise with me having to get to work...as I said, it was a holiday for MOST folks!). I swam my ass off with Dubai Masters in the evening and then managed a few pints for a mate’s birthday before dragging that ass out of bed at 6am ready for another tough sea swim session, which also included runs up and down the beach between ‘laps’ of the buoys. Can’t wait till Wednesday for a day off, I can tell you.

I’ve found it tough but not undoable at all – I think a lot of the difficulty is because I’ve just been doing fun/light sessions since IM, so this is the first period of extended training in a few months.

And, as a newbie to team triathlon, what do I think of the set-up? As I explained before, I’d been reluctant to join a team as I enjoyed training solo and setting my own sessions – I wasn’t sure what a team would add to that. Now, however, I’m a convert.

Firstly, as there are always others around, I’ve found myself pushing harder in most the sessions – in fact, coach makes small races a part of the sessions, so I pushed much harder than I would have if I’d trained alone. Secondly, triathlon isn’t always the most social of pastimes due to the early morning bike rides and I can go weeks without seeing mates, having a drink or going out. Last night, I had a friend’s birthday drinks and was determined to get along and not cry off, as I have in the past due to training. It was a fun night and I didn’t get home till 1am and had to get up at 6am to make it to the sea swim – if I’d been doing it alone, I’d have definitely sacked off the session and probably stayed for a few more pints too. I guess you could call this accountability, but it’s also motivation. Finally, most sessions end with the whole team diving into a cafe for coffee or breakfast and I can’t explain how nice it is to sit and chat with people who are just as infatuated by and geeky about triathlon as I am! That social element is the real kicker, in my view. So, for the foreseeable future at least, I’d say there is an ‘I’ in ‘team’. Or a ‘me’ at least, to push this awkwardly contrived sentence to its disappointing conclusion.

I’m looking forward to getting a few more weeks under my belt and seeing the effect that this training has on my times. Although, after four early starts in a row balanced with work and a couple of extra sessions, right now I’m more looking forward to getting home, bashing out a quick Swiss ball/weights sesh and then getting my head down early. For most people it’s a boring early night, but as triathletes we get to call it ‘recovery’!

The Times They Are A’Changin’

I have to admit that, other than the occasional race report here and there, I’ve been seriously rubbish at keeping you, my dear, loyal, slightly mental blog readers, updated of late. The reason for this, like a devil’s pitchfork, is triple-pronged.

Firstly, after quite a bit of blogging in the run up to Ironman, I guess I just ran out of steam. Secondly, I’ve been adjusting to my new job (well, promotion – same company) which has been pretty tough as I seem to have all the same old responsibilities but a pile of new ones too! The final reason is, happily, triathlon related – I’ve been busily sorting a couple of things out.

The first big bit of news is that, after going it alone so far, I’ve joined Tri2Aspire – the top local triathlon team here in the UAE. Coached by an ex pro triathlete, Jason (worryingly also goes by names like The Tyrant and Coach Pain!), there are all sorts of levels in the team but at the top end are some really cracking athletes, with age group World Championships and Kona qualifications under their race belts. Impressive stuff.

As you know if you’ve been a regular blog follower, I’ve always really enjoyed the self-coaching element of triathlon and learning by doing but it’s an extra burden on an already busy schedule. This month, coach has sent me my schedule along with the reason I’m doing what I’m doing and where it’s leading in the greater scheme of things. But that’s not my only reason for joining T2A. Triathlon can be quite a lonely endeavour and, at times during my training for IM Wales, I found ploughing that lonely furrow even harder than the physical ‘getting er done’. The social element seems to play a big role in the team – from coffee after early morning swim sessions or cheering each other to PBs to having a training partner to push you that little bit harder...I’m looking forward to diving into my first team sessions this weekend. It’s a long weekend (Eid holidays) here in Dubai, so a great chance to really give the body a beating!

So, the second big tri related news? Ironman Austria, baby...hell yes! Registered, accommodation booked, flight almost sorted. Not till July 1^st next year but I’m already really excited. The goal is 11 hours...but there’s a long time between now and then, so we’ll have to see.

Once again, though, that team dynamic is playing a role as many of the other T2A members have entered Challenge Roth (another Iron distance race in similar terrain/conditions) which is just one week after IM Austria, meaning my experience of training for an IM this time around should be very different from last. Plus, it’ll be up to me to put in a good performance to set the tone for the other guys to follow. 

Race Report: Wadi Adventure Sprint Tri

It’s a great time to be involved with triathlon – and just as good a time to be involved in endurance sports here in the UAE. Once there were pretty slim pickings but now, during the winter months at least, you could take part in some form of racing just about every weekend. All these new events are great – adding real variety – but you also need to remember to be a little patient as they don’t always get everything right straight away.

Risen, but not shining.

Pre-packed: el bici en la boota

On then to last weekend’s race – it was centred around Wadi Adventure, a cool new rafting, kayaking and outdoor activities park in the inland town of Al Ain. Given that a lot of local tris kick off at 6am-ish, I was delighted to read that this event wouldn’t start till 8am. But then my heart sank a little when I worked out travel, allowing for getting lost etc...to cut a long story short, it was another 4am start!  

Attempted shot of sunrising in the desert from the car came out as quite a cool artsy pic.

Wadi Adventure itself is a great venue – about the cleanest changing facilities and most immaculate transition I’ve come across. There was a nice, relaxed vibe before the race (just 150 or so people were racing) and I even managed to get into the crystal-clear manmade lake for a long warm-up swim, which I rarely usually manage.

An empty transition.

A full transition.

The briefing, however, was a bit confused and ended up being a bit ‘well, you’ll know it when you get there’... famous last words. This is always a particular concern for me; as swimming is my strongest discipline, in all but the very top level of racing, I’m usually first out of the water and, now I’ve added a bit of strength to my cycling too, often first through a lot of the early stages of the bike course. Advice to race organisers part 1: if the course is anything less than a completely straightforward out and back or loop, give a very detailed map or, better still, use a map for the briefing so you can point and explain the route.

The flat flat flat lake for the swim.

The hooter sounded and, feeling good and conscious of my newfound confidence for going hard in the swim and not dying on the bike, I went as hard out as I ever have. The still swimming pool like waters made for fast swimming tho weren’t ideal as far as final positioning goes, as a rougher swim tends to work more to my advantage.

It was a two lap swim course and I came out of the water with one other swimmer – clearly a member of a relay team – in just under 9mins (750m swim). Later, quite a large bunch of us were told we’d missed a buoy on the first lap. It was only to the tune of maybe 5m overall but I’d offer another word of advice to race organisers here: if you’ve kayaks in the water anyway, one of them should be ahead of the lead swimmer. This always happens at the bigger events, as they recognise that everyone else can simply follow feet – the lead swimmers don’t have this luxury. We’d never cut a corner on purpose, but if you’re the first swimmer and you see a buoy, you’ll head for that – a kayak helps you not to make that honest mistake. Anyway, I think we ultimately weren’t given a time penalty as it was a very small advantage and so many people made the same detour.

Coming out of the swim (thanks to Probike.ae for the pic)

I was second out of T1, just the relay team was ahead, so I set about reeling in the relay rider in front, which I achieved quickly. I felt strong. After 8.5k, Nick Tipper came past me – to be expected and holding out that long was the mark that I was cycling pretty well. It was a multi-loop course with odd bits tacked on to the beginning and end and, to add to the confusion, T1 and T2 were in different places. I kept the pace up and kept my average up around 40kmph, which I was really happy with given that there was a long steady uphill stretch of about 1.5k on each of the loops. This, previously, would have been my downfall but since Wales I’ve been working hard on my bike strength and I kept the power on (for me!) as I charged past other triathletes that I was lapping. 

The good riding continued until the end of the second loop when I was directed by a marshal off the looped circuit and down a straight road – this made sense as there was a sign saying to do exactly this and, in the briefing, we’d been told it was two times around the loop before heading straight. I got a few hundred metres down that road when I realised I should be able to see Nick ahead, but couldn’t. I slowed and it occurred to me that this looked a lot like the road into transition – but my Garmin had only clocked 16-odd kilometres for the ride so far...it was obviously another loop. I swung around and headed back out, angrily chastising the marshal as I passed (I feel bad about this now – poor guy was only doing his best) but it was frustrating. Turned out I’d done more than one kilometre extra and a slow one at that, looking ahead and then having to turn around.

Back out on course, I recognise in retrospect that I went a little too hard trying to make up what I’d lost. Amazingly, I still seemed to be in second place tho. That lasted till 18.5k of the bike when Olivier Godart, a very strong triathlete who wins many of the local sprint races, stormed past me. I hit T2 just behind him (34min ride) and headed out on the run.

Final advice for race organisers: starting a race at 8:30am in the UAE isn’t ideal for us triathletes who don’t possess a lean, gazelle-like frame! It was well up into the mid to high 30s by the time we hit the run and I felt every degree of it. I could see Tom Muller (cracking young triathlete) wasn’t far behind me and knew I’d unlikely be able to hold him off on the run as he’s a much faster runner than I am. It was a tough, dry 5k and I suffered – Tom caught me after 4 and a bit kms, relegating me to 4^th (my 4^th 4^th of 2011 but still no podium!) and I took a long look behind, saw there was a huge gap and cantered in and across the finish line in a time of 1:06.

In terms of my time, I was actually pretty happy as, allowing for the time I lost on the bike mix-up and my easy finish, it would have probably vied for my 1:04 sprint PB. And this on a course that was a little windier and plenty hillier than the one my PB was set on. In some ways, I was a little gutted about the position – there’s no doubt in my mind that I’d have been far too far ahead in 3^rd place to be caught on the run if it hadn’t been for the misdirection; I also feel that my run paid for the extra 1.3km and the way I rode to ‘catch up’ that time.

But what goes around comes around – that’s the second time that something outside of my physical fitness and ability has cost me a podium (last time it was a mechanical) but if I race long enough and hard enough I’m sure I’ll be the beneficiary of someone else’s misfortune. Also, just as my 4^th in the Eton Sprint taught me to check my bike thoroughly pre-race, maybe I learned this time not to leave it to the briefing to check out the course. I know for sure that the next time I tackle a slightly odd multi-lapper, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on my Garmin too, and letting that determine when my laps are done rather than a marshal who has to guess just how many times 150 racers have been around!

Turns out I was far from the only athlete to make that mistake - many didn't realise until too late that they'd missed out a loop and were honest enough to come forward.

So, in short, a disappointing result but one with plenty of positives to take from it. And well done to Nick, Olivier and Tom who all raced brilliantly on what was a tough, honest course, as well as Heather and Cath who totally sandbagged all the girls and took the top two open female positions. Nice work!