Tri Yas - race report

Gah, don’t you hate it when work, training and, well, life get in the way of some questionable quality blogging action!

Anyway, bit of a round-up. Last weekend, as I said, was Tri Yas – an event I really enjoyed last year and so was excited to do again this year. Last time out, I did the Olympic distance race but this time, as I wasn’t really supposed to be racing at all due to being in full Ironman training mode (11 weeks!), I decided to do the sprint distance race as this would probably have least bearing on any training.

Friday morning’s session was meant to be a 15km run into a 120km bike but I shifted a load of stuff around and got up at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning to do the session before work rather than Friday morning before the race. In the end, I only got 105km of the bike in, due to being chased back to the car by a Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol style sandstorm, but it did the trick.

"Bugger!"

As Yas was an afternoon/evening race, it meant I managed to get (almost all my training in), be a little tiny bit rested for the race and, most excitingly, I got to enjoy my first Friday morning lie-in for probably 18 months.

The race itself was really well put on, with the exception of it dragging somewhat – I had to be there to register, rack up and be out of transition by 3, but my wave didn’t start till 5.15. By the time I left after presentations (there’s a clue as to how I did) it had gone 9pm... which is a long day for a sprint!

There were a few small murmurs about the course being long (turns out the swim was probably 850m and the bike was 22.5km) but it was what it was and, from my point of view, it was about time the swim was long, as every other race this season has been on a notably short swim course.

Anyway, the race was a lot of fun due to the surroundings. The swim took us out into the marina and past the iconic Yas Viceroy hotel before heading back to the dock. I’ve not been swimming fantastically of late but felt good – started aggressively and just kind of kept on going hard. By all accounts, by the time I was heading back along the marina, I’d opened up a lead of 100-200m and came out the water on a time of 10:52 – not bad at all for a swim of 850-900m.

The run from the marina into T1 (the pit lane!) was quite a long one and I managed to pass through pretty quickly without overexerting.

Onto the bike – four laps of the Yas Marina F1 Circuit – and this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a bike. Being such a strong swimmer (and not bad on the bike and run), I’m used to only being overtaken as I fall behind the eventual winners and podium finishers, but the wave start here meant that there were plenty of triathletes out on the course already and I loved zipping past them and into the tight corners. I also felt great and was pushing hard and fast through the pedals all the way around; my aim was to get into T2 before my team mate Ed, who was also in my wave and is a brilliant triathlete and especially strong on the bike and run. Heading into the pit lane after just over 22kms, I was chuffed that I’d managed to hold on to the wave lead, and even happier when my Garmin showed an average speed of close to 41kph.

Again, it was a long T2, but I felt pretty good heading out on to the run and used the Garmin to control my pace. The intention was to hold a 4.10 pace for the first 1km or so and then bring that down. I hoped to break the 4min/km average for the first time but, in the end, that just didn’t happen. I felt smooth, and continued overtaking runners in front, but just couldn’t quite find the pace I’d hoped for. Still, I held on to the wave lead for almost 4km of the run, until Ed ran past me like a steam train. It was just a case of gritting the teeth and getting to the finish line then.

I crossed the line in 1.08.28 which was enough for 3^rd position overall (Ed took 2^nd 50 secounds in front of me, while our other team mate Ian, who was in the previous wave, got the W another 40 seconds ahead of Ed – a Tri2Aspire clean sweep, with another T2Aer, Flanners, also taking 4^th and Didge pretty much walking to victory in the women’s sprint).

Scary helmet people

Being called up on to the F1 podium was very cool, but I was generally very happy with my race. With little to no taper or specific preparation, I swam and biked as well as I ever have while my run was where I’d expect it to be, even if I’d secretly hoped to see a small improvement... a huge relief after a difficult few months of illness and injury and a really great first indicator to me that I’m back on form, which is great with the UK sprint champs coming up in May and Ironman in July.

The aim at the UK champs is to qualify to represent GB at the age group sprint world champs later in the year. If I do mange to fluke that, this is a good base to work from. With the focus on Ironman, I’ve done little to no speed work of late and am confident that, after IM, I can really improve across all three disciplines, but the bike and run in particular. 

Brokebike Mountain

For someone with an acute fear of heights and skull-crushing vertigo so bad that looking up at a tall building can make them topple over, there are very few things scarier than being on a road 1300m up that has a 1k sheer fall on both sides. Except maybe being on that road on a bike. In a hurricane. For that reason, getting through my inaugural Jebel Hafeet training camp (an annual event for my tri team) was as much a question of bravery as it was physical effort.

So, what does a weekend mountain top training camp look like? Thursday evening, I checked into the hotel and took my bags to the room, where I proceeded to empty the cans of Sprite and Heineken from the mini bar and replace them with Gatorade, protein shakes and Red Bull. Energy requirements are always a priority!

Some of the guys who’d arrived earlier headed out for a small jog; with the stress of the laughably inefficient check-in process fresh in my mind, I decided to miss the run, get my stuff sorted and meet the rest of the team at the pool. This camp has a reputation for being brutal and I was fairly sure I wouldn’t get to the end of it thinking “If only I’d had the time to get an extra light jog in...”.

So, Thursday PM: easy warm up and smooth, light chain gang swim (2 lengths, last one in first one out) of around 1,000m.

It takes a real man to wear pink goggles! (thanks to Alex Jacobs for the pics)

Shortly, it was time for dinner and we learnt the drill for the following day before heading back to our rooms to prep our gear and try to get an early night. My roomie for the camp was Illinois Pete, who proved to be great company for the beasting ahead. We had a chat and a laugh, spoke about our fears for the next morning (neither of us had done the camp before) then both tried to sleep. Pretty unsuccessfully. Whether it was nerves, the prospect of a 4am get-up, the unfamiliar surroundings or a bit of everything, I think I managed an hour all night. Talking to everyone the next morning, it seemed like most the others were in the same sleepy boat.

Friday AM: the hellish duathlon – ascend Jebel Hafeet to the hotel (10km, almost 1,000m altitude) straight into a 5km run from the hotel to the summit (300m of climbing in that too)...then do it all over again (with the top guys ascending Hafeet for a third time!!!).

One section of the climb up Hafeet

This was an extremely tough morning and I could almost immediately feel my lack of any consistent training on the bike for the past two months. I also discovered (well, already knew) that I’m a woefully bad climber (both bike and run) and that the heat does me few favours! That said, I found my pace (‘very very slow’ – one notch above stop moving and fall over) and plugged away and I could definitely feel the benefit. It was a little frustrating at times – I was very conscious of just how much weaker I was than I had been back in January, but hanging tough and pushing myself while remaining sensible was the name of the game.

Getting up out of the saddle to climb Hafeet

Friday AM part 2: straight to the pool for an easy 700m or so.

Finally, it was time for breakfast. I spent a few hours at breakfast, eating, drinking coffee and chatting to team mates, including the awesome Captain Carl who, at 59, had just posted an awesome 10:40 at Ironman Melbourne. He was just there to chat and soak up the atmosphere (taking a few weeks off training after his IM) which tells you a lot about what a team brings. It’s like a family. It’s also great to hear the experiences of everyone else – without sounding too hippyish about the whole thing, it’s like we all learn from each other’s mistakes and benefit from each other’s successes. Everyone is always keen to pass on a wise word or tactic.

Some slept that afternoon – I lay in bed and had a nap while listening to a bit of the Guardian football podcast but couldn’t really sleep. I headed down to the lobby to enjoy another coffee and a bit more chat with team mates then, at 4pm, we headed down to the bottom of the mountain to a long, flat dirt track.

Friday PM: 100 minutes of dirt track run repeats.

The whole team ran 4 minute repeats; the idea being that we ran the first one at around 80%maxHR, made a note of where we reached, and tried to hit that point every time (in one direction and, of course, back to the start in the other direction). There was a minute’s rest after each repeat. Based on my heart rate etc, it seemed like 4:50 pace would be reasonable for me – extremely tough, especially as we did more and more – but not unrealistically so.

On the dirt run

There was a great support team of parents, spouses and injury hit athletes at the start line who were ready with water, ice and Coke after every other repeat and they were godsends – it was very hot, dry and dusty out there. I found the going tough but managed through to 12. By then, there were people dropping after each rep, or having to take a couple of reps’ rest, but I was determined to keep going and was chuffed to make it the full 20 reps with just a handful of others.

Friday PM part 2: After being returned to the hotel by one of the hotel’s drivers (the uphill Schumacher), it was back into the pool for around 1,000m as a chain gang, with the pace getting a little faster. As I’m sure you can imagine, this swim was cramp-tastic with almost everyone letting out at least one little yell of pain as their calf spasmed after pushing off the wall too hard!

Dinner that night was accompanied by three pints, which did the desired job and left me plenty tired enough to sleep.

Saturday AM: “the world’s toughest triathlon”

The idea was that group 1 (elites) would do: 2,000m swim, 12 x laps (ascents and descents between the hotel and the summit i.e. 60km with around 3,500m of climbing total) and finally run 2 x laps (10k with 600m climbing). Group 2 would do a 1,500m swim with 8 x bike laps and 2 x run laps.

In the morning, however, it was blowing a gale outside and coach made the decision to cut down the race. That meant 10 x bike laps for group 1 and 6 x laps for group 2.

 I decided to go out with group 1 (for the long swim) but aim for 8 laps instead of 10 and, in the end, I think that was the right decision, although I don’t think I was happy at any point during the bike or run. Frankly, the wind made it utterly terrifying.

Holding on for dear life!!!

If anyone ever needed proof of the benefit of being part of a team then it came for me at the end of this session. Group 3 had done an aquathlon rather than a tri, due to the conditions, while plenty of other racers had also finished or been told to stop. There were about 6 of us left out on course and, with a kilometre or so to go and Suzy Q running on my shoulder, coach drove up beside us shouting “gloves off guys – 1k to go and you’re racing it home”. My legs were in bits after the weekend but I managed to wind up the pace once, then again and, as we hit a nice long descent, I picked it up again. I could see everyone who’d finished waiting by the hotel drive, cheering us all on and, although I was confident that Suz hadn’t been able to keep up, I dared not look back until I reached the hollering crowd to be welcomed home with high fives and Coke... simply awesome!

Last night, back in Dubai, a group of us celebrated a good training camp with dinner and beers down at Barasti and that was also great – don’t think I’ve laughed so much in ages.

I feel I gave all I had to give this weekend, although I don’t think that I showed what I can do more generally – it’d have been great if this camp had come a couple of months earlier when I feel I was in better shape. However, I learned a lot and know what I need to work on. My team mates are inspirational and, although I may never be a mountain goat like the awesome Suisse Marc, I know that learning to suffer in the mountains and over hills will make me a far better athlete overall.  

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.