It’s nice to do a new distance once in a while. The T100 format in Athy this year replaced the old Double Olympic. The new distance is close enough to the old for meaningful comparison, but at the same time it’s different enough to take some of the PB pressure off.
I did the Double Olympic last year; my first time doing TriAthy. I was too focused on the full in Barcelona to really call it an A race, but definitely felt like more than a B race. I think it’s just nicely timed to be a checkpoint on how my training is going after the winter before I knuckle down to the long endurance sessions; the end of the beginning I suppose. Also a good way to check how my body responds to a hard effort. As I sit here I’m feeling tired but not exceptionally beat up, so I think I’ll chalk that one down as a success.
Process
I like the way not being too concerned about a finish time gives me space to mix things up a bit and try new things, like trying a new nutrition product or shifting the balance of training between bike and run. This time I decided to take a more deliberate approach to how I do my taper. Reading up a bit on some popular approaches, I decided to keep more-or-less the same pattern of weekly sessions but reduce the time spent to 60% two weeks out and then 40% on the last week.
Towards the end of the first week of this I felt more tired and sore than at any point since my Ironman, but I stuck with it and trusted the process and I think it worked out pretty well in the end. I felt sufficiently rested but without much trace of sluggishness from dropping the intensity. I think I’ll dial that one in for the Hardman in August.
Swim
A lot people mentioned the swim was a little more aggressive than usual. Whether it was just the increased numbers or something else I felt there was more contact than was strictly necessary, but it didn’t impinge too much on my enjoyment. It did make it a little harder to stick to the bank on the way upstream to minimise the current. Once I turned at the buoy I really enjoyed the sensation of the river pushing me along and I thought it was kinda cool to watch the vegetation whizzing by underneath me.
Bike
Last year my feet were freezing on the bike and I think as a consequence I found it hard to really get going. I threw a few toe warmers in my cycle shoes when I racked up and made sure I had dry socks rolled up and ready to throw on my feet and a towel to dry them off. With the shorter swim and slightly warmer water it probably wasn’t critical but I find with experience I’m more inclined to trade off a little time for comfort especially at the longer distances.
The bike was breezy, can’t deny that. A good motivation to stay tucked and aero on the bars though. I reckon it was the most I’ve managed to maintain that position on any race so far. Really liking the wireless blips on the end of the bars for easy shifting without changing position.
Run
I’ve been putting more emphasis on the run this year with the goal of reducing the sheer drudgery of running off the bike on a long race. I’ve been a fan for a while of Lawrence Van Lingen’s methods and I feel my running has become a lot more fluid and pain-free as a result of following some of his advice. I felt if I could maintain an average pace of 6 mins per km I’d be happy with that and I’m delighted to say I achieved that if only by the thinnest of margins.
One of the visualisation (manifestation?) techniques he described was to imagine you’re staying still and you’re pushing the ground out behind you with your feet. I tried this and it did seem to reduce the feeling of constantly thinking of how far I had to go. Just a way of bringing your focus to the now, I guess.
Finish
Of course one of the best things about finishing a race faster than you expected is you get to watch more of the other happy sore people crossing the finish line. There was a great crowd of runners and supporters from Mallow Tri Club at this event. It’s great to be able to share your achievements. And your failures. Although happily enough not too many of those.
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