The European championships in Tampere went down so much better than I anticipated, so I'm not really in the mood to complain. But it's a little bit unfair, the shortened bike course.
The ETU/ITU so called long distance is to begin with a distance that favours strong swimmers and runners on the expense of better cyclists. The swim is longer than an ironman swim leg, 4000 m instead of the usual 3800m, the bike is a lot shorter than the ironman bike leg, 120K instead of 180K, and the run is 30K instead of a marathon, 42,2K.
And due to safety reasons, the bike leg was shortened even further in Tampere. It was a measly 114,6K – too short for me to gain enough time on those of my rivals who are better swimmers and runners, but weaker cyclists than me. Uhm, now that I think of it: all my rivals are probably better swimmers and runners.
Still, after doing two ironmans this summer, the last one not more than two weeks ago, the long distance felt incredibly, relievingly short. So...humane, compared to the ironman distance.
As I mentioned, my expectations were not top shelf before the race. I felt very fatigued after competing the Kalmar Järnmannen on 6th August, I have suffered from nagging minor pains, and, on top of it all, I had a minor flu during the week leading up to the race. I was still weighing my options, changing my mind twice a minute, on the day before the race, because I still suffered from a sore throat and dizziness.
As well, the start list was, to be fair, a bit of a disappointment. Little more than 200 competitors, all categories counted, and representing not much more than a handful of countries. I think most of the competitors were Finns, just like in Säter in Sweden back in 2005, when most of the competitors were Swedes.
Not improving things, my room mate Esa Ollikainen was also suffering from a minor cold. And he had trouble sleeping the night before the race. And, let's say as politely as possible, it didn't go unnoticed.
But rarely does one get to sleep 11h before a big race, and one night of shortened sleep does not affect your physical performance. On the opposite, you may feel more adrenalized and on the edge.
Besides, if I felt drowsy the absolutely shockingly cold water in Pyhäjärvi was bound to wake me up. I felt like dipping my head in ice cream when I took a few warmup strokes. I was not alone. The look on the Spaniards face when told by the officials to take off his neoprene socks, because they're against the rules.
Strange though, the water didn't feel cold at all once I got underway. The lake swim was really easy, after racing in Barcelona, Nice and Kalmar earlier this year – all with more or less rough sea swims. The buoys were easy to spot, and there was none of the crowding, elbowing and kicking seen in bigger races. There were no difficult currents either, except for the last couple of hundred meters heading up the canal towards the Ratina stadium. Ugh, the canal was dirty and smelly. Tried not to swallow any water.
Swim split a little over 1.13. That's ok for me.
The transition took some five or six minutes, because, due to some strange ETU rules, we were not allowed to wear compression socks or any other garments under the wet suit in addition to the national race suit during the swim. I'm all too used to wearing compression socks, but they are quite difficult to pull over wet calves. I felt like wearing extra sleeves and leg warmers for the bike leg as well, which I did not regret once.
I though the bike leg would feel monotone and somewhat boring, going six laps á 19.1K. But it was actually quite fun, totally different than the races in Nice and Kalmar. Nice: all climbs and descents. Kalmar: all long flats. Tampere: criterium race in the city with lots of technical turns, then a few kilometers along a highway, then some more criterium along the streets of Tampere. The turns made the bike a bit slower, but I still managed to keep an average pace of 36.8kph. Not counting the transition, my bike split was 3.07 something. That's perfectly ok for me on this distance. I suspect I had one of the three or five best bike splits in my category, not counting the transition, but it is very difficult to say, because the organizers didn't record the transition times for T1.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I forgot to prepare any energy bars or gels for the bike leg. I usually attach energy bars to the bike, from where they are easy to grab, but this time I just forgot them in my bag. Had to rely on the energy gels and bananas which the organizers provided.
Saw a familiar face coming into transition: Henrika Malmström, competing in the female elite category. At that point, I knew the bike had to be short. Normally, I would have caught her on the bike (even though the female elite started 8 mins before the male age groups), and then, depending on the time margin, she would have caught me again on the run, or I would have stayed ahead.
I felt strong, going out for the run. I kept an easy pace of 5.15 min/km. I learned a bitter lesson in Kalmar, where I started out with a 5 min /km, which was probably too much for me on an ironman distance right now.
The run was nice, I think. It was a 7K, four lap course, back and forth along mostly gravel roads. Lots of familiar faces along the route, and plenty of spectators spurring you forward.
There was this guy, Hannu Hult, competing in the 30-34 age group, whom I overtook right before the end of the bike, but who, in turn, overtook me right at the start of the run and got away from me. Then I caught up with him when he stopped in order to water the flowers. Then he got away again. Then, after two and a half lap (the laps were about 7K, 3.5K back and forth) he got into trouble and I caught up with him again. Then, right at the end of the third lap, he caught up with me again and, once again, got away. This time, I could change into a higher gear, overtook him again one fourth into the last lap, and didn't look back. Whoa. I usually overtake a lot of guys on the bike, but usually I only focus on maintaining my lead on the run – rarely do I get to beat anyone running. It is small battles like this that makes the end phase of a triathlon exciting. My time on the run leg was 2.37 something, not so bad considering the little run training I've done this year.
I finished 13th in my category, quite ok. The results can be found here:http://www.team226.net/etusivu/tuloksia Didn't beat Esa Ollikainen this time either. Got closer and closer during the bike leg, but he ran so much faster than me it wouldn't have mattered if I had caught up with him. I might have placed higher with a longer bike leg, but I feel satisfied. Also, this race should encourage me to put more work into improving my swimming and running, not just focus on cycling. In triathlon, you need to be good at all disciplines. On the other hand, I'm more than little interested in the new Tristar series events, with distances like 1K+100K+10K and, especially, 2K+200K+20K.
It's great to finish the season with a succesful race. Leaves a good last impression and gives plenty of motivation to put in the work during the off season. Yes mum, I will work on my swimming and running.
måndag 22 augusti 2011
tisdag 9 augusti 2011
Underperforming
Sheesh, look at that guy – how can one run that slow? But why am I not getting any closer?
That's the classic situation during the final miles of an ironman run leg, when you get tired and run out of gas. And it describes precisely how I felt last saturday, during the last 14K of the Kalmar Järnmannen. Luckily, most of those guys (and girls, I admit, boohooohoo, I admit!) were one or two 14K laps behind me.
Still, I was disappointed with the result. I had moderate expectations for the race, knowing that I have not had a lot of quality running this year. Still, knowing Kalmar is a flat and potentially fast course, I realistically expected to finish within 10.10-10.20.
I had some problems leading up to the race: I hurt my hip during one of those final-I'm just doing this last workout–could as well be resting-just a little reassurance before the race–brick workouts. It really hurt my preparations, because I wasn't able to do much anything at all during the last four five days, and felt unsure about even being able to run come Saturday. As it turned out, it was probably just a minor overuse of some muscle.
I didn't get a flying start to the race, swimming like I had a rusty anchor tied to my wrists. The water was only 18 degrees, which may not bother some people, but is a factor in play when you have a 5 body fat percentage. A single 1.9K swim would be ok, but my toes and fingers went numb and my legs started cramping during the second 1.9K lap. I don't think the swim in Kalmar is very fast anyway, with lots of seaweed and spots with disturbingly shallow water. The waves wasn't an issue for me, even if I heard some complain about it.
The bike start was horrible and it took me at least 30 minutes going straight into the brisk headwind to find my legs. Luckily, it was a warm and sunny day, even if the wind speed was close to 10 meters per second. First 30K – 52.29. Bollocks. Second 30K – 48.00. Better. I decided not force the issue, but maintained this pace for the second 60K lap, overtaking, well, a whole bunch of mo'fuckers. During the last lap I dropped a couple of minutes but still managed to finish the bike leg in decent 5.04. I could easily have gone 4.55, even on a bad day like this, but I didn't want to repeat the mistake I made in Nice.
It was great to see how the competitors showed respect for each others and for the rules. I saw practically no drafting at all. The referees, there were plenty of them, seemed sharp, but I think the biggest difference compared to other races was the attitude among competitors. Nobody accelerated when you tried to overtake someone, and they always eased off and dropped back when you overtook them. Just as the rule book says. I wish all the cheating fakes competing in the largest triathlon event in Joroinen, as well as the organizers enforcing the rules, could see how things can be done differently and fairly.
That said, the referees were being very harsh when they hit the ultimate race winner Pontus Lindberg with a 4 minute time penalty – because he had lost his race number. He had to serve the penalty before crossing the finish line, but had a large enough marginal to win anyway. I would say it's the organizers responsibility to supply the competitors with race numbers that are of good enough quality not to fall off.
The run started off good enough, I kept my strides short, my step frequency high and a pace of 5 min/km. During the second 14K lap, the lack of quality running was getting to me.
And the last lap was a battle. My right quad started cramping, and I tried to alter my stride to minimize the pain. Still, you don't quit an ironman with 10K to go unless you're really, really hurting. There was a strong sensation of deja vu, as I ran along the same course which I had seen so many times before.
There were positives: my stomach felt good and I was able to consume enough energy. I actually took mostly energy bars, one half at a time, during the run.
Part of the reason why I collapsed during the run leg was probably the lack of quality long runs this season, but I still feel like I underperformed. Anyway, I think I know what I need to do ahead of next season. Here are my results with split times: http://kalmar.r.mikatiming.de/2011/index.php?content=detail&fpid=list&id=0000170FF638F50000013EB8&lang=EN&event=KLM&ageclass=
This race was not one for the ages for my part, but it is always a positive when you finish an ironman in somewhat good shape. And the race in Kalmar is really well organized, the town is nice and people are friendly.
It was some ten years ago when I raced in Kalmar for the first time. Since then, the race has grown exponentially – from some 150 competitors to more than 800.
Still, it is striking how disorganized the transition area was. We checked in the bikes in the morning, contrary to most big races where you leave your bike in the guarded bike park over night.We had no transition bags – rather, we put all our gear, running shoes, towels, even change clothes next to our bike.This must surely change if the organizers go through with their plans to turn Kalmar into a WTC-licensed Ironman race next year.
That's the classic situation during the final miles of an ironman run leg, when you get tired and run out of gas. And it describes precisely how I felt last saturday, during the last 14K of the Kalmar Järnmannen. Luckily, most of those guys (and girls, I admit, boohooohoo, I admit!) were one or two 14K laps behind me.
Still, I was disappointed with the result. I had moderate expectations for the race, knowing that I have not had a lot of quality running this year. Still, knowing Kalmar is a flat and potentially fast course, I realistically expected to finish within 10.10-10.20.
I had some problems leading up to the race: I hurt my hip during one of those final-I'm just doing this last workout–could as well be resting-just a little reassurance before the race–brick workouts. It really hurt my preparations, because I wasn't able to do much anything at all during the last four five days, and felt unsure about even being able to run come Saturday. As it turned out, it was probably just a minor overuse of some muscle.
I didn't get a flying start to the race, swimming like I had a rusty anchor tied to my wrists. The water was only 18 degrees, which may not bother some people, but is a factor in play when you have a 5 body fat percentage. A single 1.9K swim would be ok, but my toes and fingers went numb and my legs started cramping during the second 1.9K lap. I don't think the swim in Kalmar is very fast anyway, with lots of seaweed and spots with disturbingly shallow water. The waves wasn't an issue for me, even if I heard some complain about it.
The bike start was horrible and it took me at least 30 minutes going straight into the brisk headwind to find my legs. Luckily, it was a warm and sunny day, even if the wind speed was close to 10 meters per second. First 30K – 52.29. Bollocks. Second 30K – 48.00. Better. I decided not force the issue, but maintained this pace for the second 60K lap, overtaking, well, a whole bunch of mo'fuckers. During the last lap I dropped a couple of minutes but still managed to finish the bike leg in decent 5.04. I could easily have gone 4.55, even on a bad day like this, but I didn't want to repeat the mistake I made in Nice.
It was great to see how the competitors showed respect for each others and for the rules. I saw practically no drafting at all. The referees, there were plenty of them, seemed sharp, but I think the biggest difference compared to other races was the attitude among competitors. Nobody accelerated when you tried to overtake someone, and they always eased off and dropped back when you overtook them. Just as the rule book says. I wish all the cheating fakes competing in the largest triathlon event in Joroinen, as well as the organizers enforcing the rules, could see how things can be done differently and fairly.
That said, the referees were being very harsh when they hit the ultimate race winner Pontus Lindberg with a 4 minute time penalty – because he had lost his race number. He had to serve the penalty before crossing the finish line, but had a large enough marginal to win anyway. I would say it's the organizers responsibility to supply the competitors with race numbers that are of good enough quality not to fall off.
The run started off good enough, I kept my strides short, my step frequency high and a pace of 5 min/km. During the second 14K lap, the lack of quality running was getting to me.
And the last lap was a battle. My right quad started cramping, and I tried to alter my stride to minimize the pain. Still, you don't quit an ironman with 10K to go unless you're really, really hurting. There was a strong sensation of deja vu, as I ran along the same course which I had seen so many times before.
There were positives: my stomach felt good and I was able to consume enough energy. I actually took mostly energy bars, one half at a time, during the run.
Part of the reason why I collapsed during the run leg was probably the lack of quality long runs this season, but I still feel like I underperformed. Anyway, I think I know what I need to do ahead of next season. Here are my results with split times: http://kalmar.r.mikatiming.de/2011/index.php?content=detail&fpid=list&id=0000170FF638F50000013EB8&lang=EN&event=KLM&ageclass=
This race was not one for the ages for my part, but it is always a positive when you finish an ironman in somewhat good shape. And the race in Kalmar is really well organized, the town is nice and people are friendly.
It was some ten years ago when I raced in Kalmar for the first time. Since then, the race has grown exponentially – from some 150 competitors to more than 800.
Still, it is striking how disorganized the transition area was. We checked in the bikes in the morning, contrary to most big races where you leave your bike in the guarded bike park over night.We had no transition bags – rather, we put all our gear, running shoes, towels, even change clothes next to our bike.This must surely change if the organizers go through with their plans to turn Kalmar into a WTC-licensed Ironman race next year.
lördag 16 juli 2011
A half ironman on water alone
That was the first time I have ever actually warmed up for any race longer than a sprint. But there was no parking space near the lake Valvatus when we arrived with club mate Ville Heistman about 45 minutes before the start of the half ironman finnish championships.
Got a little anxious there, jogging through the woods to the start. You know, there are things to do before jumping into the water. Like, pumping your tyres, getting marked with your race number and slipping into your wet suit.
Luckily, we got there in time and made it to the start. Perfect - almost.
There should have been an alarm sounding somewhere in my brain when someone asked whether I had done the Ironman France this year. Yeah sure, great race, I replied, wondering how he knew.
Two minutes before the start senior club mate Jari Aaltonen, the master of irony, taunted me: special kids wear special swim caps. Oops. In the haste, I had grabbed the wrong swim cap from my backsack, one which I got from Nice, and which had the totally wrong colour, wrong race number, and the Ironman France logo. Embarassing - nah.
Fast forward to the start. The swim felt easy - too easy. Suspect I'm just not pushing myself hard enough in the swim. I was faster a couple of years ago. Lazy? Don't know. More likely, after doing an ironman distance race just three weeks ago, I'm kind of stuck in the diesel, full distance mode. Note for the future: never eat pickled cucumber for breakfast before a race. Comes back to haunt you.
Bike: Felt super. Or kind of. The rain which was pouring down earlier in the morning had stopped, but I still felt chilly. I had decided to wear a longsleeved tri-suit and didn't regret it.
Heart rate unusually low, but I had decent speed. I maintained 40 kph for the first 30K lap, but slowed down to an average speed of some 38.5 kph. Again: stuck in the full distance gear. Mentally, after doing a mountainous 180K bike three weeks ago, 90K, mostly flat with some small thingies which weaker cyclists call "hills", felt very easy. But would have wanted to go faster. Couldn't. I noticed I had a 7s faster bike split than club mate and long time rival Esa Ollikainen. Great. He was two mins ahead of me after the swim, and he's a better runner.
Others wanted to go faster than they could, too: some club mates told me after the race that during the last lap I was pulling a large group of some ten or more cyclists. Drafting is illegal in a triathlon, of course, but race marshals can't see everything with more than 700 competitors racing.
My stomach felt a little nervous too, so I decided to go on water for the moment. I rather go on diesel that than eat and having to slow down if my stomach revolts.
I had an average heart rate of 151 during the bike. That's quite low for me, even for me. That's right, the full distance gear.
Transitioning to run, I kept to drinking water. I felt strong, but not a hundred per cent sharp. But compared to, for example, the Ironman France three weeks ago, or the Half-Challenge Barcelona in May, I held my position much better during the run. Oh, and the run was 5 mins faster than in Barcelona.
I think it is possible for me to pull off a half ironman without any extra energy, going on water alone, still with decent speed, because I have been doing a lot of moderately paced aerobic training on water alone. I feel this improves the most important ability of all in ironman racing: the ability to go fast for a long time, using mostly fat for energy, without going over the limit where your body starts burning a lot of carbon hydrates and producing lactic acid. In the later case, you don't go fast for very long. I don't recommend anyone to try this water thing in a race before doing some practicing, though.
The results for my category M35 can be found here: http://www.championchip.fi/tulospalvelu/01e1c502-b8b4-4dbe-b8d2-2fe7d1b48536/Miehet+35 Oh, it was the first time I was racing in a "masters" category. Feel old. But I beat quite a lot of 20+ year olds today, didn't I?
All in all, I have to be satisfied with the result, because it was only three weeks after an IM (might have mentioned that before in this blog post) and I approached it much like a training session.This week was much like a normal training week, albeit less running:
mon 1.05h/3.75K swim
tue 4hbike+1h run
wed 1.5K swim, inc. 750m fast + 10K bike TT/14.42.
thu bike 4h/144K, inc. 2h/36.5kph
fri rest day.
sat race day.
sun 8h bike! No, that was a joke.
Half ironman distance races are fun in the way they make you feel more good afterwards, whereas you mostly feel bad, your body aches everywhere and you'll lose your sleep for three days or so after a full ironman. After today, I feel really motivated to take on the Järnmannen Kalmar in three weeks from now. After that: the long distance European championships in Tampere. And then: think I'll take a month-long break.
PS. I wish to thank Antti Hagqvist and the volunteers making the Finntriathlon happen. Another great race, and it keeps getting bigger every year. I certainly hope the triathlon boom we are experiencing right now is sustainable. Also, thanks to all the people cheering along the course, as well as to all competitors.
Got a little anxious there, jogging through the woods to the start. You know, there are things to do before jumping into the water. Like, pumping your tyres, getting marked with your race number and slipping into your wet suit.
Luckily, we got there in time and made it to the start. Perfect - almost.
There should have been an alarm sounding somewhere in my brain when someone asked whether I had done the Ironman France this year. Yeah sure, great race, I replied, wondering how he knew.
Two minutes before the start senior club mate Jari Aaltonen, the master of irony, taunted me: special kids wear special swim caps. Oops. In the haste, I had grabbed the wrong swim cap from my backsack, one which I got from Nice, and which had the totally wrong colour, wrong race number, and the Ironman France logo. Embarassing - nah.
Fast forward to the start. The swim felt easy - too easy. Suspect I'm just not pushing myself hard enough in the swim. I was faster a couple of years ago. Lazy? Don't know. More likely, after doing an ironman distance race just three weeks ago, I'm kind of stuck in the diesel, full distance mode. Note for the future: never eat pickled cucumber for breakfast before a race. Comes back to haunt you.
Bike: Felt super. Or kind of. The rain which was pouring down earlier in the morning had stopped, but I still felt chilly. I had decided to wear a longsleeved tri-suit and didn't regret it.
Heart rate unusually low, but I had decent speed. I maintained 40 kph for the first 30K lap, but slowed down to an average speed of some 38.5 kph. Again: stuck in the full distance gear. Mentally, after doing a mountainous 180K bike three weeks ago, 90K, mostly flat with some small thingies which weaker cyclists call "hills", felt very easy. But would have wanted to go faster. Couldn't. I noticed I had a 7s faster bike split than club mate and long time rival Esa Ollikainen. Great. He was two mins ahead of me after the swim, and he's a better runner.
Others wanted to go faster than they could, too: some club mates told me after the race that during the last lap I was pulling a large group of some ten or more cyclists. Drafting is illegal in a triathlon, of course, but race marshals can't see everything with more than 700 competitors racing.
My stomach felt a little nervous too, so I decided to go on water for the moment. I rather go on diesel that than eat and having to slow down if my stomach revolts.
I had an average heart rate of 151 during the bike. That's quite low for me, even for me. That's right, the full distance gear.
Transitioning to run, I kept to drinking water. I felt strong, but not a hundred per cent sharp. But compared to, for example, the Ironman France three weeks ago, or the Half-Challenge Barcelona in May, I held my position much better during the run. Oh, and the run was 5 mins faster than in Barcelona.
I think it is possible for me to pull off a half ironman without any extra energy, going on water alone, still with decent speed, because I have been doing a lot of moderately paced aerobic training on water alone. I feel this improves the most important ability of all in ironman racing: the ability to go fast for a long time, using mostly fat for energy, without going over the limit where your body starts burning a lot of carbon hydrates and producing lactic acid. In the later case, you don't go fast for very long. I don't recommend anyone to try this water thing in a race before doing some practicing, though.
The results for my category M35 can be found here: http://www.championchip.fi/tulospalvelu/01e1c502-b8b4-4dbe-b8d2-2fe7d1b48536/Miehet+35 Oh, it was the first time I was racing in a "masters" category. Feel old. But I beat quite a lot of 20+ year olds today, didn't I?
All in all, I have to be satisfied with the result, because it was only three weeks after an IM (might have mentioned that before in this blog post) and I approached it much like a training session.This week was much like a normal training week, albeit less running:
mon 1.05h/3.75K swim
tue 4hbike+1h run
wed 1.5K swim, inc. 750m fast + 10K bike TT/14.42.
thu bike 4h/144K, inc. 2h/36.5kph
fri rest day.
sat race day.
sun 8h bike! No, that was a joke.
Half ironman distance races are fun in the way they make you feel more good afterwards, whereas you mostly feel bad, your body aches everywhere and you'll lose your sleep for three days or so after a full ironman. After today, I feel really motivated to take on the Järnmannen Kalmar in three weeks from now. After that: the long distance European championships in Tampere. And then: think I'll take a month-long break.
PS. I wish to thank Antti Hagqvist and the volunteers making the Finntriathlon happen. Another great race, and it keeps getting bigger every year. I certainly hope the triathlon boom we are experiencing right now is sustainable. Also, thanks to all the people cheering along the course, as well as to all competitors.
tisdag 28 juni 2011
Almost as planned
Usually, it spells trouble when you stop sweating. Luckily, I was only five kilometers from the goal line at that point.
I might just have forgotten how much it can hurt to do an ironman. Maybe that's what they call it an ironman. If it would be easy, it might be called tennis. Or football.
The Ironman France is of course not your ordinary ironman. Just check out the profile. That would be ok for a bike race, but something extra when you are supposed to run a marathon on top of it.
It was my third time in Nice. The first time I was really worried about the climbs and the heat and took it really easy. The second time I had a fresh hip stress fracture going into the race and knew I wasn't going to be able to run. So I had some unfinished business in Nice.
My plan: swim something like 1.05-1.10, go out hard on the bike, knowing that the second half of the bike leg is quite easy, come into transition #2 with a total time of 6.30, then do the run in something like 4 hours.
How it went down: the swim was chaotic, with 2 600 competitors all starting at once, and none of them with a clear idea of how the swim course was drawn. According to the race briefing, there were supposed to be three buoys during the first 2.4K lap. There was two. And they were so small that you couldn't use them for navigating, so everybody was just swimming in the general, assumed direction of the next buoy. The race officials were waving and blowing whistlepipes from their canoes, trying to get people in the right direction. The second lap was a bit easier, measuring just 1.4K. But still, the swim took me 1.13. Might have been 4.5K though.
I went out hard on the bike and hit the climbs selfconfident as Mr T. I was overtaking, like, everyone, and felt strong as ever even as I went into the red zone. Nearing the top of Cote de Gattieres, the pace and the heat was getting to me and I was already doubting whether I would make it through the day.
The course is really easy after that, with only one 7K climb, flats, and mostly downhill. But I was totally drained. But, just as I had planned, I was able to use the descents to recover, drink and eat before the run.The bike split was 5.27, just as I had planned. Didn't feel exactly fresh, coming into T2, though.
The run almost came to an end before it even had started, because I fell at a loose rug in the transistion area and hurt my ankle. I thought that was it, but the pain went away as I headed out for the run along the Promenade d'Anglaise.
What a promenade. The run isn't the best part of ironman Nice. I mean, it's great with lot of spectators, and you can't really complain about the scenery either. It's just that when you run back and forth along the beach promenade four time, without the slightest shade, sooner or later you will wish it was a loop course. Or wish it was all over.
The heat was killing me. And not only me, I heard some 450 competitors DNF. I kept the pace for some 15-20K, but then the sun started taking its toll. My head was spinning and my legs felt like I was wearing shoes made out of concrete. But I decided: never gonna stop, never gonna quit. During the last lap, I was so trashed I couldn't even nod to any of my friends. I wasn't sweating anymore, a clear sign of dehydration. Usually, during the last 5K, you feel like you're flying because you know it'll be over soon. Now, it felt like even the last kilometre was one klick too much. Crossing the goal line, I wasn't celebrating much. I was more like, moaning out of pain. The run took me something like 4.25. Amazing that I'm able to run that slowly, because I didn't walk. For some reason, I didn't have to stop for peeing either, after drinking some ten litres during the day. Finished 100th among some 550 in my category, M35. Have to live with that, being among the top fifth in a highly contested age category.
After the race, I was shivering despite it still being hot. Another sign of dehydration. But I was able to drink and eat (they had some good pizza slices and soup in the finisher area, which wasn't bad at all after going an entire day on cola, sports drinks and energy bars) and soon felt fresher.
Now, two days after the race, my right ankle is the size of a tennis ball, and my thighs hurt so much I wouldn't dream of running. Went out for a supereasy spin on the bike after assembling it, just to get moving. Life goes on.
This year I have been doing a lot of long bike rides, which, instead of the usual ironman steady pace all the way, have been partially in the upper aerobic zone and lower anaerobic zone, with the Nice bike course in mind. It seems to have paid off.
But I had a brief layoff with my run training due to the accident in march, and never quite got back to it again. Mostly, it was the lack of long aerobic runs that came back to haunt me during the run in Nice.
Next up, if there are no setbacks with my recovery and the ankle, I will race on half distance in Joroinen 15th July. Sheesh, the distance will feel easy. Then, I am planning to race the ironman distance in Kalmar in southern Sweden. It's a flat course, and I doubt the heat can be as bad as in Nice. Somehow, I don't think I will be back for a fourth time in Nice. But you never know.
I might just have forgotten how much it can hurt to do an ironman. Maybe that's what they call it an ironman. If it would be easy, it might be called tennis. Or football.
The Ironman France is of course not your ordinary ironman. Just check out the profile. That would be ok for a bike race, but something extra when you are supposed to run a marathon on top of it.
My plan: swim something like 1.05-1.10, go out hard on the bike, knowing that the second half of the bike leg is quite easy, come into transition #2 with a total time of 6.30, then do the run in something like 4 hours.
How it went down: the swim was chaotic, with 2 600 competitors all starting at once, and none of them with a clear idea of how the swim course was drawn. According to the race briefing, there were supposed to be three buoys during the first 2.4K lap. There was two. And they were so small that you couldn't use them for navigating, so everybody was just swimming in the general, assumed direction of the next buoy. The race officials were waving and blowing whistlepipes from their canoes, trying to get people in the right direction. The second lap was a bit easier, measuring just 1.4K. But still, the swim took me 1.13. Might have been 4.5K though.
I went out hard on the bike and hit the climbs selfconfident as Mr T. I was overtaking, like, everyone, and felt strong as ever even as I went into the red zone. Nearing the top of Cote de Gattieres, the pace and the heat was getting to me and I was already doubting whether I would make it through the day.
The course is really easy after that, with only one 7K climb, flats, and mostly downhill. But I was totally drained. But, just as I had planned, I was able to use the descents to recover, drink and eat before the run.The bike split was 5.27, just as I had planned. Didn't feel exactly fresh, coming into T2, though.
The run almost came to an end before it even had started, because I fell at a loose rug in the transistion area and hurt my ankle. I thought that was it, but the pain went away as I headed out for the run along the Promenade d'Anglaise.
What a promenade. The run isn't the best part of ironman Nice. I mean, it's great with lot of spectators, and you can't really complain about the scenery either. It's just that when you run back and forth along the beach promenade four time, without the slightest shade, sooner or later you will wish it was a loop course. Or wish it was all over.
The heat was killing me. And not only me, I heard some 450 competitors DNF. I kept the pace for some 15-20K, but then the sun started taking its toll. My head was spinning and my legs felt like I was wearing shoes made out of concrete. But I decided: never gonna stop, never gonna quit. During the last lap, I was so trashed I couldn't even nod to any of my friends. I wasn't sweating anymore, a clear sign of dehydration. Usually, during the last 5K, you feel like you're flying because you know it'll be over soon. Now, it felt like even the last kilometre was one klick too much. Crossing the goal line, I wasn't celebrating much. I was more like, moaning out of pain. The run took me something like 4.25. Amazing that I'm able to run that slowly, because I didn't walk. For some reason, I didn't have to stop for peeing either, after drinking some ten litres during the day. Finished 100th among some 550 in my category, M35. Have to live with that, being among the top fifth in a highly contested age category.
After the race, I was shivering despite it still being hot. Another sign of dehydration. But I was able to drink and eat (they had some good pizza slices and soup in the finisher area, which wasn't bad at all after going an entire day on cola, sports drinks and energy bars) and soon felt fresher.
Now, two days after the race, my right ankle is the size of a tennis ball, and my thighs hurt so much I wouldn't dream of running. Went out for a supereasy spin on the bike after assembling it, just to get moving. Life goes on.
This year I have been doing a lot of long bike rides, which, instead of the usual ironman steady pace all the way, have been partially in the upper aerobic zone and lower anaerobic zone, with the Nice bike course in mind. It seems to have paid off.
But I had a brief layoff with my run training due to the accident in march, and never quite got back to it again. Mostly, it was the lack of long aerobic runs that came back to haunt me during the run in Nice.
Next up, if there are no setbacks with my recovery and the ankle, I will race on half distance in Joroinen 15th July. Sheesh, the distance will feel easy. Then, I am planning to race the ironman distance in Kalmar in southern Sweden. It's a flat course, and I doubt the heat can be as bad as in Nice. Somehow, I don't think I will be back for a fourth time in Nice. But you never know.
fredag 10 juni 2011
New way of thinking
It might have been reflective of a new approach to training, when I skipped the our club Helsinki Triathlons traditional cup sprint and opted for a long, intense workout last tuesday. In my opinion, that kind of 4-6 hour workout at or close to ironman race pace is the single most important workout to improve in long distance triathlon. Note the difference: at or close to ironman pace means fast, not long and slow. I never like to do long and slow. Waste of time.
That said, sprints are important as well in order to improve the speed reserve and feel more comfortable at ironman pace. On thursday I did a 20K flat out bike on my own, and friday I ran 3K on the track.
But last year, I was like doing anaerobic training every other day, cycling tempo rides, running stairs, running intervals. This year, I have been doing more aerobic work, and done about one anaerobic workout per discipline a week.
I have also been riding more in the zone slightly above the aerobic threshold, between ironman pace and half ironman pace. That's a pace where my body burns a lot of stored glycogen and some lactic acid is produced in my muscles. But it is still a quite comfortable pace, which I, for example, can maintain on the bike for some two hours.
This is a typical, great workout for improving your ironman bike speed: 4h bike, beginning with a heart rate of 135 for 1h, increasing speed to a heart rate of 140 for 1h, then 145, and, finally, a heart rate of 150 for 1h. That is based on the assumption that your ironman race pace is around 145 bpm. But BEWARE. The increase in heart rate should not be due to increased fatigue or loss of liquid, so make sure you actually increase your speed. Ok, sorry, I know. This is totally paleolithic. In 2011, everyone should have a power meter, not some silly, unreliable heart rate monitor. I usually trust my speed gauge more. But then you have to take into account wind and other weather conditions as well.
That said, sprints are important as well in order to improve the speed reserve and feel more comfortable at ironman pace. On thursday I did a 20K flat out bike on my own, and friday I ran 3K on the track.
But last year, I was like doing anaerobic training every other day, cycling tempo rides, running stairs, running intervals. This year, I have been doing more aerobic work, and done about one anaerobic workout per discipline a week.
I have also been riding more in the zone slightly above the aerobic threshold, between ironman pace and half ironman pace. That's a pace where my body burns a lot of stored glycogen and some lactic acid is produced in my muscles. But it is still a quite comfortable pace, which I, for example, can maintain on the bike for some two hours.
This is a typical, great workout for improving your ironman bike speed: 4h bike, beginning with a heart rate of 135 for 1h, increasing speed to a heart rate of 140 for 1h, then 145, and, finally, a heart rate of 150 for 1h. That is based on the assumption that your ironman race pace is around 145 bpm. But BEWARE. The increase in heart rate should not be due to increased fatigue or loss of liquid, so make sure you actually increase your speed. Ok, sorry, I know. This is totally paleolithic. In 2011, everyone should have a power meter, not some silly, unreliable heart rate monitor. I usually trust my speed gauge more. But then you have to take into account wind and other weather conditions as well.
måndag 6 juni 2011
Return to competition
I should have had a flock of humming birds in my stomach, but instead, heading for the start in Calella (that's 60 km north of Barcelona, all of thee geographically uneducated) I was calm as nerves-of-steel-hockey goalie Tim Thomas running on tranquilizers. In fact, so calm I was worried being too calm.
After all, it was less than two months after the crash that sent me in an ambulance to hospital. I had been cycling since mid-March, but running and swimming much less.
Maybe it was a good thing we arrived three days ahead of the Barcelona Half Challenge, a rare luxury as long as the location is within the same time zone, plus or minus 1 hour. I was fearing boredom, but we used the spare time with Henrika Malmstroem (note the international spelling) for familiarizing ourselves with the bike course and getting used to the sea. I did a solid preparation 20K race-paced ride on friday, two days ahead of the race.
We were lucky as well in getting our bikes and luggage without delays, as some of our friends leaving Finland on friday didn't get their stuff due to an unannounced strike on the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. In fact, I tried to get tickets for Finnair's friday afternoon flight, which we took last year, travelling with senior citizen Peter Groenholm (note the international spelling), but, since it was fully booked, opted for Lufthansa's thursday flight.
I had no idea what to expect before the swim, but the sea was calm at the 8.25 a.m. wave start and I could find a good lane and felt strong throughout. 33 mins exiting the water.
Felt strong as ever on the bike. Last year, the route was a little bit too short, some 85K, but this year it was a full 90K. I finished with a bike split of 2.22, which translates to close to 38kph on the average. The course, of course, was totally flat. Highest point 25 meters above sea level.
Only two guys overtook me on the bike – Finnish native Pablo Erat, and some other guy on a Cervelo P3 just like mine, except painted in world champion rainbow colours. No problems there.
It seems the 1/2-IM-specific bike workouts which I have been doing have been working well. I have done lots of, for example, 3-4 h rides where I do the last 1h at a forced, half ironman pace.
On the run, on the other hand, at least two dozen guys ran past me during the first kilometers. Tells me something about my strengths/weaknesses. Haven't been running much fast tempo runs this year, whichs shows during a distance as short as 21K. The upside: I didn't get fatigued, and could pick up my pace towards the end, catching quite a few of those backs which I saw disappearing on the horizon during the first 5K. Two guys surprised me by sneaking up on me right before the finish line (I would like to see a shot of the finish camera, because I would like to contest them being ranked before me in the final results). Anyway, I finished 38th among a field of 226 contestants.
Next up is Ironman Nice. A little different bike course, but otherwise this was good rehearsal. Sea swim, and some Mediterranean heat during the run as well.
After all, it was less than two months after the crash that sent me in an ambulance to hospital. I had been cycling since mid-March, but running and swimming much less.
Maybe it was a good thing we arrived three days ahead of the Barcelona Half Challenge, a rare luxury as long as the location is within the same time zone, plus or minus 1 hour. I was fearing boredom, but we used the spare time with Henrika Malmstroem (note the international spelling) for familiarizing ourselves with the bike course and getting used to the sea. I did a solid preparation 20K race-paced ride on friday, two days ahead of the race.
We were lucky as well in getting our bikes and luggage without delays, as some of our friends leaving Finland on friday didn't get their stuff due to an unannounced strike on the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. In fact, I tried to get tickets for Finnair's friday afternoon flight, which we took last year, travelling with senior citizen Peter Groenholm (note the international spelling), but, since it was fully booked, opted for Lufthansa's thursday flight.
I had no idea what to expect before the swim, but the sea was calm at the 8.25 a.m. wave start and I could find a good lane and felt strong throughout. 33 mins exiting the water.
Felt strong as ever on the bike. Last year, the route was a little bit too short, some 85K, but this year it was a full 90K. I finished with a bike split of 2.22, which translates to close to 38kph on the average. The course, of course, was totally flat. Highest point 25 meters above sea level.
Only two guys overtook me on the bike – Finnish native Pablo Erat, and some other guy on a Cervelo P3 just like mine, except painted in world champion rainbow colours. No problems there.
It seems the 1/2-IM-specific bike workouts which I have been doing have been working well. I have done lots of, for example, 3-4 h rides where I do the last 1h at a forced, half ironman pace.
On the run, on the other hand, at least two dozen guys ran past me during the first kilometers. Tells me something about my strengths/weaknesses. Haven't been running much fast tempo runs this year, whichs shows during a distance as short as 21K. The upside: I didn't get fatigued, and could pick up my pace towards the end, catching quite a few of those backs which I saw disappearing on the horizon during the first 5K. Two guys surprised me by sneaking up on me right before the finish line (I would like to see a shot of the finish camera, because I would like to contest them being ranked before me in the final results). Anyway, I finished 38th among a field of 226 contestants.
Next up is Ironman Nice. A little different bike course, but otherwise this was good rehearsal. Sea swim, and some Mediterranean heat during the run as well.
torsdag 5 maj 2011
Bricks are good
Interesting, to say the least. Who said brick runs are no good?
I have done nothing but brick runs since february, before my accident and a trip to the hospital. All of my running has been on top of a bike workout. And all of it has been endurance. No fast running at all.
Still, my first track session today went really well. Hadn't lost much of a step. Well, I admit, I'm not such a great runner anyway, so there never was much fine-tuning in my stride.
It was also a great relief to find I can still run, because my self confidence has been quite low after the accident and the forced rest. In fact, I was worried. A collapsed lung isn't something to fool around with.
I had a similar experience last week, when I did the first wednesday's Pepen tempo, a 10K time trial. My time was very much ok, and it felt very comforting to find I can still ride a bike at about the same speed as before.
Swimming? Not so great. But I'm getting there, hopefully. I have been swimming, what, four or five times since the crash. Took a while before the pain in the ribs subsided.
Had a good two weeks of training with the Eastern holiday and a week of vacation on top of that. The weather was splendid, so I got a little volume on the bike.
The two weeks 18.4-1.5.2011:
Swimming: 2.15h/6.6km
Running:7.35h/86km
Cycling: 38h/1234km
Total: 47.55 h
I have done nothing but brick runs since february, before my accident and a trip to the hospital. All of my running has been on top of a bike workout. And all of it has been endurance. No fast running at all.
Still, my first track session today went really well. Hadn't lost much of a step. Well, I admit, I'm not such a great runner anyway, so there never was much fine-tuning in my stride.
It was also a great relief to find I can still run, because my self confidence has been quite low after the accident and the forced rest. In fact, I was worried. A collapsed lung isn't something to fool around with.
I had a similar experience last week, when I did the first wednesday's Pepen tempo, a 10K time trial. My time was very much ok, and it felt very comforting to find I can still ride a bike at about the same speed as before.
Swimming? Not so great. But I'm getting there, hopefully. I have been swimming, what, four or five times since the crash. Took a while before the pain in the ribs subsided.
Had a good two weeks of training with the Eastern holiday and a week of vacation on top of that. The weather was splendid, so I got a little volume on the bike.
The two weeks 18.4-1.5.2011:
Swimming: 2.15h/6.6km
Running:7.35h/86km
Cycling: 38h/1234km
Total: 47.55 h
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