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The Vit 2011
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SP, yes caffeine gels I think. He also drinks lots and lots of coffee generally but gave all coffee up two weeks before the race. I shall pass on all this info so he can figure it out and get it right for next time.
Cheers
hairier half, nice to put a face to a name.
2nd attempt at this after losing my full report when I lost tinternet connection
The travel up was not without it's problems, firstly Sussex council closing a main road across the county without posting diversion signs, useless fekkers. Then the poor pilot on the A1 backlog, luckily for me I was only 50m from a detour my sat nav picked up on even if it was a road for farmers to get around on their tractors from field to field.
So I unpegged it and carried it to the right area and set up again. Saw Soupy later carrying her tent too[snigger]. And i can't believe that Holly, Rio and bitch, and Waffy set up their tents on the Duchess of Rutlands camping area. She specifically pre-booked that space for herself and her minions. So I told the young lady she had employed to move us to tell her to come back and get in my tent and I would put a smile on her miserable face. I even had to tell them that if they drove through the space on the end like I did she could put her tent next to the lake like she wanted.
I arrived at the site and set up my tent. In the wrong field
Anyway race day arrives and lady muck I hope is woken up by quite a few triathletes getting ready for the days fun.
SWIM
I am quite looking forward to the melee that is a mass start swim apart from the fool trying to get into my shorts in the 1st 20m. At the bouy I employ my short scoop with the left hand to get a tight turn and the high punch down with the right to move anyone trying to swim over me. Seems to work for me
No other dramas till I attempt to leave the water at speed and my calf cramps up on the ramp out. Luckily a nice lady helper rubs my calf till it subsides. I lose a few minutes but I'm not going to win so not that bothered. Time comes up as 45 min so was probably about 42/43. T1 is a bit of a faff eating nananana while trying to unsuit, drink fluids and get ready all at once, really need to make an effort in transitions
BIKE
My legs feel cold for the 1st few miles, especially my quads which is not a good thing. It takes about 10miles before really getting my bike legs, and when i get into my stride I feel good. My HR is nice and steady, my legs are turning a big gear nicely. On the run into one village the sign pops up a smiley thankyou at 29mph I thought it was a car behind but I was alone, that really put a smile on my face. I was passing loads of people and saying hi to all the pirates I passed. Mind you those fast guys know how to make a bike move don't they.
I see Barley and Madge on the ripple and Madge later on her bike pootling round the course backwards. Also Little Sister taking pics here and there too. Going through the feed station I am fine for fluids and gels so keep the hammer down and hear the pirate chorus as I pass by. But why were the helpers in the middle of the road? I nearly took the last one out cos she couldn't see me with her mates in the way. Wasn't that badly organised last year when the Pirates were there heheheheh
I feel fine all the way round the 2nd lap, legs not a problem at all. Only problem i had was finding my bearings in the racks as we entered the area from a different entry point. Lost a bit more time but only about a minute.
2.45 for the bike I think which I am pleased with, I now know I can go better if I put leg warmers on to help my quads get going quicker.
RUN
At the turn feed station I have HH with me to help me along for the last 5k but only manage about 1k with him and have to go back to survival mode. Then the marker for the last 1.5k is there and I tell myself no more walking, and it worked I managed to run it all to the finish, and with the pirates cheering like mad it helps a hell of a lot. Just wish they would learn how to pronounce my 2nd name 
My legs feel fine as I set off on the run. Only a mild wibble which goes after the first half mile or so. I feel fine all the way of the 1st 5k, even had time to joke with the feed station helpers. Then at about 7k the wheels started to come off. My quads and calfs both started to tighten up so I knew from there it was a game of run/walk/survive heheheheh. Lap 3 I see Saffers and give her one, a hug
A poor run time of 2.07 gives me a total of 5.49 which I am very pleased with, over half an hour better than the Cowman. But I know that I can beat it next year along with a 12 hour Outlaw I hope, bring them on
i feel really stupid but everyone has mentioned Barley and others at the top of the ripple - i didnt see anyone there ! i did see the knitting sign but i think i was concentrating so much my head blocked people out. I dont know many of you by name but i did see and hear the lady in Ketton - i dont know if i was imagining it or not but i think she was on a sit up and beg bike - it was nice to see people that far out of the way giving a cheer
thnx for the photos too - i can now dye my hair back to more socially acceptable colour, i have had people giving me some very strange looks which is rather exceptional considering the local populace are mainly interbred or neon clad eastern europeans. to add insult to injury my other half forgot to get me some hair dye on sunday so i had to go to the pool like it. Happy days though
Oh wow. I can't wait for this race next year!
You are all so fast though! My only half distance so far was 7:55..... hampered by a lack of bike training and a hybrid, so I know it will improve, but I can't imagine cycling 50+ miles in less than 3.5 hours.....
Who is keeping an eye on Vit 2012 entries??? December time usually? I had to stop looking at the website from all the day dreaming it induced, so dont know if there is an email registration update thingy or anything.....
The swim scares me a bit though. And what is all this Ripple business? Sounds to me like a nasty hill and I don't like hills....
STIL - Ace report. Are you some kind of writer? I recall your Outlaw report being just as readable. In order that I can follow in your footsteps as precisely as possible next year, what other races have you done pre-Outlaw? Were your entourage playing Boney M's "Daddy Cool" too? Cos that song is stuck in my head now
Well, here goes. Here is my bike report
Pre-amble
I entered the Vit last year with the intention of doing it all on my own. I was always going to be chasing cut-off but I was ok with that. However two swim events in July showed that my pool swim times were not translating into OW and this made the Vit impossible. I informed Pacesetters of my problems and they were absolutely wonderful in suggesting ways round it. The upshot was I could do an abbreviated swim or bike, but I would be a DQ. I was happy with that.
Then someone else was having to re-think their race strategy and was considering doing the same as me, so it made sense to pool resources and so Team Schmunks was once again resurrected from the ashes.
Friday
Arrived late afternoon. Pitched someone’s tent. Registered – to find we were race number 1 and racked. And then sat with the Pirate Massive for a couple of hours at the campsite before retiring to my lovely hotel room with electricity, flushing toilet, and double bed.
Saturday Morning
Had set the alarm for 4am. Woke up. Looked at clock. It was 4:17. Eeek! Jumped out of bed. Necked some water. Got dressed while letting my porridge cool down and taking in more water. Faffed like I have never faffed before and finally my porridge was cool enough to eat. Three mouthfuls in and I wretched it back together with all my fluid. Still, I had my back up plan of bananananas so ate two of those and started drinking again.
Soon it was 5am and I was in my car on the way to Rutland Water Centre. Checked all was still ok on the bike and waited for my Mentor to arrive. And wait. And wait. And wait. By this time pre-race nerves were getting to me and I was getting crabby. Saw The Pirate Girls, but decided it was best to stay away as the combination of nerves/anger was not to be inflicted on others racing that day.
From the horizon came my Mentor, grinning like the idiot he is, completely oblivious to how I was feeling. At this point I would like to apologise to the whole of Oakham for hearing the tirade I launched at him. It was unnecessary and uncalled for. And of course the biggest apology goes to him.
Swim
Off Soup went into the water and I milled around for a while. After 40 mins I went into transition, necked a gel, faffed and waited for Soup. In she came after 50 mins.
Bike
This was it! This was the start of the unknown. I knew I could cover the distance but I did not know whether I could do the Ripple twice. So off I went. Found getting out onto the main road was hard and this started to put doubts in my mind, but I pedalled and pedalled. After 6 miles, I was the subject of a drive-by, but fear not, it was my Mentor shouting something at me. I still don't know whether they were words of encouragement or pay-back for arlier. After the abuse I gave him earlier I am surprised he did not try to run me over.
8 miles in and I knew the Ripple was approaching. Mentor’s words from previous training sessions were in my head..’slow down, slow down, slow down’ so I kept an eye on my cadence monitor. On the steepest part of the Ripple I could see a pirate flag and I knew Barley would be there. Managed to get passed him but I was panting heavily and I saw my heart rate was 203bpm (and no Barley, that was not because I was in touching distance of you) and I started to swerve all across the road. I knew I needed to stop but there was no way I was going to be able to unclip. So I had to plan a tactical dismount. Headed straight for the verge and threw myself on the ground.
So there I was, flat on my back, panting like a good’un, still attached to my bike. Barley was trying to detach me from it when a cyclist came passed and offered to help as he was a Dr. Barley quickly dismissed him and got me upright. Anyway, after ten mins getting the heart rate down, I set off again. I later found out that 5 mins after I had left, St John’s ambulance turned up as they had received a report of a collapsed cyclist at the top of the Ripple.
So onward I went having a good time. I got loads of comments about my race number (and my fluffy dice) as I was overtaken so I was well happy. Finished the first lap but knew I had to stop at the Bike Feed Station to take on fluid as I had not done so yet. Was looked after very well by The Rev (from Tripe Talk) and off I went to start the second loop. Now I was on unknown territory, but it was all ok. Until the Ripple loomed again. This timed I admitted defeat and walked. Unfortunately for me, Barley was still at the top so I stopped to have a quick chat with him, but he soon booted me up the arse and sent me on my way.
Being in a relay team I was one of the first pirates out on the bike course which meant that all the others overtook me. It was great to have shouts of encouragement as I battled my way round and I thank you all for that. I would also like to say sorry because I could not work out who you all were till you had passed me. I hope you heard my shouted replies.
Was doing well (for me) until Moorcott when someone pulled out of the petrol station straight in front of me. Cue a shout of winker from me as I saw him gesticulating at me. Then I got a bit scared when he pulled in to the left and wound down his window. But he actually apologised for not seeing me (He should really go to Specsavers; I was wearing luminous yellow and am a fair bloater at the best of times. Dog knows how he could not see me!).
Did the mile long upflat for the second time and knew home was approaching as I got to the A606. Mentally this is the tough bit for me as it appears flat but it isn’t. Was overtaken by Trogs with three miles to go with shouts of encouragement and that was a boost when I needed it most (cheers Trogs).
Got to T2 and passed the chip to Soup, but not without incident. It would seem I had to rack my bike before handing the chip over. However, someone had put their bike in my space and then I couldn’t work out how to get my bike on the rack, so I ended getting it stuck under the railings. The marshall in transition took pity on me and said Soup could now run even tho my bike was not properly racked.
Overall
I bloody loved it! I felt so much better (physically and mentally) after 54 miles on Saturday than I did when I did one loop four weeks before. I expected I would start blubbing as soon as I got into transition but I seemed to be on a high.
I had a year to prepare for this and in reality it did not pan out how I expected or wanted it to at all. However, this year has been a very steep learning curve for me and I have learnt a lot, albeit from the things I have done wrong or have not turned out as expected.
I returned to full-time work in December and so my time for training and family was seriously reduced and I admit I often felt guilty at the time I spent training and would often forfeit that for time at home with Jr.
I have also learnt that it takes me longer than average to reap the rewards of training. This may be down to my health issues, but also down to finding the right training/family balance.
But I did get a PB of sorts. After looking at my stats I reached my highest ever heart rate as well as a downhill PB of 33.74mph. The speed PB surprisingly was in mile 28 which is nowhere near the Ripple
Will I be back in 2012? At this moment in time, I really don’t know. I want to be. I really want to be. But I need to be realistic about the cut-offs and can’t afford to drop down to a relay again (no disrespect to Soup, there). I will have talks with my Swim Coach and my Mentor and see whether it is truly realistic for me to undertake the Vit next year.
If I am not there taking part, I will be there to support as this really is one of the most fantastic races I have seen
First time I did this my bike time was about 3.5hrs and I finished in 6:58 or something. Plenty of time to build up bike speed.
The Ripple is a series of 3 hills which are overly hyped in my opinion and I'm not good on hills. They drag on a bit rather than being horrendously steep and they do have nice downhill runs into them. Again, plenty of time to practice on hills. On the plus side, once you've gone through the Ripple there's about 10 miles of gentle downhill to recover on.
You're very welcome Schmunkee, it was a relief to see you. I was a bit worried not to have seen you before you and concerned that something might've happened to either you or Soupy to prevent you getting out there. Well done
Schmunks.... Wow! I wish I had seen the strategic dismount! Sounds like you worked your guts out. I would've been exactly the same waiting for someone in the morning too, so my sympathy there. Cant help myself in getting wound up. And all this with a pirate kit order on the go! Well done sister
Great effort Schmunkee. You're an inspiration. You too Soupy. Just love your attitude. So full of good old fashioned spunk
+1 for the ripple being some moderately challenging uphills and nothing to worry about. DO NOT be frightened of this race on their account.
Thanks for the very lovely compliments on the race report. Much appreciated. i'm not a writer. My job is to sell "very good things" to people who don't know that they need them yet.
JEvaNs - i did Chester Oly this summer prior to doing Outlaw. Did my own half distance early June on a similar principle to the Friel Big Days, which worked really well. Turnaround time from Outlaw to Vit was peachy - no stress. Probably differs from person to person but 6 weeks was an eternity. Plenty enough time. PM me if you want more detail.
the vit photos are up
heres a link for the eager and vain
http://gallery.revolutionimages.co.uk/
I did this at the weekend and finished in a time of 7:44 only four places up from last place. I knew I was never going to break any records and wondered what I had let myself in for when the alarm went off at 4am.
I found the swim pretty uncomfortable - a lot choppier than the OW swimming I had done in the run up to it, and I felt that the first lap on the bike lasted forever, I was convinced I was going to have to pull out without finishing but my sister who was on the corner of the main road told me it was only 9:30 so only 3 hours in !
My brother and his girlfriend turned up on their bikes while I was on the rn which kept me going to the end.
I'm hoping that I can return next year to take a decent chunk off my time, and I'm also tempted by The Outlaw.
It was good to see all the Pirates taking part and cheering everyone on - especially at the top of the Ripple - and as I came into the finish at the end. Makes me think I should join for next season.
Hi tallguy. i remember seeing you about 2k out from the finish near the Sykes Lane carpark. My wife and i gave you a good old cheer and a bit of chat. Fair to say - you looked knackered, mate! The thing that sticks in my mind though was your brother riding into the plastic fence at about 4 mph and falling off his bike, which was a hoot!
Well done mate. Great effort and strength of mind and let's face it.... 4th from last but by no means the last Pirate!!