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Pirate DIY Half IM 2014 - A hat tirck production
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Ok here comes my race report....
and I've not proof read it so it may well not make sense!!
Waaaaay back last year I didnt put my name down originally for the DIY half as it was VMLM weekend and I had applied for a ballot place,
queue rejection letter and I was on for the event. I didnt officially put my name down for it as then realised it was my wedding anniversary
weekend, so wasnt sure whether we would be giong away for the weekend or not. Fast forward to last week and as we hadnt planned anything and Mrs BP
was now going to attempt being a triathlete by doing Outlaw half I thought this would be the perfect present...Happy Anniversary dear, your doing
a half Ironman!!
Mrs BP was on a course Thurs/Fri so dont think she had the time to think about this too much therefore was pretty calm Saturday morning. We were
treating this a dress rehearsal for Outlaw half and just a training day for me. Idea being I would cycle/run with Mrs BP finishing together.
Arrived at Chez Assasin just after 08.30 arriving at the same time as Stanners, who had injured his back at Alton towers the day before so wasnt competing.
SA introduced us to everyone there, few familiar faces and some new ones. After race briefing, cycled down to the leisure centre ready for the start.
SWIM
This was to be the only part of the day I would be doing at my own pace and wasnt sure whether to go for it or just settle into an easy(for me)
pace and see how it goes. I was in a lane with Pudge/Seren and Russ, the narrower of the 2 lanes we had and there was only 3 in the other one
Goggles on/ear plugs in and set off half a length or so behind Seren and Russ. As soon as I set off I thought I'm going to go for it here as it
just felt like a race(as it was) and so make the most of the experience. Nothing really to report other than I felt really good pace wise and
definitely had some left in the tank at the end. Garmin reports that I was consistent with pace and stroke length throughout so really happy -
It appears actually swim training does make a difference. I was 1st out of the water(counting this as a win as Ive not won anything since school)
in 36:30. Really pleased with the time as I am targetting close to 1:10 for Outlaw this year. Then had a shortish wait for Mrs BP to finish - which
she did in 43:02 which is nothing short of amazing considering that she only learnt Front crawl in January.
Bike
Reasonable time in transition (not incuding the 7 min wait after I finished the swim
) we set off together with Russ in tow as well who didnt know
Pudge then passed usthe correct way a short while later looking really strong. Russ (a non-pirate) who was with us
the route. I was hoping we could average about 15mph for the bike which is Mrs BP's target for Outlaw half, first 2 laps down and even with the hills
and wind we were averaging 15.5 so really pleased. I was conscious of nutrition as last year I bonked on the run and walked a lot of the second half of it.
This time made sure we ate - flapjacks/bananas and had 2 750ml bottles of high5 to glug down as well. Events on the bike - Seeing Pudge coming flying past us
the wrong way on our first lap, had me questioning whether the route had changed and we were going the wrong way...I did sort of put my hands up
to him and say WTF, but he carried on
for most of the ride had a mechanical where his headset screw decided to jump ship...he caught us up a short while later. Bike feed station was as noisy and
motivating as usual, great work there peeps. Our pace flagged a little in the middle of the mind numbing laps but then picked up again toward the end with us
finishing in 3:43 14.8 mph average. Which considering the conditions(windy) and terrain(hilly) I'm pleased for Mrs BP. This will definitely mean a quicker bike
time at Outlaw half based on the fact its flat and to quote Mrs BP 'I f***ing hate hills' - I certainly know the best anniversary presents to give
Got into T2,changed and out for a little run...
Run
Set off on the run and in my mind I was hoping Mrs BP could hit somewhere around 10:30 m/m pace which is about a minute per mile slower than her HM PB. First mile
in 9:20 and thinking ok that may be a bit quick and maybe down to Mrs BP being unabl to feel her feet after the cold wind from the bike. Next mile slowed and we
settled into a decent clip of just over 10 m/m's. Pudge passed us looking very strong, good work there mate. The crisps at the feed station could only be described as
Magical. Absolutely amazing, went down a treat and its dawned on me that real food is the way forward for me where running is concerned.Managed 3 of the 4 laps at roughly the same pace just
walking the feed station at SA's house. Walked a couple more times on last lap due to Mrs BP suffering a bit of leg pain. Few words of motivation from me and we finished
strongly in 2:24. Very very proud at the end, first tri for Mrs BP, hadnt swam FC before Jan and only started riding road bike in October last yr.Good work.
So finish time around the 7 hr mark with transitions which is very respectable for a first go on a tough course.
It was a good training day for me, really pleased with swim time, bike was tough at times, run was ok although I very nearly went the chippy on the last lap but due to no cash
had to scrap that, I've also never wanted a beer so much in my life. I finished feeling strong.
Great day, I'm on a hat trick now so there needs to be one next yr!! Another thank you to SA and Mrs SA from both of us for being so welcoming and the organisation was brilliant
good work there. Mrs SA and Little clown - Good work pacing Mrs BP on the swim
again.
Great work by my fellow competitors on Saturday - Pudge - superb pal, I did last yrs swim in the same time as you and managed 1:18 at Outlaw, with very little training
I think you will smash Lanza mate. seren - good swim, then didnt see you until the finish
and you did great considering the hills and wind in Macc!
Day wouldnt be as good without the helpers, the support was fantastic as usual, really helps getting round.
Cant wait for next year... Y'ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH
BP.I couldn't believe I didn't see you or your missus or Russ all day after the swim.I was convinced you were all in the pub whilst i was going around in circles........
Outlaw will be a much easier course than the DIY one......well done to your missus....
Great report BP. Well done to you both. Brilliant result from Mrs BP given how new she is to swimming and cycling - fantastic stuff!
Will hopefully see you again next year, and possibly before then.
Cheers Seren
Pudge will definitely see you at Outlaw zooming off into the distance probably
And can I get hold of some of the photos at some point
I'm not on facebook but whoever took photies can pm me on here and I will provide my email addy. Cheers
Just pm'd you BP.
Just a quick note to say a big thank you for making Helen and me so welcome at the weekend. Once we got past the northern translation issues we had a blast and I'm sure H will be taking part next year. Finally a huge thank you to Mr and Mrs SA and Junior for being excellent hosts thank you thank you thank you. I will try and write a race report in the next few days. M
Evening all! Aaah what a great weekend
Thanks again to the Silent Assassins and the Jordmeister for putting on a brilliant event, and welcoming us all. I had such a laugh, so can't wait for next year. Great to see lots of old pals and meet some new ones too, and congrats to everyone competing. I was so inspired I went for a swim today!!!!
Loving the reports so far. I'll type up a supporter's report, but of course as you all know supporting is a gazillion times more exhausting than competing, so once i've recovered, and i'm no longer lounging on the sofa with a damp cloth on my forehead, i shall gather some words together.....
Morning All!
What a fab weekend! Just want to say a massive thankyou to everyone that came over. It was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones too 
A big thanks also to Littleclown for organising the T-shirts. They are ace!
drove up on friday via liverpool to pick up son.........his coach was delayed and so i had a 5 hour wait in Liverpool.which meant we were late getting to Macclesfield...straight to the pub and everyone had been lovely and waited for us top arrive to eat......
meant it was too late to set up the tent so the SA's lent us their front room for the night.......sorted....
early start the next morning and lots of faffing meant i was at the start line and ready to race
swim.....I was determined to try this without the aid of teh pullbuoy.....in the water.only 4 of us in the lane and I managed to get punched in my right hand 4 times.....good practise for open water swimming......I don't think anyone could swim straight in our lane....
42 minutes swim.well 43 but when i reviewed my counter I did one too many.....and it was put on the bike.a cold wind made me pleased I had my gillet with me......went off trying to do afast pace.managed it for 3 laps and then my spoeed decreased and each lap say my average speed drop....averaged 15.3 which i was dissapointed with.Pudge went flying past me afew times........
out on the run which is usually the tough part for me after the bike.but with my new running fitness I felt strong.......went off at just under 9:30 minute miles and managed to keep this going for the 4 laps.running all the way.......so finished chuffed with a good swim and run.......
and then some wonderful sausage sandwiches before showering and a another trip to the pub for dinner......
Day 2...much the same.legs tired so swam with a pullbuoy and was a minute slower.......bike was very slow for the first couple of laps until my legs woke up and then was a bit faster....managed to average only 14.3 but thats not too bad on that course......highlight on lap 3 was hearing everyone shout.thought they were shouting gels..until my brain clicked and I smelt the chips...cue an emergency stop 10 yards down the road and a turnaround for a couple of chip butties......I sped up after that......
started the run wishing i hadn't ran so fast the day before,.........but my new running legs didn't let me down and I managed to run all 4 laps again.....and just a minute slower than the day before...result
an amazing weekend...and the SA's were amazing hosts........the supporters make this weekend......can't wait till next year
IF there is the appetite for another event next year then we will run it again.
Question is, is there?
I know everyone that came this year loved it and wants to do it again, but with only 3 people doing the full half on Sunday it made the run course a very lonely place to be.
I have a few ideas on how to do it better
Someone counting lengths would be nice
A master stop watch, which would gives us decent splits and transition times
Brill report Seren. I think you did ace to do it both days - I had every faith that you would, despite your hesitations on Sunday morning!
SA - I think having an 'official timer' would be a bonus, as would a length counter (as more than one person over swam I think).
Do you think less people did it this year because it was earlier then previous years perhaps?
I definitely think more people would be up for it next year Q - a lot of folk couldn't come because it clashed with VLM. Would you be likely to move it back to the May Bank Holiday? I think if you were happy to run it again (pleeeeeeeeeease do it!!), and set a date early enough, folk could commit to the date sooner so there would be a good idea of numbers earlier. Having a timer/lap counter on the swim sounds like a great idea. We could bonk folk on the head with a float as they turn for their last lap, as they do in pool tris
I defo think you'll get the interest next year. I may even dabble myself, if I drop decent tonnage this year!! (i.e. no more chip butties for me; Seren can have mine
)
Well the May Bank Holiday next year falls on Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th and Monday 25th, which would give 4 to 5 weeks for IM Austria, given that no dates have been released but by using this this year as a guide would put it on June 27th
The question I have to ask everyone that has done it or supported is how can we make it better? without loosing the DIY bit
Swim counter - yes can sort
Official timer - yes can sort
The T shirts this year are fab, would people like a medal instead?, for me its a T shirt
4th May is also a Bank Holiday. Not that it has to fall during BHs of course. If it fitted in with Austria then that might attract a lot of folk.
I think the swim counter/official timer would make a big difference, and the t-shirts are winners. Not sure what else is needed as I think what folk love is the chilled out DIY nature and the support at the two feed stations which are well placed.
Would folk be interested in a little goodie bag (i.e. prepared to pay a few quid for it, say no more than a fiver) to go along with t-shirt? I could look into that if you're doing it next year and folk are keen? Could make it tri specific with a DIY flare, lol!!!
4th of may is a bank holiday and may be a better fit with IM Austria, thanks Lee, will that clash with anything else?
Marshman tris might be on that weekend, but don't think it should clash with VLM/Brighton etc. and not Bala or anything
Can we get the red bull girls from IM Lanzarote to come over and manage the finishers chute?
But we had Lee and Soupy, who are much better in my eye
the clash with london and it being so early in the season this year i think affected numbers.lots like to do an april marathon.......
may sounds perfect to me although i'm not planning on doing any triathlons next year