Challenge Barcelona 2014

13

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  • dermot is also here so that's 6 image - a pirate rowboat

    Robbie - I am gonna bike tomorrow but it will be late after the race briefing - 4:30 - 6:30 ish  Me and the missus are doing the dali museum first image

    may be we'll manage a swim.....

  • Today is the pros race briefing .. impressive.



    Have bike in one piece now.



    Going to explore seafront, figure out where and when we're needed.



    If I spot a decent restaurant for some liquid carbs this eve, I'll jump back on and make suggestion.
  • Good luck, have a blast and don't be shit!
  • Good luck guys & gals. Go hard and don't be shit image

  • Robbin in at 11:56 top work!

    Waiting to see if I can spot OC finishing live... Woop woop! 

  • Just seen a very fed up looking OC cross the line in around 13:32. 

    No info up for Sue? 

     

  • Thanks for the updates MrsDigger - the wave starts squeue everyones times

    full reports to follow....

    Biblical pre race thnder delayed things for 30 mins.  
    Nightmare swim, esp for the slower ladies  / mature gents as the young bucks in the following waves promptly swum over them.  Swim went on for ages - think it was the headwind

    Fast bike - 5:10 ish I guess, but brutal - no breaks from aero position.  Massive drafting on the bike.  Overcooked it so then clung on for dear life

    Run - lasted 1 minute, so a 6:40 walk,  That was just brutal and I have new found respect for those back of packers

    i hurt a lot

    ShuffleB massively happy - I only saw here twice on the run, so had no idea how well she was running - When she appeared I thought she had one more lap, (and so would be pulled) - but no - she was running for home image

    The T-Shirts are really nice, the medal is not image

  • Really happy to finish and would say that the swim is the worst thing I have ever done.... roll on Austria.  Full report once my feet cool down.

  • Really pleased for you Shuffle  image

  • OC - I could only dream of riding a bike that fast

     

    Well done mate

  • Well done all..dont like the sound of that swim!

     

  • Woo hoo! well done guys! imageimage

     

  • TJ1004TJ1004 ✭✭✭

    well done guys looking forward to race reports as I would like to do this one.

  • Ironman Barcelona(ish) Race report

    *sigh* = another one.
    However this one was tempered with

    • being more injured than normal, (calf issues sine IM Nice meant I really couldn't run)
    • sherpering the missus (aka shuffle) to her first IM. This obviously was the main reason for me being her, to provide on course support.

    Swim
    Wave start - good in theory, bad in practice, when the waves put the (generally) slowest first to help with cut offs. However, as a result the slowest swimmers just got swum over by the fastest and most aggressive swimmers.
    I just had to constantly navigate though others, and I'm not that fast
    Seeing which colour hats you were swimming though was nice
    my goggles were too tight so I just wanted to get out to relieve the pressure to my eyes
    almost hit a mahoosive white jellyfish
    out in 1:07 - fast considering my lack of swimming

    Still prefer the Lanza approach to starts - 10 m wide, 50m back, self seed. Takes 1-2 mins max to start, and generally clear water.

    T1
    My first ever full change - opted for comfort rather than speed today, so did a bit of impromptu nudity.
    then took forever doing stuff. 7:34. That is woeful. I did walk the whole thing though image

    Bike
    Rode too hard, based on memory of last years numbers / what I could do earlier in the year. Only doing 2-3 rides since IM france did not help.
    Average speeds tell the whole story
    Lap 1 37.13 kph - yihahH!!!!
    Lap 2 35.81 kph - steady
    Lap 3 (half lap)30.92 kph - kaboom!!!! say goodby to a sub 5 bike split
    oh dear

    Most of this was due to trying to ride around packs of riders - hammer to the front, off and then settle, only to get swallowed 5 mins later and so re-accelerate past them, etc etc etc

    Its a fast course with smooth roads. Ironman describe it as "IRONMAN racing in the beautiful Costa del Maresme" - 15k of the 70k bike is, the rest being a dual carriage way though urban / industrial / retail parks.
    Its also brtual / tough, as to go fast you need to be aero the whole way - no real hills, or corners to give you a break.
    Uphills became an issue, with quads cramping every time I got out of the saddle for a break - going too hard..?? me??? err yes.

    Saw shuffle once, (yay see made swim cut off) and my garmin found her HR strap near the end of the second lap but I did not see her. We must have passed 3-4 times, but I failed in my supporting duty as I was head down
    5:06:47 !

     

  • T2
    1:55 - thats more like it. However, I did a full change again so suspect their times are off.

    Run
    Run was along the promenade des sand - a mix of tarmac / fine gravel / packed sand. Nice and forgiving in places, but I had to empty my shoes every lap. Its also not a straight out and back, the route splits for half the lap so its easy to miss people

    Did a 10 min walk to warm the calfs up. The started a easy run, and stopped after a minute. Felt the right calf yet again heading into the pain zone, so backed off and resigned myself to a long walk.
    No pain from walking, (except going uphill where the calf stretches). started at 8:30 min ks, and baically just counted the km markers, giving each I passed a little pat, (thanking it or appearing).

    Ate too many orange segments and bananas, drank too much coke.
    Walking is very slow, and surprisingly hard.

    Lap 3 - Saw shuffle on her way out - yay! - she made cutoff, 'I am so totally f**ked' was not so encouraging. Gave her a quick hug as loyal sherpers do, then onwards.
    Blisters appeared, and quads moved from painful to terminal

    Lap 4 - Saw Shuffle again - yay - still going. Spent the next lap trying to work out how far she was through, failing dismally. Told her to be strong, get it done etc - you know, zero sympathy

    Just get me off this god damn course! It hurt. core / back was very unhappy. Virtually unable to walk up or down hill so the underpass 3km out was interesting

    Finally got to pat the 40km marker, then 41, then 11 mins later, the 42km marker. cruised in at a leisurly saunter, looking very miserable, but ran the last 4 paces. image

    6:45 for the 'run'  -  thats what I call a negative split image

    Found food, a space blanket, ate salami sandwiches, drank proper coke and beer, and sat for 60 mins going nowhere while it rained. Finally got my finisher t-shirt (very nice), saw the missus's white bag was still hanging up, (so she had not been pulled), and ventured out for the main event

    90 mins to go, and I expected the missus past to start her last lap - its gonna be tight, but she can do it.
    No Shuffle......
    I start to ask officials where they pull people from the course, at the turnaround for the last lap, or up at transition.
    Still no Shuffles
    I walk up the course 800m, sit in the light rain and fret.
    45 mins to cut off - no way is she going to make that last lap now...

    Then she appears...... running with purpose looking pretty damn good.

    "So have you done 3 or 4" I venture, trying to prepare her to be pulled....

    "4!! This is my sprint finish" as she runs by and off she goes.
    I hobble after her - just in time to see her get her medal etc in the distance then collect her at the end of the finish chute.

    So I resume faithful sherper duties (never in doubt she would do itimage), feeding her, carrying coke, drinking her beer, waiting patiently as she has a massage and I don't. We make it out just as the race finishes, then off we wander for the 1.5 k up to transition to collect bikes, at 1:15 in the morning.

    Job done - shes an Ironman
    Job done - 5 more to Kona Legacy scheme entry image

  • Great report and congrats to both of you!
  • an another great report....that was some negative split.........heard about the peltons on the bike......

  • a club mate  got on the podium for the shorter tri  image

  • Ironman Barcelona Race Report:

    Foreword .. I blame OC. He floated the idea of this event by starting this thread. Shuffle B shouldered the blame for being the first to enter so, indirectly, I blame Shuffle B. It was nice to have met you both & congratulations to you both.

    After failing to hit my sub-11hr target in Austria earlier this year - I finished in 11:44 - Barca seemed like the ideal opportunity for me to refocus as my A race and push my training on from what was not too bad a time in Klagenfurt. That idea fell to pieces when I largely neglected to train between 29 June and 04 October. In short, I was primed for the race in true Pirate fashion.

    Race morning was a lively one. By that I mean forked lightening brightening up the otherwise dark sullied skies, which had everyone expecting the swim to be cancelled. The accompanying flash flooding created some chatter that we might be simply running a Marathon. Both forecasts were wrong and after taking a little time to consider the conditions the organisers announced that the start would be delayed 30 minutes.

    A hangover from the former Challenge event being hijacked midway through the year by Ironman the already planned swim waves worked well in principle and the usual bun fight for the first half was avoided. Unfortunately the waves were only 3 minutes apart and that caused tangling between the faster, more aggressive, swimmers in the back waves and those in front. There was a little chop from a headwind on the long straight of 2.8ish KM which prevented me getting into a good rhythm & a thwack in the face from someone in the final 500M caused a lot of anger and a lot of goggle leakage. Nonetheless I was out, salty eyed, in 1hr 12. Slower than I'd have liked but not too bad.

    T1 was slow. Stats show 6m35. In fact I believe I swam 1:10 and spent the other 2 minutes faffing in T1. Anyway.

    The bike course was awesome. Largely flat/rolling with free speed galore. I don't know where the numbers on my Garmin were coming from but I loved them. My first loop registered an avg of 22 MPH, that trickled down as the sun took hold and the energy wained but I managed to get off & into T2 with 21.1 MPH & a split of 5:18. I was over the sodding moon.

     

  • T2 was a little slower than Id have liked but largely uneventful. The results page has it logged as a WR 1m 36s. Waay of the mark, which is slightly concerning.

    Unfortunately I knew from a slightly uneasy feeling on the bike all was not well and alas the usual GI issues struck after only 2 miles of running.

    Brain & body zoned out and having been confident I'd given myself ample time to achieve my 2014 target of sub-11, I soon had to take a reality check knowing that I might be facing up to 24 miles of slow walking.

    Walking miles 3-7/8 I managed to trickle some energy into the system and keep it there and slowly picked up a few miles of running, punctuated by walking. The support near the turnaround (on 4 lap course) was awesome and the pirate cheers we're genuinely a real welcome boost in what was quite a lonely run for me. The energy roller coaster was mirrored by an emotional ride of self pity and determination in roughly equal measure.

    Lifted by the support of the crowd, the cheers & jeers (cheers OC) of others out racing in black n yella and my other half, whose dedication to supporting me in these events never ceases to amaze, helped me push through the Marathon and to the finish line for my promised Blazeman Roll, in a total time of 11 hour 58 minutes. My run at 5:19 meant a negative split, being 51 seconds slower than the bike!! Not what I was after but by no means a disaster.

    I am not overly enthusiastic about returning to do this race. Don't get me wrong, it's worth having a crack at at least once, especially if you want to feel like a hero on the bike but there was little inspiring about it, other than the support & there are so many events that offer that these days.

    Cheers again for all the Pirate support, out there & online. I really am looking forward to the Klagenfurt outing in 2015.

  • nice report robbie

    Sort out the stomach issues and you should go fine / a lot faster.

    Could it be a pacing issue on the bike?
    What HR do you ride at?

    I know some others around here have had / overcome these issues, so maybe a new forum thread on how to avoid multiple portaloo visits.  Ive never been afflicted so I cant help

  • Well done guys! I was out there last year supporting some friends and there was a massive downpour of rain whilst they were on the bike. Seems to be a feature of Spain in October! Glad everyone finished safely! 

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