The Outlaw Triathlon
9:20pm, 26th Jul 2021 | 13 Comments
Blog by TROSaracen
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My first Outlaw. Plan was originally to use this as a sighter/training day towards Kona and to highlight what needed to be worked on in the final 8 week block. 2 things happened: IM 70.3 Staffs changed date to the week before – and I raced myself stupid in 31 degree heat and then the day after made the ‘defer Kona’ decision. It meant I could have a real run at the Outlaw, but also meant I would be carrying a lot of fatigue and would be largely untampered, other than the days to ‘recover’ from Staffs.
That said, I hoped for around 10:30, something like 1:10/5:20/3:45 + 15 T’s. Weather forecast started out horrific, and I sorted out wet weather and VERY wet weather kits but gradually the forecast got better until really it looked we’d get a dry race, if warm and humid.
Faff duly completed, nice to meet the grape crusher and the usual fitful night’s sleep followed before race day.
Swim 1:09:52, 150th overall
Solid and on target. Swam easy, no biff with the rolling start and as drama free as it can be. It seemed a long way back from the turn, but I think that’s just the fact that pool swims have been capped at 45 minutes since the covid return in April.
T1 6:34 191st
Thought I was pretty quick, with a cunning plan to run to my bike with bike shoes, put them on there and then clop out the final bit, but obviously not looking at the position.
Bike 5:11:08, 90th
Solid bike, perhaps 10w down but saw early on that I was returning good speed at that power – 21.5 mph, when my target was around 21 mph. I was making extra effort to be efficient and aero, which helps. Nutrition (peanut butter stuffed dates, tailwind) was going well and I was moving through the field with only a few guns coming past from behind.
I rode a very even power and speed, but relative to the field was much quicker on the second southern loop, than the first, so obviously a lot of riders around me were fading. There were some headwinds, but also some fast sections. I saw two blatant drafting – a pair riding a clear, planned and organised two up and a quartet that looked as if they’d come together by chance but were working pretty well together sharing the load and sucking wheels. It’s irritating, but it didn’t feel like the mass drafting huge peletons I’ve seen at IMs like Barcelona and Italy.
Fairly soon I was rolling – actually scrub that, I was cursing and fighting the worst road I;ve ever ridden on outside Lanzarote while nearing T2. I felt good, I felt as if I’d biked within myself and was ready for a good marathon. I checked my overall race time, a 3:40 marathon would give me a 10:15, so I decided to go for that.
T2 6:43 145th
A bit better than T1 by the looks
Run 4:01:03 122nd
Well it started well…my legs felt decent, I was ok in the humidity and my heart rate was in the ‘sustainable marathon’ zone. I ticked off lap 1 at about 8:10 minute miles, including a chat with Mike jogging alongside. I’d taken Muarten gels and water in the first lap which settled the stomach down and was scything through the field.
These things never last in Ironman, alas. Not for me anyway…I glimpsed the denim monster at one point and set off for lap 2. I was slowing now halfway through lap 2, but at the time it was a controlled slowdown – walk the odd aid station, walk the ramp up to the river crossing bridge and keep an 8:30 minute mile clip between.
HR trace showed my HR drifting into my ‘unsustainable’ territory but coming back down with the run-walk, at least for a while. But it started rising again, and the old tunnel of hurt came down. I switched to coke, and caffeine gels – in case of emergency pull cord time, and a few extra walks were thrown in.
The final kicker, I think, were those horrible grassy hills after passing the river rapids. Walked up those but realised even walking I was getting dizzy and disorientated, and not feeling good. Still, after that I only had two flat lake laps to go, but was really struggling. A heap of people ran past, many I recalled from having overtaken them earlier on the run. The Ironman death march, do I love it, or hate it? I wonder if finishing would feel the same without the last few miles of agony.
Crawled round the last two laps, with plummeting HR and sinking morale as various targets drifted by ….10:20….10:25….10:30. Finally the end was in sight, and I staggered down the chute. My last 0.3km – the finish effectively – I was 718th in the field, lol – definitely no magic sprint finish.
AFtermath
Final time 10:35:20, 84th overall and 6th in AG. I’d run myself into 5th in AG, closing on 4th then gone backwards to 6th again.
I was straight into the medical tent afterwards, where they measured very low blood sugar and blood pressure and fed me glucose tablets and coke until these readings went back to normalish levels.
It was a great day. I love Iron distance racing. It finds you out, always. I lacked a bit of deep run fitness and made a pace judgement error early in the marathon and duly got spanked. After two years I needed the gallop, and will be better next time when I’ll be tearing it up in the M55’s.
Happy days.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement.
That said, I hoped for around 10:30, something like 1:10/5:20/3:45 + 15 T’s. Weather forecast started out horrific, and I sorted out wet weather and VERY wet weather kits but gradually the forecast got better until really it looked we’d get a dry race, if warm and humid.
Faff duly completed, nice to meet the grape crusher and the usual fitful night’s sleep followed before race day.
Swim 1:09:52, 150th overall
Solid and on target. Swam easy, no biff with the rolling start and as drama free as it can be. It seemed a long way back from the turn, but I think that’s just the fact that pool swims have been capped at 45 minutes since the covid return in April.
T1 6:34 191st
Thought I was pretty quick, with a cunning plan to run to my bike with bike shoes, put them on there and then clop out the final bit, but obviously not looking at the position.
Bike 5:11:08, 90th
Solid bike, perhaps 10w down but saw early on that I was returning good speed at that power – 21.5 mph, when my target was around 21 mph. I was making extra effort to be efficient and aero, which helps. Nutrition (peanut butter stuffed dates, tailwind) was going well and I was moving through the field with only a few guns coming past from behind.
I rode a very even power and speed, but relative to the field was much quicker on the second southern loop, than the first, so obviously a lot of riders around me were fading. There were some headwinds, but also some fast sections. I saw two blatant drafting – a pair riding a clear, planned and organised two up and a quartet that looked as if they’d come together by chance but were working pretty well together sharing the load and sucking wheels. It’s irritating, but it didn’t feel like the mass drafting huge peletons I’ve seen at IMs like Barcelona and Italy.
Fairly soon I was rolling – actually scrub that, I was cursing and fighting the worst road I;ve ever ridden on outside Lanzarote while nearing T2. I felt good, I felt as if I’d biked within myself and was ready for a good marathon. I checked my overall race time, a 3:40 marathon would give me a 10:15, so I decided to go for that.
T2 6:43 145th
A bit better than T1 by the looks
Run 4:01:03 122nd
Well it started well…my legs felt decent, I was ok in the humidity and my heart rate was in the ‘sustainable marathon’ zone. I ticked off lap 1 at about 8:10 minute miles, including a chat with Mike jogging alongside. I’d taken Muarten gels and water in the first lap which settled the stomach down and was scything through the field.
These things never last in Ironman, alas. Not for me anyway…I glimpsed the denim monster at one point and set off for lap 2. I was slowing now halfway through lap 2, but at the time it was a controlled slowdown – walk the odd aid station, walk the ramp up to the river crossing bridge and keep an 8:30 minute mile clip between.
HR trace showed my HR drifting into my ‘unsustainable’ territory but coming back down with the run-walk, at least for a while. But it started rising again, and the old tunnel of hurt came down. I switched to coke, and caffeine gels – in case of emergency pull cord time, and a few extra walks were thrown in.
The final kicker, I think, were those horrible grassy hills after passing the river rapids. Walked up those but realised even walking I was getting dizzy and disorientated, and not feeling good. Still, after that I only had two flat lake laps to go, but was really struggling. A heap of people ran past, many I recalled from having overtaken them earlier on the run. The Ironman death march, do I love it, or hate it? I wonder if finishing would feel the same without the last few miles of agony.
Crawled round the last two laps, with plummeting HR and sinking morale as various targets drifted by ….10:20….10:25….10:30. Finally the end was in sight, and I staggered down the chute. My last 0.3km – the finish effectively – I was 718th in the field, lol – definitely no magic sprint finish.
AFtermath
Final time 10:35:20, 84th overall and 6th in AG. I’d run myself into 5th in AG, closing on 4th then gone backwards to 6th again.
I was straight into the medical tent afterwards, where they measured very low blood sugar and blood pressure and fed me glucose tablets and coke until these readings went back to normalish levels.
It was a great day. I love Iron distance racing. It finds you out, always. I lacked a bit of deep run fitness and made a pace judgement error early in the marathon and duly got spanked. After two years I needed the gallop, and will be better next time when I’ll be tearing it up in the M55’s.
Happy days.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement.
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