Note: This race was in the age before we had a digital camera (hard to believe, but it’s true!). So no pictures in this report …
Distance
In Germany, Half IMs are called "Middle Distance" triathlons, typically with distances of 2k Swim, 80k Bike and 20k Run. These basic distances are usually altered a bit based on local preferences. In Ratzeburg, a small town near Hamburg, Germany, the bike leg was officially 85k in a rolling countryside, although my reconnaissance showed a length of about 88k (two loops of 44k each). The run was exactly 20k (again 2 two loops of 10k).
Before the race
Ratzeburg was to be my first Half IM after a 12 year break. In my student days (early 1990s) I was able to finish 3 Half IMs, all of which were not all that good, especially on the run. My best run time was 2:04h.
This year, after having gained 25kg of weight (and having lost 18 kg of these) since then, my goals were like this: First, finish, and second, keep it together on the run. Thinking of trying an IM race next year, my strategy for the race was similar to Gordo's IM strategy: Easy on the swim and bike to be able to put together a strong run.
The run leg was always (and still is ;-) my weak leg, being a half-way decent swimmer, I'm usually able to more or less hold my place during the bike leg, only to be overtaken by a bunch of people on the run. Having had a look at the rolling run-course instilled even more respect for the run leg, so I decided to be really careful on the bike not to go too hard.
As I've also ridden the bike course a bit, I had a pretty good feel for my potential times:
Base 0:37 – 0:03 – 2:53 (30,5 km/h) – 0:02 – 1:50 -> 5:25h
Realistic 0:35 – 0:03 – 2:49 (31,2 km/h) – 0:02 – 1:45 -> 5:14h
Dream goal 0:33 – 0:03 – 2:46 (31,8 km/h) – 0:02 – 1:40 -> 5:04h
The morning
As the start was to be at 8am, that meant getting up at 4:30. Some breakfast (an apple, a banana, two honey sandwiches), prepare two more honey sandwiches for the race, fill the bike bottles and my fuel belt for the run. Then drive 45 mins to Ratzeburg and set up my bike in the transition. A light jog, find a toilet and some more jogging. 20 mins before the start I took a lot of time to properly put my wetsuit on. 10 mins before my start, some light swimming (just to get wet). Then a last kiss from my wife before the race. Some good wishes from my parents, who had come out by now as well. Ready to go!
Swim
As there were about 100 people in my wave, it wasn't crowded for very long before I could swim my own pace. Also found a pretty good pair of feet. At the turn around, I had a quick look at my watch – 17 mins! On the way back, I tried to draft a bit more, but whenever I found some feet, the guy attached to them started to zig-zag, and I swam a lot of the second half on my own. As I could see that there was a pretty big gap to the next group, I held myself a bit back to stay in the group I was in. It felt quite long to get back, but when I got out of the water, my time was 33:21. Yo! Cheers from my fan group.
T1
Struggled a bit to get out of my wetsuit, but when I tugged the cord hard, it opened up. Found my bike (had a 2 second scare when I thought I had the wrong row), took the wetsuit, cap and goggles off, sunglasses and helmet on, unrack the bike and out of T1.
Bike
Coming out of T1 and trying to mount my bike on the fly, I nearly ran over a couple of guys who had stopped completely. After running around them, I hopped on my bike and started to pedal over the first hill. Saw my wife who had run up to the bike course waving at me. Then I slipped into my bike shoes (had them already attached to the bike). There was a short (100m) section of cobblestones. A couple of people had already wreaked their nutrition here, with bike bottles, energy bars, CO2 cartridges etc. being strewn all over the place. My sandwich bag which I had taped to my aero bars, nearly came off as well, but before it fell down I put a hand on it, and after I had passed the cobblestones, I quickly stuffed it into my shirt's pockets. Then there was a flat section that allowed me to put on my arm warmers and drink a bit before hitting the first "hill". (It wasn't long – maybe a km, and not that steep, but there aren't many long hills around where I live.) My goal was to wait for my HR to settle down to about 130, and I was already resigned to the fact that there would be a couple of people who would overtake me here. It turned out to be a lot of people, and my HR was still hovering just under 150. So I pedaled easy, even after the hill was over, and after about 15 mins my HR was in the 130s. I still had to take it easy for another 15 mins or my HR would shoot up.
After 20k I had finished my first water bottle (500ml), and I got a replacement at the aid zone. The bike course is a two loop affair, and at the end of the first loop I was able to hold my HR in the planned region (around 130) while my speed – at about 31.5 km/h - was towards my dream goal speed. I was eating and drinking according to plan. Before starting the second loop I had to stop and pee. At the start of the second loop my wife handed me my private special needs bag. (Is it legal to accept food and drink from friends and family? I didn't really care today, but I sure don't want to loose a Kona slot because of that.) So all in all I ate on the bike two powerbars (2*225 = 450 cal), two honey sandwiches (2*150 = 300 cal), and I drank about 1200 ml Gatorade (12*25 = 300cal), about 1000 cal. That was lower target rate. I had planned to secure 2 bananas at the aid stations (2*100 = 200cal), however, I got none. Good thing I had planned for some buffer in my nutrition plan!
On the second loop I increased my HR to about 135 (RPE staid the same), and things were going pretty well. Only bad thing was that I had to stop two more times to pee, so I was re-overtaking the people I had passed before my stop. Seems I have to learn to pee on the bike!
Towards the end I was happy that the ride was about to be over (Note: Should use a real bike short for IM.) Shortly before going down the hill I have described earlier (about 15min before T2), I took in a gel (another 125 cal) with my remaining water. Then the cobblestone section (with cheers from my fan club who placed strategically at this slow section) , the last short hill, out of the shoes and dismount the bike.
T2
Ran with my bike to the rack (no problem in finding the right spot this time). Rack the bike, took off the helmet and my glasses. Took some care to get the grass off my feet, put on my socks and shoes, refresh a bit with a wet towel (feels great in the neck and on the legs after a bike ride!), then grab my bottle belt and go!
Official time at the end of T2: xx
I didn't have a feeling at all whether I had gained or lost any places, but from the official results I was able to see that my swim had put me on 26th place in my AG (out of 52), my bike was the 35th best (having slipped to 35th place). My legs felt okay, so I was anxious to find out if my training had paid off.
Run
I didn't feel too good at the start of the run, but after 2k I started to pick off runners at ease, and my speed was almost at dream goal speed (5 min per k). The HR was a bit high (goal was 140 to 150, especially on the uphills I was at around 155). Based on my spring marathon, I decided to stick to this HR and see how long I can hold it. At the aid stations I was taking a sip of water and put the rest on my head. It was starting to get warm! At the 5k mark, my km-splits were right were I wanted them and I got a big boost out constantly of passing people. At the 8k mark, I took one gel with water and immediately regretted it – as I got pretty heavy side stitches. I tried to think positive thoughts (from Gordo's tips for your first HIM: "There will be a period where you'll feel absolutely awful, but it'll pass."), and still continued to overtake people! I was already feeling a bit better when a mountain bike with the overall leaded passed me. I had figured out beforehand that this would probably happen on my first loop, so I was quite happy that it was pretty late (after the 9k mark). Also, the guy was huffing pretty hard, yet I didn't feel that he was going that fast, which gave me another boost. With these thoughts I had already reached the end of the first loop. My wife and my parents cheered my on. I passed my bottle belt to my wife – I decided I wouldn’t take another gel. Then there were some people from my team who told me how good I looked. (Gave them my usual reply to that: I look better than I feel.) One guy ran a bit with me and asked whether I had already committed to do next year's German IM with him. Hit the split button at the 10k mark (just a bit over 50 mins – right on track for my dream goal!)
On the second run loop there were a lot of people from the OD race that took place at the same time, so again I had a lot of people I was able to overtake. Some more cheers from other athletes from my club, and my splits were right were I wanted them. At about 13k I started to try to pick it up some more, and my split came down to about 4:40. At the aid station shortly before the 15k mark I took a cup of Coke and walked a bit to drink it fully. Hurt my split a bit, but I really picked it up after that. I tried to go as hard as I could and managed to go the last 5k in 23:05. At the finish line friends and family welcomed me after 5:03:51 (29th in my AG, 85th of 177 overall – it doesn't get more MOP than this!), being totally elated after that great run (run split 1:37:55, 15th in my AG).
Key Lessons
- pacing strategy works – had a great run which is very unusual for me
- scout the course – you know where things are and you can segment the course
- do a couple of race sims to give you a feeling of how hard to go on race day
- no tempo runs really required for a "just finish" strategy – a couple of B races is sufficient for that
- consistent training pays off
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