Outlaw X 2021

26/ 09/ 2021

Race preparations could have gone better, Not being able to ride my race bike until the Friday before the event and not actually having my tri suit until Saturday morning (Thanks Huub, not ) wasn’t the best prep, but it all worked out in the end and I arrived at Thoresby park on Saturday ready to race. Racking my bike went smoothly and I was pleased to find I was on the end of one of the racks so finding my bike in transition amongst the other 800 bikes wasn’t going to be too difficult.

Race morning

Having seen lots of posts on outlaw Facebook groups the previous evening about tyre going pop in the heat I was a bit nervous heading into transition especially as the posts mentioned tyres with bin bags wrapped round them like mine. Thankfully I arrived at my bike to find tyre’s still fully inflated. Having looked around at the other competitors I decided putting my shoes on the bike would be the best idea as I didn’t fancy the long run to the mount line in cleats. With everything ready it was time to chill out for a bit and try and relax.

After a short period of relaxing, it was time to make my way down to the lake, after a very late dash to the loo I was ready and standing in the holding area waiting to walk down to the lake. We hadn’t been told the temperature of the lake yet and the announcer telling us how to remain calm in cold water shock really made us feel confident, thankfully he soon let on that it was a cool but an acceptable 17 degrees. Finally, it was time to go, and I ran down the ramp to the pontoon ready to dive in, then wimped out at the last second and just jumped in.

The water was cold but not too bad and I soon settled into my rhythm just focusing on following the heads in front of me. However, we soon encountered the outlaw weed monster (later named “Willy the weed monster”) at this point all my focus went on just trying to move whilst being dragged down and back by the mass of weeds. After what felt like an eternity fighting the weed, I reached the first buoy, the water was slightly clearer now but it still wasn’t easy and to make matters worse my goggles had decided being able to see was overrated so instead of looking for the buoys I just tried to follow the feet in front of me. Once on the long return stretch I tried to get into a rhythm again but with lots of chop in the water and bodies all around me it wasn’t easy so I just tried to relax and find some clear water. I soon reached a narrow pinch point in the lake where we rounded a small island and at this point it was getting very messy and very crowded and I was just looking forward to the swim being over. Finally I rounded the last buoy and I put in one last burst to reach the exit ramp. Out the swim in 35:22, 171th place. Considering the conditions of the lake I was quite pleased with that.

A long run to transition gave time to think about the daunting task ahead of me and after a smooth transition gaining a further 44 places, I was jumping onto my bike to start the cycle. One foot in nice and quicky but of course like always the right shoe was proving more difficult, I waited till I was on the open road to finally look down and sort out my right shoe but finally I was settled and on my way. My plan was to pace it conservatively keeping my power around 235w. This felt nice and steady, and I soon found myself pushing slightly higher but making sure to keep the average below 240w. I hit the first hill of the course which was my first proper test of the new chain ring and it became very clear the massive 58 tooth chainring was going to be too big for this hill so I reluctantly moved into the smaller ring. This was ok although I was still grinding 60rpm but I made it to the top. Onto the flat road and time to changer into the big ring again, after a horrible clunking sound I looked down to find my chain had come off, I remained surprisingly calm, and I had my chain back on and ready to go within around 30secs.

Onto the downhill and I was feeling good and calm, flying along with the slight assistance of a tailwind. The miles ticked by without any more drama and I continued to pass people. This trend continued to the halfway mark when two athletes passed me going at a good pace ( I think they were the ones I had passed earlier). Instead of putting my head down and powering straight past them I took the tactical decision to conserve my energy and sit in the draft 12m behind. I continued this for a further 10 mins but after picking up more athletes into our group I decided to put in a burst and pass the group. Back on my own again and I was feeling much more comfortable just focusing on my own effort and with a little glance behind I was pleased to see I had dropped the group and I wasn’t just towing people along. Into the final 20 miles and I soon realized why the first half had felt so easy, the wind was quite strong, and I was now riding directly into the headwind. The miles ticked by a lot slower now and the road was starting to get rougher and lumpier, but I hit the 10 mile to go mark still feeling good. Unfortunately, the last 10 miles were very slow going with traffic at junctions and rough roads, Into the last 6 miles and things were starting to get painful now, I had a developed a painful stich in my stomach and my arms were really starting to ache holding the TT position.

After the longest 6 miles of my life, I turned off the road into the park and started getting ready to dismount. Overall, I came off the bike in 37th place having gained 100 places on the bike, 2:27:01 split, 31st quickest. 23.4 mph average speed, 221w average power. I was happy with that it may not have been the speed I wanted but this was my first time racing at this distance, I lost time in the draft pack so at least I know for next time it will be better just to put my head down and focus on my own race.

After another smooth transition I was ready to run, I had the furthest to run out of transition, but this gave me time to focus on trying to find my legs and settle down. I started the first lap still not sure where my legs were ,but hopeful I would find them soon. After 2k I fearfully checked my k split and was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t running as slow as it felt. After a steep downhill we hit the off road and soon realized this wasn’t going to be a fast course, so pace and time were irrelevant, and I decided not to check my watch anymore and just run off feel. Halfway through the 1st lap and I’m wondering how I am going to run another 2 laps after this one. At the 20 min mark I took on my first gel, and I started to settle into a comfortable pace. The lap finished off with a nice downhill section which gave me a chance to really see how the legs felt, luckily for me my legs weren’t complaining, and I started to feel more confident. Round past the finish line and onto the 2nd lap, a smoot tarmac section gave me a chance to stretch my legs out and properly and pick the pace up, the sensations were good, and I went onto the 2nd lap confident that I was going to make it without my legs falling apart. Another gel at 40 mins and everything was going to plan, I kept myself controlled and comfortable on the off-road sections and then tried to pick the pace up whenever the terrain permitted. Down the hill and onto the final lap, legs still feeling good so time to try and pick up the pace and just go for it. Although as soon as I hit the first hill I found out that my legs didn’t actually have that much more to give then and mentally I was still holding myself back as I had 4 miles to go and I didn’t want to blow up. At this point I was telling myself its just a parkrun left which really helped me focus on the last 3 miles and gave me a boost, Past the last feed station and I could sense the finish, a quick glance at my watch and I had just 2 miles to go. Onto the final downhill and I’m just trying to give everything I’ve got, bounding through the final field. Into the final 800m and a quick glance at my watch shows me that I’m on for a sub 1:25 which gave me that final boost to reach the finish.

into the finishing straight and I’m full of energy and my legs are feeling amazing sprinting to the line, a mixture of relief and sadness that its over as I cross the line, followed by a face plant and slide across the carpet as I trip over. (I’m never going to forget that finish, laying face down on the floor with lots of concerned marshals around me asking if I’m alright, “yes I’m fine I’m just having a rest” haha)

Total time 4:33:49, run split 1:24:51, 11th quickest split moving up a further 11 places to finish 22nd overall and 4th in age group.

I am so pleased with how the run went as the run was the part, I was most nervous about going into this race as I hadn’t ran more than 11 miles in 2 years and I hadn’t run more than 7 miles off the bike before so the run could have gone either way. I’m so happy with how it did go and how I felt at the end, could I have pushed harder on the run? ,I probably could have but I was holding something back throughout the run just to ensure I got to the finish.

My first experience the Half Ironman distance went perfectly and has confirmed for me that this will be the distance I focus on going into next season. Big thanks to my Sponsors, Paul at energy saving lighting and Spokes of Bagshot for getting me to the start line with the best equipment possible.

Moments before I faceplanted the carpet

Completely Dead Just about managed to stand for the photo