In the weeks I wrote/answered several post about IM Switzerland. Here is a short race report:
Friday: Good food a the Pasta Party but a little bit loud and hot.
Saturday: 11:30am meeting for all competitors im military category.
At 2pm we planed a Slowtwitcher meeting. Because the official 'meeting point' from last year didn't exist anymore I found no Slotwitcher I am sorry that I suggetsed such a bad meeting point!. At 3pm I checked in my bike a took a short swim in the lake.
Sunday: Wake up at 4:30, had breakfast and drove 30 min from my parents home to Zurich. Set up transition aera and put on wetsuit.
7am Swim: Start of nearly 1400 competitors (record field). Very crowded and the first 500m were hard (had to breath every 2nd stroke). Then I could settle in a good, easy pace and found a good swimmer to draft. Lost this one after the small channel at the end of the loop but soon foun another good draft. Because I swam easy I expected a time above 1:10 but came out in 1:08. Great!
Bike: Started easy and tired to go for my target HR of 135. On the long hill I climbed with a HR over 150. Passed everyone on the downhills because of my Hed H3 front and Renn Disc. Heart break hill was great. Spectators were lining the road. Sometimes there was room for only one bike (like Alp d'Huez).
On the 2nd loop I threw away my full bottle on the aid station before the long hill because I thought my Profile aero bottle was full. It was nearly empty. Beside this I had no problems with nutrition. On the third loop we had a strong backwind from the upcoming thunderstorm on the long flat from Zurich along the lake. There I passed many competitors and 'flew' along the road. On the way back the wind was not that bad. After 5:21:23 I came into T2 were I saw my wife for the first time during the race. I was very happy with this time. Now I could have a 4:30 marathon to finish below 11 hours!!
Run: I felt good when I started the marathon and planned to run 5:30 to 6:00 per km . I preferred to start easy and don't blow up during the run. The first lap (14km) was no problem. because you pass 3 times near the finish I saw my wifeand boy (nearly 2 years) three times every loop. This was a great motivation. During the 2nd loop it became harder and I slowed down. At the end of the 2nd loop I had some slight cramps in the upper thigh (backside). But then It started to rain and I suddenly felt fresh again, the cramps disappeared and I could run faster. 8km from the finish I told my wife that I probably finish under 10:30 and felt fantastic.
Shortly before the finish I 'grabbed' my son and finished my first Ironman after 10:24:10 (marathon 3:50) .
I was totally surprised by this time. I hoped that I could go under 11 hours if everything went good. But I never thought about breaking 10:30. Last year I would have qualified for Hawaii with this time!
Now I feel already good. I have only a little muscle sorness and 3 blisters. This is good because I race the olympic distance Swiss Championship in two weeks. I am looking forward to do Roth (and probably Powerman Zofingen) next year.
How did the other Slowtwitcher in Switzerland (and Lake Placid). I liked to read some reports.
Felix
http://www.weilenmann.ch.vu
Friday: Good food a the Pasta Party but a little bit loud and hot.
Saturday: 11:30am meeting for all competitors im military category.
At 2pm we planed a Slowtwitcher meeting. Because the official 'meeting point' from last year didn't exist anymore I found no Slotwitcher I am sorry that I suggetsed such a bad meeting point!. At 3pm I checked in my bike a took a short swim in the lake.
Sunday: Wake up at 4:30, had breakfast and drove 30 min from my parents home to Zurich. Set up transition aera and put on wetsuit.
7am Swim: Start of nearly 1400 competitors (record field). Very crowded and the first 500m were hard (had to breath every 2nd stroke). Then I could settle in a good, easy pace and found a good swimmer to draft. Lost this one after the small channel at the end of the loop but soon foun another good draft. Because I swam easy I expected a time above 1:10 but came out in 1:08. Great!
Bike: Started easy and tired to go for my target HR of 135. On the long hill I climbed with a HR over 150. Passed everyone on the downhills because of my Hed H3 front and Renn Disc. Heart break hill was great. Spectators were lining the road. Sometimes there was room for only one bike (like Alp d'Huez).
On the 2nd loop I threw away my full bottle on the aid station before the long hill because I thought my Profile aero bottle was full. It was nearly empty. Beside this I had no problems with nutrition. On the third loop we had a strong backwind from the upcoming thunderstorm on the long flat from Zurich along the lake. There I passed many competitors and 'flew' along the road. On the way back the wind was not that bad. After 5:21:23 I came into T2 were I saw my wife for the first time during the race. I was very happy with this time. Now I could have a 4:30 marathon to finish below 11 hours!!
Run: I felt good when I started the marathon and planned to run 5:30 to 6:00 per km . I preferred to start easy and don't blow up during the run. The first lap (14km) was no problem. because you pass 3 times near the finish I saw my wifeand boy (nearly 2 years) three times every loop. This was a great motivation. During the 2nd loop it became harder and I slowed down. At the end of the 2nd loop I had some slight cramps in the upper thigh (backside). But then It started to rain and I suddenly felt fresh again, the cramps disappeared and I could run faster. 8km from the finish I told my wife that I probably finish under 10:30 and felt fantastic.
Shortly before the finish I 'grabbed' my son and finished my first Ironman after 10:24:10 (marathon 3:50) .
I was totally surprised by this time. I hoped that I could go under 11 hours if everything went good. But I never thought about breaking 10:30. Last year I would have qualified for Hawaii with this time!
Now I feel already good. I have only a little muscle sorness and 3 blisters. This is good because I race the olympic distance Swiss Championship in two weeks. I am looking forward to do Roth (and probably Powerman Zofingen) next year.
How did the other Slowtwitcher in Switzerland (and Lake Placid). I liked to read some reports.
Felix
http://www.weilenmann.ch.vu