i did my first olympic distance tri in 1995, and my first half in 1998, and since then i’ve raced long, short, draft legal, swimrun, duathlon, winter tri, xterra . . . you name it. but i’d never actually done an m-dot branded event. last summer and old friend convinced me to to 70.2 muskoka with him this coming july. all good!
then, unfortunately, i got really sick this winter - pneumonia and sepsis, several days in hospital. i was feeling really unsure of my fitness, so when i got an ad for 70.3 switzerland i decided it would make a good hit-out to test my legs. i also live in zurich a short drive from the race, so it was awfully convenient. the goal was more about process than performance: swim well but controlled, maybe around the 31:00 mark. ride 240 watts. run . . . go out at 4:20 pace and see how long i could hold. of all the disciplines, the run was the one i was least sure of.
swim:
it’s been a horrible spring in switzerland, and the weather race-week sucked. lake temps were hovering around 13. sure enough, the night before the race, we got notified that the swim was shortened to 750. the uncertainty had been frustrating, and relative to the field i’d probably have benefitted from a longer swim, but i didn’t mind.
we went off 2-by-by in self-seeded waves. i guess i underestimated my swim, because i was plowing through people the whole way. it was slightly annoying (since i didn’t really get much draft, and had to dodge some really slow swimmers) but i stayed controlled and smooth. i got out in 11:56, after an uneventful trip.
bike:
in T1 i opted to put on a heavy long-sleeved jersey, plus socks and gloves. i was worried about being too cold and wet. in the end my clothing was perfect and was comfortable the whole way.
unfortunately my (new) tri-bike is waiting in canada, so i raced on my gravel bike with road wheels/tyres and clip-ons. it ended up being an OK choice - i lost some time on the fastest sections but moved better on the climbs and technical stuff. i mostly focused on eating and drinking a lot (~750mL and 100g of carbs per hour) and holding close to my power.
the bike course in switzerland is really fun - about 10 flat kms out of town, then a long climb and a long, fast descent, 10 flat km back to town, and repeat. on the second lap especially, drafting was inevitable. it wasn’t even pacelining so much as just riding through long lines of groups. so maybe my time was a bit quick, but then maybe offset by the rain and hills, but also finally by the fact that the course is closer to 85km. in the end i rode a 2:34 and felt great getting off the bike. i hit exactly 238 watts, which is spot-on.
the pros passed me on their way by on lap one, and i’ll say it: youri kuelen was drafting.
run:
things dried off on the second lap of the bike, and starting the run it was perfect weather. i was worried about my lower back off the bike, but i think the long jog through T2 helped loosen things up. by the time i hit the run course i felt great.
i crossed the first kilometer in 4:05 or something, and immediately recognized i needed to throttle back. it’s a very flat run course, save 2 trips up a big old stone staircase in the old town. i actually really like stairs, and wasn’t worried about that so much as about managing my fueling, cramping, that kind of thing. i settled in as near as i could to 4:20 pace, drunk from a flask i carried with me, and was surprised at how . . .fine i felt. around 15ish k in i was conscious that the same effort level was yielding a slightly slower pace, but wasn’t too worried. i managed to step things up a bit during the last km or two but really wanted to stay cautious.
i ran a 1:33 flat, against a PB an open couple of years ago of 1:28 flat, so i feel good about that. most of all my belly behaved and i had no issues with cramps, blisters, or that stuff.
overall i came home in 4:29, which feels really good but isn’t helped by extremely slow transitions. for my first “proper” half since i was a kid, i’m really happy with how things went. i could probably have turned myself inside out and found a bit more speed out there, but i stayed in line with my goals and i’m glad.
side note re. ironman:
this was, as mentioned, my first m-dot branded event. i’m left with mixed feelings. it was definitely a smoothly-run event, and it was cool to share the course with some real “name” pros. the flow through transition was lovely. the support on-course was excellent.
on the other hand, i felt squeezed at every point for money. you had to register in an arena, but walk across the expo to pick up your race bags in the gift shop. the athlete guide was 75 pages long, half of it ads. the pre-race briefing video had commercials in it. all that honestly started to feel a bit oppressive for a race i’d already paid 550 francs for.
i’ll probably do more, in the future, but i’m not in much hurry. i’m just sort of after a different kind of adventure most of the time. so i’ll loop back to m-dot if it’s convenient or i’m keen for a specific qualifier or something. otherwise. . . other stuff.