It's taken me over a week to muster the motivation to blog the challenge that was the New Forest half ironman. More of why later....
The year has been focused on this race. My buddy Adrian and I entered this race 12 months ago.
In 2012 I've done 63 swim sessions, 123 hours on the bike and ran 780 miles, all focused on peaking for this event.
Training and the B races went well. PB's at Sprint and Olympic distance showed that my swimming and cycling were improving so I was hopeful of a good performance.
Race weekend began early on Saturday morning with the packing ritual. I checked the weather forecast and saw that it was potentially heavy rain and wind. Luckily I packed my waterproofs and mentally prepared for a slog like we'd had in June at the Chilterns Sportive. Another wet and windy event.
We arrived in plenty time for registration and race briefing on Saturday lunchtime. The weather was glorious, blue sky, no wind, 22c. Perfect race conditions. We spent the afternoon racking up and scouting the cycle route.
We both did the race in 2010 and then Adrian did it in 2011. Our times were Kenny 6:40 and Adrian 5:54 followed by a race-perfect 5:34 in 2011.
Our targets this year were 5:45 for me and 5:25 for Adrian.
Race morning began in the rain and that continued all the way through. Getting worse and more windy by the minute. PB's were off the cards in these conditions.
The swim was choppy. Wind and rain were making it tough. My swim was better than before and I was in the mix getting battered at the buouys as everyone reached the turns. I came out in 48 mins, 180th, just 9mins after Adrian. In 2010 that was a 20min gap.
In transition 1 I had no issues. Smoothly out of wetsuit and waterproof on for the bike. Only problem is everything's already soaked. This affects the Garmin. I use heart rate to pace myself but nothing's working. Oh well I'll just do it on perceived effort. Easy for the first 10miles and then build the pace.
The ride is insane. It's impossible to get speed up on the downhills as the road is slippy. The wind and rain are making the flat sections impossible. The only good bit is when it's behind you and 30mph is achieved.
I'm ok physically. My trusted orange waterproof has experienced all this and more. But other racers are in bad shape. Some have no waterproofs, others are looking very cold and shaken. I keep going and make up 42 places.
Out of the blue I hear Adrian behind me. He's had a puncture and flies passed like a man possessed. I don't see him again until the end.
At T2 its like Saving Private Ryan. Foil blankets. Frozen, shaking men & women. Medics calling for help. I'm in and out in a flash. Trainers on, cap on, lets get this done.
On the run I'm feeling steady. Focus is on good form and cadence. I am passing loads of folk who are in bits. I have no major issues until mile 9. Then the wind, cold and hills start to take their toll. I start to wobbles, feel some dizziness and start hallucinating. All quite normal for a Sunday morning. I down my last 2 gels and hope the sugar will kick in and snap me out of this. It does and I emerge from a dodgy few miles to start the last mile and half ready to catch everyone I can see ahead. I pick them all off and finish with a sprint, cheered by Adrian who has just finished and looks in a bad way.
I come through the finish grab a drink and snack and immediately head to the car with Adrian. No time for pleasantries we are finished. He's shaking like a leaf and freezing. I'm soaked through, haven't felt my feet since the first mile on the bike and need to get changed.
We make it back and get changed. Get the heating on in the car and head off for something to eat.
We get home. Get the results and hear that they shut down the race shortly after we'd finished. As the race had progressed they were getting more and more individuals with hypothermia. The right decision was made. Although we'd finished damage was done.
I'm just about over a kidney infection and chest infection. I've been on mega strong antibiotics and have lost at least half a stone in the last week. It's been brutal.
So what were the results. Amazingly I improved on my 2010 time, so a new pb at 6:23 and finished 96th overall. Adrian came in at 6:20 and 88th. The times were pretty irrelevant but in our age group we were 13th and 15th. That's a huge step up.
It's been a great triathlon season for me. I'll be investing in some proper gear now and hoping for more improvements in 2013.
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