European Championships Geneva 2015 Standard Distance Race Report – shorter than RAAM but still long (both the report and the race!)
This report is more for my memories once again but if you are interested…
I have mixed feelings about my performance at the European Champs but have decided to settle on “not bad, all things considered.”
The greatest challenge for me had always been about qualifying for the GB team and back in 2014 when I qualified in 2nd place with a PB I was very emotional. I knew I would never be winning the World Champs or the Europeans and so I had not prioritised these races in my training plan. Consequently the build-up to the Europeans was far from perfect.
Fifteen weeks ago (six weeks before RAAM) I developed an Achilles’s strain which was threatening my participation in RAAM so I stopped running and went into major rehab to ensure I was able to start the race in Oceanside. This basically meant that I have run about half a dozen times in the last fifteen weeks prior to Geneva. Whilst my training software tells me I should be well rested everyone has said that something like RAAM takes many weeks if not months to recover from so although I was starting to feel stronger I had no real sense about what my levels of fatigue really were.
Karen Bradbury had kindly offered to put us up in their wonderful house in Geneva and I registered and racked on Saturday with no hanging around. The previous two nights had been late nights for various reasons so on Saturday I was in bed by 9:30pm but the heat wave engulfing Switzerland meant I did not sleep well and was just settling into a deep sleep when my alarm went off at 4:15am. Breakfast was muesli and bread and jam before Karen drove me down to the start to sort out my kit at 5:00am. I sorted my kit out and then waited for the start at 7:18am.
There were 76 people in my 45 to 50 age group and we start in waves in our respective age categories. My strategy was to take the swim very gently to conserve energy and delay the onset of residual fatigue from RAAM. There was a fast pack ahead which I did not even try and stay with and I settled behind another swimmer’s toes and allowed him to tow me around the course. There was no fighting or thrashing around, it was a very civilised swim. I would occasionally tickle the chaps toes in front if I felt he was slowing down but all in all it was a very pleasant swim in 21 degrees in the crystal clear waters. I was 38/76 which for me is OK as a) I am a crap swimmer and b) I made no effort at all. The fastest swim time was 5 minutes quicker than mine and that gap is bigger than usual but not atypical.
I had a terrible swim / bike transition as I had not practiced despite by coach’s plan insisting that I do so. I could not get my feet into my shoes and the strap came out of the buckle and so I actually had to stop and re-thread the straps, almost falling into a barrier as I did so. I was angry with myself for needlessly throwing away probably a minute or possibly even two. Eventually I started pedalling and I knew I was in trouble as RAAM made its presence felt.
The first few minutes my heart rate was off the scale – 175 bpm plus – this is normal but usually it settles pretty quickly. Today it stayed elevated for longer and I could not generate anywhere near my usual power. There is a steep 7% 1km hill early in the race and normally I stomp up these things but today I was getting passed. I was not a happy bunny but at 17 minutes I was coming across the Mont Blanc bridge when Catie and Karen, along with all the children, saw me and started shouting – this lifted my spirits hugely and immediately my heart rate settled and my power came up. I was never even close to my normal pace on the bike but I started to pass people and felt good. The hill the second time around was not even too bad and I saw Catie et al two more times which kept me motivated – nothing like the sound of a cow bell to spur you on. My race time was 1:03:45 and the fastest time only three minutes and 30 seconds quicker – I ranked 29th for the bike and on a normal race form and with a better transition, I would have been right up there with the leaders. But I was happy with the bike and feeling good – the transition to the run presented no issues.
In my new racing flats I flew the first km and felt great and the 2nd km felt good too but then it all started to go horribly wrong. It was a shame because the race course (3 loops) is absolutely stunning with a park with shady trees, plenty of support and the lake to your left. I felt profoundly fatigued from the 3rd km and my new racing shoes were reminding me of the basic principle – no new toys on race day. Looking at my splits I was moving up through the field for the first 3 km but then I had catastrophic power failure. For various reasons Catie and the children were waiting for me at the finish and so I did not see them on the loops which was a shame as I really needed their support. By 5km I was in survival mode and my ITB was threatening to explode causing pain in my left knee, my right calf was threatening to cave in and my feet were bloodied from the new shoes. The finish could not come soon enough. I ran the 10km in 43:33 which was really slow but I was effectively jogging the last 5km and the winning run was 36:36. I placed 44th in the run.
It was more with a sense of relief when I crossed the finishing line – I finished 33rd out of 76 and I am pleased to say there were a good few other Brits behind me so I did not let the team down. I had pushed as hard as I could all the way but my legs were shot and on reflection whilst I am disappointed not to have performed better I think I did ok, all things considered. I am incredibly proud to have raced for my country and as always eternally grateful to Catie, Amelie and Tristan for their patience and support. I am also grateful to Karen for helping getting me to the start line in a very relaxed state of mind.
Expeditions 