On a training ride, even if your on for a good time it’s crap, in a race… as you say with the red mist down and near the front I’ve seen people take stupid risks …. We do this for fun!
Despite easing off that’s still a good 70.3 time.
Marathon in June, could be hot
Nice one @funkster👍 The traffic sounds like it made it difficult to keep in race mode. Sounds like you made the correct choice to bring it home safely.
Don’t beat yourself up, that’s still a decent race, Saturday races are always a risk with the traffic and that sounds very dangerous.
You kept going on the run, and even when fatigued that’s not a terrible pace knowing you could have gone a lot faster.
First race almost since 2019, and I think you’ve only used your wetsuit once, and not ridden outside much. Quite a lot of positives.
You do know it’s Sunday? 
Doh, for some reason I thought it was yesterday, but now you mention it I saw it on Strava today 
Old age and fatigue isn’t being very good to me today, I’m off to the over 50’s thread to ask who else is losing the plot
near’ish - we’re on the Hastings side of Rye.
that Rye-Camber stretch is always rammed with traffic on hot sunny weekends - police often put out notices asking people not to travel to Camber and have in the past shut the road at the Guldeford junction. our postie lives in Camber and in the past it’s taken her over 2hrs to drive home from Rye on hot sunny days - bonkers!
it wouldn’t be too difficult to put on an alternative bike route that avoids Camber. Velocity Events races don’t have BTF permits so if you have race membership of the BTF you’re not covered if you crash. The RD is a nice bloke but just lazy and tries to get away with doing as little as possible and with least expense to him.
anyhoo - well done @funkster - 6th isn’t that bad on a hot day.
Well done mate, good work in adverse conditions!
I finished the 2021 Celtman!. Long report, not edited, and perhaps a bit down-in-the-mouth but then that’s how I feel right now… Thanks to Karl (Carlito of this forum. DeZeiner Fitness https://www.dzfitness.co.uk/) for being my solo support for the entire race. Driver, support runner, everything, from 2am onwards. Cheers matey!
Website: https://cxtri.com/
Mini-movie: https://fb.watch/66_ahp1jI7/
The Celtman! is one of the Xtreme! flavoured triathlons like the Norseman! etc. (Exclamation marks mandatory.) In brief: 3.2k/202k/36k, baltic sea loch swim, rolling bike with 2400m climbing and 30k of crap tarmac to finish and windy, always windy, finishing with a trail/mountain run. All in the Shieldaig-Torridon-Gairloch-Garve-Kinlochlewe vicinity, NW Highlands. It requires considerable logistical organisation with a support car and support runner, and split transitions. And considerable luck with the weather too. The race organisation is first rate and this was amongst the first post-Covid triathlons to go ahead in Scotland this year.
I’m a little dispirited as I didn’t get the blue T-shirt I coveted because my biking was weak. It’s a cyclist’s event. I missed the blue/high route cut-off by 5 mins or thereabouts and was the first person to be directed onto the low course. A somewhat dubious honour. I’m not sure I’ll return try again (#3) as it’s dawning on me that the training required to get strong enough for blue is probably beyond what I’m prepared to commit to these days with family and job and other hobbies that I’m missing. We’re talking 10-15 hours a week of cycling alone to be able to TT strongly for 200k on those roads IMHO. A TrainerRoad low volume plan simply will not hack it.
Race Day
Up at 2am in Lochcarron in a low-budget B&B. Breakfast at 2:45am in the car at T1 in Shieldaig. 4 Weetabix in whole milk, bananas, coffee. Collect race dibber and GPS tracker 3:15am. T1 all set up by 3:30am. In wetsuit and on the bus at 3:55 am. Off the bus on the other side of the bay at 4:20am and into field full of sheep shit. Portapoo, race photo, line up, gun goes at 4:55am.
Swim
3 swimmers off every 3 seconds. Agonisingly cold. It was 10 degrees max. My face was screaming with shock. I’m confident in OW but struggled with the urge to quit in the first 5 mins. I took an hour dead for 3.2k which was reasonable considering the cold, wind, and that I’ve swum 12 times since March 2020 (pools reopened end-April here). I came into T1 unable to speak with a numb face and useless swollen fingers. 13 min T1 was a little slow but I needed to warm up so as not to fall off the bike. Karl’s dryrobe was a genius idea of his to bring.
Bike
A beautiful course as you’d expect from that part of the world. It was busy with all the support cars overtaking but the driving was generally very good. Roads are a mixture of some great new tarmac and terrible failing chip and seal. I saw lots of kit launches off peoples’ bikes. Garmins, bottles, spares, a TT visor; there’s some good kit out there in the verges in the first 20k. And it was windy with 20 mph gusts. I was struggling with shoulder and neck aches from the cold swim but TT’d most of it. I kept the stops minimal just to get new bottles and food, and briefly faff with my front derailleur. I really suffered the last 30k which was into a solid head wind on terrible tarmac and my bike power was gone. Embarrassingly, I may have lost my shit a few times, but then there was no one to see it. There were a few seat-of-the pants moments with my front 808 wheel – a stupid dangerous choice. And 22mm tubs at 100 psi were inappropriate. 25-28 mm at 80 PSI would have been better. Time 7h 46m. Average bike power 182W. Ultimately, I’m not strong enough to TT 200k. FTP is 260W in TT position – not enough for a 78kg bloke and I’m reluctant to low-carb myself back to gaunt recent low of 71kg (I’m 6’3”).
Run
First half was 17k of 70/30 off/on road to T2A, at the foot of Beinn Eighe, where the high and low mountain routes start and diverge. It included a few k of steep heather bashing before picking up fire tracks and estate trails. I pushed this as hard as I could overtaking half a dozen folks and skipping the second aid station. I thought if I buried myself, I’d maybe make the cut-off but alas my run was too shuffle-like and I was first to be timed-out and onto the low route. I think John the race director was expecting histrionics, which is not my style. As first low router I gave a quick interview in T2A to the race film crew lady. I think I was a bit quiet and dejected so I’ll probably not make the cut for YouTube.
So onto the mountain low route after the worst paced run start ever. Karl joined me now to run/walk/shuffle the low route to finish the run with 36k in 5.5 hours. I think the theme of the low route run for me was “FFS 5 minutes!”, with me musing endlessly on how easy it would have been to find 5 minutes. Karl was very patient. I was first low route finisher, not that it matters, in a total time of 14h37m. I enjoyed the finish and the obligatory Celtman! Beer and I was content with the achievement. I got the result I deserved considering the training I put in (8-10 hours a week, way too little) and conditions were good for the Celtman – it’ll always be windy – so no excuses. I applaud all the blue T-shirt finishers they’re tough athletes the lot of them.
After
Too late (9:30pm) and too knackered and filthy to go for a pub dinner so had soup, Weetabix, crisps and wine for dinner and went to bed. Next day we departed the B&B and drove over to Torridon again to collect the T-shirt, take the finishers photo, speeches, and generally bask briefly in post-race glow, before hitting the road.
2022
I might go and marshal next year. Maybe I’ll enter, but probably not. It’s a ballot to get in anyway so chances are slim especially with all the international deferrals who couldn’t travel over this year. If any Tritalkers enter the race then message me, I can help with logistical and prep advice. It’s an amazing event.
well done fella! even if you “only” did the low route, it’s still a massive acheivement to finish one of teh tougher tri challenges out there
chapeau
You mean, you have stuff that’s different to that for supper?
Sounds like my standard evening fodder
Bloody great report - nice and honest too 
I’d been following you on the tracker & was all out of fingernails following your run to T2A. Unlucky on not getting the opportunity to do the high route, but well done on re-evaluating & coming in first on the low level.
I noticed on the swim exit that no-one is wearing a midge net is that because the race is a wee bit earlier in the year than normal - I think it was the 24th June when I did it - or was there enough wind to keep the buggers at bay?
Sounds like a tough day at the office … but then you knew that before you entered!
Well done on hanging tough though, and still a really decent time by the looks of it. Nearly 8 hours in TT position is making my back hurt just thinking about it, so well done on sticking at it!
Nice bit of time to chill now before whatever comes next eh?!?
Epic!
Diving into a cold mountain loch at 4.55am - the things we do in the name of fun/sport.
Thanks for letting us live this one vicariously, through your race report!
Nice to know that someone was dot watching me. I’m not sure anyone else was even my wife 
It was windy in T1 so no midgies. But in the evening in Torridon the wind died finally and my legs got munched on at the finish. I’m scratching my legs rotten today!
Outstanding effort mate, take a bow. 
Great effort - scenery looks fab
Fantastic, well done sir!
Anyone else doing the Centurion race at Stanborough Lakes this weekend? Nice but random distances of 100km or 100miles
