top work mate. its always shit to see packs of riders bunched up, (no different in kona apparently) but just got to race your own race, And you did, great performance
3:59:18 on the run. Very pleased.
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@blueandy Nice race and report…
Much as I tried my heart wasn’t in this one. I’d entered last year but hoped to KQ and defer this till next year. In the end I did KQ at Bolton but turned the spot down. Was the right decision financially but a hard one to swallow emotionally. I tried to get excited about aiming towards a sub 9 but my heart was never really in it (moan moan moan).
Still, I tuned up fit and well and was buoyed by the weather and the prospect of it being a fast day. Lots of positives for me personally. My best ever swim at 1.02 was a nice surprise. Then the bike….
@blueandy I totally agree with your comments about the determination of so many to deliberately draft. I’ve done other races in the past (Mallorca and Kona) where it really did seem impossible to avoid drafting but this wasn’t the case on Sunday. There were huge stretches of empty road between the huge bunches of guys. Whatever else happened I was determined to finish knowing that my time was based on my own efforts and so every pack I came across I had to put in a massive surge to get past them. Finally, after 30 miles or so all I could see was empty road ahead of me and I finally began to relax. However, it turned out that the reason the road ahead of me was empty because I’d been towing a massive group of about 40 guys along for the last 5 miles. I just sat up and made it very clear what I thought about them but they didn’t seem phased in the slightest. Just to rub it in, as an Italian guy came past me he clapped me on the shoulder and made a hand gesture. Initially I thought he was telling me I had a problem with my bike but turned out he was thanking me for taking my ‘turn’ and inviting me to join their organised chain gang. I just deliberately dropped off the back and watched as they rode away all taking turns at the front and riding in a peloton. I continued to see them at every turn point getting further and further away from me and despite plenty of marshals none of them were carded. I thought it was very disappointing to see the penalty tents next to empty when there was so much of this going on.
I had a decent ride at 4.37. Felt very manageable physically but I’d used up a lot of emotional energy getting pissed off with the groups.
When my heart’s not in it I make stupid decisions and I made one massive wrong decision for the first half of the marathon. I was feeling great and never managed to reel in the pace. I went through the half in 1.32 and so no surprise that I detonated pretty soon after. The second half was a horrible battle of survival and whilst I knew sub 9 was slipping away there was nothing I could do but limit my losses. The last 10 miles were some of the hardest I’ve ever ran slowing to a 3.18 marathon.
Crossed the line in 9.05 which is 20 min pb and I thought I should have been delighted but I just felt a bit flat. 13thin my ag (40-44) Pretty close racing with 10 guys between 9.00 and 9.05.
Not a race I’ll be looking to go back to and I’ll not be chasing those 5 mins. I like the hillier courses and I do feel genuinely excited about finally doing Lanza next year. And this time if I get that KQ I’ll be taking it so @matthew_spooner we’ll have similar targets albeit in different agegroups.
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I thought the same about the tents but a Spanish website reported that 490 penalties were issued for drafting with 470 being served. They were hailing it as a triumph against previous years.
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thanks for the info - that genuinely does make me feel slightly better
Great race report, and really fast time @Mr-me, see you in Lanza in May. I know exactly how you feel about the drafting, I experienced similar in Elsinore…I will admit that having dragged a massive pack for 5km, I fell back into the pack for a few minutes before putting in a massive effort to break free on a small climb (and there weren’t many of those in Elsinore).
One of the attractions of Lanza is that if/when I fail to KQ, it won’t be because other cheated by drafting, from what I hear, there are not too many opportunities for drafting.
Great race mr me!
Enjoyed the report, the two others who did Bolton and Barca I know if we’re 90 mins apart… ish
Being right at the sharp end did this hold true for you?
Big difference in a crowded road and blatant team time trial tactics.
Chapeau!
Fantastic time, well done!
And that equates to a six hour ride at Bolton…Or did you ride harder at BCN?
(I have entered Bolton…now pooping my pants!)
Yep 91 mins difference for me. 10.34 Bolton vs 9.05 Barca. 3.18 run in both events. 2 mins quicker in the swim at Barca so the 90 mins was made up almost entirely on the bike.
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6.05 ride At Bolton NP 238 AP 222
4.37 ride at Barca NP 245 AP 238
Now time to get myself unfit for a few months
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W/kg for that… 
(that’s my HIM wattage)
rarely weigh myself but I know from past experience that race weight tends to be around 74kgs (I’m 181cms) so about 3.3 w/kg I guess
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Sweet! Cheers.
I’m 183cm and was 74kg a long, long, long time ago.
That adds up too…!
Someone who knows more than me about riding a bike fast stated that 240 W … ish would get you a 6 hour split at Bolton.
Obviously your weight CDA,basically bike, tyres, clothing, position, knowing the course and how fast you can ride down pot holed sketchy descents surrounded by 2000 tri - antelopes with Dubious handling skills ( me) will also have a part to play.
Enjoy the winter.
… that will also depend on which random number generator you are using.
Eg 200W on my Favero bepro pedals equates to 230W on my powertaps. I’ve seen people same weight as myself putting out 330+ watts for a 10, whilst I’ve put them away by a good margin at 285W.
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Guy on a watt bike.
I think there as accurate as you can get …?!?
Cat 1 roadie I think?
Is that the highest level?
Super skinny, can’t swim does a bit of jogging, literally
Trains on the loop,or that area , came past me on hunters like he was on a moped.
Cracking stuff Mr-me.
4:37 for 245 np sounds awesome. What’s the Barca bike course actually like?
One of the most telling things there is you had a VI of 1.04 at Barca and an incredible 1.07 at Bolton.
How did you manage to keep is so smooth at Bolton?!
Given the lack of training (again), happy with 12:38
Swam once in September, twice in August, posted a 1:09
Bike totalled 145 miles in 13 weeks since July 5:45 on the day
Run, longest 13 miles, total of 56 miles in 13 weeks… a rather slow, but not unexpected 5:24
Agree with yhe drafting… some big packs, but for me 3800 athletes is just too many
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