The Beaver Triathlon 2011 - Race Results & Report

Team ATHelite Ironman division headed down to Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire at the weekend hoping for a race in glorious sunny English weather. However the weekend was turned into a test of stamina and grit due to the horrendous winds and driving rain that we were hoping to leave behind in Scotland.

We (Colin, Genevieve, Pam, Gareth and Graeme) all converged on the camp site simultaneously and soon had the tents pitched. Gareth and family (too posh to pitch) promptly headed off to the Premier Inn for an evening of warmth and luxury as the rest of us huddled around the uninterested bbq wearing fleeces, jackets, hats and glove. By the time the bbq was ready for cooking we had already flame grilled and eaten the food, polished off the bottle of wine and were ready for bed.
We all tucked in, freezing & still fully dressed and lay awake till 2.00am as the wind tried to rip the tents apart. I slept in Jacks pop up tent which appeared to hover above the ground in the wind like some minature airship. I finally passed out and re-awoke at 5.00am once the rain started coming down & the local hunt dogs started baying for meat. If I ever need to spend a night at Everest base camp I will be totally prepared.

We finally managed to step of of the tents at 6.00am after 3 hours sleep to get the coffee on, except the wind kept blowing out the gas stove so we drank luke warm coffee & tepid porridge. As always loads of spare time turned into not enough time and we hurriedly racked the bikes during the race briefing. With 5 mins to go till the pink swim capped ladies went off in the first wave Pam was locked in a portaloo half a km from the lake without a wetsuit on but somehow managed to get to the start line on time.

My group of black caps (stupid colour for open water swimming) jumped into the lake with 5 mins to go. I noticed everyone around me was looking scared & shivering in the cold water. I personally felt quite calm & found the water pleasantly warm compared to the temperatures we are used to! The only person in our group who found the water freezing was Pam, but her last event was Ironman Florida & it may be slightly warmer there!
I had somehow injured the top of my bicep the previous week & wasn't entirely sure if I would complete the swim so I positioned myself 2/3's of the way back in the pack of about 100. The gun went & we were off & it was total carnage - kicked, punched & crushed but I held my position & tried to stay calm & not throw my bad arm out of shape. Within 100 mtrs it started to flair up but I relaxed, and eased back on my left arm pull & swam almost one armed until the turn point. The crowds thinned out a bit here & with the tide on our side and settling into bilateral breathing I managed to cruise home around the 2 loop course using one and a half arms, exiting the water in about 33 mins. It was at least a 400 metre long run to T1 so I decided to remove the wetsuit at the lake side & run with it. With my quickest wetsuit removal ever (I almost high fived a spectator as I kicked it straight off but they didn’t seem as impressed as me) I ran & overtook loads of people running in their wetsuits.

Swim Times including the ridiculous run to T1 were as follows

Swim
Colin 35.40
Genevieve 35.56 (and 7th female out of the water)
Pamela    38.51
Gareth 41.10
Graeme 41.10

T1
Colin 2.21
Graeme 2.29
Pamela 3.27
Genevieve 3.33
Gareth 3.54

For the first time ever I actually put a long sleeve bike jersey on for the bike & was so pleased I did as the weather was horrific. We exited T1 for the 3 lap bike course and turned left immediately into a very strong head wind and must have ground away into this for about 7 miles including a particularly sharp climb. After turning at the top of the course the wind really ripped across giving me a couple of nasty wobbles on the open sections & descents before turning right & finally having the wind on your back for the rest of the lap. There were a lot of people struggling both with the winds & also on the climbs. Fortunately we are used to both these things & we all rode at something near our Ironman pace & knocked out some good bike times. Genevieve & Pam are so light they always find biking in the wind & driving rain very tough & today was no different & they were both pleased to get off & start running (until they saw the run course!)

Bike times were as follows with (average pace);
Colin 2.22 (23.6 mph)
Graeme 2.25 (23.1 mph)
Gareth 2.25 (23.1 mph)
Genevieve 2.34 (21.8 mph)
Pamela 2.37 (21.45 mph)

T2 Transitions were pretty quick all round;
Colin 1.32
Graeme 1.43
Gareth 1.48
Genevieve 1.52
Pamela 2.06 (caught on video knocking back cans of Red Bull in transition!)

So finally the Half Marathon. A tough route, heading out of transition on the flat before crossing a bridge, then running uphill for about 2k before turning & running down it again. 4 of these loops brought a lot of competitors to a walk but team ATHelite all soldiered on & kept running. It took almost 7k before my feet & toes defrosted from the bike & I felt like I was running well. I actually felt very strong on the run all the way & overtook people non stop despite the driving rain & wind. I could have kept going at that pace (quicker than IM pace) and finished in what felt like a very controlled 90 minute half marathon. Everyone else held an excellent & consistent IM pace and finished the run as follows;

Run
Colin 1.30
Gareth 1.48
Genevieve 1.50
Pamela 1.54
Graeme 2.01

Total finishing times;

Colin 4.32 (32nd overall & 11th in Age Group)
Gareth 5.01 (Very impressive!)
Genevieve 5.07 (9th Female & 4th in Age Group)
Graeme 5.12 (Well controlled race)
Pamela 5.16 (14th Female & 5th in Age Group)

The plan for the Beaver was always for it to be a test event for us for Ironman. It enabled us to check race gear, bikes & bike set up, race strategy, nutrition, transitions and so on and I was so impressed with the way all the guys handled it. No mindless pacing errors and no mistakes. Personally I felt over the moon with my performance – I felt very in control & strong in the Swim, Bike & Run & it was good to see how everyone was focused, calm, organised & in control despite what the weather tried to throw at us.

We all came into this event with a different approach – Graeme & Gareth tapered into it, Pammy travelled all the way from Canada to race with us & still managed to cram in a good few training hours in the run up and myself & Genevieve treated it as part of a peak training week and finished the event week on 17 training hours. We even managed to head out on Sunday morning with Pam for a one hour off road run in the hills behind my parent house & all felt pretty good!

I certainly now feel confident that our training is coming to a peak at just the right time as we approach the 6 week countdown & I hope everyone is looking forward to Ironman Switzerland as much as I am!!

Full Results Here