Challenge Roth 2013

 

THE RACE

Challenge Roth is one of the greatest long distance tri races in the world, according to some legends like Chrissie Wellington and Macca, this is the greatest race on the planet!

Challenge Roth is the landmark race of the Challenge organization, competing with the Ironman branded races. Where the IM organization is notoriously commercial, the Challenge organization profiles itself as a family and have a much more personal athlete and spectator focused race.

It's a fast course as well. In 2011 world records were set here for both men (Andreas Raelert - 7:41:33) and women (Chrissie Wellington (8:18:13).  Interesting fact is that the course is not the flattest on the circuit. Actually the bike is rolling hills with a few serious climbs.

Serene, Lotte and my parents were going to attend, so the pressure to perform was on!


PREPARATION

Had a great build-up and many months of consistent training leading up to this event. Performance in shorter races wasn’t great but IM pace workouts all went well. Had done more swimming than ever before, including 5k swims in wetsuits and regular open water swims. Also did a weekly long bike on Saturday morning for months. Adjusted quite well to heat and humidity in Singapore. Fittest ever.

Days before the race in Roth I felt strong; taper was good, well rested. Had my last real meal the lunch before race-day and lot’s of ice-cream and other sweet stuff the rest of the day. Had 6 hours sleep the night before the race.


RACE DAY

Fantastic weather: 13 degrees in the morning, 27 degrees maximum temperature and very sunny, little wind. Had bread and cheese for breakfast and drank 0.5L of coke. Was hoping for a sub-9:30 finish.


SWIM – 1:04:58 (Rank 513/3500)

Quiet water, wave start with 200 people, swim in canal. This was going to be an easy swim. It was a deep water start and I was in front in the middle of the pack. I swam hard when we took off and it felt fast. Held the pace for maybe 200m and then settled in to my moderate pace, trying to find feet. However, for some reason I found myself often swimming in open spaces.
On the way back it got worse and often “lost” feet and somehow had a bias to turn right even though in training I was swimming quite straight, also in open water.
When I came out of the water and saw the time, I was very disappointed. Was really aiming for and expecting sub 60 mins as I did 1:02 in the sea swim in Busselton half a year ago.


T1 – 2:32 (Rank 379/3500)

Felt good and fresh coming out of the water and running into transition felt good. Here I did feel the swim training paid off as I used to be much more tired after the swim. Transition went smooth until I got on the bike. Was again fiddling with getting my feet in my shoes and almost crashed into the barrier. But then off I was.


BIKE: 4:54:16 (Rank 126/3500)

Beautiful bike course with not a single flat section, fast roads. As this course is known to be fast, I had somehow expected it to be easier. It was actually tough and I felt not 100% strong, although it is hard to judge as the start of the bike has a lot of gradual uphills. Speed is not a good indicator. I was thinking that I didn’t feel the best I could feel on the bike, but decided to just push on as good as I could and to ensure to really enjoy the race.

I did overtake many on the bike and found myself cycling in a pace group. However, this was not the usual steady pace group. Everytime there was an uphill I was overtaken by better climbers (or people who just pushed hard on uphills), I would then overtake them again on the downhills where they tended to coast. However, a few escaped during lap 2 on Kalvarienberg and I didn’t catch up with them again.

I used a 55 large chain ring as per instructions of coach Woody. This would allow me to maximize speed on the gradual and long downhills of the course in combination with the smallest cog of 11. On climbs I could go as low as 39/25 and that was fine. Only downside is changing gear from 39 to 55 is not smooth and sometimes difficult.

Nutrition: had 1800 kcal from 1.2 liter Ensure plus. Had some salt pills and 2 bottles of energy drink. Total over 2000 kcal.

Garmin data               First Half              Second Half                 Total
Avg Speed                 37.2                      35.5                              36.8
Heart rate avg/max    128 / 139               127 / 138                      128 / 139
Avg Cadence             74                         74                                  74
     (incl coasting)

Another climb - an opportunity to get out of the saddle

Solarer Berg - "Triathlon Traumfabrik"!

T2 – 3:02 (place 1125/3500)

A great transition setup done by the race organization, fast and compact. Had a great dismount, handed over my bike and ran into transition while getting handed the run bag. Transition was smooth but took time to pee and stuff gels into my pockets before heading out on the run. Could probably gain a minute by peeing on the bike ☺


RUN – 3:30:47 (place 249/3500)

Run started with downhill, followed by an uphill. Did the first k in 4:15, continuously trying to slow down. Next k, including uphill at 5:04. Tried to settle into 4:30-4:35 but was slower and somehow didn’t commit to the pace set (despite telling myself that I will do that a million times in the weeks before)

Run along the canal was good, saw the pro’s coming back from the opposite direction. Didn't see Bockel, he was too fast, but did see Cunnama, Fachbach and the women: Xena, Yvonne van Vlerken (hup Holland!).... Their focus, determination and pace was inspiring! A bit later also saw Arnaud Selukov, one of the best triathletes based in Singapore and training buddy on many Saturday morning rides.

Had some stomach cramps during the run, but largely “controlled” them and was able to eat about 4-5 gels with caffeine and maybe 8 salt pills. Drank coke and iso and had some watermelon.

It was warm but not extremely hot. Did cool myself at aid stations but this is the coolest IM race I have done!

Garmin data      1st 10k           2nd 10k        3rd 10k        4th 10k       Last 2k      Total
Pace                  4:46               4:52               5:10             5:24            5:03           5:00
HR av/max       135/148         137/150         137/150       132/140     139/142      135/150
Cadence            91                  90                  89                89               90              90

At the start of the run, I ran through the aid stations, drinking limited coke. Later on, I allowed myself to walk the aid stations to drink more and that explains some of the slowdown below. Digging deeper is again the goal for the next IM.

The town of Schwand brought some distraction and then back on the long stretch along the canal, after a modest climb. The run started to be really tough at km 25. There is an uphill section towards Eckersmuehlen across the canal and towards the last turnaround.

Then back towards Roth. The last 2k is a round through the town of Roth with again lots of spectators, including Woody, my coach. Also saw Serene and my parents and high 5-ed Lotte. The finish was incredible, a purpose-built stadium and a U-shaped last few 100 meters that allow you to really absorb that the job is done and to start celebrating!

TOTAL – 9:35:34 (OVERALL: 147/3500, AG: 30/552)
   
I had a disappointing swim, solid bike and improved run. I don’t think I had my best day, but very much enjoyed the race. Especially the bike course but also the run course were beautiful but tougher than expected. Time not as fast as hoped, but still a 10min PB. Happy!

I highly recommend this race, with 220,000 spectators who seem to have unlimited energy as well as scenic quiet sections on the ride and run. The road surface is made to ride and the organization and volunteers were amazing. The atmosphere at a challenge event is a bit less commercial and more personal than at an Ironman event.

A big thanks to Woody, my coach who always knows exactly what is needed to ensure I continue to improve. Also thank you to my parents for their support at the race, especially my father who was with me from 4:30am until the finish line. Last but not least I am extremely grateful to Serene and Lotte who not just accept my triathlon lifestyle but embrace it and support me week after week, month after month. Thank you all!