Challenge Taiwan, April 2014

PRE-RACE:

My mom and I left for Taiwan Tuesday before the race. This gave me quite few days in Taitung before the race checking out the course and trying to adjust to the warm and very humid climate - luckily not too different from Guangzhou. Wednesday I was on my first bike ride on the route. After assembling the bike I thought it sounded differently with a squeaky sound and decided to have it checked out on the expo by a mechanic. It was great to be on the route but it did cost me a sun burn even though it was completely cloudy. Note to me: never train without sunscreen in unfamiliar climates Thursday I went for a swim in 'Flowing Lake'. The water was still and just below 24 degrees. I tried swimming both with and without wet suite since it wasn't decided whether it would be allowed or not. I was unsure if I wanted to wear it since I haven't been training with it and felt much more comfortable in the water without. Later I visited to expo and had my bike adjusted. It turned out that the handle was only attached to the frame with a single screw and the mechanic was shaking his head. Very dangerous! Also a piece was missing on the crank and they would try to make an express order and fix it the next day. Note to me: never rely on others the check your bike (Trek Store) and be sure that if you hear weird sounds you ought to react immediately Friday the before quite empty race hotel was filled up with athletes. I was up early to do my last training session and trying to secure that I could sleep early that night. In the elevator I had a chat with Belinda Granger who gave me some very useful race tips. She recommended the wet suite (no doubt!) and also to walk through all the aid stations getting all the nutrition needed - time spend on that would come back times 3 in the end was her experience. And that lady was about to complete her 50th long distance! Later that day I went back to the mechanic who, to my distress, had ordered the wrong part for my bike and couldn't fix it. I just had to ride and hope for the best. 'Just be careful' was the advice... However you're supposed to ride carefully in a race? Around 5 pm my bike was checked in at T1 and my mom and I went for an early dinner with new tri-friends at a local noodle place. I went to bed at 8 pm and slept fairly well until 3 am when the alarm clock went off! RACE DAY: The first thing that struck me waking up was a very sore neck. It was stiff and I wasn't able to turn the head without pain. Not a perfect start! I got up, took a quick shower (first water then sunscreen) and put on all the gear prepared the day before. Off to breakfast and in the shuttle bus by 4 am. To my big annoyance the bus wasn't leaving according to schedule and we were stuck there for 15 minutes. This turned out to my advance: suddenly a voice of panic was calling my name just seconds before departure. It turned out that I had forgotten the bag with swim cap and goggles. My mom had discovered it just in time to reach the bus only wearing very little clothes and wet hair she was running to my rescue! Notes to me: never change bags leaving important gear in the wrong one And always travel with people who will get up at 4 am and cancel their morning shower to come to your rescue I was in the start area with plenty of time for preparing the bike, going to the toilet, turning in the last bag, going to the toilet, fueling up, going to the toilet, putting on the wet suit/warming up/testing the water, getting nervous, swallowing a pain killer since my neck was still sore and annoying me and going to the toilet for the last time. SWIM: The pros were sent off at 6 o'clock with music playing (simply love that Challenge-song!) and the sun raising on a beautiful, clear and sunny morning. 2 minutes after that the age groups were sent off in two waves. I was in the first. All together around 450 athletes were doing the full distance. The plan was to be up front, trying to hang on to the fastest swimmers for as long as possible and after 1000-1500 meters find my own pace NOT in my comfort zone as in Phuket but struggling to go as fast as possible. According to my spectating mom I was in the front group during the swim. I didn't see a lot of other people in the water, though. It was a rather lonely swim where I constantly reminded myself to keep up the pace. The 3,8K felt long but I had absolutely no problems while being in the water - and the neck soreness never bothered me again during the race. I was navigating perfectly and came up in 1.13.26. I was pleased with the time since I felt the obvious difference between swimming in salt water and fresh water. T1: I had a really bad transition. I had thought through what to do and where to go but coming up the water I had a piece of cotton stuck in my ear. Normally, I get rid of the cotton in a second running towards the bike bag but on this day of all the cotton was stuck! I really wanted it out and decided to work on it in the changing tent. I spent far too much time on this project - which never succeeded and I ended up doing the whole race without being able to hear anything on the right side. Note to me: the pieces of cotton can be too small I ended up spending 4.33 minutes in transition which was far too much even though there was quite a bit of running to do. BIKE: The bike route consisted of two loops of 90K on a route with rolling hills and 2 actual climbs. People had been talking of a fast course but this morning there was quite a bit of wind. Of all the 3 disciplines I had been looking forward to the bike the most since I have felt strong on the bike for a long time. I was ready to roll and kept and average and satisfying speed of 34,5K/hour on the first 45K reaching the turning point for the first time. I had had the wind in my bag, passed by a few of the male athletes from my wave and didn't think the rolling hills felt that hard. I did notice the pros biking towards me on the way back looked slightly affected by the wind but what was bothering me the most was the fact that my legs felt tired already. The way back was certainly much harder than riding out - not only was the wind against me it also felt like the rolling hills were much steeper on the way back. I was worried to push myself too hard on the bike. I did that two years ago in Copenhagen and ended up having a horrible run. I quickly decided to 'play it safe' - remembering Aleksandar saying 'don't be a hero on the bike, the race will be settled on the run'. I was trying to keep an average speed of 30K/hour, saving my legs for the run, but I don't know if I managed. At some points I was riding with less than 20K/hour - trying not to panic. At the same time the sun was frying my shoulders and I was worried about getting a serious sun burn. At the turning point I was only focusing on letting my mom know that I needed more sunscreen getting to the run. I never realized that I was actually among the 10 fastest women - including the pros. I think that could have given me a much needed boost heading out for the second loop. Luckily there was a change in weather just as I was reaching 100K. Clouds were covering up the sun and temperature fell from 29 to 27 degrees. Humidity might have been rising since it was just about to rain. Fortunately, only a few drops of rain that day. Last loop I had no problems, just tired legs, and going back for the last time I occupied myself by counting athletes still heading for the turning point. That gave me an idea of my ranking and the 180K didn't feel like an overwhelmingly long ride. Bike time: 5.30.15 Note to me: discuss with Alexandar whether you should rest more before a race or if there's something else to change to feel 100 % on race day T2: Beside the fact that I took a wrong turn and had to run back with my bike, T2 was ok. In the changing tent one of the pro girls was lying on the floor dehydrated. This gave me an idea of the importance of getting well hydrated on the run. It was apparently hotter than I had realized. T2: 2.52 RUN: The running course consisted of 2 1/2 loops of 15K on a walk/bike path with barriers every 2-3K that you had to squeeze in between. It was quite flat but with a lot of turns and not closed to the public which made it a bit difficult in the end with all the 113-athletes leaving the area. Beside that there was a small 5K loop in the beginning. As always I was putting on a fast first kilometer changing from bike to running but unlike other races I was determined to follow the race plan from Aleksandar to avoid too much suffering in the end. I was aiming for an average speed of 5 minutes/K tending to go a bit faster but very aware of not go too much faster than that. On the first 5K I passed another pro girl having huge problems with cramping. I made sure to walk through all aid stations drinking and eating according to my nutrition plan which left me the challenge of eating 12 gels during the race... Around 15K my mother was cheering for me. Unfortunately, we had a lack communication at this point. My mom thought I had only ran 9K and wanted to know if I had had problems on the bike - she had expected me to pass this point much earlier. I thought I must be doing really bad since my mom expected me to have had problems. The last thing I heard was my mom shouting 'you are no. 7' - and I thought it must be among the age groups which was a bit disappointing. Reaching 21K I was supposed to increase speed if possible. I tried with 4.50/K. Until 30K I was running between 4.45-5.10 according to my watch. It was a bit unreliable that day though. Fact was that I was in control. I was able to pace myself, didn't feel too much pain (legs still sore of course but not close to what I was expecting after the bike) and I was 100 % sure of how I wanted to get through. I didn't have any negative thought about quitting or walking. When I reached 30K I knew the real battle was just about to begin. This time my mom gave me a huge boost by telling me I was 7 overall. I could even register the effect on my running pace. By now I was so so ready to cross the finish line. I tried my best to focus on the next kilometer and take it one step at a time. For a short while I thought I might be doing extremely well since a marshal was riding next to me. It turned out I was just being passed by the female champion and a whole bunch of crew members. This made me run a bit faster towards the finish line. Unfortunately, I had to stop only 3K before finish. At this point I was about to explode, my stomach was huge as a watermelon and I began to feel stomach cramps. What happened now was certainly not the part of the race I am most proud of but desperate as I was I decided to stop and get rid of 'extra luggage'. I had just entered a park and sneaked away from the path into a bushy area. Unfortunately I slipped, glided down a well hidden brink and as I (half naked due to racing in a one-piece suit) tried to squat I could feel a cramp on its way. I don't know how I managed to do what I needed to do but this was the part of the race where I was least in control. Returning to the path a family out for a stroll was staring at me - all covered in dirt and leaves. Anyway, my pit stop became me well, and I was able to pace myself to the finish line with a satisfying speed of 4.50. My running time was 3.32.08 Note to me: at least consider a two-piece race suit Crossing over was great as always - my 3rd long Challenge in the total time of 10.23.13. It was a tough race, warm and humid, but fortunately without the burning sun on the run. I didn´t experience any problems during the race and also felt pretty good afterwards. I was treated with cool gel and massage, had some noodles and something to drink, went to the medical room and got my hearing back (the annoying piece of cotton) saw two fantastic boys crossing the finish line and then headed off to pick up my bike. At 9.30 pm both my mom and I was worn out and went to sleep to the sound of the last athletes still struggling to reach finish. A great race in beautiful Taiwan and a nice start of the season with quite a few things to improve – I can´t wait to get started!