Ironman Staffordshire 70.3 Race Report - Luke England

WhittleFit coached athlete Luke England raced the Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire triathlon last weekend, let's hear how his race went:

The adventure started back in August 2015, and no, I’m not referring to the decision to start training specifically. I’m referring to the rollercoaster of life that led me to the start line in Staffordshire.

It was August 29th 2015 and I had just finished my first 70.3, in Zell am See, my second triathlon. My wife and I were keeping a little secret. We’d just found out we were going to have another baby, and, as selfish as we can be sometimes, I knew I had would have to make sacrifices. Training wasn’t going to be possible with two under two. I needed to be there to tackle our newborn baby, not in the pool.

Over the next 13 months, there were a lot of sleepless nights and subsequent exhaustion ensued. Having two-under-two is testing, to say the least. My decision to take time out from competing was very much vindicated.

September 2015 came round fast and I had decisions to make. Was I going to race again? If so what race would it be? And, how was I going to be able to tailor the training around my lifestyle? Some of the answers came quicker than others, but it was decided I would race again, and I would enlist the help of a coach.

Family commitments and my irrational fear of the sea came into play in choosing which event to do. It needed to be a lake swim, in the UK. Ideally, close to home, Staffordshire 70.3 sort of picked itself.

Training: October 2015 marked the start of my training. I sat down with my new coach and we planned what could and couldn’t be done before Christmas in terms of hours per week.

Being honest about what’s feasible is crucial. We settled on 6 hours/week and we would reevaluate after the New Year.

Getting back into training was tough. I felt exhausted and found it challenging but equally the rewards outweighed the pain. NB. Anyone who needs to take a long break from training, do not worry about the stats for a few weeks or months it’ll all come back in the end.

Over the next few weeks and months the training built up and mixing the training with work and family became more and more of a struggle. At this point the inevitable happened. I en

ded up doing sessions either before the kids woke up or when they’d gone to bed. The kids still got to see me but my wife didn’t. It’s this realisation that highlights how your decision has a knock on effect on people around you. Without their support and understanding, nothing would be possible.

A few weeks before race day all sorts of thoughts go through your head. They tend to be more negative than positive. Am I ready? Why an earth did I decide to do this? But after a few message exchanges with the coach I was convinced that I was going to be ready and there was nothing to worry about.

Race Week/ Build Up: I, like 99% of other athletes out there, become addicted to checking the weather before race day. This becomes somewhat of a small addiction, and in my case a great worry. When planning for Staffordshire and racing in the UK in general, one doesn’t plan for 24-28 degrees and minimal wind. Don’t get me wrong, the no wind was a great relief but being Welsh, we call anything over 20 degrees a heat wave so I knew it was going to be a testing race.

Other things that we like to do in the lead up to a race include tinkering endlessly on best bike split, planning nutrition down to the last carb on a spreadsheet, viewing each course on Garmin/Google maps and playing/cleaning the bike. Most of this is fairly pointless but keeps us happy nonetheless!

I/we decided to travel up on Staffordshire on Friday afternoon. This would allow me to register on Friday night and begin to pack everything up and prepare for racking and bag drop on Saturday. We live around 2:30 away from the venue, but heavy traffic meant that we only had 20 minutes to spare before registration closed. Once registered, it was time to make our way to the hotel I had booked.

It turned out that the hotel I had picked was not quite up to my wife’s standards. We sort of had what can only be described as a mini tantrum, which she must have learnt from our three-year-old daughter! Once I milked the situation and made her feel really bad for the meltdown, I decided that given she had sacrificed a lot in the build up for this, the least I could do was make her weekend as enjoyable as possible. As a wise man once told me, a happy wife is a happy life.

Our new hotel was in Wolverhapton, around 30 minutes from Shugborough and 20 minutes from Chasewater.

Saturday turned out to be a complete kafuffle, and we spent the large majority of it going between hotel, transition 1 and transition 2. A tank and a half full of fuel later, we had completed race briefing, bike racking, swim practice, bag drop in T2 and a walk through of T1. It was now time to head back to the hotel via Pizza Express and chill out for the rest of the evening.

I decided that dinner was a very appropriate time to have a complete meltdown about the weather forecast. It was going to be somewhere around 30 degrees towards the end of the bike and beginning of the run. This was something I was not comfortable with, and judging by the response from my coach, neither was he. It was decided there and then that my goal of sub 5 needed to be reevaluated and so did my nutrition. I added two more gels to the plan and double to fluid, on the bike. It was then going to be a case of seeing how I felt on the run and go from there. Simple when you say, it far less appealing when you’re out in the field.

It turned out that our hotel was the chosen venue for a wedding and we were the guests of honour. So between 9pm and midnight, we were treated to the delights of a playlist from somewhere between the 60’s and 00’s. If that wasn’t bad enough, the hotel decided that we needed to hear how impressive their fire alarm was from 11pm-midnight! All this meant resulted in less than 4 hours sleep and not the best start to a race. However, being a Father to 2 small children means I’m accustomed to operating on minimal sleep.

Race Day: My alarm went off at 4am and I began the routine of getting up, having breakfast and putting all my race stuff on. We left the hotel at 5am and arrived at the park and ride just outside Chasewater around 5:30am.

It was then a short bus ride to a drop off location, over a bridge and we came out just by T1. I got the Garmin set up on the bike, got the gels and liquid added to the bike and made sure the tyres were at the correct pressure. All was good and I was ready to rock and roll.

I had a short wait until the pros set off, so I went and relaxed by the swim start. It was only 6:30am but we were already being told not to do out wetsuits up above waist height. This was going to be a very, very warm day at the office.

Once the pros had set off I knew it wasn’t long before it was my turn to enter the lake. I had taken up the option to be in the elite age group field. I believed I could do the event in under 5:30. On a normal day I knew this should be achievable, today however, was anything but a normal day.

Swim: 30:23

I’m a confident swimmer so I went to the front of my wave. Once the horn went off we were allowed to enter the water. This was executed really well by the officials and meant only 6 or so people set off at the same time.

This meant it was a lot easier to settle down and get into a rhythm and I began to focus on executing the 1.2 miles as efficiently as possible. Around half way through the swim I had my first decision to make, I found myself in a group of similarly paced swimmers however I knew that I could go faster. Was it time to push on or stay here and control my race, I decided at this moment that it was going to be a long day and the minute or so I could have made up in the swim would not have been worth the suffering that could come later on.

The decision lead me to do something I’ve never done before, find some feet, got to know them and stayed there for the remaining 15 or so minutes.

I exited the swim and looked at my watch, it said 30:23. A minute slower than I had predicted but given my decision I was happy with that.

T1: 4:36

T1 is long and the run from swim exit to changing tent is not pleasant at all. Once you’re there it’s a frantic battle to remember how to get changed! I managed to get everything on, locate my bike and set off on the course.

Bike : 2:40:34

The first issue on the bike was that my Garmin had frozen. This was not ideal as my power meter was only paired to this and not my watch and I’d tailored my race with power in mind. It took me a mile of fiddling to reset it to make it work again, but we were back in business.

The plan on the bike was simple, maintain 205 watts, which should get me back to T2 in under 2:40. If you have ever cycled the first 11 miles of the bike course in Staffs, you will be fully aware of the ‘interesting’ road surfaces. The best way to describe it is a country lane, and a second rate one at best. Once you have negotiated this section, the course really opens out and you can start to get your head down and legs pumping.

With the heat firmly at the front of my mind I started with the nutrition, sipping away at my bottle, and taking a gel every 30-45 mins. The good thing about the course for me is that the aid stations were coincidentally located where my bottle ran out. (I had switched to training with the course drink to save me carrying extra bottles around, I highly recommend doing this). This meant that all I had to do was grab a bottle, fill up my hydration system and throw it into the wheelie bin. I’m ashamed to say I missed all 4 however, I did hit the side twice!!

The terrain can probably be best described as rolling with a climb in Cannock Chase, resulting in was a fast course. I kept a close eye on the power and around 40 miles into the bike I was bang on plan, 205 watts and looking set to finish in around 2:35. Once I got to Cannock Chase, I had my second dilemma of the day, while climbing I was focused on keeping the watts below 280, if possible. Taking the conditions into account, a little less than that would have been preferable. I had to decide whether to plough on with this power or reduce the watts. I took the latter option and finished the race on 202 watts and a time of 2:40. I wanted under 2:40 for the bike course so a few seconds over on a day like that was a victory in my eyes.

T2: 2:29

T2 was quick. In and out. I still got lost but then I was out! Important to know which is the exit, lesson learnt.

Run: 1:43:56

Running is what I like to call a love hate relationship; I love it during training and hate it during races. Anyhow, here I was again starting a half marathon with absolutely no idea how my legs were feeling, or if I had overcooked the bike. We were about to find out, and the first mile was spent getting the pace right. My goal was sub 1:40 or as close to that as possible. I looked at my watch and even with the conditions, a run leg anywhere near that would put me under 5 hours. It would be close but I set my mind to it and ploughed on.

The night before I had made a clear decision, I was going to run and not stop unless it was for the aid stations. I allowed myself to walk the aid stations and after the first one I got into a routine. It was simple but effective, 4 cups of water over my head, sip from the Powerbar drink and flat Coke followed by another 2 cups of water over my head. Once this had been completed it was back running, and my focus was on the next 1.5 miles, before the next aid station.

What caught me a little by surprise was the hill that’s halfway round the run course, It was brutal. This could have been due to the heat, the bike or just not being in the right shape but I really struggled with the hill. Once I got up it for the first time and saw there was an aid station at the top it made the thought of doing it another two times a little easier.

After this aid station, I had a quiet word with myself, pulled myself together and set off for the rest of the lap. What happened between miles 3-10, I have no idea, but I felt great. Really good! Looking back, probably too good. I found myself thanking all the volunteers and joining in the singing outside the pub. I even have to admit dancing along to the Macarena!

The run is where the support of friends and family comes into its own. You actually have a chance to see them and exchange a few words. I honestly do not think I would have been able to focus without the support of my wife, brother and friends. So thank you for taking the time to come and support, it really did mean the world to me.

Once down to the last lap I knew that if I carried on at the same pace then I would come in around 4:58. Given the conditions, this would be some sort of miracle. It was important not to get carried away at this point so I blocked it out and focused on the hill for the last time, knowing it could make or break by race. While running up the hill I had my third and final dilemma, it was a simple choice really…all or nothing. Should I go all out for sub 5 at all costs, or listen to everything that got me into this situation and carry on with Plan B. The decision didn’t take long, Plan B was a far better option than going all out and probably ending up in the medical tent.

This was probably one of the best decisions I have made, as something went wrong around mile 12, really wrong. My body decided at that exact moment that it didn’t like the heat anymore and getting to the finish line was just a mile or so too far.

Luckily for me I knew there was the last aid station a few hundred meters in front and if I kept running to that then the chances were I would make it to the red carpet. I got there and did exactly the same routine that I had done for the previous 8, however this time it was not as effective. My legs did not want to move and it took all my mental strength not to walk. I kept moving forward at a slow pace, but it would do. After all, it would get me back to the finish and at that moment, I liked the sound of that.

I can honestly say that the last mile was torture, a real test of mental strength. A test that very few people experience and it is probably the exact feeling that endurance athletes crave (yes we’re a crazy bunch). I could see and hear the finish line approaching. With around 200m to the finish, I spotted my wife on the side shouting and cheering me home. After this point, I can’t honestly say I remember running down the red carpet, I know I did it and I remember hearing my name being called over the loud speaker.

The volunteers at the end seemed to be very concerned and insisted on water and shade. I took the water, but shade could wait, I needed to see my wife, after all, this wasn’t just my finish line. She had equally sacrificed things so I could do what I just did and I needed to share it with her. She arrived just in time as I honestly think they were going to drag me into the tent. We hugged and kissed and I let out a little tear.

It was after that moment that I remembered this was a race and I had a goal, so I checked my watch and the time was 5:01:58. I honestly could not have been happier. I know I missed my goal, but that did not matter. In setting that goal, I did not allow for the heat and by the time I finished my race, the mercury had hit 32 degrees.

I know that if it was under normal conditions I would have been under 5 hours and that for me was enough.

A massive thank you to my coach Mark Whittle, without the support and guidance I really do not know how it would have gone. Also my wife (Harriet), brother (Mathew) and friends (Buzz & Loz) for enduring the early start and heat to cheer me home, your support really was appreciated. I would also like to thank the locals, they were excellent and even got their hoses out to help keep us cool on the run. Overall it was a great day, well organised and if it was not a split transition then I would be back for sure.