Ironman Vichy 70.3 race report - Luke England

 

Coached athlete Luke England raced Ironman Vichy 70.3 on Saturday, lets check out his race report and see how he got on:

Even before Staffs 70.3 in June I always knew my “A Race” was going to be Vichy. The course was supposed to be fast and overall conditions were also deemed to be more suitable for me. It would also serve as a mini getaway for Mrs E and I knew she was very much looking forward to a little trip away.

Following on from the lessons I learnt at Staffs, it was decided that we would focus on getting the bike and run in better shape before the race. In the weeks leading up to the race there were a lot more brick sessions and focused runs and as race day approached, I can genuinely say I felt more prepared this time around. I’m not entirely sure what gave me this feeling, but something did.

Race Week/ Build Up: The build-up to this race was slightly different for me. I did the usual weather check, but this time there was a new factor that needed to be considered. Would it be a non-wetsuit swim or not? The race organisers were being as helpful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Only time, and heat, would tell come race day.

We decided to drive to Vichy, primarily, because I’ve developed an illogical fear of flying and secondly, because we had to transport the Canyon and all other race paraphernalia and the car seemed the obvious choice. Plus, who doesn’t like driving through France?

The drive went well; aside from the boulder that decided to clatter into us on the M25 resulting in a new windscreen at £600. Anyhow, we arrived on time and Mrs E gave her approval for the hotel choice.

Friday was spent wandering the beautiful L’Allier and doing the usual registration, bike racking and race briefing jobs. This is where I must say the French really do make a mountain out of a mole hill, they seemed to get very excited about needing 3 points of contact on our race belts. Utterly bizarre, but there we go.

Once the Pasta Party was done, we were all ready, and yet we were still none the wiser if it was going to be a wetsuit swim or not. They told us that they would update the Facebook page at 05:30 and let us know.

Race Day: My alarm went off at 5am and I began my routine of getting up, having breakfast and putting all my race stuff on.  Once we hit 5:30 I was frantically checking to see if the water temperature had been declared, it hadn’t and they made us wait another 15 minutes. By 5.45 it was official, wetsuits would be banned, and it was going to be my first event in a swim skin.

We left the hotel at 05:50 and we arrived at the venue after a short taxi ride. I then went through the usual routine of tyres, nutrition and bottles. We were ready to rock and roll!

I had a short walk and a short wait until we were allowed to start, and the swim start at Vichy was a first for me. It was self-seeding. Although I’ve done this many a time at my local Parkrun, it’s a little bit different when the activity is swimming. No one is actually bothered about his or her own ability to swim, they just want to be at the front, and this didn’t actually dawn on me until I was in the water.

Even without the wetsuit I fancied my chances of being able to hold my own in the water, so I placed myself towards the front of the queue, it was then a case of 3 swimmers going every 5 seconds and you were then allowed to run and dive/jump/get in. I went for the ‘swan dive’ approach, which looks great on the camera, however wasn’t ideal in practice. My goggles decided they weren’t impressed and off they came, so I had to stop and sort them out before I could make a proper start.

Swim - 32:40

My overriding memory from the swim is boredom. I’m not entirely sure why but close to halfway I got restless. I wasn’t tired or anything like that, I was just bored. I put that to one side, or tried to as much as possible and set about getting it done.

I exited the swim and looked at my watch, it said 32:40. Having no real expectations for a non-wetsuit swim I was pleasantly happy with that.

T1 -  4:05

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!  Which, this time around was a fail on my part, I forgot how to put socks on and managed to get them upside down. I have no idea how I got in that situation after doing this process for the best part of 26 years, so I’m going to blame the WhittleFit socks! After that little episode we were off and looking for the bike. Bike found, bike exit reached and we were off on the course.

Bike - 2:27:34

The plan on the bike was the same as Staffs, stick to 205 watts, and all going well this should bring be home in around 2:34. The first section of the bike course is slightly technical which means getting consistent power is a challenge. I also managed to find myself in a pack of riders who seemed to want to overtake me and then slow down. This caused me to slow down to try and avoid drafting, after the first aid station this simply got out of hand and I managed to find myself being whistled at by the referee but, I argued my case, and the other riders dropped back.

Nutrition on the bike was simple, a gel every 35 minutes and a bottle every hour, this should in theory keep me fuelled.  I did however make a decision at the start of this race and I really was not sure how it would go. I was going to stay in my aero position and only come out of it for the aid stations. When you’re on a climb and everyone is out of their saddles, it really does take a lot of will power not to join them. However, I stood my ground and stayed down, after the first hour this seemed to be paying off and I was averaging above where I needed to be with lower power output.  For the next hour or so I got my head down, monitored the nutrition and kept turning the pedals.

The surface at Vichy isn’t exactly what you would expect for France, there are certain areas where they honestly thought tarmac was optional. That being said the rolling terrain made up for this and allowed you to carry on at a steady speed.

After the last aid station there is a sharp testing climb, which caught me and my legs little off guard. Even though it was on all the profile maps I just did not expect it to be quite as steep, but it was the only real climb of note.

I finished the bike leg in 2:27:34, which was not only remarkable as it was a lot faster than planned, but also because my watts were 194. So if you’re racing and want a top tip, keep low and stay low, it works out well in the end.

T2 - 2:40

T2 was quick. In and out, no issues this time around.

Run - 1:38:12

Running, as you’ll know from my previous race report, is not my favourite discipline. However this time I was determined not to let it get the better of me. Coach had told me to try and aim for 7:15 min miles.

As usual the first mile or so is spent getting the pace right, and for the first 5 miles I was bang on pace. This time around we had decided that walking every other aid station should be fine and running the rest should be doable. So that is exactly what I did. The heat was building though and I couldn’t resist a quick hose down each time I went around.

When it came to the aid stations, I went for more water over my head and flat coke. Exiting the aid stations I was soaked, but in my head I was cool, so off I went.

The course is two laps, around the swim course with a small deviation through the town. It is mostly flat with some lumps getting across bridges and off sidewalks.

As I approached the end of the first lap I still felt good, and pace wasn’t far off where it needed to be. My wife gave me the thumbs up that we were on pace so I headed to do my circuit around the finish line and WOW what an atmosphere. It was incredible. So many people, music pumping, I literally could not wait until it was my turn to run down the red carpet.

However I still had work to do, so I got back to it on the second lap. It started well, but as the miles racked up my legs decided they didn’t fancy running anymore and the pace slowly but surely started to tail off. I kept digging and moving forward but it became more and more of a struggle, I’m pleased to say I didn’t walk but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t close at times. I had no idea how I was doing for time and I purposely did not check until I was within sight of the expo. When I did, I realised I had 5 minutes to spare and would need to seriously up the pace. I controlled the decent off the bridge and once I hit the flat I started to push, and continued to push until it became a sprint once on the red carpet. The red carpet in Vichy is a U shape, you have to pass the finish line, head out 100m or so go around a Skoda sponsor car and then head back. Once I was around the car I gave it everything, and once I finished, I collapsed. The last effort had been a killer, but I had done it 4:45:09!

Once I had finished and composed myself it was then the slightly tricky task of finding Mrs E and unlike at Staffs and previous races, this was not easy. Vichy is more like a carnival with people and food stalls everywhere. Luckily a kind German family lent me their phone and contact was made. We were reunited and after a kiss and a cuddle, I could relax.

Overall Vichy gave me exactly what I wanted, a 4:45 half Ironman. Would I come back, probably not? I can’t really explain why I wouldn’t but similar to Staffs it is nice to have said I have done it but nothing is there pulling me back. 

Thank you again to my wife who continues to support me. I think I might even have managed to get her to consider trying a triathlon, not sure who'll have the kids if that is the case! A special mention to my coach Mark Whittle who managed to get me into shape to tick off both ambitions for this year, I'm sure we'll be sitting down shortly and seeing what 2018 has in store.