One tuff mudder

For those interested here is summary of my race day.

Overall:

Weather was cool and damp throughout but no real heavy rain which was good.
Quite foggy, windy and cold at the summit of the big climb making the descent scary.
Perfect weather for the run though getting in and out of transition was muddy as hell.

I am very happy with my effort. There were some extremely fast (and extremely thin) athletes here not like a typical race where there are lots of newbies. In other words, little carnage in the late stages to pick off and climb up the standings. And I am glad to say I was not carnage for others.

Some details:

Getting to race site went smooth. Set up was confusing as transition area was closed until race morning. So I prepared my bike for race, filled up bottles, attached helmet to bars, etc. Then we change into run gear ( as opposed to swim gear) and drop off our dry-clothes bag before heading to our corral for the male 50-54 age group start.

Rick Gammie (the other Canadian 50-54 age grouper) and I have no idea of how hard to run the 1st 9.5k. I was coming in recovering from an injury and knew I could run 30k at a decent pace but not sure how to approach this change. We decided to stay the course and run our first 10k like we planned for the 30k run. Wow, the gun went off and everyone was gone like a bat out of hell. It was all we could do to keep up once we fell behind. This duathlon change played right into the pure runners strength and they took off at a 5k pace that I simply could not try or risk re-injuring my muscle tare. So we just ran our race and recall passing one single guy in our group.

T1 (the change from run to bike) was confusing and strange. Not like going from swim to bike. We had to prepare for a run after a bike. I know I did well in T1 if that means anything as I have plenty of insulation built-in as opposed to the toothpicks who needed more layers, full leg warmers, booties. I went with my water socks inside my bike shoes so no need for booties, quick change and kept my feet dry and warm. The trick was to remember to carry bike shoes to bike while wearing running shoes cuz there was lots of mud and the cleats would get clogged. Once at my bike, swap shoes, put on helmet and go. We were allowed to leave our running shoes at our bike station but that was it from a running gear perspective.

Key on the bike was keep heart rate in check as it was quite high from the run and the altitude. I settled in fine and just held my pace and effort until the climb. The first bit of the climb is gradual rolling, you go up, then down some then up and down some always gaining altitude. Then the big climb comes. It is about 4 miles of relentless up with no breaks. It was drizzling a little and the fog thickened as we neared the summit. I felt fine, one more smaller gear would have been bliss though. Once I hit the summit I stopped at the aid station, had a bathroom break, filled up my water bottle and put on my rain coat then started the descent. This is the true 'tour de france' experience. I would not consider myself a brave descender by any means and once it got steep and so foggy I really slowed it down. The Europeans who live out here in the mountains would absolutely scream down, freaking me out even more. Seeing someone ahead of me disappear you ask yourself was it the fog or was there a turn,  freaking me out again. Then approaching a switchback where someone did not make it through and laying there being attended to, slowed me down even more. In the end I made it down and pretty much lost all the ground I gained on the climb for as about as many as I passed climbing, same number passed me on the descent. Though scary and very cold, it was a great experience.

Going thru the villages was an awesome experience too. The roads closed and lined with the villagers made you feel you were in the tour de france, And the cobblestones. I did not realize how bumpy they were until I hit the first section and proceeded a little tentative thru the rest.

Considering this was a 87km bike and I typically average 33-34kph on hard courses in BC, I was just over 3 hours and under 30kph. By far the most challenging and fearsome course I have ever bike.

T2 was a very long run with bike shoes and very muddy. Once I racked my bike, I then put on my running shoes and headed to get my bike-to-run bag. Next thing I know I got this big dude in a black and white striped referee's jersey blowing his whistle at me and motioning oh no you don't. WTF? Oh so it is one-way into/out of transition OK gotcha. SO even though my bike was literally 10feet from the exit to gear bag area, I had to run down the entire length of the isle and loop all the way back on the designated path.

Change went fast and off I went running. I knew the bike was hard and would take a little time running to feel out what was left but I was not sure how the first run segment was going to impact. The 10k loop was 1/2 trail around the lake and 1/2 thru village streets with 2 hills. My heart rate was high for my pace so I watched it a bit. My plan going in from the start was to do loop-1 at 6min km loop-2 at 5:40-5:45 if ok and for loop-3 5:30 or what ever I could muster. My time was 1:47:47 which means I averaged under 5:30 for the 20k and I did my negative split. Success in my books.

Finish area was awesome, Canada supporters everywhere, and it was very gratifying.

Highlights:
- the French are passionate about these races and the support was absolutely top-notch from the get-go
- experiencing cycling a world class and famous racing route, transcending from watching it on TV to being right there going thru the villages, the cheers, the cobblestones and of course the switchbacks truly unforgettable
- the support Canada gets from the other countries
- cold beer at finish line

The Lows:
- red clay muck, it is everywhere and on everything
- wet and foggy conditions on the descent
- dare i say it, the cancelled swim. I would have been in the middle of the pack after the swim and likely reeled in a few ahead of me on the bike as opposed to being very back of the pack doig the run first.

results
http://chronorace.blob.core.windows.net/files/9319.pdf
http://www.chronorace.be/web2/Classements/ListeRapports.aspx?eventId=6463925780487

After Party:

Live music, food, booze (well wine, beer and champagne) then good old fashion euro-electro-pop dancing.