Vitruvian 2010 - Race Report

The Vitruvian half-Iron distance triathlon has become a bit of a classic on the triathlon calendar. It has been voted best race of the year in the 220 triathlon awards for the last 3 years in succession and it's easy to see why; it is very well organised and supported, has a challenging but not extreme course and is in a location that is great for triathlon. With a reputation such as this, the 1000 places sell out almost immediately and so when entries opened late last year I decided that with such an iconic race literally down the road it would have been rude not to make a return visit this year.

Despite knowing what a great event this is, I'd found it difficult to lift myself in the run up to the event. My main season goals were the Etape and an Ironman and with those in the bag, I was finding it hard not to move in to off-season mode. However, I'd recovered well in the 4 weeks since the Outlaw Iron distance race and had kept my training ticking over. I was hopeful therefore of a good performance.

Last season I posted 5hrs 25mins and with the amount of training I've done this year, I'd have been disappointed not to knock a fair chunk off that time. Bob, I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't have your 5:07 PB in the back of my mind too. In a wildly optimistic moment, I'd also looked at what splits I'd need to break the coveted 5 hour mark but the day would have to go really well for that.

After a 4:30am breakfast I made my way to the start for about 6am. With my imminent entry in to the 40-something club, I'd been relegated to a different transition area from the younger guys. I remember overhearing a conversation last year between two guys from an older age group who were saying that you'd think the competition would get easier as you got older but the opposite actually seems to be true. The people who are just giving it a go have usually done so by now leaving a higher proportion of seasoned competitors in the older age groups. Those around me definitely didn't seem to be there just to get around.

Living in the area I know that wind can be an issue on this course, however, the main issue today was actually mist or probably more accurately fog. Looking out in to the lake there wasn't a chance of spotting the buoys, which made sighting on the swim very difficult. The only thing to do was to follow those around you and use the canoes that were marking the route as much as possible but I suspect I was doing a fair bit of zig-zagging. The course is a 2-lap affair, at 950m you have to exit the water and run 50m or so and dive back in. It's quite fun to do this and much better for the spectators. Among them were my parents who had made the journey to come and cheer me along with Em.

The mist was still thick for pretty much the entire bike course. There's always a tension on events such as these between cyclists and other road-users and the conditions didn't help. Some cyclists were overtaking without a glance and some motorists looked like they were trying to run cyclists off the road who were using it in a perfectly responsible way. I guess these tensions are unavoidable without closed road events, which can generate even more resentment.

I was using clip-on aero bars for the first time at this event. I'd noticed in previous races how easily riders were floating by in an aero position only to fade badly on the hills. For an undulating course such as this a road bike set up with clip on bars seemed to be a good compromise, allowing me to reduce my loses on the flats and descents while still capitalising on my Etape climbing legs. I felt strong on the bike and posted a time 12 minutes or so quicker than last year, so I guess the experiment was a success. Although I'm not sure how much of that advantage could actually be attributed to the aero bars.

Coming out of T2, I glanced at my watch to see 3:14. Things were going well, I needed to run a 1:46 half marathon to crack the magic 5 hour mark. This was 2 minutes quicker than my standalone PB in February but I'd put it a lot of work since then so I felt it was a genuine possibility. I was feeling good for the first 3K or so but then the dreaded hamstring cramp from last year returned. A full-on spasm made moving never mind running impossible. However, I knew from last year that this would subside so didn't panic too much. I'd gone through 6 gels and 2 bottles of high-5 on the bike so electrolytes shouldn't have been an issue. I think the major cause of cramping is simply fatigue - I'd pushed hard on the bike and was now paying the price.

Despite these issues I completed the first lap of the run in about 48 mins and I realised that sub 5 hours was definitely on the cards. I could feel myself slowing on the second lap and the sun was now out making things a little more difficult. However, as I came in to the last KM I knew it was in the bag.... but was it... 500m from home the hamstring went again. I looked at my watch nervously waiting for the cramp to subside. I hobbled off but spasm'ed again. Finally, I was able to start moving - thank god that didn't happen in the finishing chute. I crossed the line in 4:55 to the cheers of my fantastic supporters. Absolutely delighted to finish the season on a high, knock 30 minutes off last year's time and break the 5 hour barrier.

My splits

Swim: 36:39

T1: 3:25

Bike: 2:31:27

T2: 1:45

Run: 1:42:05

Total: 4:55:25