The day started at 3:30am. Staying in a hotel full of triathletes, one gets up earlier than the other. My alarm clock was actually supposed to ring at 3:50am. However, the neighbors’ alarm clock came first. The turbine-like toothbrush of the neighbors then really woke me up. Conclusion on sleep the night before the long distance: not bad at all. If you sleep well the days before and go to bed relatively early the night before (8:30pm) and at least get some rest, you’ll be fine.
So first 3 Nutella toasts and a banana, stick on the race tattoos and off we went to Hilpoltstein.
Arriving at the swim start in the morning is pretty amazing. The water is still calm. A light fog over the channel. The first lifeboats are in the water. Epic music plays from the speakers. The first goosebump moment of the day. So we sat down on the side of the channel and enjoyed the great atmosphere. After that I headed into the hustle and bustle of the transition area to pump up my bike and do the final check before the race. Then the shock.
I realized that the battery in my gears was flat. Nothing worked anymore. The first adrenaline peak of the day. So off I went with to the mechanic area. Luckily, a certain Lasse Ibert (Radsport Ibert) had a power bank with him and I had the necessary charging cable. This saved the battery. To this day, I still wonder how this could have happened. I had actually charged the bike shortly before transporting it to the transition zone the day before. Maybe it was the sun beating down on the transition zone. Learning for next time: take a power bank with you.
The second shock was that my swimming cap tore just before the swim start. So I got a swim cap from the women’s pro field. Then my swim slot at 7:05 came nearer. I hadn’t even arrived at the starting line when the starting gun went off.
The swim then went ok and as expected despite the wetsuit ban and without a swim skin. I was able to swim with a few feet and came out of the water after 1:17 hours. What I could have done better here: Swimming with your breathing to one side over a distance of 3.8km is not really beneficial for the shoulders. The strain is too one-sided.
Then the change to the bike. Forgot to apply chamois cream in the transition zone.
The course in Roth is really fun to ride: Climbs with lots of spectators, fast descents, long TT passages. The plan was to ride between 200-215W on average.
That went quite well on the first lap. I was averaging 195W here. There were a lot of trains with good athletes – sometimes too many – on the road that you could get stuck into (with enough distance, of course).
On the second lap, I had my first real drop in performance. My back thigh muscles seemed to be already strained and threatened to cramp. At times it got really hot. In hindsight, I think it was because I didn’t drink enough. The temperature rose from 20° in the morning to 28° while cycling. After a while, however, this condition subsided and things went well again.
Then came a phase in which I was very hungry but didn’t really feel like eating the carbohydrate solution. A different type of food would have been very helpful here. However, my wattage values plummeted. I could no longer hold the aero position well, which was also due to the saddle rubbing without chamois cream. My watts on the second lap were then only 177W on average, giving me an average power output of 183W and 202W normalized power at 0.64 intensity factor for the total bike split. My heart rate averaged 155bpm, which seems quite high considering the power output.
Power on the bike:
Heart rate on the bike:
The end of the bike ride went really well again and I was really looking forward to the marathon. After the dixi stop in the transition zone, however, I noticed that my dehydration was more acute than I could tell from the color of my urine. I therefore focused on water in the first aid stations, but neglected my carbohydrate intake. Especially as my carbohydrate solution had also leaked a little in my change bag.
First of all, the running went relatively well, but I couldn’t run faster than a 5-minute pace. Your body tells you how fast you can run. I passed all the transfer zones on foot. At some point, however, the wall came and I couldn’t get any more carbohydrates in and wanted to get out again. I didn’t even touch a gel while running. In hindsight, maybe I could have given it a try. I then switched to fruit and cola. I’ve never eaten such delicious fruit in my life. But that was only moderately successful and only going for a walk helped. I mentally went through a really deep valley.
The run
The support on the course is simply overwhelming. So many people yelling your name and cheering you on, even if you don’t feel the itch at that moment and just want it all to pass. After another toilet stop and a few minutes of walking, I was able to run the last 5km again and push on to the end. I’m definitely really proud to have pulled myself out of this deep hole.
After the race, I thought that this was my first and last long-distance race. By Monday I was of a different opinion again. There is still a lot of potential for improvement.
Conclusion
The minimum goal was to finish the race. I managed that. But all in all I’m not really satisfied with my race. The running should have been much better. Well, that’s how it is when you don’t think about a strategy for the really tough moments and don’t stick to the nutritional guidelines you set beforehand.
Three days later, however, it still feels unreal to have managed this distance, which seemed impossible just a few weeks ago.
Challenge Roth is an event planned with a lot of love and detail, which is an absolute must for every triathlete. The many helpers, supporters and spectators are the heart of the event. Everyone gives you a friendly welcome.
