CWTC

The Outlaw – 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham

By David Cunningham

Saturday 23^rd July 2011 was the beginning of the end of what had been an epic journey for me. I arrived at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham with my partner Julie in a car full of multi-sport paraphernalia, closely followed by another car that was full of our son (4 YO) and his Nana. (They were checking out parking, vantage points for spectators, and most importantly, if there was a bouncy castle). Parking, however, was plentiful and so after making use of that facility we all took a stroll towards the main building and registration.

A short walk through the woods and the realisation of what I would be doing the next day slapped me in the face like a wet fish. There was the rowing lake stretching out to the left and the main building, and a long way to the right was an orange dot in the water which was the half way marker buoy, a little over a mile away. A butterfly tried to escape from my throat.

Registration was straight forward and the mandatory peruse of goodies for sale in the expo followed. A new sweatshirt was purchased as there was a cold wind howling along the lake; not an unusual weather condition but I had my fingers crossed that it would slacken off the next day (It did a bit, which was nice).

At 11am there was an opportunity to take a swim practice in the lake and so I took advantage of that. The majority of my swim training had been either in the pool or in the sea and so it was interesting to see how different it was to be in fresh (fresh is a relative word) and non-tidal water. It was great and my confidence was lifted. The rest of the day was spent eating, briefing, packing and racking transition gear and so the little guy and my mum took the opportunity to leave me to it. Saturday was also the day of the Speedo Big Swim races: 3k, 1.5k and 500m events were held through the afternoon and it was great to have that as a distraction while I was doing my admin.

My alarm was set for 3am on Sunday morning but it didn’t need to go off as I was already awake and on the process conveyor belt. Any time that I thought about the magnitude of the event as a whole the nerves would kick in and so I had broken each aspect of the day into a series of micro tasks, giving each one a reasonable amount of contingency time just in case. My mum and Julie were also up and about as they would be coming to watch the start and so the plan ticked along nicely. Coffee, porridge and banana for breakfast, then Julie woke Sebastian before I grabbed a quick shower and got ready.

“Wakey wakey Little Man” said Julie. “But it’s bed time!” said Sebastian. Wiser words have never been uttered!

There was a hum of activity at the venue and I left my supporters to grab a coffee while I went to check my gear for a final time. More friends arrived to support and I donned my wetsuit. It cannot be underestimated how much of a lift it gives you to have friends and family there to cheer you on at such an early time of the day. At 05:45 it was off to the start line along with the other 599 entrants.

It was cool with a light breeze. The water was a balmy 19 degrees. I positioned myself in the second of the four start bays as I was aiming for between 60-75 mins on the swim. Sub 60 mins would have been optimistic but I set myself towards the front so that I would be able to latch onto the toes of a speed snake if I got a good start. The hooter went at 06:00 and I did get a good start, initially fighting my way through the melee before settling into a decent rhythm while drafting off various competitors. It was an out and back course and at the turn point I was feeling fine having paced myself relatively conservatively. The chap I was drafting had been holding back too and took the opportunity to up his tempo as we started on the return leg, I clung on and we started to pick off one after another swimmer. I was 91^st out of the water in 1:06:03 and felt fresh.

Transition was pretty slow at 5:47, but that included having to replace the wrong bag that I picked up and then having to fix the lens of my sunglasses that had fallen out, but a methodical approach to the task ensured I kept calm as I headed out for my weakest event. The course was 1 lap of the lake and about 20 miles out towards Southwell where 3×25-ish mile loops kicked in and was followed for the return leg of 20-ish miles back the same way that we went out. It wasn’t a terribly hilly course (apart from Oxton Hill – 400m of 12% climb on the loop leg) but it was undulating and the wind was a little unfriendly. However, once I dropped onto the aerobars I managed to keep a good rhythm going and with the support of the crowds and the fabulous people at the aid stations keeping me fed and watered (plus my gel strategy), I returned to T2 in 6:17:07. I was very happy with that.

T2 and out onto the run. My quads were heavy and my hip flexors were tight as I started but my pace was steady and my first lap of the lake (3 miles) was comfortable. I was making good time as I headed onto the River Trent towpath on the City loop (5 miles) and made sure that I was taking on fluids, carbs and salts at the feed stations as the sun had come out and it was becoming a hot old afternoon. My pace slowed down as my legs demanded more fuel and salts in order to keep on moving forward and I had to resort to the run/walk strategy if I was to be able to finish. Each feed station was fully utilised, stretches were had and I ticked off each of the subsequent loops of the Lake and towpath until I arrived at lap 4 of the lake. Julie had cheered me through each of my visits past the main building and for the last lap she was joined by more friends and family for my big finish. I could see the finish chute at the other side of the lake and the sound of the crowd’s cheering was mesmerising, drawing me on. A final burst of adrenaline, a cheer from Julie and friends, a hand from my son and the voice of Ian Hamilton screaming “David Cunningham, YOU ARE AN OUTLAW!” over the tanoy lifted me until I was across the line in a total of 12:47:47. 5:14:40 for the run was way off my run target, but overall I hit my generous goal of 12-14hours. I was ecstatic! Overall position 318.

The Outlaw has been an amazingly well managed, well supported and well structured event. The venue was brilliant and the course lent itself to keeping the crowds entertained all through the day, however, a bouncy castle wouldn’t go amiss for next year.

Gareth

The results for the 4 races from the SE junior triathlon series have been collated  and are available from the link below.

http://www.southeasttri.org/children

There is one further triathlon in the series which is the Farnham Triathlon Club event at Sandhurst on the 3oth July 2011. So far three members of the junior club are registered to take part; Rosie Sloane (Tristar 1);  Adam Long (Tristar 1) and Sam Pink (Tristar 2) .  Sam is currently in third place in the series ranking and may well improve on this as three of his close competitors are not taking part in this event. Adam faces some strong competition from the Bodyworks team who are out in force again.

Good luck to all of them, hopefully the weather will stay dry but not too hot as it is a midday start.

Gareth

CWTC had a great turnout in this year Triathlon with 35 of the 210 entrants being club members. The weather started out very sunny but soon deteriorated to a wet cold and windy day, not ideal for Triathlon, however they pressed on and the majority finished the course.

The club had some great results with the following deserving mention:

Dan Bailey finished 3^rd overall and remains club champion.

Mary Campbell was 1^st female

Chan Morton won her age group (45-49)

Katie Michael won her age group (50-54)

As this was Katie’s first ever triathlon she deserves special congratulations.

Punctures were abundant due to the poor weather, Del Morton, Lucy Blain, Alan Durham, Wilf Hill & Patrick Glynn all suffered the Triathlete’s worst nightmare, Del, Lucy, Alan & Wilf managed to repair their bikes and carry on but Patrick having tub tyres was unable to repair and could not finish.

Wilf Hill not only had the misfortune of a puncture but also came a cropper on the notorious South Harting hill, Schoolboy error for home ground eh Wilf?

In the team event Naomi Munns & Nigel Littler came 3^rd. Naomi did the Swim & Run whilst Nigel did the bike.

Steve Winter is walking proof that you should count your own lengths when swimming in competition as he managed 22 lengths to everyone else’s 18!! a lesson to be learnt there?

Whilst on the cycle Lizzie Gerrard was chasing down 3 cyclists in the distance, after hard graft she managed to catch them up only to find they were Sunday cyclists out on a leisurely ride, inspiration comes in many forms eh?? Oh and not forgetting she actually put her helmet on the wrong way round in transition.

Sibling rivalry was present in the Morton household as Del’s brother Steven (who last did a triathlon 6 years ago) travelled down from Birmingham to take part and attempt to beat Del, but I think training was the eventual winner as Del beat him by 2 minutes.

Paul Reynolds did exceptionally well by shaving off a whopping 25 minutes off last year’s time, apparently he could have taken even more off if he hadn’t stopped to go to the little boys room on the run!

Club results are as follow:

Later on the Try a Tri event took place with 10 members participating in a field of 214. For some this was their very first attempt at Triathlon and they got some very commendable times. Andrew Maynard did exceptionally well and came first out of the club entrants, time to step up to full triathlons???

Diana Littler managed to get a sizable amount of friends to try their first taste of triathlon, hope they didn’t hold it against you and have thoughts of becoming members of CWTC? Diana also came 2^nd in her age group.

All told the weekend was a resounding success and the organisers should be well and truly congratulated.

Gareth

I have been training relatively seriously with the club for around 3 months in preparation
for my first ever triathlon. Hopes of a lovely Summer’s day were thwarted by the weather
god’s as I kept checking the BBC weather website for a ray of sunshine. Resigned to the
fact I was going to get very wet, I headed off. I arrived at the leisure
centre at around 10:00am to find the place a hive of activity. I got myself registered and
headed off to transition with what seemed like an inordinate amount of kit.
Setting up transition went fine although the wind looked like it might take my bike clean
off the rack at one point. It started raining again and I was glad I brought a large clear
plastic bag with me for all of my kit.
I then wandered down to the pool to meet the other half and mini me and to give this triathlon lark a bash…

Swim (estimated time 0:09:30-0:10:00)
Anyone who’s seen me thrashing about in lane 1 on a Tuesday night will probably realise that
the swim is not my strong suit. Before starting with the club I could just about do two lengths
of front crawl in a 25m pool. Previous attempts of a timed 400m in the Tuesday sessions placed me firmly around the 10:00 min. mark. I started in wave 3, lane 3 and set off at a moderate pace. To my surprise I had caught the people ahead of me within a couple of lengths and then started to settle into a comfortably hard rhythm. At around length 7/8 I thought I was pushing too hard but that soon diminished when I had the welcome tap on the head to signal two lengths to go. Phew.
TIME: 0:08:30

I was delighted with my swim time as it is comfortably faster than I have ever done before.
Subsequent video evidence from the other half highlights my left arm entry requires some work!
T1 (0:02:48)

Woeful. I’m not sure what I was doing but whatever it was it took a long time. Because of the
weather, I’d taken the decision to dry my feet and put on nice warm socks etc. T1 probably
ended up losing me a couple of places. Definitely room for improvement here.
BIKE (target time 1:05:00)
I was confident of making up a few places on the bike as my cycling has noticeably improved with the help of the Sunday club runs with Brian and the rest of the regulars. I pushed fairly hard straight from the start. The weather was truly awful. My cycle shoes were full of water within 10 minutes and I’m sure it even hailed at one point?! I stayed on the drops pretty much the whole way round in an attempt to hide my 6ft frame from the wind. My Garmin helped to pace myself and in total I must’ve passed around 10 riders. The Funtington road was where I picked up most of these as I concentrated on staying low and pushing the pace.
My finishing time was a little outside of my target but considering the weather and being held up at a red light and a roundabout on my way in I was pretty happy. Oh, and the course is a bit longer than the advertised 30km!
TIME: 1:07:08
T2 (0:01:40)

A bit wobbly off the bike but found my rack number fairly quickly.
Poured out two small rivers from my shoes and my supposedly waterproof socks. Made the decision
to dry my feet again and put on fresh running socks. Quickly put on my running shoes with the
aid of some newly fitted lock laces. Headed out on the run.
RUN (target time sub 24-min) 
Felt OK on the run and again used my Garmin to pace myself. Concentrated on my breathing and
settled into a steady rhythm. Managed to pass a handful of people. Finished strong but in hindsight I could’ve pushed harder earlier on.
TIME: 0:23:12

  
In the end I finished 36th/214 and I think I was second placed CWTC member. I was pretty pleased with this as my first attempt and am already thinking about the next event. Special thanks to the marshalls for their words of encouragement in the horrific weather despite some of them telling porky pies ("Looking strong!"). And well done to all the organisers who ensured the race went
without a hitch.

Toby Bigwood

Gareth

Having decided that this year I really wanted to have a go at this triathlon we set off at 7.30 to make the trip to Horsham, leaving dad to compete in the Chichester Triathlon. Despite competing in the Chichester Aquathon on Saturday and coming second in that event I was feeling ok. We arrived in good time to rain! The surroundings were fantastic, what a school! The extensive grounds combined with the grand buildings were both inspiring and a bit intimidating.

I was joined by Sam Pink ( Tri-Star 2), his brother Harry doing his first Novice Tri , Tom ( Tri-Star 3) and Emma Maynard and Harry Leleu (Youth) for this event, which is part of the S E series.

It was all very confusing when we arrived with very few marshals around and even fewer directions which stressed out Mum! There was lots of pre race exercise for everyone (parents) as we tried to find registration, walked (miles) to the pool and back to the racking area then back to the pool. The racking was strange as the bikes were racked on one side for the Bike Out and then on the other side of the courtyard for Bike In. Following the swim in a pool with two shallow ends, we had to negotiate a long run to transition which included a short steep wet grassy incline before saddling up to race round the school’s traffic free roads on which sleeping policemen lay in wait for the unwary cyclist, and back through the magnificent arches and then at last to the run course on zig zag course in a very wide open space which was a bit dispiriting as there was no clear goal. Mum just managed to catch up with me from the bike transition as I was on the home leg.

I ended up coming 8th in my age group in a time of 21.57.70 it was a very strong field with some excellent swimmers and runners. My swim was really good but the swim time included the 300 m run to transition! Sam also did extremely well coming 3^rd.

Despite the black skies and the initial rain when we arrived, it remained dry for the Tri-Stars 1 and 2, we were just leaving when the rain started so unfortunately Tom Harry and Emma had to compete in the rain.

Photos can be seen by using this link: http://www.bodyworksxtcphotos.co.uk/Preston%20Park

Full results are on the Bodyworks website: http://teambodyworksxtc.com/the-hannah-trust-triathlon.php

By Adam Long ( Tri-Star 1)

Gareth

Gareth

by Stephen Winter & Graham Dance

Wed June 22nd

With bike boxes all packed we set off for Gatwick at around 1.30pm, are flight to nice was at around 6pm, time for a little shopping and a sneaky beer. We arrived at Nice airport at around 8pm.

Thurs June 23rd

After arriving at the apartment it was time to build the bikes and both me and Graham still deciding what to take on the race with us, we decided to walk down to the Ironman expo village and have a look at the nutrition and equipment available to us, we both got some decisions made. Then it was pasta time at a fine restaurant with my wife Georgina, Graham his wife Abi and baby George. We then met up at the expo village with my mum and dad, Gareth(Gareth a member of CWTC), Kristy, and their two boys Harry & Freddie Dridge (Harry a Jr at CWTC). Check in time!

Fri June 24th
The nerves were really kicking in now for us both, so we decided to go out for a ride and a gentle run. I think that’s when it hit us both how hot it was. We went to the beach with everyone and did a 1k swim in our wetsuits then we had a couple of hours to relaxing.

Sat June 25th
Bike, transition bike bag, transition run bag all checked in. With all our preparation done it was time to meet Grahams mum and dad Jan and Mick, there flight had arrived at about 10am now it was stay calm and relax time with all are friends and family in place for support.

Sun June 26th
Race Day

Alarm went off at 4am, I think me and Graham had probably had about 2 to 3 hours sleep we both said we just couldn’t sleep with all the nerves, we both had some breakfast and then set off for the 5 minute walk to the transition area for final checks on the bike when transition opened at 5am, with tyres pumped and bikes checked we met with all are family and friends to get changed into are tri suits and wet suits. After saying goodbye to everyone we walked to the start of the swim for a little warm up and a little reflection on all the training we had put in over the last Year.

(SWIM) We decided to go all out and start at the front of 2900 competitors, then the horn sounded and we were off on the swim consisting of a 2.4km loop then a quick run out of the water followed by a 1.4km loop total 3.8km, it was carnage all fighting from start to finish on the swim with both of us getting kicked punched elbowed, goggles knocked off. (Giving a little bit back as well) Graham completed the swim with an impressive 1hour 7 including shower and 100m run to the chip counter and my swim was a 1hour 15.

(BIKE) The bike considered one of the hardest Ironman bike courses in the series was a very gruelling 180km with 5 major mountain summits to climb, the hardest being 21km straight. With the temperature in the 40s for the bike it was made that much harder. We both took on around 12 litres of fluid 7-8 gels but all the energy bars we had brought we just couldn’t eat as we were so hot and felt sick, Graham finished the bike in 6hours 44 with my time 7hours 7.

(RUN) 44.2 km marathon, with temperature on Nice seafront hitting 36 degrees the marathon was always going to be tough. Graham did a fantastic 4hour 18 marathon and was on 32k in under 3hours the last 10km was fantastic but really tough we ran it together but he had 2 blisters and a toe nail missing and suffering cramps (lucky for the porterloos), we both were totally exhausted with the finish line insight and the crowd cheering and the man on the mike saying we have Graham from the UK are you going to give us a dance!!! He finished in an impressive 12hours20. Me I struggled from about 15 km to go my legs just didn’t want to do what my head was saying and with a toe nail missing and feeling really sick I had to dig deep, I was helped to the finish on the last 10k by two English guys I had managed to lap, I could now see the finish line where the massive crowds were cheering and the man on the mike said my name and I had finished in 5hours21 my total time was 13hours 57..are family and friends were amazing cheering all the way and I think the Dridges support was priceless they were with us every step of the way.. And thank God we finished as there were almost 600 DNF’s…and hundreds taken to hospital.

Gareth

A start time of 12:15 allowed for an unusually late start to the standard distance event. The weather was overcast with sunny periods, and generally very warm.

Following the swim warm up and briefing, it was a mass start to complete 2 laps of the lake within the attractive grounds for a 1500m swim.

The bike was 2 laps around a rural bike route to complete 40kms. This was very undulating route, and included a route back onto the grounds to pass the house again, before heading back out onto the second lap.

The 10km run was set within the grounds of Ashburnham Place, initially following the lake edge, and then back into woodland with a few hill climbs included. Its was mostly a cross country route, with just a short road section.

A video and photos of the location can be viewed at http://www.sussextriathlon.co.uk/

Provisional results

171 Finishers

Gareth

Emma Gueterbock

After two days of heavy rain and wind and festival-worthy mud, the sun finally came out for the 2011 UK Ironman 70.3 at Wimbleball.

At 6.30am I joined the other 1600 competitors being herded 400m down to the flat calm lake. An strangely calm 15 min wait in the water changed without warning as the gun went off…the pros starting 10m ahead left the rest of the field to fight our way through the maelstrom of bubbles, feet and flailing arms. I was very happy to be in the fine company of friends Howard Dawson, a Wimbleball vet and ‘serious’ age-grouper, and his sister Kate and uni friend Pete Bennet, both of whom like me were 70.3 novices. Needless to say that was the last I saw of them all.

The 1.9km swim went well for me. An open-water novice at Easter and frankly terrified of the beasties lurking in the deep, I was chuffed with my sub 40 time despite taking wide course. Running out of the water and 400m up a grassy bank to T1 was an experience in itself, as was entering the tent where I’d rehearsed my bag collection only to forget, oxygen deprived, where my bag was. When I found it I spent too many precious seconds tiptoeing through a mass of bodies in various states of neoprene undress to find a clear square foot to put down my bag. After a very slow 08:32 I emerged from T1 into a narrow lane with countless others and had to run another 80m to find clear space to mount.

Ha! Safely on the bike and 56 miles of tough riding over two laps to go. The pros take 12-14 minutes to ride the first 3 miles uphill out of T1 to the first lap and I can safely say I took longer. Then it was out on to a gusty but fantastic rolling stretch before the 15-or-so mile climb with its notorious hills and exciting descents to the end of lap 1. All went well to this point. I had stayed with a group overtaking on the descents but frustratingly being caught on the hills. Then suddenly my trip computer died, the lappers came flooding past, my group disappeared and I was on my own and struggling to keep my focus. And so the slowest 56 miles of my year unfolded and though I had a lot of fun too I was disappointed with my 4 hours and 9 minute ride. T2 was better but another slow change. Note to self….need to practise!

The run started well…and downhill… as I discovered I still had something to give after the bike. The spectators were fantastic…still going strong after five hours of bell ringing and baton banging. The run over concrete track, trail, grass and tarmac felt more hilly than ‘undulating’. Lap one down and into the swing, I started to enjoy the atmosphere and the pleasure of reeling in many others who as Howard would say had ‘thrown the kitchen sink at the bike’ and had nothing left to give.

There was an embarrassing moment at the end of lap 2 when distracted I found myself prematurely running down the finish chute and had to about turn and run back out. Amused, my friends and family and others nearby apparently shouted "FOCUS!!!"… but being deaf as a deaf thing I only heard "PHOTOS!!!" and smiled as best I could through all the blowing!

The last lap was really tough…I had little left in the tank so I tackled just one landmark at a time…the big climb, the big descent, the dam, the woods, the gravel hill, the grass, the turnaround…. just 1km to go…the steep grassy bank…. then at last the finish chute and this time, relieved, I ran on through the arch. Job done…sub 2 hours and ranking 494^th and 12th in my age group for the run.

Total time 07:01:18 and so happy to have finished with more than 400 people behind me in a heavily male-dominated field.

Wimbleball was a fantastic event… the supporters, the weather, the comradery and the volunteers. It was too a day of disappointments … for me the bike time, for Howard not going sub 5, for Pete being overtaken by me on the run when his swim and bike were so much faster, and for Kate who didn’t make the cut-off on the bike. But a week on and a way down recovery lane, we’re starting to forget those disappointments and are feeling proud to have finished what the pros call ‘the world’s toughest 70.3’. Some of us too are looking forward to a return in 2012 …and hopefully a new set of PBs!

Gareth