Existential Bike Ride

I recently found a nice 25km loop for my bike spin right outside my front door. That might be stating the obvious but up until a couple months ago I would have to drive 5km to the main road before starting off. The local back roads resembled something from Main Street, Bagdhad until the County Council resurfaced them in September.

One of the joys of getting outside around your local area to run, cycle, or walk is that you notice details, colours, smells or hear noises that you would completed ignore or be oblivious to when, for example, driving your daily grind to work.

This time of year is fantastic. The weather is changing, the air is particularly fresh complete with a sneaky bite and also nearly time for Underarmour clothing to keep you warm on your run or spins.

The first time out on my new bike loop, the sights are all familiar from havng previously driven it but the senses are reporting otherwise. The sensory upload of countryside nuances soon comes to a sudden denial of services as I cycle past a field that has the stench of a pig farmers welly. This is what the countryside really smells like!

Milling along, the mind starts to wander. I noticed something very peculiar which made me think, very deep thoughts. All along my route, it’s very sheltered, high ditches, bushes, brambles, nettles and stingers. All very dull, shades of brown and dark green. Suddenly, I saw something white. I continued my spin but the image set my mind off.

It was set back into the ditch, surrounded by branches with thorns and prickly bits of foliage. It looked like a white balloon! But how could this be? How could a balloon get caught that far back into a melee of sharp and spikey bits of plants? Where did this baloon come from? Somewhere: was there a 4 year old little girl crying at the loss a balloon she got a birthday party, a party she was having no fun at until she got this balloon. Yet how did this balloon get stuck, wedged that far into a ditch? Was this some kind of existential metaphor on the struggle and meaning of life? The fragility and delicacy of a monocoq air filled vessel engulfed by dynamic, organic and living barbed wire!

Balloony’s exisitence defied logic. How could a balloon grow up and defy all the odds in that environment? I stopped thinking about him and got on with the job at hand, my bike ride. Later in the week I went for the same spin, did the same loop. I kept an eye out for Balloony and slowed up as I approached his Hill of Calgary.

To my horror, a REPS farmer had been there before me. The hedges had been cut. The ditch was in prestine condition, buzzed cut to an extreme. Balloony’s struggle was over.

I still found it odd how a balloon could have came to rest that far into a ditch. Why would any bother to blow on up and place it in there, just didn’t make sense.

Driving the other day I saw something large and white, on the side of the road, not too far from my house.

Balloony?

I stopped, Looked closely. It was a humungous mushroom then size of, well, a balloon. Got home, later that day, I went out again, drove past the place of the gargantuan fungus hoping for a further inspection but once again the REPS farmer had been there before me. A splurge of white chunks and bits lay strewn across the side of the road.

There a probably numerous moral, conclusions, cliches you can make of this little story. The only one I will make is the feeling that getting out into the fresh air gives you.

The surrounding outside environment is far from the sterile, dry air, cubicle based office or work environment that drags us all down for at least 5 out of 7 days per week. Whats’ it all about? Not being allowed to be creative, not allowed to think, working to rules, policies and regulations. Granted all required for a safe productive working environment. Not required to get out for a walk, run or cycle and to let your mind runaway.

Ever been on holidays and it rained ?

Well what can I say, its hard to know how exactly I feel today.

I won't winge too much cos most of the issues I had were out of my control, I think maybe my expectations

were out of kilter. Training for most of the year I had the luxury of changing around days if the weather was

bad but mostly it wasn't. Plus all of my races the weather was close to perfect !! Zero rain and some heat

even the duathlons very early in the year. 

At least I now know to expect the worse, fact is, I thought Sundays weather would hold for the bike and rain on the run. Boy was I wrong. Always expect the worse and factor that to the power of 100.

(I suppose this all adds to the spectre of long distance events, everyone is in the same boat).

I'll mix things up in order of who the day went, race and issues.

(Not gonna go to town too much, just what I felt, no mails from me going to the organisers unless they want feedback!)

PreRace:

Felt I could have done more to be honest, but on reflection, start of the year I aimed for sub 7:00 and got 6:31, reckon on a dry day I'd be 20-25mins faster, more below. 

Turned up on Sat morning, no signs around city, usually at least yellow signs AA for directions or some event signs, maybe I missed them)

Parked quite close to registration, got sorted, got Ironman goodie bag, zero in it, except for program, number and chip. 

Drinking a full cappucino in paper cup and a young wan sprinted out from the reg desk area and missed smashing the cup into my face by about 1 nanometer, nearly shit myself. Amazing how a split second of acting the maggot could have ruin things!

Checked out bike setup, filled up the T1/T2 bags and dropped off.

Didn't know had to walk all the way down to Blue bag area drop off 1st before bike, was queueing in wrong place for a while. Got down to blue bag area, didn't have number on helmet, had to cycle back up and pick up, miles away!

Blue bag in, all the way back up to bike entry, racked bike, something didn't seem right.

My saddle is high, noticed that the racking bar wasn't high enough so most bikes were tilting and rocking.

If it was higher front wheel would point down more, weight of bikes was sagging the racking bars!!

Just hoped my yoke wouldn't be on the ground in the morning. Next morning there were a good few bike tangled.

Bike beside me, his rear mech was in my front spokes, if he yanked it would have facked his bike up.

All the bars were like this.

Swim:

Freezing our nuts off on the prom and beach for about 20mins, when we got down to the sea the water was unbelievably warm !! Swim was tough in a sense that the swell was unpredictable. I reckoned if I went down I wouldn't be the only one so was pretty calm. I breaststroked it when I had to which help sight and get through some of the swell/waves.

There was a lot of kayaks/longboards/boats around. That meant a couple thing, overcompensating for the 1st time event, a minimum requirement or the fact that it was prettty nuts conditions.

Got wetsuit burn on back of neck, no bodyglide, but never happened before, had to roll more for breathing. got cramp in right foot on the turn back into shore, shook that off and started breathing on left side, promptly got cramp in left foot. Won't be cutting out bananas in my carb loading for next long event.

No chance to find any kind of rhythm at all. Usually on long swims, it takes me about 500-600m to get warmed up and then a nice little rhythm sets in and time flies. Got out, walked to ramp, took wetsuit off on prom while still wet and easy. Then jogged to Blue Bag/T1.

T1

Transition distances were long, no problems, nice and loose from swim to bike. But parts of the road

were not carpeted, pebble dashed surface, ouch on the feet, don't need cuts early in the race.

Picked up blue bag, changed and ran to T1. Ran in bare feet to bike holding shoes. Picked up bike

and then to mount line plus the long distance meant I ran in my bike shoes, easy way to turn over an ankle. Didn't

want to leave them on over night cos of the wet. Nice to put on dry shoes even if it is gonna get wet.

(As I was running into the entrance of T1, a dude in front of me just stopped dead in front of me, bent over to put his shoes on, right in the middle of the road, 10m outside the entrance, I was legging and bum rushed him!! Lycra on lycra, FFS !!!

Nearly floored him, got around him looked at marshall he was amused by the whole thing!)

Bike:

Wont dwell on this too long, started raining after 10k. Never stopped until about 3k from finish. Wind never dropped off. Didn't see any motorbike marshalls at all, in fact no motor bike past me for the 1st hour.

Loads of dudes crossing white lines etc, whatever.

Heard ambulance about 4-5 times.

A cpl wks ago I did the bike route with a girl from home and she was behind me for the whole route, I was waiting/slowing on the hills for her, even on the down hills she freewheels to get a rest for herself, expected her to do it 20 mins slower than me as I was 8mins faster than her in TriAthlone Olympic on the bike split (<1/2 distance).

The conditions were that bad when I was out that I was 4 mins slower than her WTF!!

So in actual fact I was at least 20mins slower that her, hope this doesn't come across as an excuse, but that is how bad I found it out there!!

This, I am not impressed with, at all. All I can think of is either the weather was unbelievably bad for my split, she caught a break in the weather or I was shite, though I was a full 20mins faster than her on the run, so I still had a bit in the tank after the bike.

Go figure.

(Enough of the bike, need a lot of core work and strength work over winter, plus new tribars or diff setup, I'm not flexible enough)

T2:

Picked up the red bag and dumped my Biemme bike top which held up perfectly, soaked but kept me dry!! Took off my Castelli gloves, these are made from Neoprene, just like a wetsuit, keeps out the cold, hands are soggy after. Get a pair of these, no buts, they are awesome and a must have. Dropped my bike and ran up T2.

I used the whole length of T2 to do all my dynamic running warmups, remember I sent them to you!! 

Doing side-to-side starjumps all the way up T2 green carpet, guy running beside me thought I was a loon job.

TBH: being stiff after the saddle, the warmups worked perfectly and really really helped, dunno what made me think of doing them!! 

Run:

During the bike I was really angry, fairly pissed off with the conditions, all I was thinking about was no way next year. 

Gobi Desert 70.3 or somewhere warm and dry. Though my mind changed slightly when I got to the city then sun came out, same wind though! Seeing the crowd at the exit of T2 lifted me, then seeing then long snake of people on the course winding back and forth made me feel good.

The trick to the run for me was taking it handy, I treated it like a long run but I stopped and gelled and watered at every station, never had the option of doing this in a race before but loved it and looked forward to each station. 1 sometimes 2 gels. Didn't carry any of my own.

Tried not to look at my Garmin, I start doing that when I'm tired so tried to avoid. I didn't have to walk on the run which I was happy with. No cramp until I finished but that was totally avoidable. The finished line basically stops after the line, a short run off and if I was able to walk or run I wouldn't have had to double over with a hamstring cramp, stole a bottle of water from some kids, knew the water would help, 3/4mins later, (bent over in the same postion!!) I was ok !!

I noticed a strange thing at about 6.5km, it just suddenly happened and was really odd. Almost simultaneously everybody out on the run started to really feel it!! I could see it on everyones faces, just changed like that !!

Sometimes during races or shortly just after finishing, I can feel that nice endorphin rush through your body where your forearms or scalp gets all tingly. Didn't get it on Sunday. 

Post Race:

Got the medal, easy for the short old woman to put on me as I was buckled over with a cramp.

Got a bottle of was and a quarter apple, how kind of them! Post finish area was very crowded and small, long queues for white post race bags and t-shirt tent. Athletes sprawled everywhere, more space would have been nice.

I felt good after the race not too tired believe it or not. Met Sean and Edel in the t-shirt queue left with them, then met Treasa and my Mom for some pic then went for coffee.

I think the carb loading really helped 2 days off and 1 full on, need more electrolytes/bananas next to avoid cramp during swimming.

Race is still fresh in the memory but the weather really was the 4th discipline with nutrition and transition in a very distance 5th and 6th!!

All in all, I reckon if the weather wasn't shite you'd have seen lads flooring pints on the prom in lycra trisuits at about 2 O'Clock on Sunday and the place would have been a frenzy, not taking away from the whole thing, great experience but a tough day at the office.