Midlands Ultra Race Reports

[Garfield2010]

Reports welcome here

[Garfield2010]

OK I will start:-

 

Another race and as always new lessons to be learned.

 

I had my bike in for some maintenance and a few small changes last week. Never change stuff in race week. I ended up with 4 working gears or my chain would come off or get stuck in between chain rings.

 

Race day started perfectly. Wetsuit legal swim. For a change I decided to stand in front at the swim start. Got swam over by a few guys but then settled into a very nice rhythm. Swam straight for a change and it does make a big difference. Swam a PB.

 

Bike went OK. Note to one self... Do not take a disk wheel on a route that makes you stop and turn around 8 times. This and my 4 gears did not make it easy. Doing this race for the 4th time I should have known this...

 

The cycling route was dangerous. This was mainly due to the wet conditions, heavy traffic and road works which made the narrow road even more narrow. I very nearly came off on the last turn inside the resort. The oke in front was bemused that I managed to not crash. This adrenaline ensure a fast T2.

 

Ran like the wind (for me in any case) and finished in around 05h15. When my calf cramped on the last 50 metres I knew I timed my race well.

 

Finally I have figured out my nutrition but obviously the cool weather did help.

 

This race could be even better than EL70.3 if they can somehow just sort the bike route... 2 laps perhaps and road closure would really be awesome.

 

The swim & run must be the best in Tri in South Africa.....

 

Lost my saddle bag. If someone picks up a "specialized" saddle bag I will pay a R200 reward and postage money.

[travisza]

Nice Garf.

 

My day....

 

Was kind of hoping for a non-wetsuit swim to separate the field a bit with guys wanting to swim in wetsuits starting further back. Guess with the 4 lap bike course this wouldnt really have made any difference anyway.

 

So day started off well, woke up early, had my usual race breakfast and went back to sleep for another hour. Got up and made my way to transition area to set up my stuff. Luckily I got to transition before the big rush later on.

 

A small issue on the day which the marshalls picked up was that I was missing one of the bar end covers on my handlebars....hadnt noticed it but must have come off on my fall at 94.7. No real issue - one the advice of a marshal I found a water bottle cap which happens to fit perfectly over the bar ends, some insulation tape and I was allowed into transition area. 1st hiccup of the day.

 

Started right near the front of the swim and tried to jump on some feet but they were all too quick for me. So I put my head down for 200m and tried to find some clear water. Was pretty uneventful from the first buoy onward. Swam within my goal time so was pretty happy coming into T1.

 

T1 - stripped wetsuit off quickly and got helmet and sunglass on, ready to roll. Flying mount out of T1, my sunglasses had fogged up so I couldnt see and veered towards the right on the exit....front wheel found some mud and I went down.Thanks to the spectator who fetched my waterbottle, right shoe which had come off, and helped me put my chain back on. Not a great start to the bike and 2nd hiccup on the day.

 

Struggled the first lap of the bike course after the fall. Managed to get into a bit of a rhythm on the second lap but traffic was too busy for my liking. On the third lap I spent 5km or so stuck behind a construction truck. There were alot of stronger cyclists than me out there and I definitely got passed alot more than I passed. Tried not to chase anyone and stick to my plan which worked sometimes and not so much others.

 

Had some small issues with guys cycling two abreast having a fat conversation....traffic, busy road, and guys taking up more than half of the road...not an ideal combination.

 

Came into T2 very gingerly but feeling pretty good (if a little cold after the rain). Bike racked, running shoes on and out onto the run course. First lap I tried to make sure to hold back a bit to avoid blowing up later. Had a good first lap - spotted my mate in front of me at the turn around points and I had my target. 2nd lap I upped the pace and tried to make sure I was catching my mate at each turnaround point. 3rd lap was all good until the turnaround point at which case I realised that I might have gone too hard. Last 3kms I was deep in the pain cave with calves threatening to cramp up at any time.

 

Managed to get to the end with a run split I was very happy with (cool weather must have had alot to do with this, as did the urge to beat my mate).

 

All in all a great first 70.3 distance for me. Massive learning curve (tons of work to do on the bike).

 

Really well organised race with an awesome run course. Needs a road closure and possibly a 2 or 3 lap bike course to really make this race awesome.

 

Good chance I'll be back again.

[Garfield2010]

Very nice Travis. Wished I could see the "crash" after T1 . Must have looked funny!

[travisza]

Very nice Travis. Wished I could see the "crash" after T1 . Must have looked funny!

Bud I am praying that they didnt get it on camera. It must have been hilarious to see. I can guarantee that it certainly wasnt graceful

[DB28]

Does anybody have the swim distance from their GPS?

 

It was my first 70.3 distance. I still cant swim... never done a triathlon where somebody has swum slower than me and then beaten me overall. haha! but really enjoyed it... bike and run route was really good i thought.

[Garfield2010]

Does anybody have the swim distance from their GPS?

 

It was my first 70.3 distance. I still cant swim... never done a triathlon where somebody has swum slower than me and then beaten me overall. haha! but really enjoyed it... bike and run route was really good i thought.

 

I hope it was 1.9km or my PB will not stand

[Metzet]

Thanks for the race report guys,

 

I must say when I did this race last year, I had the same concerns on the bike, it is a seriously dangerous route. I nearly got cleaned out a few times by cars and trucks.

 

If you make the run with both legs intact and no injuries, the run course is great and the general organization is top class. However, I wont be back until the bike course is changed.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Metzet

[Gunston]

It was a really good race and apart from the bit of rain I had on the last loop of the bike course, perfect triathlon weather.

 

The only improvement like everyone else said - the traffic on the bike course was really bad. Had a few very close calls with frustrated/incompetent drivers with no regard for cyclist on the road.

[JGR]

Jeez looking at the results the bike course was fast fast fast

 

How did your times compare to EL (for those that have done both)

 

There is hardly a bike under 30km//hr avg.

[Gunston]

I think the bike course is easier than EL (~10mins quicker). I did however find that it was more difficult to pace yourself on the Midlands bike due to the many smaller ups and downs. You could have easily overcooked things to end up with no legs on what was also a not so flat run course

[JGR]

I think the bike course is easier than EL (~10mins quicker). I did however find that it was more difficult to pace yourself on the Midlands bike due to the many smaller ups and downs. You could have easily overcooked things to end up with no legs on what was also a not so flat run course

Do you know the gain?

 

I would have though a bigger difference as EL is a pretty tough course

[travisza]

Do you know the gain?

 

I would have though a bigger difference as EL is a pretty tough course

I had around 880m elevation gain on Sunday (last 30sec of my file is me doing 140km/h in the car on the way back so might be slightly out)

[Metzet]

I don't think it is the full 90kms ?

 

might be wrong..

[travisza]

I don't think it is the full 90kms ?

 

might be wrong..

I think I got around 87km so it was short

[JGR]

I see Brad Venter was 15 mins slower on the EL course