Shadowman 2013

A short hop to a good friend, a triathlon race in Athlone, Ireland and some insights on long distance mastery.

The Idea

Although FB definetly has some lagitimacy when it comes to staying in touch with people, after several years time not having seen him, I was happy to grab the opportunity and to accept an invitation of a friend to visit him and his family in Athlone, Ireland. Being the mastermind behind www.shadow-man.ie he also made an offer I could impossibly decline. So after having aquired the permission of my chancellor, having registered for the race and having booked the flights, the deal was pretty much on.

Coosan Bay

The Race

shadow-mobile

The first Shadowman-triathlon was located in Athlone, Ireland and yes, it also was my very first time to Ireland. Whether it is a smart proposition to compete in a long or even middle distance (LD, MD) triathlon as a sprint and olympic distance (SD, OD) athlete, I'll leave to you. According to the guy who is the brain behind the entire race, the course was flat and easy anyway and on top carried out in a beautiful venue. He certainly did not exaggarate concerning the venue.

Lough Ree swim course

swim

Lough Ree, Coosan Bay, 08:30am: the chosen venue for the swim. One loop, 1.9k, straight, rectangular course with four buoyes, no current, no wind, no waves, piece of cake. The water is so clear, sometimes I can even see the plants and pebbles on the ground. Fascinating: at the start-countdown, all athletes actually start on "zero", instead of what I am used to from Germany, where it is en vogue to start on "three" or earlier. The race is on! However, no beating, no enemy contact, a completely new race experience for someone who is used to the rumble of league races. The only problem worth mentioning is finding the first buoy, which is some 870m away from the start and hidden in the sunlight. Hardly visible from the beach, I realize it is quite another task to locate it in the water because of the low position of the sun. My hope is, that if I aim for the sun, the buoy will eventually appear. Finally, about 100m away from it, it does and I am relieved that I have not swum astray.

T1

bike

After T1 I set off for the 91k course around Lough Ree on the supposedly flat course. The sun is shining, wind is almost non-existent and the course is marked clearly. Sometimes on the longer straights I start wondering if I'm still right, but then there is always some sign or arrow or spectators or the like to clear my doubts. At 42k I panic a little, because I was told that there was supposed to be an aid station where you could swap bottles. The only thing I see are markings on the ground that say "aid station", but no one is around. I push on in the -admittedly naive- hope to make it to the aid station at 70k somehow. Then 3k later, at 45k, the aid station appears and I swap my bottle. The next incident happens at about 60k, when I start to feel a little dizzy in the head and I slightly get the impression I'm bonking a little. I still have sufficient nutrition and beverage, so I'm not worried too much and push on. The thought of me doing a LD again some day flashes for a brief moment through my mind and I instantly assess: preposterous, ridiculous, ergo: no way! Finally reaching T2 I'm glad to put away my bike and don my runners. In any race with two different transition areas it is always a thrill, whether the logistics will work properly and whether you will find your stuff in T2. No excitement here, fortunately. Not all fresh any more, but still feeling good, I am glad to set off for the last discipline. The official data according to my GPS-Monitor: 91,02k, 261m elevation gain. Sounds pretty much flat. Looking back I can't really explain, why it did not feel flat. Maybe it was because most of the elevation was on the first 8 and on the final 10k.

run

finish area

That's when things are really getting exciting. At the first aid station just out of T2 I grab some water and off I go. Taking it easy the first bit after T2 I soon get comfy and find my pace. The course is everything but flat and as a hillside homeboy I am reassured that faster, lighter runners than myself, will equally suffer on this one. I leave out the second aid station, because there's only water, which I don't need right now. The third aid station is at the turnpoint at 5k, where I grab some water. After that, there is 5k to go without any aid station or nutrition. The sun is still burning and I realize: In this Shadowman there's no shadow, man! On the final part of the first loop the same dizzyness returns, that I already encountered on the bike. Arriving at the aid station at T2 I have to confess to myself: I am not good at all. I'm bonking completely and I feel an emerging desire to just lay down somewhere and have a nap. I grab as much water as I can and start to walk for the first time. The next thing I can remember is that I arrive at the second aid station. Hardly able to keep myself together I ask for: sugar. The official says they only have water. But then, out of nowhere, she offers me a chocolate easter bunny. I squirrel away the brown bliss and somehow move on, toggling between walk and run. Ok, it's probably more of a mix between walking and power-walking, I don't want to discuss that right now. At this point I have long lost track of time, pace, splits and ranking. Still not able to run long stretches I angrily walk, or even "rulk", as athlete by athlete passes by. My only concern is to make it to the finish line, if possible before my misery becomes obvious to others. On the final 3k my head is clearing up slowly and I become kind of upset about my naive race tactic. Wait a minute: right! I didn't have a tactic.

easier said than done

I decide to pull myself together on the final part, just in order to not leave the impression, that I completely blew the run. However, 200m before the finish line, I have to do the walk of shame again. Though I have lost track of time and ranking long ago, it still feels awkward to walk in a race, especially on the final meters with spectators all around cheering.

After finishing, I collect several cups of water, four cans of coke, a serious amount of mars-, snickers bars and bananas and grab a chair. The following meditation probably takes a little eternity. Otherwise, due to an allergy, I use to freak out at the sight of a single wasp big time. But right here, right now, I do not even give a damn about all the wasps that circle around my head. I am as peaceful as Buddha and enjoy the excess of the sugary and sticky bliss.

sticky bliss

Lessons Learned

To be honest, I was not all surprised by the outcome of the race. Even though I have to admit, that I was slightly upset when I hit the wall and suddenly realized, that I wouldn't be able to push as hard as planned until the very end, I enjoyed the race a lot. The venue was terrific, a great atmosphere with enthusiastic people, and finally a well organised and executed triathlon race.

Actually, the true epiphany of the race for me was, that in any race, there obviously are people, who are as passionate about the sport as any athlete, who put in at least as much effort as the athletes, and who start earlier and finish later than any of the athletes. I am most grateful for this exceptional insight and certainly will remember this. Especially the next time I'm having a hard time on a race.