Challenge Barcelona Half – 27/05/2012
In the somewhat challenging conditions that was Galway last year, I remember seeing Maeve Cloke wrapped up for the elements in her role as supporter, and thinking how much smarter she was to have done Barcelona for her HIM. Then of course once the swim was cut short in Galway, I knew that there would have to be another attempt at the 70.3 distance if I was ever going to call myself a half ironman finisher, or as my US work colleagues say a “tin man”. The hubby, that would be Enda, was all on for Barcelona as he fancied some non-Galway weather and wanted to get the HIM over early in the season, rather than have it hanging over him for the summer. I did point out that training could conflict with his first love…Leinster rugby, but he told me that they would never get to two finals in a row…. In the end the passport that got lost/stolen in Twickenham the Saturday before Barcelona added some extra excitement to the race run-up.
The training plan I had envisaged last Christmas never really happened. I had 3 lots of antibiotics after Christmas and energy levels were on the floor. Added to that was a lot of travel with work, and I was starting to stress out (I suspect Enda will confirm this)!! I had toyed with pulling out at the end of March, but in reality I knew I could never go there and just watch, the guilt would be unbearable. However, I hate feeling unprepared and I knew I was fitter and much more ready for Galway last September, than this race. The first day I actually felt good on the bike was the Saturday before Barcelona (better late than never). I had no open water swimming done and a very tight IT band, but other than that I was all set!!
The journey there itself was pretty painless, we managed to get our transfer to the hotel without issue. On Friday afternoon we went for a swim and were greeted by a Galwayesque type swell. There was a little bit of fear creeping in that they could end up shortening the swim, and the saga of the “nearly half ironman” would rumble on. Luckily come Sunday, race day, it was flat calm.
Dave Adams and Liz O’Connor were first off from Pulse as this was also the Fire-fighter Wold Championships. Albert Gallagher would have been in the first wave if he hadn’t pointed out to the organisers that despite all appearances to the contrary, he was not a professional. It seems someone else didn’t bother to point out this admin blunder to the organisers and no. 7 in the middle of €10k bikes, was a steel frame road bike, no tri-bars, but it did have a set of rosary beads. Then it was Albert, followed by Enda and then the rest of the ladies – Joanne Agnew, Kim Hickey, Kathy Adams, Miriam Staunton, Rachel Eager and Elaine Marshall and I were in the second last wave. It was a beach start and we went off to the sound of a siren and a volley of shots from some chaps dressed-up in what I assume to be historic Catalan gear.
The water was a balmy 18 degrees and crystal clear – so no excuses. But (here we go)…I am not a very confident sea swimmer and each year I build up my confidence over the season. It is completely in my head and that frustrates me even more. So at risk of boring you with my issues, during the swim I had to take a moment and give myself a stern talking to. I had also woken up at 4am the morning of the race and wasn’t a well puppy, so that had given my confidence another dent. But there is nothing like emotionally blackmailing yourself to get you going. But when I turned at the furthest marker, I did start to grow in confidence. Now the only problem was that from the furthest marker there is about a 800m stretch, and with the glare of the sun it was hard to see the next marker. Not a problem we suffer from too much in Ireland. But overall I kept it all pretty straight and on course.
So one mini-drama-series later I am out of the water and heading to the tent. Change out of the wetsuit, grab a gel and top-up the sun-screen on the shoulders…in hindsight I should have taken a bit more time on the sun-screen! Always think about applying it to the back of the hands when you are on the tri-bars.
The first few km around the narrow streets of Calella, over speed bumps etc., but then you hit the main road – which is where Kathy left me eating her dust. The bike is basically two laps on this main road…closed roads and not a pothole in sight and relatively flat, so you can just go down on the tri-bars and stay there with worrying about a crater sized pothole taking you out. I can safely say that I have never used my tri-bars in any race as much as I did for this race. The turn-arounds were on round-abouts so no crazy u-turns around a cone on a itsy bitsy country road. It definitely was the most enjoyable bike course that I have done, and I think the feedback was the same from all of the other Pulsers who all flew the bike. I still wasn’t a well puppy for the first 24km of the bike, but after that the drugs started to make their presence felt, and I could stomach some food. So then I really started to enjoy the bike, even when my chain hopped off, I kept calm and it was probably the fastest I have ever got it back on (a PB of sorts). Alas for the final 20km of the bike, I had a headache. I had kept sipping away on the bike so I didn’t think it was dehydration, so that left me with either still being ill or sunstroke to blame. Either way it didn’t really matter as I knew that barring a major catastrophe I was going to finish this race. Just read this back and despite my whinging…it REALLY was a great bike course.
On the way back into transition I spotted Albert on the run. More badly applied sun-screen and I headed out of the tent. The best investment I had made the day before was a sun visor. I had never run with one before and was ready to dump it if it bothered me. It was a life saver…21km run in 26 degrees and no shade. It was the only reprieve you got. As I came out of the tent, I saw Enda and I knew he was finishing his first loop on the run. The run is basically 5.25km out and back and you do that twice. The downer is that it is pretty much a straight line, with no shade and not a lot to look at, other than other people suffering. I normally love the run (the only leg where I pass people) but this was going to be a grind, so I knew I just had to get a rhythm and stick with it and try and distract myself from the headache – there was going to be no attempt to push on today (as if I could). About a 1-2km into the run Kim passed me – so either I was hallucinating or she was over halfway through the run, and what’s more she looked strong. At about 3.5-4km, I spotted Joanne, Elaine and Miriam coming towards me all looking pretty comfortable. I had taken a gel in transition, so my plan was another gel at the half way point as well as a shot block every 20 mins (now that I know how many carbs are in a shot block). I stuck to the plan except for the last 2 shot blocks, when my stomach said “don’t you dare”. There were aid stations every 2.5km and each time I took one of the little bottles of water, took a drink and dumped the rest over my head. Just as I neared the halfway mark, Enda surged past me on his way to the finish line, and told me I’d just “2 laps of Marlay Park left”. Which is exactly what I was thinking. I think Enda worried that it would be mean to pass me at that point, but if he’d held back out of sympathy I would have been given him a swift slap (as soon as I had recovered enough energy to do so that is).
I have to say I was a pretty happy bunny to see the line and I did think “thank God this isn’t a full ironman, I wouldn’t fancy another 21km to run”. But the atmosphere on the run in with the superb Pulse support was fantastic. The sun was shining and there was such a buzz. So I grabbed the tricolour from Maeve for the run in. I could see the finisher photos in mind’s eye. I passed a man running in with his child, so they’d be out of the way and the photographer could have a clear shot of me. What I hadn’t counted on is that the Dad is blocked out by me and my tricolour but the kid appears at my side…so yes it looks like I grabbed a random child along with the tricolour to cross the line with. Doh!
Dave Adams just couldn’t stop smiling, he was happy to be back racing and he was flying. Liz came fourth in the Ladies Fire Fighters, Kathy put her demons from last year well and truly to bed, Miriam took over 20mins off her Galway time, Joanne’s did a strong HIM despite a knee that had been threatening her race, Elaine must definitely gave it her all, Enda did a time he didn’t even realise he was capable of. However to top it off Kim came 3rd (which should be amended to 2nd as it looks like the person awarded second only did one lap of the bike course) in her age group, and Pulse ladies due to the performances of Liz, Kim and Kathy got second in the ladies team category. So we all went to the prize-giving to see Kim collect her silverware and then there was a bit of confusion until we figured out that we had a team prize as well. So a pretty impressive representation from Pulse Ladies!
I have to give a special mention to Maeve Cloke and Karl Gohery – this pair showed us how supporting should be done. Transition, bike, run and finish line they were there. Karl had a side job as a bike mechanic on the Saturday. Maeve kept reassuring us that the swell would be gone on the Sunday and she was right. They encouraged, cheered, roared, held flip flops and bottles, took photos and what’s more you could hear them every time and it was a great boost. Thank you both! Although, you have set the bar rather high for those of us who thought supporting in Frankfurt was a going to be a pure jolly!
Other points to note:
- Do not ask Liz to order for you or to make enquiries in Calella. Definite communication problems with the locals.
- Not only can Karl translate from Spanish to English, he can also translate from English to English (very handy).
- Save Dave’s sanity and use the lift not the stairs the day before the race.
- Everyone should try magnum bite sizes.
- There are more fans of musicals in Pulse than I realised (you know who you are).
- Tans do not make people faster.
- There are 8grs of carbs in each shot block. Have I got it right this time?
- Zogg predator goggles are the business.
- At least one Pulse competitor, who shall remain nameless but lives at the same address as me, was able to spot the nudist beach from the bike course. Guess who wasn’t on their tri-bars all the time. Bit of time lost there eh?
In summary, the swim and bike routes are fantastic. I think the run lets it down a little. This was our first time doing a race outside of Ireland and we managed the bike boxes and the bike reassembly pretty well. So would I do it again? Definitely tempted – May 27th wasn’t a good day for me (never mind the run-up) so I feel I still have unfinished business at this distance. I’d love to have a crack at it when I am properly prepared and not feeling under the weather. I would certainly recommend this race to anyone considering traveling for a HIM. And of course the craic amongst the Pulse Crew was mighty. Thanks to all the Pulse gang for making it a great trip.
Several hundred photos were taken so they should make their way to the website in due course.
Written by: Caroline Wharton