The Pilgrims Progress – from the Holy Land to Roth – Vincent Galvin

A quick introduction. I’m sure there are lots of people that were wondering who this guy was that started appearing on the club Facebook page doing Roth was. 2013 is my sixth season as a member of Pulse. My first four years were ‘conventional’ seasons inspecting the potholes of tri courses across Ireland. Then the change came – a job came up in Jerusalem, I started in January 2012 and have been based there since.

Why Roth? Because I missed the Austria entries the week before, simple as! If I waited for Nirvana I’d probably have talked myself out of it. Of course I knew the incredible reputation that Roth has, coupled with the flexible cancellation terms that Challenge offer.
This report gets two angles – me bearing my soul, training, prep and race day – and then their there’s some practical information for the crew that are planning on Roth for next year. I’ve tried to keep it brief with little success!

Training

Jerusalem just happens to be one of the most disputed patches of land on the planet. It’s situated perched in a crop of beautiful hills about an hour from the Mediterranean coast. One of the first thoughts that hit me when I arrived a year and a half ago was – there isn’t a road that’s suitable to cycle on – and there isn’t a flat street to run on. My only race in 2012 was the Lost Sheep, and I used it as a bit of a tester to see what I could ‘get away with’ training in Israel. The answer was very little! The bike and run were a disaster, no getting around the inevitable – if there was nowhere to hide in Kenmare, there definitely wouldn’t be anywhere to hide in Roth.
The Israeli working week runs Sunday – Thursday, with the weekend on Friday/Saturday. Working as an ex-pat doesn’t tend to come with a nine to five existence. My regular working day was 7:30AM to 6:30PM for the five days. It was about finding a routine and sticking to it.

Swim training was done in the Jerusalem 50m pool, an old pool that was destined to be demolished years ago to be replaced with apartments. Most Irish pools have their timetables, but not like this one. Monday was off limits because it was ‘Women’s night’ (I never got to see this!!), Wednesday was the turn for the men to have the pool to themselves. Why? Jerusalem has a large population of Ultra Orthodox Jews (the postcard guys with the curly locks, long coats and round hats). Gender segregation is not exclusive to the Islamic side of town as many would think. Wednesday was one of my regular swim nights and ranks among my most un-enjoyable training session of all my preparation. At times I thought I was swimming in Jurassic Park. It really hit home one night when I was in a lane with six others – all doing lengths (all with the long curly locks). I was the only one wearing goggles, one of the others was wearing regular glasses, while the rest were being guided by God! On the positive, in hindsight it’s really such an advantage swim training in a 50m pool for endurance.

My turbo in the garden became one of my best friends for the year

Biking was always going to be a problem. My turbo in the garden became one of my best friends for the year. Strangely, looking back on it now we’re still friends! Many early mornings were spent looking out into the garden pedalling, from 30cm of snow in January to mid 20’s sunrise in June. My landlord that I share the garden with was a regular visitor to discuss Israeli politics and how his Middle Eastern Jews are being discriminated against, how he was worried about where the cat was going to drop the kittens or the complexities of his female relationships – all at 5:30AM! I always looked forward to it. Saturday morning was my only venture onto the roads. Coming towards the end this got tough. The heat of the day in Israel once it turns toward summer means that you’ve to be out early. This meant rolling out at 5:45AM after driving 30minutes to somewhere I could actually cycle from. All to try and get done before the mercury hit 30deg. Running off the bike in the heat was not something I looked forward to.

Then there was the run. The hills were bad, but the traffic was worse. I found a fairly flat 4k loop that didn’t have too many traffic lights. The shops along the streets of Baka got very used to seeing Galway and DCT race tops. I’ve no idea what they thought Crooked Lake was! I even used to know how many beers people were staying for on a Thursday evening in the street cafe on my 4/5/6 laps (not very many usually!).

Some memorable ‘distractions’ in my race prep:

• My normal cycle routes would head in the general direction of the Gaza strip. A small problem last November when Israel and Gaza started trading rockets. Considering locals were spending half the day in bomb shelters it may not have been the wisest to be pedalling along. Plan B, the Dead Sea. People usually train at altitude, not the lowest point on earth!
• While living a 10 minute walk to every significant spot in the middle of Jerusalem is amazing, every VIP that comes to town stays at the King David hotel, the spot where my Garmin chimes for 1k. The best fun was when Barak Obama made his first visit to Israel in April. When Obama was moving nobody else was, even on foot. Out on a Thursday evening long run I misread his timetable. Security personnel in Israel would not be renowned for flexibility or banter. I came to a barrier that there was no passing. ‘Sorry sir, you have to wait’ – ‘What exactly am I waiting for’ – ‘The president of the United States of America’ – ‘Oh!’.
• After convincing myself that I was seeing things, I finally figured out that they were actually snakes that I was seeing on the side of the road the odd Saturday on my long cycle, out to enjoy a bit of morning sun! I was going to get photo evidence, but figured it would be the most unbelievable DNS excuse if one bit me (they are poisonous!)

Roth – the practical stuff!

So where is Roth? It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere between Munich and Nuremburg. Easiest accessed by flying to Munich. Having a car is essential. Getting to Roth is just the first step. The split transitions are about 10k apart. The swim start/exit are in Hilpolstein, the town with the mental Solar Berg hill. You’ve got to get here to check in your bike the day before the race and also arrive here bright and early on race morning. T2 and the race finish line are in Roth itself (btw, pronounced Roooth!)

Roth itself is probably about the size of a typical Irish county town centre, but without the sprawl of celtic tiger housing estates. It’s a small place, with very limited accommodation options. Challenge Roth is an event that the whole district gets behind, and benefits from the profits of. Random houses turn into homestays and guesthouses for the weekend. Not wanting to tempt fate by organising logistics too early, I barely found a room when I went to look. A tiny little village in the countryside about 4k off the bike course, 19k from Roth. One of the sons got the boot for the weekend to vacate the last room in the house!

Haferflocken!!

Translations were offered by another son (the lady of the house whose name I have no idea of hadn’t a spark of English). There was a lot of ‘Kugen’ on offer (cake) and pig sliced in about 5 different ways for breakfast. Before I arrived I checked that there would be porridge – ‘of course we have porridge’. One of the first questions from the son when I arrived: ‘What’s porridge’! A few Google images later, den Vater was sent for some Haferflocken!!

The Race and The Course

Swim

The swim is in a large wide shipping canal. It’s almost 1,500m straight down, turn and swim about 2,000m back up and then turn again back to the exit. Because it doesn’t have the space of an open sea or lake, the race is set off in waves at 5 minutes intervals. The start ran like clockwork, I was in Wave 6 off at 7:10AM. I’ve never had such a peaceful open water triathlon start. I think I’ve had rougher swims on Wednesday men only night in the Jerusalem swimming pool!

So in comparison it’s a bit like Tri Athy – but without the carnage at the start – and without the fight for the middle of the river, no rushes at the side – no current at all – it’s about 5 times wider – oh and you’re not hitting the bottom if your pull is deep – and one more thing, no shopping trolleys!

All the stories about crazy ironman swim starts do not apply to Roth. As you’re swimming up and down you can see the support on the banks of the canal. Roth brings the support to town. The only negative is that all age group waves had the same colour hats. With the waves 5 minutes apart it didn’t take long for people to start to mix between waves but you’d have no way to know if the feet you had just jumped on were from the wave in front until you were in a doggy paddle!

Really the swim was easy, I had a target of 1:10 in my mind before the race. I had a very relaxed swim and came out in 1:09, so was very happy. T1 is on grass right beside the swim exit, and for a race with 3,500 competitors was quite compact. I think I must have found a friend in T1 to chat to that I don’t remember – it’s the only way I can explain over 6 minutes!

Bike

The postcard for Roth is the Solar Berg climb. I don’t think I’ll ever experience Alp D’Huez in the Tour de France (maybe?), but everything I had heard of this seemed like a similar, maybe less painful experience. But first things first – the bike course is not flat, but fast. Look at a profile and you see 2 laps peppered with Cat 5 climbs and a Cat 4 climb that you do twice. On a tri bike, you will be down on the tri bars a lot. If your thinking of this race it’s not something to forget! The locals have obviously trained to turn on the burners on this kind of profile and the speed that Tobias, Gunther, Markus and his mates have on the flat is amazing. Not as hot when the profile heads upwards! The relays were the last waves to start and the top relays started to pass me near the end of my 180k. Wow! These guys certainly seemed like elite time trialists, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bike move so fast (Roth doubled as the German long distance champs).

My own bike was going to plan. I got my HR settled after the swim, kept it steady and the average speed was higher than I expected. Disaster number 1 of the day struck at about 80k. Even though it was a wave start, the road was crowded and in parts on smaller country roads. Keep right – pass left (this was Germany of course). So big Mr Holger could pass me on the flats, but wasn’t up to much on the climbs. On one drag I was gaining on Holger, he was gaining on a girl in front. I went to overtake the pair, he pulled left at the same time. The road was narrow, I think it had a solid line (a small part of the course had traffic on the other side of the road), so I had nowhere to go and didn’t want to risk a DQ by crossing the line. About 5 seconds later I had a motor bike beside me with a black card – 8 minute penalty. I was sick, the road was packed with bikes. To avoid finding yourself trapped behind someone like this over the 180k would have been virtually impossible.

With 90k on the clock, an average speed of 34.5km/hr

Before finding my penalty box, I had my first trip up the famous Soler Berg. You approach on a fairly flat street coming out of the town of Hilpolstein. Strangely there are barriers on either side keeping the crowd back on the street. Then the gradient heads upwards, the barriers disappear and the 5 deep crowds get a whole lot closer. On the first lap it was incredible. None of the field had hit the run yet, so this was the place for spectators to be. The crowd on both sides leave a gap for one bike to get through and no more. You climb through a wall of noise, cheers, clickers, horns, music – locals waving bunting in front of you, and don’t forget watching the wheel in front that you don’t cycle into it. All it takes is a slower climber on the front of the train and everyone has to slow. Kim was near the top in the thick of the madness! One of the highlights of world triathlon that didn’t disappoint.

I wondered should I speed up a little before the penalty box. I thought to myself – no lactic acid, steady all the way. I pulled into the penalty box with 90k on the clock, an average speed of 34.5km/hr. It doubled as a toilet stop and they had water there, but I just couldn’t find the same rhythm when I got back on the bike, my legs felt so heavy. Your muscles start to stiffen up very quickly.

The second lap felt a little harder. The steep Cat 4 climb out of Greding felt harder – another spot on the course with incredible support. Other villages had the locals set up on tables along the street drinking beer. Nutrition on the bike was going to plan, but at about 140k it was getting a lot harder to get calories down. I told myself that this was no different to the feeling in a half distance when you’re full of gels. I didn’t take too much notice and assumed once I didn’t get sick or get struck with diarrhoea that all would be ok. About a 6k extension at the end of the second lap lead to T2. Total time of 5:42. Before the race, sub 5:40 was where I wanted to be on the bike. Would have been well on target if it wasn’t for my German friend on the motorbike.

You have someone to grab your bike at the timing mat and that’s the last you see of it until you pick it up later. Through the change tent and off onto run.

The road surface of course is generally excellent. This is not though to believe the myth that they’re out putting down a new surface every year. There are still plenty of bumps that would send the yellow thingy from the old school Profile bottle flying. The Cat 5 climbs all seemed fairly straightforward and didn’t slow the average too much, you could really open up on the descents. The only technically tricky part was the descent from the Cat 4, it dropped in switchbacks through a forest. Some cornering down off the Dublin Viewpoint would be useful! I was surprised to see some of the km markers way off on the course, some were 3k out!

Run

I set off on the run and was very happy to see my HR totally settled and my legs feeling good. The first few km’s brought us down to an extension of the canal that we swam in earlier. About 2km into the run was the start of the end for me. My stomach started to feel very uncomfortable. I took my first walk at the second aid station at about 4k, but I was not moving very well at all and in discomfort. I kept telling myself that it would pass and I’d get going properly. As it got worse I tried to combine walking/running to keep a 6min/km average. I managed it until 12km and then was just in too much discomfort to run. I walked pretty much from there until 25k. I finally figured out the issue. I was bloated like the hot air balloons at the start line. After I figured this the rest of the runners around me got some earful for the next 2 hours. I wasn’t the only one either!

At 25k the worst had passed – quite literally! I slowly got running again – first for 2k and then worked it up to 5k. When I was moving I was moving pretty well, which was very frustrating. I’d run until I was bent over again, stop vent and go again!

Entering the stadium, grabbing a tri colour from Kim and doing a lap of the stadium to the finish line was a very special feeling

The race organisers constructed a new finishing area this year. There were some reports that in previous years the finish area lacked a little atmosphere. Not anymore! A temporary stadium was put in place with a capacity for 5,000 people. Even though I had a disaster on the run coarse, entering the stadium, grabbing a tri colour from Kim and doing a lap of the stadium to the finish line was a very special feeling. I even have photos to prove that I broke a smile!

A ‘run’ time of 4h49min left a bitter taste, but what can you do.

A little more information on the run course. It’s one big single loop. You spend the bulk of the run along the canal meeting the other competitors coming back from the turn arounds (you head south and north from the starting point on the water). A big advantage of the run course is that it’s quite sheltered along the canal. Even though it was 25deg the shade really made it feel comfortable. Loops off at the ends went in convoluted routes through local villages. The locals were out and really this was probably the best motivational help possible. Your name is on the front of your bib. The first time you hear it called you get a surprise, but then you get used to it. When you’re bent over, not able to run and you hear a total stranger will you on calling you by name to just try to run, it steers you out of all kind of dark places!

Along the canal, the run course is not paved. It’s like an access/walking path along the side of the canal. It was very easy to run on, but its very easy to kick up sand or pebbles into your shoes. You end up with a very dusty pair of runners! Overall the profile is very flat. There are a couple of short hills when you depart from the canal, but they’re not an issue in the big scheme.
Aid stations are every 2k along the run course with everything one would need (incl warm soup and toward the end – beer! ………. of the alcohol free variety). All aid stations have wet sponges. It made the stations on the path along the canal quite muddy in spots. When I eventually got going and was well back among the runners, I found it quite tight to get past people in spots. I was feeling bad that I was the guy in the way earlier.

Afterthoughts

Bobbing in the water you realise you have a long day ahead. Knowing you have support out there is a spur that’s difficult to quantify just how much of a lift it is. A massive thanks to Kim, who popped up in more places than should actually be possible! Athletes get all the sympathy afterwards, but being a supporter is one long day! The support of course extended back well before race day.

Crossing the line in 11h52 was not the plan. It’s great to get across the line in a full ironman distance race, but I felt frustration more than disappointment that I didn’t succeed in getting the best out of myself on the day. You only get one shot and that’s racing. I had done the hard miles in the prep for the race, never felt as fit and felt I was in fair control until the wheels came off the wagon.

The training log totals read:
Swim: 255km
Bike: 6,455km
Run: 1,447km

A little unfinished business, a big club crew headed in 2014, hope to see you again in 2014 Roth!
I know there’s a big crew planning on the race for next year. I’ve tried not to flog too much detail of the course. If anyone is looking for more information on the course or logistics (there are lots!) feel free to drop me a line.

Written by: Vincent Galvin (vincentgalvin@yahoo.com)