Challenge Almere-Amsterdam

Pmaldini

I know its a good few weeks since i did the race but i was humming and hawing whether id put up my race report as i dont have a training log but
decided i will as there seems to be very few race reports on the great race that is Challenge Almere-Amsterdam.

so after a tricky night of bats, traffic chaos and my bike going missing in the airport i finally managed to get on the train from schipol to Almere which was only 50 minutes away. Alan met me off the train and we headed for the house we rented. Once i was settled i built the bike back up and went for a short spin to make sure everything was in order.The lads had mentioned an organized group swim at the race venue so we headedinto town and joined all the fellow nervous looking people for 1 1.9k lap, the lake was nice and clear but a bit choppy with the wind.
On friday morning we headed out for a short spin on the bikes and cycled 1 lap of the run course, we would be running 6 of these on Saturday and went for a short jog after the bike and all felt good so after a bit of grub we headed into the race briefing, this was all going smoothly until the words
"the wind will be force 3 or 4 tomorrow" Ah ****e! not what we wanted to hear but it will be the same for everyone so no point in loosing energy
over it. we pottered around for the rest of the day and came back at 6 to rack our bikes and drop our bags and check out the pasta party, i have
to say it was a super spread, there was a huge choice of food and drinks, unlike the tub of pasta and a bottle of water we got last year in CPH. back to the house after a belly full of pasta and opened a bottle of wine as was instructed by the great Jackyback himself!
The nerves seemed to be in check. by 10 o'clock i felt very tired with all the traveling and hassles of the previous few days and a drop of wine i thought i'd sleep like a baby, but unfortunately sleep didnt come easy and i twisted and turned for an hour or so. Alarm went off at 4.45 after what felt like 30 seconds of sleep and then the sudden realisation, its RACE DAY!!!

I had a good breakfast of porridge and banana and sipped on energy drink, the lads seemed very calm, well they were hiding it well anyway so we headed off just before 6 for the train station. when we got to transition it was already buzzing with activity, I had a quick check of the bike and a look through the bags again to make sure all was in order. once i was happy, it was time to get into the wetsuit, a few words and hugs with the lads and it was off to the swim start to take on the day!

THE SWIM - projected time 65mins actual 73mins

Headed down to the swim start and took a gel to keep the energy up, strolled down the ramp and jumped in, i swam out to the start line and felt
really good, i decided to stay a few rows back as not to be in the way of the sharks and just bobbed for a few minutes waiting for the bang. as soon as the gun went the water in front turned white and the usual melee of arms, feet and bodies ensued until it started spreading out, i managed to get onto a few feet after about 250 meters and felt i was moving well, I went around the 1st bouy with no real issues and continued on the same feet for another few hundred meters and was very happy how the swim was going, then out of the blue i get a bang in the face, goggles came off and i swallow what feels like the entire lake, i wasn't sure where i was and started coughing and throwing up, i was a bit disorientated and moved to the left out of the way of oncoming swimmers, i thought for a moment that my race was done but i pulled myself together and started to swim again, i decided i would stay on the left and out of trouble and i struggled with the rest of the swim to be honest, i have to say i was delighted to turn the last bouy and see the swim finish as i wasn't enjoying it, got to the ramp started running, took a glance at the watch, 1.13., Ah ****e!

I headed on towards the changing area and got in and out pretty quickly(well quick for me that is), it was a pretty long run from the changing area to the bike and then to the mount line, i passed Greg who was just getting to his bike and said to myself, he's going to come hard, don't let him catch you!

THE BIKE - projected time 5.30 actual 5.35

the bike course was a mixture of bike paths and roads, the 1st section out of town was a bit technical with a lot of turns but once it opened up the road surface was mainly fantastic, the 1st 20k went by easily but i knew there was a sting coming later, at approx 30k we head towards the Dam, i knew the wind was picking up but was delighted when i started on the dam that it wasnt too bad, dont get me wrong, it was strong but i felt it was manageable, did they get the forecast wrong??? there was a huge amount of bikes on the course at this stage as the stronger half guys were beginning to catch up, a few of them passed me as if i was stopped! the dam section is approx 30k long, near the end we turn back inland and back towards Almere, this section was more directly into the wind and at times was a real grind but at least there was some houses and a forest section to break the wind a little, after about 15k we turned right again and finally had the wind in our backs again, this felt great, 40kph with the same effort that was pushing 25kph only a few k's ago, i knew i was going to have the wind across but helping or from behind until i was at the dam again, after i went through the half turn off the course began to look very empty, nutrition was going down well and i was also taking salt tabs with caffeine. when i reached the dam for the 2nd time the wind had really picked up. We are all used to cycling in windy conditions in Ireland but this was different, there are no hills or trees or buildings on the dam to break the wind, it is constant, it is like a wind tunnel, all i could do was count my pedal revolutions, one,two,three,four, one,two,three,four, over and over trying to keep the effort constant, it was working well as i was passing lots of people who i assume went too hard earlier.
When i turned off the dam i really had to dig deep straight into a head wind but i just kept counting and thinking of the wind in my back that was only a few k's away. when i finally made it to the right turn back towards Almere i knew i'd have the wind in my back all the way to T2 so i decided to hold back just a little to try save some energy for the run. i got to the last turn off at about 177k and then it was back onto a bike path through a forest to T2, i crossed the mat in 5.35 and was happy with the effort in that wind.

THE RUN - projected unknown but hoped for 4hrs

I started the run just coming up to 7hrs of swimming and biking behind me, i said to myself if i can run 3.59.59 i'd break 11hrs which was my "if all goes to plan goal" the problem with running a sub 4hr marathon was the lack of running i could manage up to the race, i had a niggling calf injury which prevented me doing any meaningful runs and zero speed work since July 5th, over 10 weeks before the race, the longest run i managed in that time was a very slow 21k. the run course was 6 x 7k loops of the lake which was mainly bike paths and a little bit of trail, i started off well, keeping my stride very short to protect the calf and i was feeling pretty good for the 1st few k's, Alan (looking very fresh) passed me as expected about 2/3 way around the 2nd loop and it was shortly after this i had to stop as i thought i had a stone in my shoe, unfortunately it wasn't a stone but a big blood blister on my baby toe, i put it down to the shorter stride which meant i was probably running more on my toes. I continued on and decided to treat myself to a walk through every aid station to give the feet a little break, for about 30k i was taking on plenty of gels and food washed down with water and also some salt tabs and a neuorophen, after 30k it was coke in every aid station, at this stage my feet were in a bad way but i said to myself if i walk between the aid stations i'd end up walking the whole way and be out there all day so i kept repeating a mantra i had in my head and this kept me jogging/shuffling between each station, the reward was a a cold sponge and a coke and a short walk, the other reason to keep running was i didn't want Alan to lap me or Greg to catch me so i had to keep moving forward. It was a great feeling passing the finishing line for the 5th time and going into my last 7k knowing that the next time i see the finish line i could turn left instead of going straight on. I actually sort of enjoyed the last 7k as each step meant i was getting closer to taking my runners off!!!!. When i got to the last aid station i knew i only had about 1k to go so i shuffled straight through it, no point in stopping there as i was nearly home. The buzz coming up the finishing straight was fantastic, there was a huge crowd and i could see Alan waiting just behind the finish line, i punched my fist in the air and turned left down to the finish line with a huge smile on my face. So there you go, finished in 11.25, not the sub 11 i hoped for but still 42mins faster than last year.

Alan and Greg finished in 10.59 & 11.31, great times for there 1st time tackling the full distance.

So the feet are back to normal now but minus 4 toe nails but it was worth it and i will definitely be putting myself through it again some day.
Overall i think Almere is a great race, if you're lucky you will have a breezy rather than windy day and if you can keep the calves in good shape it could be a very fast course indeed, the water is nice the bike is interesting and the run is nice around the lake and the crowds around the finishing area keep you pushing on lap after lap.

A big thanks goes to Fran(jackyback) for all the encouragement during the year, from a simple question asking for turbo sessions over the winter, he infiltrated my mind and all of a sudden he had me swimming then running and thinking i could do an IM again, even when i damaged my calf during the summer he kept saying "sure you only need a few weeks running, you'll be grand", Thanks also to Bennymul who kept me pushing the right watts that Frans intervals required, and also Alan & Greg for all the swims in Kells bay and our cycles around the ring of kerry and carragh lake over the summer, it kept the training enjoyable and honest, and lastly but most importantly, my wife and kids for putting up with another summer of training and moaning about injuries, tiredness and how slow i am!!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Pleasure to coach, most would have thrown the toys out of the pram with the run injury weeks before it, not you! You are actually probably the only person I know that has a busier life than me so fitting in IM training is impressive in itself.

BTW I suggested a glass of wine the night before, not a bottle

Pmaldini

Brylee Scrawny Shortstop wrote: »

Pleasure to coach, most would have thrown the toys out of the pram with the run injury weeks before it, not you! You are actually probably the only person I know that has a busier life than me so fitting in IM training is impressive in itself.

BTW I suggested a glass of wine the night before, not a bottle

Cheers Fran, sure don't you know I always did what I was told!!!

MojoMaker

Great report - thanks for sharing.

Dory Dory

Well done you!! And super report - thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Will you target another iron distance in 2016? Or maybe a half iron distance???

Pmaldini

Dory Dory wrote: »

Well done you!! And super report - thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Will you target another iron distance in 2016? Or maybe a half iron distance???

Thank You DD,

I am hoping to concentrate on running next year with a few tri's thrown into the mix and then go long again in 2017.

pgibbo

Very enjoyable read P. Congrats again. Fair play for composing yourself during the swim and continuing on. :cool:

BennyMul

Fair play Paul,
Cant say it was a pleasure training with you this year, your bike really improved; and it did nothing for my confidence seeing you continuously go up the road, {insert expletive}

Now the hard part starts, that's getting you back training before your as fat as me

again fair play buddy, see you in Lanza:cool:

Pmaldini

BennyMul wrote: »

Fair play Paul,
Cant say it was a pleasure training with you this year, your bike really improved; and it did nothing for my confidence seeing you continuously go up the road, {insert expletive}

Now the hard part starts, that's getting you back training before your as fat as me

again fair play buddy, see you in Lanza:cool:

if i don't stop eating soon and get out on the road i will end up in a fat camp instead of a training camp:eek:

Abhainn

Enjoyable read P and nice going in Almere. Oldest IM distance race after Kona so loads of history in this race.
When I did it in 2013 we had nightmare conditions for the bike but particularly the last 30k.
Good to see they changed the run loop to make it what I assume is now 42.2k.

Pmaldini

Abhainn wrote: »

Enjoyable read P and nice going in Almere. Oldest IM distance race after Kona so loads of history in this race.
When I did it in 2013 we had nightmare conditions for the bike but particularly the last 30k.
Good to see they changed the run loop to make it what I assume is now 42.2k.

Cheers Abhainn, it was 6 x 7k loops, where did they send ye in 2013? Was it long or short?

Abhainn

Pmaldini wrote: »

Cheers Abhainn, it was 6 x 7k loops, where did they send ye in 2013? Was it long or short?

I made it damn close to 43.0k. 4 x loops. But an enjoyable course - some muddy trails, along the lake etc.

The swim and run courses were thumbs up, bike - well very technical, cxxt of a day and well long course then

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/376331599

Pmaldini

Abhainn wrote: »

I made it damn close to 43.0k. 4 x loops. But an enjoyable course - some muddy trails, along the lake etc.

The swim and run courses were thumbs up, bike - well very technical, cxxt of a day and well long course then

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/376331599

great run split and overall time Abhainn, if i could take an hour off my run i'd be close to you :-). we didn't have that extra bit on the side of the lake, we hugged it the whole way round