Abbey's Long Course Weekend report - I felt like a Superstar for 3 days!
Abbey’s Long Course Weekend Report - 13/14/15 July 2018.
The Event
The Long Course Weekend Wales is an Iron Distance Triathlon based in Tenby, Wales that is spread over 3 days (13/14/15th July):
Friday evening: 2.4 mile sea swim (2 x lap incl. Australian exit)
Saturday: 112 mile bike (7933 ft elevation gain)
Sunday: 26.2 mile run(1824 ft elevation gain)
Background
I chose to do the Long Course Weekend Wales to prepare for my first Ironman Distance Triathlon, planned for 2019.
My Goals
To complete all 3 days. It is common for many “Long Course Weekenders” to not start the run or drop out of the run. I do not want to be one of them.
To race according to plan and to stop myself from getting excited and carried away in the swim and on the bike - I MUST leave enough in the tank for the run on Sunday.
Summary
I am pleased to report that I completed this event and achieved my goals.
Only 60% of “Long Course Weekenders” made it to the Marathon start so I am chuffed to bits that I was one of them!
This was a fantastic event. The Organisers were excellent; the Goodie bag was fantastic, and the local community fully support the event.
This is a brutal course, no doubt about it and it was also very hot over the 3 days which added to the challenge, but the atmosphere over the 3 days was brilliant. The locals even went to the extent of putting our makeshift feed tables on the marathon course outside their houses, providing water, haribos and hoses/sprinklers.
Each event was also run as stand-a-lone Swim, Bike & Run events with variable distances; but as Long Course Weekenders we were treated as VIPs by everyone including other non “Weekender” participants. I felt like a Superstar for 3 days.
Running up the finishers shute on Sunday was incredible; all I could hear was people shouting out my name. The Directors even gave every one of us a hand-shake at the end in recognition of our achievement.
A huge thanks to @KARL BONNER (my husband) and Ted (our dog) for believing in me and being my 3 day support crew. Supporting over a 3 day Long Course event is tough work; I’m not sure Karl could do it again LOL. Also a huge shout out to @JoJo Thirasilpa , @Mark Stahlkopf and @Al Truscott whose race plan suggestions were invaluable. And of course to Team EN. I could not have done this without you.
I have been on cloud 9 since this event and I’m already looking onwards to next year for the next chapter….Challenge Roth is booked for 2019 
Would I do it again?
Absolutely! Although it won’t be any time soon as I’m not sure Karl could handle supporting me on another 3-day event LOL.
Lessons Learned / Things That Worked
Overall / Preparation before the event
Things that worked:
Following the IM Minimalist training plan. This plan could have been tailor made for this event, as every week the plan included a swim on the Friday, Long bike on the Saturday and Long run on the Sunday - doing the long run on the Sunday after my long bike every week prepared me for how I would feel on marathon day.
Training with my planned nutrition: I worked out what to take and when, according to my body weight, and I “fed” during my training, even on shorter workouts. This meant I didn’t snack much in between meals whilst training and on the event days this kept gastric issues to a minimum and stopped me from bonking.
Using Protein supplements - this is the first time I have used protein shakes or protein bars after workouts (in addition to my meals). I tracked my diet for a while at the beginning of my training on myfitnesspal and realized I wasn’t taking in enough protein. I tried to do this naturally with “real food” but couldn’t eat the amount of protein which was recommended. Using protein shakes and bars was the only way I could reach my daily protein goals and I believe this helped with my recovery and injury prevention
I trialled a supplement called XtremeEndurance which I had heard about on the IMTalk podcast. It is supposed to help reduce muscle stiffness. I usually experience high amounts of muscle stiffness in my legs, but this was significantly reduce during training and I was amazed by the lack of “stiffness” I experienced during the 3 days of this event and after the marathon. It sounds crazy, but I am sure this supplement helped in this area.
Daily stretching of key areas and daily foam rolling - this kept me supple and kept injury at bay; I also see a massage therapist once a month or more if I think I need it.
Writing a Race Plan - I wasn’t going to bother with a race plan but @JoJo Thirasilpa inspired me with his Austria IM Plan so I decided to do it and I’m glad I did. It was so important in my success. It reduced my stress and ensured myself and Karl knew what I needed, what I needed to do and when; over the 3 days.
Training on hilly routes on my long bike rides and long runs - this prepared me for those hills
I was very organised and had everything packed by Tuesday night (for travel to the event on Thursday). This was brilliant as it allowed me to concentrate on my work (I’m self-employed) without stressing about what I needed to pack and prepare for the event.
I checked where the swim/bike run starts were on Friday afternoon so I knew where to go and how long it would take to get there at the start of each event.
Getting a Post-Event massage at the venue - I’ve never done this before, but I am sure this contributed to my lack of muscle stiffness after the marathon, and I enjoyed being “looked after” at the end of the event
To race according to plan and to stop myself from getting excited and carried away in the swim and on the bike; thanks for emphasising the importance of this @Mark Stahlkopf
Lessons Learned:
“Beet It” (beetroot shots) don’t work for me; I tried these pre-event but they gave me a bad stomach. I stopped taking them a day before my swim
Study the bike and run routes in more detail and if possible re-con the bike course. I didn’t know the bike or run routes as well as I should have done. This hindered me a little bit on the bike because when I was out on the bike I wasn’t sure which section of the bike route I would be repeating. I would have been better to know. I also hadn’t studied the run route. Luckily I discussed what was coming up with my fellow marathoners during the first 6 miles; but if I hadn’t have had this opportunity I would have had a few shocks.
The Swim : Friday @7pm
Things that worked:
Fixing my sighting points so I wasn’t relying on sighting the bouys - the sun was setting behind the shore line, so we couldn’t see anything swimming back to the beach. My sighting point was a gap in the skyline which navigated me in o the perfect landing spot
I participated in a middle distance triathlon a few months ago. This had a mass swim start and was brutal. My Long Course Weekend swim was equally brutal, lots of kicks in the face and leg pulling, but I was able to deal with it calmly because I could draw back on my experience from earlier on in the year.
Having a post-swim plan was invaluable. We got back to the hotel at around 9:15pm at night, but because I had a list of things I needed to do, they were done by 10:45pm and I was in bed ready for the early start on the bike the next day
Lessons Learned:
If other people are in the water acclimatising get in with them to warm-up. According to the published schedule I had plenty of time to get in the water so didn’t bother until my planned time, however the organisers made us get into the starting pen well before schedule so I didn’t have a chance to warm up for the swim at all.
I suffered from leg cramps (calf, Hamstrings, Quads) during the swim which hindered my speed and also my run along the beach across the finish line. I am not sure why I experienced this because I don’t suffer from this in training; perhaps it was because I didn’t warm-up or perhaps it was that it was dehydration so I plan on taking a salt tablet 30 minutes before my swim next time or maybe I should drink an electrolyte drink beforehand as well.
Fix a meeting point for after the finish with loved ones and stick to it. Karl and I had agreed a meeting point, but we saw each other at the Finish and Karl shouted out to meet me somewhere else. In the hustle and bustle I didn’t hear him. We spent a long time waiting for each other at the different meeting points. We eventually found each other but by then I was shivering.
The Bike: Saturday at 7am
Things that worked:
Getting to the start early. My aim was to leave in the first wave and I am pleased to say that I was the 4th cyclist to start.
All of my long rides were hilly. This conditioned my body and mind for the hilly course. This definitely helped me successfully complete the bike course.
I built my long training rides up by working to distance goals, not to time. The longest ride on my EN Plan is 6 hours. I knew this was a couple of hours short of the time it would take me to complete 112 miles at this event, so in the months leading up to the event I increased my long training rides by 10 miles every month. This lead to me competing 3 x 100 mile rides and 1 x 112 mile ride pre-event.
Sticking to my power numbers. This was a draft legal event and I had a few riders who wanted me to join them and work together, but I let them go and stuck to my power numbers. If I had gone with them my ride would have been too inconsistent involving too many surges. I knew what I needed to do so I stayed in my box.
Carrying my nutrition. What was on offer at the aid stations was poor and would not have sustained my bike ride - they consisted of haribos, cut up mars bars and very diluted energy drink.
Having a plan for post-event - I was able to concentrate on my recovery and completed my eating and stretching routine according to plan after my ride and was well-prepared for my marathon the next day
Lessons Learned
I suffered from stomach cramps in the last 15 miles. It didn’t hinder my ride but I would have struggled to have run off the bike as it was really bad when I finished and got off the bike. It turns out this was due to trapped wind. Karl gave me a lemonade and that instantly solved the problem. When I do a full Ironman triathlon I think I should consider carrying indigestion tablets or perhaps putting lemonade in special needs bags positioned on the bike or run courses; just in case this happens again
My Garmin 520 froze at 72 miles. I used my Garmin watch after this but it wasn’t ideal. I now know how to unfreeze my Garmin if this happens again(press and hold power button for ages), but in future I think I will double record the bike course on my watch and garmin, from the start.
I must admit I did struggle on this ride, particularly in the last 15 miles. In hindsight I think this was mainly because I missed the final long bike ride at week 18 in my training. This was planned, however I think the gap in long ride from them to event day was a mistake.
The Run: Sunday at 10am
Things that worked:
Big breakfast in the morning - Karl was surprised at the large amount I ate at breakfast (Weetabix, poached eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, juice), but I felt needed it and it turned out to be true.
Stretching post ride and in the morning - I felt surprisingly spritely and “loose” in the lead up to the marathon. Thanks @Al Truscott for bringing the importance of stretching and keeping mobile in the forefront of my mind.
Carrying all my nutrition in my Spie belt - total of 11 x Iso gels. I felt like a wally at the beginning because I seemed to be the only participant who was laden full of gels,however the on-course nutrition was crap, so I was glad I had it
I trained with my nutrition and had no gastric issues
Taking salt tablets - thanks @JoJo Thirasilpa - I hadn’t trained with salt tablets but took them with me just in case. I carried 4 x salt tablets with me. My calves got tight around mile 7 so I took a salt tablet and I felt the benefit almost instantly. I took all 4 x tablets during the course of the marathon. I really believe they stopped my calves and hip flexors stiffening up or cramping during the marathon
Staying in my box, running to my numbers and being able to adjust my plan according to the conditions on the day. My plan was to run the first 6 miles at 10:30min/miles as this is normally Z1 HR, however my HR was elevated from the start so I ran to HR for the first 6 miles instead of pace. This translated to 11 min/miles. Also when I reached a 14% hill at mile 4, I decided that time was irrelevant for this marathon - the goal was to complete. My new “loose” goal became to complete the marathon within 5 hours (my planned goal was to beat my NYC marathon time 4:36). I ended up crossing the finish line at 4:54.
Walking the hills - this marathon had nearly 2000 ft elevation gains; Power walking up them was the key. This kept my heart rate at a manageable level
I did not bring on the suck too early - this was at the forefront of my mind from miles 13-20. This worked and I finished strong and actually enjoyed this marathon!
Making sure I had several than “one thing’s” to think about, thank you @Mark Stahlkopf
- this also worked on the bike
Lessons Learned:
I had no problems on the marathon - I thank Endurance Nation for this - The EN way prepared me well
I am very proud of my marathon Elevation/HR chart:
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