Saturday and an early start with rice pudding and coffee for breakfast before the 30 min drive up to La Santa for the first ever Lanzarote 70.3. I wasn't impressed driving up with the windscreen wipers on full speed, I didn't expect it to be pouring with rain that's for sure. I arrived at transition and checked the bike over and got into my wetsuit before making my way down to the swim start. I noticed straight away it was a small and narrow swim for the first 2-300 meters and that it was going to be a bit of a brawl until the lake opened out a bit. As the race started my suspicions were right and it was a battle to find space and get into my own pace. Around halfway of the first lap I got some space and focused on my stroke, lap 2 was uneventful and I exited the water on 31 mins which is a bit slow for me but I guess the first lap to be the cause.
After the steep and long run up to the transition I grabbed my bag and got the wetsuit bagged up to deposit on the way out of the tent before running to the bike. Now it was time to start one of the hardest 70.3 bike courses in the world. Leaving La Santa it was already very windy, I was making good progress through the field and by 20k had passed a couple of the elite females. Progressing through the field and by 40k I'd not been overtaken by anyone. When we arrived at Tabayesco I got passed by a couple of people on road bikes, this was their terrain for the next 10km of climbing but felt sure I'd pass them back once over the top and back into TT bike terrain. The climb was amazing, 10k of climbing with endless switchbacks and regular opportunity to see down the valley at hundreds of athletes still just starting the climb. Once over the top there was a fast decent and finally some tailwind. Hitting speeds of 48.5mph on the decent was good fun. The last 20k was doing battle with the wind once again before returning to La Santa and the end of a very hard bike course and with the knowledge that at 28 degrees and windy it was going to be a tough run.
Leaving T2 the first mile of the run had a bit of downhill in it and clocking 6:10 I felt like I was going to enjoy this but was slightly concerned if the knee would hold together. Mile 2 at 6:15 and I was getting hot already! I could see lots of salt on the shorts so knew I had to take fluids at every aid station. The crowd were very supportive, the RAF race kit stands out and there is a lot of support out there for the British Forces. At the end of lap 1 in the stadium the heat was intense, but out on lap 2 and back into the wind it took the edge off the heat. Lap 2 went well and I was running well, it was at around 15k that I started to struggle and the speed dropped a bit, the last 5k I was down to 7 min miles but still moving well and I crossed the line in 4 hours 55 min which is my slowest middle distance ever but to put it in perspective I normally do 4 hour 20 for middles. I was still 5th in my AG and 56th overall so it was just a tough and slow course. As my age group was the biggest age group with a 165 people in it there were 5 slots for the 70.3 World Champs so in 5th place I'd qualified by right to race the World Champs in Vegas. I chose not to take the place as the timing is not ideal for me with my departure from the RAF early in 2014.
The event overall was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone, I would like to do it again sometime in the next couple of years. It's a great opportunity to combine an end of season race with a family holiday.
I also found out some good news last week with Xterra Wetsuits confirming continued sponsorship for another season, I will be getting a new wetsuit early next year ready for the 2013 season :-)
