Triathlon Geel 1/4 Race Report, Belgium, 14 Mei 2023

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Preparation

Picked this race as I did it last year and wasn't able to finish due to a flat tire on the bike and not being allowed to run by the doctor. 
Also I was hoping to be able to run the 10k after all my knee and calf injuries over the past 1.5 years. In the weeks leading up to the race I think the longest run I had was for about an hour. 

Goal for this race was basically to finish without picking up any injuries and hopefully run under 50 minutes.

Location


Registration, swim, T1/T2 and finish line are all located near "de bloemfabriek" in Ten Aard just north of Geel. So from a logistics point of view this race is very easy. The swim is a one loop setup in the canal, the bike course was a flat 4 loop setup and the run course was a 2 loop setup. 

Swim 0:17:59

  • One loop, canal swim, mass start setup. Not much wind on race day so not much chop.
  • Entered the water earlier than last year to get used to the water temperature as last year it was really cold. This time it actually wasn't bad at all. Started out on the far right side as I breath on my left side, had clean water for most of the race, so a good option. After about 1/3rd of the race my arms started to feel really heavy, I assume because I hadn't swam in my wetsuit since last September, so I had to dial it back a little. The rest of the swim felt comfortable, I barely used any kick to save my knee as in the weeks leading up to the race my IT band was playing up after the swim whenever I kicked. Compared to last year I swam about a minute slower (16:56), so that's quite a big gap, 1:47/100m is far far below what I normally should be capable of, especially with a wetsuit.
  • The official results show swim + T1 timing being 20:15, placed 22nd overall in the men's race (24%). 

T1 0:02:16

  • No official data, but the difference between the official results and my own recorded swim time was 2:16.
  • Running out of the water I was expecting my left IT band to play up at least a little but no issue at all, so that was already a big relieve. Was able to get my wetsuit of pretty fast but as always I loose some time putting on socks and cycling shoes.

Bike 1:03:24 12/90

  • 4 loop pancake flat course setup, but with lots of corners, so not to many straights to put your head down. I recorded 35m of elevation, basically just one bridge to climb per loop. 
  • I didn't pay attention to my heart rate, just tried to push hard but not going into the red to hard or to long to be able to hold on till the end of the bike. Little by little I managed to pull other athletes in and made my way up the field, early on I passed an athlete and tried for about 2 laps to drop him but I was unable to do so which was pretty annoying, for the last lap I just ignored him being there. I didn't feel particularly strong on the bike, the last 2 times going up the bridge felt pretty hard and the entire last lap was a struggle to keep the power up. Looking at the cadence it's pretty clear that it dropped off over time:
  • Power numbers were very comparable to last year, after lap 2 it went downhill though.
                      Lap        Time    Speed (km/h)    Power (W)
         2022    1            15:47    39.6                   264
                     2            15:27    40.5                   276
         2023    1            15:59    39.1                   263
                     2            15:33    40.2                   274
                     3            15:49    39.6                   262
                     4            15:52    39.4                   258
  • 12th overall time out of 90 athletes (13%), averaging 39.4km/h, NP of 271W. Slightly lower NP compared to last year (275), but back then I only did 2 laps before I had to exit the race with a flat tire. So pretty close to last years performance.
  • Never on the entire course did I feel unsafe, big shout out to the organization!

T2

Pretty slow transition, hopping of my bike, taking of my cycling shoes, putting on my running shoes, tying shoe laces ... all takes up to much time :) guess all the folks that were close behind me passed me in T2. Need to start using elastic laces again, but hadn't used them in a while so didn't wanne risk it. Positive was that I didn't cramp up hopping of the bike.


Run 0:46:56

  • Timing from my own watch, no idea how it compares to other athletes. Target was to complete the run without injuries, and hopefully complete it below 50'.
  • First 2k it was hard to get into any rhythm, felt like if I would push it my legs would cramp up. So tried to relax and run a pace I felt comfortable with. Actually missed a turn the first lap but luckily for me some other athlete behind me shouted and I could correct my mistake relatively quick. After the first lap I didn't had much left in the tank, people passed me left and right but I tried to stick to my own rhythm. Last 2k really was a struggle, not really a surprise knowing I completed only a handful of 10k runs the last couple of weeks leading into the race. Looking back at my pace, it was steady for the entire run while my heart rate crept up.

Overall 2:12:35 25/87

  • Finally after more than 1.5 years I was able to complete a triathlon without picking up an injury. So can't be anything but happy regardless of finish time or place.
  • Not happy with my swim, arms felt heavy due to the wetsuit and pace was horrendous. 
  • Compared to last year I thought my bike shape was way way worse, but power numbers were comparable so happy with that result. 
  • Able to complete the run within 50' which taken into account my running injuries and low running mileage I am very happy with, also was able to keep the pace steady until the finish line. 

Result

  • Swim  0:17:59
  • T1       0:02:16
  • Bike    1:03:24 12/90
  • T2       No Data
  • Run     0:46:56
  • Total   2:12:35 25/87


Tags: Triathlon Geel 1/4 race report, race report Triathlon Geel 1/4, Triathlon Geel 1/4 race report

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