OpenLakes 70.3, Lac de l'Eau d'Heure Belgium, 20 Sep 2025

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Preparation

Last race of the season and no injuries leading into race week. 2 previous times I participated in this race I struggled a lot during the run, so I was hoping for a good race and being able to complete the run without feeling dizzy and having to walk. 

Location



Start, T1/T2 and finish line are all located at "Les Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure" a lake close to Cerfontaine, south of Charleroi in Belgium. 

Stay

As the race venue wasn't to far away and there was no need to leave the bike the day before the race, we didn't opt to stay close to the venue and just made the trip on race morning. 

Swim 0:32:38 (AG-54/469)

  • One loop mass beach start swim, opted to start near the side to avoid the washing machine at the start. This worked out well and I had relatively clear water until the first turning buoy. The battle near the first turning buoy wasn't to bad after all. Then the field spread out and I was able to find a good rhythm. After rounding the second buoy, I swam side by side with another athlete for a while. Eventually, I decided to sit on her feet since we were moving at a similar pace anyway, and it allowed me to save some energy.
  • AG 11% and similar time compared to last year, pace of 1:43/100m so an average swim. Looking back at the pace chart I did loose some significant time around the turning buoys.
    • 2024: 0:32:32 - 1:42/100m
    • 2023: 0:29:47 - 1:34/100m

T1 0:03:55 (AG-85/469)

  • I really don't understand why they don't add more carpet in their transition zone, every time a painful transition zone due to the rough tarmac!
  • AG 18%

Bike 2:39:29 (AG-68/469)

  • 2 laps of 46k each, very rolling terrain, barely any flat, exact same course as last 2 years so I was familiar with it.  
  • Last year I really struggled during the bike leg and faded in the second lap. This year however I felt good during the entire bike leg. During the first lap however it already started to drizzle and later on it really started to rain. I saw 3 athletes that crashed so I didn't take any risks and took all the corners cautiously. At a very bad road patch my container with salt tabs bounced out of my bento box. I knew I would be screwed if I couldn't take any salt tabs on the bike so when passing there again during the second lap I stopped and picked up the container and made sure to take a little more salt tabs in the remainder of the bike lap.
  • AG 14% - 253W NP, 34.4 km/h avg, even with the wet road conditions I was 6 minutes faster compared to last year, NP comparable with output of 2 years ago:
    • 2024: 2:45:26, 226W NP, 33.3 km/h avg
    • 2023: 2:32:46, 251W NP, 36.0 km/h avg  

T2 0:03:06 (AG-147/469)

  • Slight cramping in my hamstrings when running through T2 but besides that an uneventful transition.
  • AG 31%

Run 1:38:01 (AG-168/469)

  • 3 laps of 7k, very rolling the first half of the lap. After such a hard bike leg this one always hurts in the quads. 
  • I tried to keep a controlled and relaxed pace to hopefully for once avoid the tinteling feeling in my hands and mouth. Near the end of the second lap however my legs were starting to feel extremely heavy again, so the same pattern as all my recent 70.3 races. The tinteling feeling in my hands was also present but luckily not to bad this time and I managed to keep running till the finish line without having to walk.
  • AG 36% - 4:54/km so still not a great run but at least didn't have to walk.
    • 2024: DNF
    • 2023: 2:11:20 - 6:13/km

Overall 4:57:11 (AG-73/469)

  • Overall happy with my race, controlled swim, controlled bike where I didn't fade to hard near the end and I didn't have to walk during the run.
  • AG 16% so not bad at all and always good to finish in under 5 hours! So can't be unhappy with my race. 
    • 2024: DNF
    • 2023: 5:20:23 AG-108/299

Some lessons learned

  • From this race it appears that I have less issues on the run when the weather is cooler, so maybe it is sweat related, I need to figure this out before the next season starts. 

Result

  • Run     0:32:38 (AG-54/469)
  • T1       0:03:55 (AG-85/469)
  • Bike    2:39:29 (AG-68/469)
  • T2       0:03:06 (AG-147/469)
  • Run    1:38:01 (AG-168/469)
  • Total   4:57:11 (AG-73/469)



Tags: OpenLakes 70.3 race report, race report OpenLakes 70.3

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