European Long Distance Triathlon Championships Race Report by Nige Swepson

Unfinished business

I had my first ever DNF at the European Champs in Almere last year, so this was unfinished business. After coming off my bike in July 23 my right hip and ribs were giving me issues. My run training had stopped for 2 weeks and I went into The Outlaw at the end of July unsure how my run would go. Thankfully a week before the race I started running again and the rib pain had gone. At The Outlaw I paid the price for going off too quick and got cramp at mile 20 which effectively ended my sub 10 attempt. I still finished in 10:21 which was a PB so I couldn’t be too disappointed.

The week after I had some Dad and lad time and climbed Scafell Pike with my son Will. It was great spending some quality time with Will, but coming off a bike + The Outlaw + Scafell Pike = right hip very unhappy.

Almere was still 5 weeks a way and I was hopeful that the body would mend in time. Fast forward to race day and after 13 miles on the run I decided to call it a day. The hip wasn’t right and I felt it was best to stop and let it mend so I could try again next year.

Almere 2024

Thankfully, this year had been a lot less eventful and I was going into the race confident that I would achieve my goal of going sub 10. I was hoping to have already achieved that earlier in the year at The Outlaw but blue green algae in the lake meant the swim was cancelled. However, the bike and run were on target for a sub 10 which helped my confidence going into The European Championships. We arrived in Almere late on Thursday and I put the bike back together ready for the pre race bike check in the morning. It didn’t feel right, the brakes were rubbing and squeaking but worse than that the head set had far too much play in it. I knew there was a bike shop a few hundred metres away from registration so we headed there early to register and see if I could get the bike looked at. They were great, I dropped the bike off and spent the next couple of hours trying not to think about it. I got the phone call at 1:30pm to say the bike was ready to collect. The head set bearings needed replacing but they didn’t have a set but could do a temporary repair to get me through the race. I rode the bike to transition and it felt like it should so we were back on. It was a more eventful few hours than I wanted but by 2:30pm the bike and bags were in transition and I was ready to go.

As always the nights sleep before race day was less than optimal but I was ready to tick this race off and make up for the disappointment of last year. Half hour before the race start they announced the water temperature was 17.1 degrees which was surprisingly high given how cold the week before had been. The swim was 2 laps and the 2 laps couldn’t have been more different. I started well, I was holding the pace I was looking for and was feeling pretty good. By the second lap the sun was really low and bright and I couldn’t see a thing. On the long back straight, I had been using a building in the distance to sight on the first lap, I couldn’t even see the building on the second lap let alone the marker buoys. The downside of a small field is if you aren’t a great swimmer you find yourself all alone. I couldn’t see where I was going and I had no one to follow. The pace dropped and I was stopping to sight frequently to make sure I was going in the right direction. I was pleased when I finally got out of the water. Paul had me down for 1:15 but I felt I could do 1:13 and after the first lap I was on target. The second lap made sure that didn’t happen and I finished in 1:16:23. Not great but not far off Paul’s target.

Now on to the bike. A big topic of discussion was what to wear on the bike in the GB Facebook page. It had to be GB kit or you couldn’t wear it. I had been experimenting with my tri suit with a compression top over the top followed by a running vest as that was the only other GB branded kit I had. The weather had been improving in Almere by Friday and the forecast for the day was pretty good. Not very windy and the temperature rising from 10 degrees to 18 degrees. I went with arm warmers which when it got too warm I could take off and put in the tri suit back pocket. I also changed my nutrition plan from The Outlaw. As it was going to be colder in Almere than it was in Nottingham in July I knew I wouldn’t be taking on as much fluid. Just using Tailwind wasn’t going to be enough, as if I took on what I did at The Outlaw I would be stopping for a wee every hour. I subsidised Tailwind with PH30 gels every half hour. This plan worked really well and with eight food stations on the course I could top up with PowerBar ISO drink and gels once I ran out.

On to the bike itself, the first half hour I was very pleased to have the arm warners on but I was still shivering. It took me a while to warm up and get up to race power. By the time I hit the long straight which had a bit of tailwind I was flying. I averaged 200w and 40 kph on that bit. My target power was 180w so I thought I’d better ease back and try and pace it better. The last 20 km of the first lap were head wind and the average speed had dropped but I was ahead of my target. By the time the second lap started lots of riders from the middle distance had joined the course and I was enjoying picking them off one by one. At the same time I had to make sure I stuck to the rules as I got a drafting penalty last year for not dropping back before I went to overtake someone. I made sure I did everything by the book. The second lap seemed to go by quicker as there was more to focus on and by the time I came into T2 I was feeling better than I ever have at this point. Maybe I had gone a little too easy but I stuck to the plan and hit the numbers. Target 180w , NP 180w. Target time 5:10, actual time 5:08:39. Job done!

In T2 I was doing the maths in my head. I worked out that a 3:25 marathon would give me the sub 10 I wanted. The sun was out but it wasn’t too hot. I was feeling good and confident I was going to do it. At The Outlaw I felt I managed the marathon there better than I ever have. I knew if I followed a similar plan I would be ok. Basically I had to make sure to stop and drink the fluids rather than throw them in the general direction of my mouth like I have in previous races. At The Outlaw I walked through 16 out of 17 food stations and posted my fastest marathon at a long distance event of 3:17.

I started strong and before I knew it the first lap was over. I was holding pace and taking on the fluids and all was well. The second lap was a repeat of the first, I was slowing a bit but I went through the half marathon in 1:30:23. I had also passed the other GB athletes in my age group, so at that point and knew I was currently the first Brit. At about 25km my stomach wasn’t feeling great and I was losing pace. I went through the next three food stations without taking anything on. I also stopped for my one and only wee at the third food station to see if that would make me feel better. Now anyone who has raced for GB knows the tri suit isn’t great for a quick pit stop. After forcing the tri suit far enough up my leg I finally had a wee. I made sure I put the seat down, then carried on my run. That third lap was tough mentally, but thankfully by about 35km I was feeling better. I’d lost a bit of time but was still on target. I managed to get a bit of pace back on the fourth lap. The stomach was better, I was taking on fluids again and mentally it was easier as I was on the final stretch. With 2km to go I went for a last push and even managed a sprint finish. However on the finishers pictures it looks like I’m running with rigor mortis setting in. I crossed the line with a 3:15:24 marathon. Paul’s target was 3:15 but I was hoping for 3:12 but I lost too much time on the third lap. My overall time was 9:50:37. I achieved what I set out to achieve, I put to bed the disappointment of last year and got the sub 10 I so desperately wanted. I also finished 8th in my age group which was a lovely bonus, especially as at 49 I’m at the wrong end of the age group to do well. The bonus of that is next year I’ll be at the right end of the 50-54 age group. Bring on 2025!