Outlaw Notts 70.3, big PB for Nigel Swepson

The closer race week was getting the more excited I was getting. For me this race was my first test of the year and first race in SEC colours. It was a race that was eight months in the making from joining SEC in October 2022. Eight months of more training than I have ever done before, more lengths in the pool, more long runs and the bike saddle and I were more familiar than we have ever been.

The Outlaw is a race I have done many times before, so I knew what to expect. I was camping at Holme Pierrepont campsite so was nice and close to the venue. Come race morning I was up at 4:30am forced down my breakfast and started to walk to transition. The weather forecast was perfect for racing but on Saturday the sun didn’t really start to shine until mid-morning. I was standing in transition looking at my jersey and gloves unsure as to whether to put them on or not. The guy next to me could see me thinking about it and said don’t do it! About 6:10am the sun started to shine, and the decision was made, gloves and jersey back it the transition bag it was tri suit only today.

I headed down to the swim start ready for the race to begin. It was a time trial format with three swimmers starting every six seconds one from each of the pontoons. The Outlaw swim is a nice and easy course to navigate, 1200m up, 100m across them 600m back down the rowing lake. Great for me as I breathe out the left side so I can see the distance between myself and the bank, if that remains consistent, I don’t really need to sight. The swim itself was straight forward, no fighting for the same bit of water with other swimmers, the only issue I had was that the visibility in the water was so poor, every time my watch buzzed to say I had completed 500 yards I couldn’t see it and was unaware of my pace. I was hoping for 36 minutes, when I got out of the water, I could see my watch for the first time and it was over 38 minutes. I was disappointed but there was nothing I could do about that now, I had to focus on the next stage.

I ran through transition and stripped off my wetsuit to the waist. I visualised what I needed to do once I got to the bike. Paul had said to me you have to keep moving so I was keen to achieve that. I got though T1 faster than I ever have and was ready to start the bike course.

The bike course is a rolling course with only one hill at about 20 miles. Still for someone who lives in the fens it is hillier than what I am used to. The plan was to ride at 200w which would hopefully give me a time of 2 hours 33 minutes, which was what I had achieved in the race simulation I did two weeks ago from home. I stuck to the plan, and it was working very well, at the halfway point I was on target. The road surface in places is getting worse year on year and the bit between the northern loop and the southern loop was so congested with bikes and cars it felt dangerous in places. I carried on with the plan and was heading back into Holme Pierrepont still on target. The last couple of miles are more about not falling off your bike or getting a puncture. I clattered into the first speed bump before Holme Pierrepont Hall convinced that I would get a puncture. Thankfully the bike survived and I steadily headed back into transition. I finished the bike in 2:32:30 with average watts of 194 and NP of 204w.

Having still not tried the flying dismount and leaving the shoes on the bike I ran through transition as fast as I could in cleats and made the quick turnaround to get on the run. It was my fastest transition; I was ready to start the run.

It’s safe to say that running is my thing and the bit that I am best at. Paul had given me an ambitious target of 1:20 which I altered by one minute to 1:21 as every time I have done the course it measures long. I started well and went through the halfway point on target. It was getting harder to hold the pace and the bit of the course that took you off road with a few turns and ups and downs was taking its toll. By this time my HRM had come undone and was slipping down my chest. The last lap was tough, and I could see the pace dropping and I couldn’t get it back, my HR was dropping but I think this was more down to the fact that the HRM was closer to my belly button. As I turned the top of the lake for the last time with only a mile to go, I tried to put in one final push and sprint across the finish line. I finished in a time of 1:22:26 which was the fastest in my age group on the day.

My overall time was 4:41:00 which was 6th in my age group and a massive PB. It’s the first time I have ever had a top ten finish. Initially I was disappointed in the swim and run but the swim measured 100m long which meant I would have been closer to my target time and the run was a PB and the 19th fastest out of 1548 athletes, I can’t really be disappointed with that. Like I said in the beginning this race was eight months in the making and proof that if you turn up every day and follow the plan that Paul gives you the results will follow. It was a great way to start the race season and I’m looking forward to racing the Outlaw Full at the end of July.