Huntsman 70.3......Bill Galvin

A new event and my first non-virtual race of 2021, the Huntsman Middle Distance in the New Forest was a sell-out. Coinciding perfectly with my training plan recovery week, I was well rested and raring to go come race day. I did having some racing under my belt for the year having done the virtual Lakesman in Lockdown : The Sequel in April, the full 180k on Zwift and a marathon, running past my front door on no less than 84 times!

All SEC athletes had the Lakesman in Lockdown in their training plan and Coach was delighted that there were plenty of PBs. So in the lead up to the event, whilst appreciating that this was a ‘C’ race and to all intents and purposes a training day, coach had very clear parameters for me to target : Swim 37 minutes for 1900m; Bike 2:47 for 90k and 1:35 for the 21k (the run was actually just under 19k). In the run up to the event Coach got me to outline my proposed race and nutrition strategy and set me some pre-race bike check and run intervals to have me focused and in a racing mindset for the following day.

Race Day 23rd May 2021 An unseasonably cold May, the forecast for race day was dire with torrential rain and strong winds 100% guaranteed.

The Swim

Social distancing meant queuing, there was no opportunity to get in the lake before racing to acclimatise and I had to line up behind my fellow competitors to walk to the water’s edge, give my number to the starter...3..2..1..GO! I waded into the water and started swimming. Despite my poor eyesight and need for prescription goggles, I was familiar with the position of the course buoys and was able to sight using the landmarks in line with the buoys until they came into view, sighting every 6 - 10 strokes I was able to navigate the course in the knowledge that I was not veering off course which allowed me to focus on my strokes and trying to swim efficiently. Towards the end of the swim it became very dark and it was evident that the forecast rain had arrived. Exiting the water and pulling off the top of my wetsuit I checked my watch and saw that I had managed to go just under 37 minutes. There was still the small matter of a 400 meter plus run to T1 across a road. Having checked with the race referee beforehand, I had brought a pain of trainers down to the lake that I was able to put them on and run to transition, instead of tiptoeing all that way trying to avoid stepping on sharp stones! Having practised getting out of my wetsuit I was able to extricate myself without any great drama. Others who had run up to transition with their wetsuit still zipped up, had the difficult task of trying to get it off with it adhering to them like a second skin! Donning a gilet over my new SEC raceskin and arm warmers I intended to put on a pair of neoprene gloves, only I couldn’t, as my hands were so cold I could not work them over my fingers. I began to appreciate that I was very cold and not thinking clearly and as a result was bleeding lots of time standing around trying to get the gloves on. Cutting my losses I headed off on the run to the mount line already in kit which was soaked by the torrential rain

Bike

For the first 5k I was not at the races, riders streamed past me as I tried to get acclimated to winding country roads with huge puddles of standing water, unable to go aero as I could not grip the bars and had to cycle on the hoods. Gradually I started to get my act together and began to reel in the early overtakers. Knowing the New Forest as I do, I was able to focus on laying down the power and attacking the short sharp climbs. The rain had stopped but the next thing to contend with was the wind. For long stretches across New Forest moorland the bike was buffeted by 40 mph winds trying to push you across the road. Riding in such conditions is both physically and mentally draining as you are going slowly but feeling totally out of control. New Forest ponies, cattle and the odd irate drivers thrown into mix made for an eventful bike leg and in the circumstances a 2:55 ride felt like a win. Heading into T2 I was feeling okay but in desperate need of a pee!

Run

From the off the legs felt good, within the first kilometre i was passing runners who had come into transition before me. As my Garmin buzzed I checked my time for the first km 4.14, way too fast, so I eased off the throttle and fell into an easy rhythm knocking off sub 4.30 Ks. A flat looping out and back course, the only difficult section was when the road changed to trail which was uneven and in the conditions muddy and waterlogged. After the first lap, the fatigue stated to bite and although I was maintaining my pace it was becoming tougher. Racing in my new SEC raceskin with my name on it meant I was receiving encouragement from locals and hearing “William you’re flying” and “keep it going William” was the spur I needed to push to finish all the while reeling in runners in front of me. Running down the finishing chute I did a double take as I crossed the line sub 1.25 for a half marathon, but my watch showed the distance as being only 18.8k, runners around me confirmed the distance was short. Still for the run I had averaged 4.31 per k which was on par with my goal for the race.

As a first run out for the season the Huntsman Middle Distance was a great reminder that racing requires both resilience and the ability to cope with conditions that are sub optimal and require to change your plan on the fly. Apart from the bling and tee shirt I was pleased to finish 31st overall and 2nd in my Age Group (55-59) in a time of 5:11:47