Melanie Berry – #thetrilifereporter – month 3
WOW what a day in Calella for the Ironman 70.3 Barcelona. I can honestly say that was the hardest 70.3 I have ever done, this was number five completed and I am not sure I want a number six! But as we all know time is a good healer! Haha…. As Steve Redgrave said “If you ever catch me near a boat again, shoot me!” I have to say I felt like that at the end, but look what happened to him!
The month’s build up was good and I had a chance to catch up with my good friend Mark and Sibs at Les Stables. I love this part of France and the offer they have created, the red wine is not too bad too! But the time in the saddle did make me think my time spent in the hills might have not been enough for a hilly bike course! Hmmmm too late now…
Race day and race preparation was good and with my bike rebuilt it was time to hit the course and see what it had in store for me? Wow what a perfect setting but a bit cheeky but hey “how hard can it be?”. A good friend Kate from Race Force led me to believe it was not that bad? Well was she right? Only time will tell on that one…
All checked in and ready for race day, what would it bring? The swim…. a rolling start into the choppy surf but swimming is my strength so I had no concerns. I have to say I am not a fan of rolling starts as many people around me could not swim straight and a women’s wave usually means open water for me quite quickly. But I got out with only a few battle scars and a much slower time than I would usually do based on the swell. The bike…. Now then… climb one – fine… Kate must have been right! Climb two – Kate was WRONG!! That was hard and soul destroying as I was passed by too many people! One more to go…. much better but a slower bike split that I had expected! But back safely and puncture free which is always a bonus. Now the run…. how would the legs hold up? Not bad when I got going but the heat was another thing to be mindful of so lots of water and fuel.. a few more HIGH 5 gels and a good caffeine kick! Two laps and 21K later it was down the finish straight with a feeling of YEAH!! But I battled a few demons on that one!
Having evaluated it all post race, I still feel an element of disappointment as it was slower than I wanted but it was a hard course and I ended up with a medal and another 70.3 finishers t-shirt.
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"I think the concept behind the Masters Programme is excellent. I find the sessions easy to follow, particularly the swim sessions." Masters Year 2 Athlete