This year I decided to do only one triathlon, but it would be the most beautiful of all and as I was not doing another one it would be also the best prepared ever:
- I started refining my road- and mountainbike so I wouldn't be carrying around one gram too much. I added a Haero H.380 aero handlebar so my roadbike would no longer weight more than 6kg. My mtb got a Acros A-GE shifting system, a MythicCarbon crank and BrakeForceOne brakes, and after some testing on the mountainbike descent I opted to ride with a rigid fork so in the end my mountainbike got down to a weight of 6,85kg.
- I started riding, running and swimming so at the end of july I managed to swim 200km, cycle 5.000km, mtb 1.000km and run 1.000km. Al together I climbed 90.000hm.
In the evening I did one last time the descent of the mountainbike-section.
Then it was time to go to Thun where I would meet my parents who were coming over to support me but also meeting other competitors and getting all the gear ready for the transitions.
On Friday it became clear the water was to cold to have a swim on Saturday, so our day would start with a boattrip to Oberhofen and a 3km run in Oberhofen.
Raceday started with a breakfast at 5 o'clock (thank you hotel AlphaThun) and then we were off to Oberhofen. I started the first run very calm together with Benny , another Belgian who I met in Thun before the race. When we were almost in last position during the run, number 11 and 12 (the first ladies of last year) came running past us... aparently they where also not I a hurry yet.
Then it was time to go to Thun where I would meet my parents who were coming over to support me but also meeting other competitors and getting all the gear ready for the transitions.
On Friday it became clear the water was to cold to have a swim on Saturday, so our day would start with a boattrip to Oberhofen and a 3km run in Oberhofen.
Raceday started with a breakfast at 5 o'clock (thank you hotel AlphaThun) and then we were off to Oberhofen. I started the first run very calm together with Benny , another Belgian who I met in Thun before the race. When we were almost in last position during the run, number 11 and 12 (the first ladies of last year) came running past us... aparently they where also not I a hurry yet.
After a quick transition, we were off for the 97km and 2145m elevation gain with the road bike . First climbing up to Beatenberg, descending to Interlaken and then cruising to Meiringen. By then I already knew that I had not the - so hoped for - superday and that I now would need all the knowledge of my previous prerides to finish. I drank and ate enough during the cycling and on the climb of the Grosse Scheidegg I decided to go a bit slower. A mentally though moment was when the riders of the teams, who started half an hour later, started to pass by on the climb. On top of the Grosse Scheidegg I put on my rainjacket and flew down to Grindelwald. I arrived at the transition after 4u36 of cycling , still feeling fresh enough for the rest to come.
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As I had mounted Eggbeater pedals on both my bikes, I only needed to change my bike and I decided to take a little break when I saw my parents on the side of the road, before starting the 30km and 1180m elevation gain of the mountainbike. Once I started mountainbiking I quickly started passing other bikers. I got a bit to excited by this and started to go to fast and the first signs of cramping came up. This meant I could take the risk trying to cycle the very steep last part of the climb. Luckely the superb bouillon on top of the Kleine Scheidegg did resolve the cramping problem and after I put on my rainjacket and windstopper-handgloves (man was I glad that I carried these with me), I could start the descent down to Stechelberg. I even got to pass a few bikes with suspension on the short technical part. After 2h14 I reached transition in Stechelberg, handed over my MTB and changed to running clothes. Funny part was when I handed over my MTB, the guy who took already 200 bikes before mine , almost trew my bike in the air when he wanted to lift it up, expecting it to be much heavier.
Then I was off for the 25km run with 2175m elevation up to Schilthorn.
Surprisingly this went still very well in the valley on my way to Lauterbrunnen. During my various tests before the race, I learned that for getting up as fast as possible it certainly was not necessary to run up to Grütschalp, as mostly it would result in a much slower ascent later on. So I tried to go for the 'in between'-option with switching between running and walking to keep up the tempo but not to blow up myself. It went well till the moment I realised that I forgot to eat and drink enough between Kleine Scheidegg and Grütschalp and I was getting a bit dizzy and running was no longer a option. It seemed not to end until the food station and also after having eaten something at Grütschalp I wasn't speeding up any more. I really started to struggle and even thinking of not finishing. Then I realised that the slowing down was also cooling me down and I decised to put on my legwarmers that I brought along. That seemed to make things better and with the support of my fellow competitors around me, I started to run again towards Mürren. This was also the last long part that was possible to run , and when I entered Mürren I was running again at a fearly good speed.
After putting on some extra clothes I continued my way up to the Schilthorn still catching up a lot of people. The finish was getting near, not that I could see it, but you could hear the music and people from above. I still could keep going pretty strong trying to get as fast as possible up the final ridge and then after 4u36 of running and walking I reached the top of the Schilthorn.
When checking results in the evening I realised that I finished as first Belgian as I seemed to have passed 2 other Belgians in the last kilometer and they finished 2 and 3 minutes after me.
Although I passed al lot of people after the cycling part, as I moved from position 266(after cycling) to 227(after mtb) to finish as 204 and that gives the impression I was getting quicker towards the end the comparison with the winner tells another story : for the cycling I needed 35% more time, mtb 40% and running 50% ...
My overall heartrate during the race was 140... not bad for having climbed over 5500m
Although I passed al lot of people after the cycling part, as I moved from position 266(after cycling) to 227(after mtb) to finish as 204 and that gives the impression I was getting quicker towards the end the comparison with the winner tells another story : for the cycling I needed 35% more time, mtb 40% and running 50% ...
My overall heartrate during the race was 140... not bad for having climbed over 5500m
I also made a little movie about preparation and race ...
This was the first entry for my webpage, from now on I will try to post frequently things about endurance sport, nature and technical gear on this site so check back soon!
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