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{"ID":150,"SpaceID":6,"PageID":68,"HasCommentsThread":false,"SeoTags":{"OpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"og:title","Name":"Ironman 70.3 Swansea"},{"ID":"og:type","Name":"website"},{"ID":"og:url","Name":"https://www.petersfieldtriathlonclub.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NA24/Ironman+703+Swansea"}],"NonOpenGraphTags":[]},"Path":"Ironman+703+Swansea","Title":"Ironman 70.3 Swansea","Author":{"ID":72,"Name":"Joshua Lahiri","CompanyName":null,"HasEmail":true},"Version":2,"IsDraft":false,"IsOldVersion":false,"PublicationDate":"24/02/2025 14:11","VersionDescription":"v2 - Joshua Lahiri","HideHeader":false,"IsFullWidth":false,"ThemeCode":null,"BackgroundColour":"rgb(182, 47, 61)","JumpLinks":[],"Blocks":[{"Columns":[{"Width":8,"WidthClasses":"col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12","Elements":[{"ID":900,"Type":"HTML","Content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eHi everyone! It\u0027s that time once again, where we take the chance\u0026nbsp;to look back on a final few big achievements from some of our club members in 2024!Up this time\u0026nbsp;we have a report from our intrepid chair women Rowena and party bike convert Mark as they headed off to the hills of Ironman\u0026nbsp;70.3 Swansea back in July! Enjoy!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eSwansea 70.3 - Party bikes on tour!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eAfter finally actually finishing a whole 70.3 earlier in the summer at Cotswolds 113, Swansea appeared on the horizon six weeks later as a wholly different proposition. 400m vs 1100m elevation for one, and looking up and inland once over the bridge seemed to show cliff faces to ride up!! However the sun was shining and the wind was low as the Petersfield massive (myself and Mark) converged, with remarkably good timing, on event village with the party bikes in tow.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eAn unusually slow registration did supply the only mildly stressful part of the process wondering if our bikes would be there when we emerged! Other than that the well oiled Ironman machine was in full e?ect and it was pretty seamless, the only surprise being me emerging from the merch tent with only two items… Bikes were then dressed and racked, transition bags packed, checked, re-checked (and checked once more) before dropping of, and then a bit of swim start orienteering to figure out where everything was for the morning. Even with the slick Ironman process, it’s still a few hours faffing time, so it was good to get it all over and done with fairly early. Could feel the stress emanating o? those who were scorching in late in the afternoon, as they would surely have missed out on the merch!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eRace Start \u0026 Swim\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eIt was a warm and sunny morning and after a quiet night at my dubious looking but actually ok Hotel, it was time to head down and get this party started. Swansea clearly knows how to party given the number walking home as I ambled down to transition, but there were still a huge number of people out supporting as well, it’s really quite something to see. With bags packed and racked the day before it’s just (another) quick check of the bags, a pump of the tires and loading up the bike with nutrition and water before we headed down to swim start area. After a long shu?e down the funnel it was time to get going and with a last ‘good luck and enjoy’ off we went, with me safe In the knowledge that it would be the last time that day that Mark and I would be on the same point of the course!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eQuite a decent swim for me, the usual melee of arms legs and humanity battling for space, which I quite enjoyed. Hopped from feet to feet for whatever draft I could gain, and it stopped the mind from wandering as well - there’s so much jostling around that you can’t switch off on these courses, busier than any swim I’ve done before including Bolton. Having done very little swimming this year expectations were not high, but it felt pretty decent and I was pleased with 43mins - my quickest 1900m time so far I think, from a very low base of swim training! Thankfully I was blissfully unaware of the numerous jellies in the water!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eT1 -\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eHorrifically slow! Nuf said…\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eBike - Stunning but Savage!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eThis course is stunning, some of the best scenery I’ve encountered in a race, but absolutely\u0026nbsp;savage!! IM claimed 900m of elevation, we both clocked about 1100m and you could definitely tell that from my pace difference to Cotswolds! I had no finish time expectations from this course knowing it was hilly which is not my strong suit these days, and paced it sensibly to still have some run legs. Big learning from Cotswolds was that I needed to eat much earlier on the bike, as I’d had a weird fade around 28km into that ride, so once the early fast flat bit was over, made use of the first hills to throw in some nutrition.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eThe hills started about 12km in, and never really stopped. None of them were particularly punchy, there’s just a lot of them! Up down up down rinse repeat. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I passed (even as not the best climber) trying to grind up on the big ring - you paid for both chain rings for a reason guys! The descents were quite technical, and definitely quicker on road bike for those bits, with the amount of people to thread past also more to negotiate for weaker\u0026nbsp;swimmers like me at the bigger races. About 20km in caught a quick glimpse of Mr Poole going strong on one of the out and backs (great to see that bike hitting a race course!) and shortly after that the only sighting of the male pro field storming in the other direction already at I think about 70km into the bike! Getting the front view of them was notable for two things, firstly just how small Joe Skipper can make that front profile on a bike for a big bloke, and ‘was that really 12m’? Not going to lie though, that was quite cool seeing the pro’s!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eIt’s a beautiful bike course, a bit marginal how much benefit you get on a TT bike vs road bike given the technical descents where I was passed much more than normal. But I’d still take the TT again (some great places in the back half to hunker down and grab some speed back), unless the weather was really knarly. On a bad weather day, you’d be smart to consider a road bike on this course…3:22 was half an hour slower than the113 bike leg, but a vastly different course and I think I judged it about right.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eRun. 2:08\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eThe knee that is proving challenging now was already needing some managing this summer, so run volume has been light to put it mildly. Immediately I had less in the tank than last time after a tough bike, but legs complied, and basically just got into a rhythm and stayed there without too much drama, but it wasn’t easy! Again by 15km or so being able to take in more than a sip of coke was a distant memory, but manageable to trot it out (and not do a Laidlow or a Blumenfelt!).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eThe out and back course gave another fleeting glimpse of your other Petersfieldian heading the other way, and established the important facts that he a) wasn’t (quite) going to be lapping me, and b) I would be keeping the deficit under an hour! Great race from Mr Poole on a gnarly old course, finishing in a very strong time - quick enough to be well rested and ready to get a picture of my distinctive elbows out running style down the finish chute! Overall time of 6:31 was 38mins slower than the flat cotswolds for me, but still managed 13th of 45 in the 45-49 group, 153rd woman out of 334 so pretty happy with where I sat in the field. It wasn’t about places or times, but about being back at the distance want to do and having that big race experience (and the merch), but nice to just about be in the upper half of the women’s field!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eSwansea is a fab event, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a 70.3 big race experience next year. The support all around the course from actual crowds at the swim start, multiple cheer points on the bike course to spectators on pretty much the whole run, was absolutely mega. It’s not one for pb’s, so you need to manage expectations if that’s important to you, but it is a beautiful bike course and fab race experience. Great weekend of racing in sunny Swansea!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","ContentConfig":{"Caption":null,"Icon":null,"IconColour":null,"CaptionColour":null,"UnderlineColour":null,"TextColour":null,"FontSize":null,"LineHeight":null,"RequiresLoggedInUser":false,"BottomMargin":0,"PaddingLeft":"0px","PaddingTop":"0px","PaddingRight":"0px","PaddingBottom":"0px","PhoneVisible":true,"TabletVisible":true,"DesktopVisible":true,"CssClass":null,"PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null},"ComponentCode":null,"ComponentError":null,"BottomMargin":"0px","PaddingLeft":"0px","PaddingTop":"0px","PaddingRight":"0px","PaddingBottom":"0px","CssClass":null,"ResponsiveClasses":"","PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null,"Background":{"Colour":null,"ImageURL":null,"Filter":null,"IsParallax":false,"Image":"","Tint":""},"ImageConfig":{"ImageURL":null,"ObjectFit":"contain","ImageHeight":null,"FrameStyle":null,"BorderRadius":null,"Caption":{"IsActive":false,"Text":null,"SubText":null,"Font":{"Size":null,"Colour":null},"SubFont":{"Size":null,"Colour":null},"Alignment":null,"Position":null,"Margin":null,"BackgroundColour":null,"Blur":false,"Hover":false},"AltText":null,"LinkURL":null,"BottomMargin":0,"PaddingLeft":"10px","PaddingTop":"10px","PaddingRight":"10px","PaddingBottom":"10px","PhoneVisible":true,"TabletVisible":true,"DesktopVisible":true,"CssClass":null,"PageLinkName":null,"PageLinkCaption":null},"IgnoreCache":false}]},{"Width":4,"WidthClasses":"col-md-4 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