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Postcard from Ibiza - October 2006 |
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At age thirty one I finally made it to Ibiza. For anyone who isn’t British you may be wondering why that’s important but for the Brits, it is little Britain in the sun. Thousands of youngsters flock to the Spanish island every summer to enjoy the good weather and more importantly the HUGE parties, which make the island famous. The thing that struck me when I arrived was that is wasn’t only the Brits who love this place……you won’t go far without seeing signs for Fish n’ Chips or Bier und Wurste (Beer and Sausages in German!). Before I give you the wrong impression, there are also many beautiful, un-spoilt parts of the island and plenty of gorgeous, deserted beaches. I think October must be one of the best months to visit as the weather is warm but not too hot and the tourist season is coming to a close, so it’s quieter but everything is still open. Ok, so what was I doing in Ibiza? Not a holiday but the Spanish Long Distance Triathlon Championships (4km Swim, 120km Bike + 30km Run). It was one of the last long races of the season available in Europe or Asia and I was desperate to get in one more run out before hanging up my bike for the season. As many of you know, I suffered with a bad back injury a year ago which put me out of action for 3months and that combined with a heavy work load this year, meant it has taken me forever to get my race fitness back. I raced a month ago (over the same distance) in France and was really starting to feel stronger, so I was keen to fit in one more race. I arrived on the Thursday evening for the Sunday race and was taken to the race hotel in the small town of Santa Eulalia. It is a really quaint place with lots of traditional Spanish villas on the hillside overlooking the sea. The hotel was right in the centre of the town and only a few minutes walk from the transition area and beach, where the race started. The only thing missing was somewhere to share my weekend with. Unfortunately, Christian (my boyfriend) couldn’t take anymore time off work and the flight schedule was horrible for a weekend trip and my Mum, who was desperate to get a weekend in the sun couldn’t leave the UK as our grandfather was sick, so it was me and my shiny new Pinarello on tour. The days leading up to the race were pretty uneventful and the biggest hassle I had was battling my way through the old people with their zimmer frames, who congregated every morning in the reception area ready for all the excursions to start. Race morning soon came round and thankfully I had made my way to the transition area early as I saw the huge queue form behind me. I was quickly in and all set up so I headed back to the hotel to chill out for 20minutes and get one more cup of coffee!! Once I got down to the swim start there was a little confusion on the course as police boats were hurrying around trying to move all the luxury yachts out of the way. The sea was pretty flat but it looked seriously long to be a 2lap course……oh well, at least the swim was my strong leg. After a short warm-up we were ready to go. I had a fast start and was up the front and soon tucked in behind a girl who was swimming a little faster than me. I knew a couple of girls had got away but that I was in the first pack and working pretty hard, so that was fine. Lap one quickly past and we headed back into the water as I got a second wind and took to the front to share the lead with the other girl. On the final leg into the beach, the lead men’s pack went steaming past……I jumped on but was soon dropped and came out of the water in 4th place with a group of 5 girls including Bella Commerford (4 times IM Florida winner) and the top two Spanish girls. I looked down at my watch as I ran to transition…holy molely - 1hr15. It had felt a long time in the water but that must have been close to 5km as I had swum well and come out with the girls I had swum with a month ago when we had swum 4km in 52minutes!! Through transition and I soon had my new baby out onto the open road. I could see Bella just up ahead and the Spanish duo. The pace at the start was rapid and I wondered more than a couple of times whether I was going too hard. Oh well, I wanted to be in contention going into the run so I needed to try and stay with these girls. My heart rate was up around 180, which is high for the bike but not crazy as my maximum is 210. I decided to sit with this for the first 30minutes and see if it settled down, while I maintained this pace. Sure enough it came down about 30km later and I could still see the Spanish pair but Bella had disappeared. She was seriously on fire on the bike and had a faster bike split than most of the men. I was a little uncomfortable for the first 40km loop but I was on a new bike which I had only ridden twice before so I figured that was to be expected and tried to focus on the task in hand. The course was mostly flat as we rode away from town into the olive groves to the first turn point then back through town with hundreds of cheering crowds to then head up to the monument. I had wondered how this part would work when I had looked at the course before the race and I soon found out……we went straight up a 16% climb on cobbles for 150m before coming down the narrow, winding road back to the bottom then 15km out on the flat to the next turn before coming back into town to repeat this loop 3times. By the second loop I was feeling much more comfortable on the bike and really loving the ride. It was hard as I was pushing hard the whole time and going backwards and forwards with one of the Spanish girls. I came into transition in 6th place and after taking off my bike shorts and grabbing my Fuelbelt, I was soon out on the 30km run. It was a flat course mainly along the beach promenade and in the Marina. I felt great despite feeling I had pushed myself hard on the bike and took off after the 5 girls ahead of me. I ran the first loop of 7.5km in 32 minutes so maybe I had been a little excited but I was gaining on people. By midway through the second lap, I had caught the Czech girl who had beaten me by 30minutes at a ½ Ironman in Germany earlier in the summer and a German girl. I was also really close to the Spanish girl who I had been swapping positions with on the bike. Finally I managed to get past her and into 3rd place……this was short-lived as her coach shouted at her and she came back past me and put a few minutes on me in the final 10km. Even if I had had my coach or anyone else there, there was nothing left in the tank as I ran up the finish shoot - it took all my energy to get across the line and into the medical tent to lie down for a while. I finally stumbled out of the tent, collected my bike and hobbled back to the hotel exhausted but a big smile on my face. I had finally got my season back on track and felt back to the race fitness I had held a year ago. This is my last key race of the season, so it was back to Germany and a week off before trying to find some speed ready for the Phuket Triathlon. This will be on 03 Dec in Thailand and my company will be taking about 80 people to compete in the individual and relay event – for many it will be their first triathlon. They are all clients or staff from CLSA (Asian Broking House) and from 7 different countries in Asia, so it plans to be a fun if not challenging weekend and my race will not be the focus….more a bit of end of season fun now that I am feeling fit again. I would definitely recommend the Home de Ferro Triathlon in Ibiza for next year and it would also make a great end of season holiday post race. More soon from Hong Kong…………… 1) Bella Commerford (Sco) 6hr42 |
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