Eilat Race Report ( a bit on the long side
and it was only an Olympic, not even an IM report but I am getting ready ;D )
Overall we had a great time at the race, the whole family. It was exceptionally organised, registration took, I think, less than 30 seconds, all the roads were closed for the race, it started bang on time, the sun shone brightly at 7am, it was spectator friendly from incoming on the bike and 4 laps for run and the water was tepid !
. I finished in a time of 2:34 (30m swim, 4m T1(500m run), 1:10 bike+T2, 50 run. It was 26 minutes better than Kilkee but loads of room for improvement over the coming winter and I am currently injury and pain free
. I don't think I was DQ'd, would not understand it in hebrew anyhow¡K of course I took Doug¡¦s advice and smiled this time for the camera !
proof:
www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target15.html www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target39.htmlThe season is finally over here in Israel and my 3rd triathlon complete. In true MTC fashion I decided to write a race report from the City of Eilat (should have done for Bala but it was not a fully fledged trend at that point) . Eilat is in south Israel and on the border of Egypt, Jordan and within a javelin throw of Saudi Arabia, see pic (
www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target68.html ) . We decided to make a weekend of it with Naomi¡¦s and my triathlon and a visit to Petra Jordan since we were that close. The atmosphere was pretty sporty when we arrived with bicycles from 12¡¨ to 26¡¨ going up and down the corridors of the hotel and in the elevators, a complete carbon fest. We definitely stayed in the right hotel with good proximity to the race location. The English briefing was to be in our hotel and the transition and race finish we could see from our balcony.
pic:
www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target23.html For Israeli¡¦s this is the last race of the season which is hard to believe because of the sunshine here. To be honest, it is like summer racing in Ireland but they do not do any more now until April/May like ourselves. There were 1,500 athletes here in all but with the waves , the category splits and the 2 days we did not get too packed at any time.
The day before the race we got in a swim, a few simulations of running into the water and swimming off and a short bike ride. The water was amazing, this is the first memory. Diving into the water from the edge of the beach and seeing fish and sea urchins instantly was interesting, BUT don¡¦t step down is all I thought at the time. I suppose if we are to see some cool looking fish it would be in the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) . We headed off after the swim to the expo area (for new tires for Phil, unsuccessfully) and then off on a bike ride. I had found a few nicks in my tires a few days previously which definitely made me nervous but I did not manage to get a new tires. Low and behold out on the bike ride one of my friends tires blew out which did not help my concerns. All I could think was, all the stuff I have and tires were now my biggest concern. Anyhow, there was nothing that could be done but to forget about it and carry a spare tube on the day (4 minutes to be lost or saved on a puncture, not a major problem) . I was hoping somewhere during the day I could get a Pre-race massage (from the Seamus Bracken School of thought!) but strangely enough there were none here.
Race day : We were up bright and early at a modest 5am. Unfortunately I did not have my weetabix, country store or toast so it was on to the kids Cheerio¡¦s (at least they were the honey coated ones). I decided I would try this race purely on Gels and see how it goes. I followed the instructions of 45 minutes before and 15 minutes before. They do suck in texture but I did not want to put in the effort of eating something even semi solid during the race so I gave it a go. I setup my bottles with electrolyte powders also due to the heat around here. I assumed I would end up drinking like a fish but @ 7am it is not too hot.
The transition area is pretty much the same as at home although not a single wet suit in sight. One of the main changes is that you do your own body marking before entering. Unfortunately I had forgotten my marker but my friends had some so no major panic. After receiving a few tips on my transition setup from the coach here we headed for the water. One of the things I was glad about was the fact that the likely hood of my coming out of the water with the pink hats this time was remote (Kilkee nightmares still occur) , the Elite ladies were the only ones with pink hats on Day1 and they were going off 5 minutes before us !! Likelihood of catching them was zero so I was safe ;D, an improvement on the photos from Kilkee. Proof :
www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target32.html The race was a great experience overall, we had an ¡§on-time start¡¨ at 7:10 in the morning. The Elites started @ 7:00 and good luck to anyone who could catch them (18 mins or so in the water) . For me the most notable improvement was the fact that I came in mid way on the wave I left with 34/53. It felt good and even though my swim time was still on the slow side it was an improvement on what I had from home. Brian maybe right that swimming might not be my thing but I thought if I could keep them within view I could make up some places on the bike
, my only vice. Unfortunately the transition area was 400-500m from the water¡¦s edge with 2 hotels and a road in between so it seemed to take a while to get to the bike and the swim times we have are for when we mounted the bike so I had a 34 min first split. Jean has me coming out of the water ~ 29-30 min so a good improvement on my 35 from Kilkee and I felt strong getting out of the water which was an upside, I can hear BB saying what the ¡§*^%$##¡¨ took 4 mins in T1 but It must be the distance.
The bike course was pretty basic, travel north 20km against a head wind and back south 20km with the wind. The only game plan was to not ¡§blow up¡¨ on the first 20km with the head wind and spin as much as possible on the way back. I heard that a lot of people would draft even though it was illegal but I saw very little on the way out. One guy did draft off me on the way back but he came along side me at one point to tell me he was not in the race because people were shouting at him for drafting (well, most of it was in Hebrew but I caught the word drafting). He was from some cycling club and was just out for the ride. We were hitting anywhere from 45kph to 60kph on the way back which was very enjoyable but if you did not use the opportunity it would be time wasted. I passed about 19 people from my wave on the bike and came in @ 1:10 including transition to run so was well pleased with it. From the temporary results I was placed 15th in my category off the bike.
www.philipjwade.com/photoarchive/Eilat_Web/target101.html Closing on the bike the only thing I would change is drink more water. I brought a 500ml and a 750ml bottle with me and only drank 300ml in total.. A bit of a waste carrying the water or should have drank more to prepare for a better run, next time .
The run was not that interesting with 4 laps of a 2.5km route but it was good for spectators and support. I saw Jean and the kids on the route 8 times. With them as the only support there I was glad of it. My run did not turn out was well as it had in training but manageable. I finished the run in 50 minutes, well off the pace of what I had hoped but I finished with no knee problems and only weak muscles and a lack of fitness. The winter training can begin without issues and this is very exciting with the niggling issues I had during the year. !!!
Positives
Conditions: Sun shining, racing at 7:00am in the desert !
Conditions: The Gulf of Aqaba is warm compared to lakes at home
Body: No knee troubles to use as an excuse this time! Only pure fitness would be the limiter
Motivation: Naomi shouting from the road, ¡§Dad!, Doug is right behind you ¡§!
Race: getting out of the water with your own category (not a pink hat to be seen anywhere
(Kilkee trauma was looming)
Race : Not having to take off a wetsuit !
Race: low profile bike, 20Km of a head wind caused a lot of the road bikes issues. I felt it was money well spent . Just trying to convince Jean I need cool wheels now
Results: preliminary printed on a notice board before I had caught my breath after the race ! .Placed 23/53 in 30-34 Male , very few in our group, more in the older groups.
Negatives
Missing Motivation: Doug was not ahead of me in the swim ! . Chasing is futile but motivates
Missing Motivation: Pre race ¡§Phil, Maybe swimming is not your thing¡¨ BB
Missing Motivation: ¡§Com¡¦on Phil, Doug is right behind you ¡§ : Sharon Bates
Missing Nutrition: No Jelly babies from the Joe Holton school of nutrition
Race : Did not understand a word anyone was saying (maybe this is a positive ;D )
Post Race : No results banter with anyone, it was all in Hebrew and we did not have anyone to sit around the table with to joke and laugh with some thrash talk in between.
Overall : The crack is not the same without the MTC gang, that is for sure. Look forward to getting back home and doing some races with you guys again ļ .
.....
and it was only an Olympic, not even an IM report but I am getting ready ;D ) 
. I finished in a time of 2:34 (30m swim, 4m T1(500m run), 1:10 bike+T2, 50 run. It was 26 minutes better than Kilkee but loads of room for improvement over the coming winter and I am currently injury and pain free 
. I don't think I was DQ'd, would not understand it in hebrew anyhow¡K of course I took Doug¡¦s advice and smiled this time for the camera ! 
, my only vice. Unfortunately the transition area was 400-500m from the water¡¦s edge with 2 hotels and a road in between so it seemed to take a while to get to the bike and the swim times we have are for when we mounted the bike so I had a 34 min first split. Jean has me coming out of the water ~ 29-30 min so a good improvement on my 35 from Kilkee and I felt strong getting out of the water which was an upside, I can hear BB saying what the ¡§*^%$##¡¨ took 4 mins in T1 but It must be the distance.
(Kilkee trauma was looming) 