EVENT DATE: December 8, 2023
BIB NUMBER: 0336
AGE GROUP: 25–29
Official Time: 5:53:38
Position: Age Group — 9th, Gender — 69th
The Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championships unfolded in Bahrain, a petite archipelago near Qatar. Spanning only 760 sq km, slightly larger than Bangalore, we smoothly traveled via Oman Air with a layover in Muscat. Bike bags were charged additionally and they arrived about 45 minutes after our regular bags. We landed on the night of 5th December, a Tuesday while our race was on friday. We had two days to complete our recce and registration. The country was a bit relaxed compared to the UAE and we were allowed to ride our bikes, obviously at our own risk. The atmosphere was relatively calm and lacked the usual hustle and bustle found in typical Ironman race locations. The swim and expo were at Reef Island, previously a bustling port area. The hotel we booked was associated with Ironman and they provided airport and race venue transfers. We had some initial struggles as we landed, as the cars sent to pick us up were sedans and couldn’t fit our bike bags. The hotel reps arranged an additional van for our bikes, but it was already 11pm Bahrain time(1:30am IST). At the hotel, there was an Indian chef offering basic Indian items like chicken curries, roti’s and steamed rice.
ROUTE RECCE
Commencing our initial day in Bahrain, we intended to ride for 90 minutes on the race course and follow it with a brief 30-minute brick run. This turned out to be intensely challenging and I’d say dangerous. The race route was a major highway with cars speeding at 120+kmph. We stuck to the yellow line but it had a lot of vehicles joining in. We had to stop every 5 minutes. We decided to turn back but there was no u-turn until another 10kms. I let my training friends take the navigation lead and simply savored the ride. Surrounded by endless stretches of sand, the landscape required drip irrigation support for any existing greenery. The buildings displayed a curious uniformity, predominantly in mild colors or white hues. The road quality was exceptionally smooth. Winds were blowing in various directions, but fortunately, the temperature was relatively mild, hovering around 23–25 degrees. In essence, the conditions made it challenging to conduct a thorough reconnaissance, leaving us with uncertainty about the entire course. We were unable even to survey the run course, which appeared intricate like noodles on the map. Yet, in hindsight, this limitation proved to be a hidden blessing.
PRACTICE SWIM
The swim was wetsuit optional for the age groupers and the water was cold during the practice swim. The swim course featured an L-shaped loop marked by green, yellow, and red buoys, accompanied by a rope adorned with white cylinders guiding us along the entire path. I covered approximately 1.3 kilometers during the practice swim. The water was notably salty but very still. The practice swim has consistently overwhelmed me, perhaps because maintaining continuous swimming and sighting every 3–4 strokes doesn’t come entirely naturally to me at this point. I made an effort to feel comfortable, but my arms started to ache a bit in the initial 200–300 meters, so I powered through the discomfort and completed the swim.
THE PRO FIELD
The Ironman 70.3 Bahrain, a championship event in the Middle East, featured prominent professional athletes preparing to compete. Among them were notable names such as Alistair Brownlee, Kat Mathews, Ellie Salthouse, and others. As we made our way to the swim, Hayden Wilde caught our eye on his easy run, and we observed Vincent Luis and his training mates after completing their swim. Later at the expo, Alistair casually walked past us, and on the morning of the race day, we spotted Kat Mathews as she made her way to the transition area. As an age grouper with dreams of competing professionally one day, witnessing the elite field provided a significant boost of inspiration.
RACE DAY PREP
I remained remarkably calm before the race, having experienced three Ironman starts prior to this event. I had some excitement but I was heavily concerned about my run. My previous run at Goa was extremely traumatic. I had pushed it mentally and paced it very poorly. The heat was the ultimate adversary. This race, I just wanted to have a good run to ensure I belong to this sport. Even during my initial 70.3 in Vietnam, the temperature soared to 44 degrees, and during the run, it felt like my heart was ablaze. Moreover, the Goa race occurred precisely two months prior, and it coincided with the last day of my menstrual cycle. In Bahrain, I was aware that I would be racing on either the first or second day of my menstrual cycle. Although I contemplated taking a pill to delay the dates, I chose not to, prioritizing my long-term health instead. On the typical first day of my cycle, I experience stiffness in my hips, heightened levels of confusion, mood swings, and a dip in motivation. Aware of the challenges ahead, I consciously reminded myself to remain as calm as possible. I strategically marked my bike and gear bags in transition with numerous cues, ensuring I felt well-prepared for the upcoming race.
SWIM
The swim featured a stair climb followed by a descent into the waters. The water temperature was about 21 degrees. Unfortunately, the swim was as rough as in the world championships. I had to fight my way in the water, and I’m not very good at that. I encountered challenges, such as getting smacked in the goggles, causing them to lock in place, and experiencing scratches on my cheeks from accidental contact with someone’s nails. Subsequently, I found myself wedged between the white cylinder attached to the rope and a group of swimmers, resulting in the impact of my left palm against the cylinder. It hurt insanely at that point but then I chose to refocus. As it turns out, there is a blood clot in my palm. I wasn’t in the ‘flow state’ or rhythmic on the swim but I was surely doing the best I could. The turning points were very narrow and crowded as well. One positive was that I sighted more frequently this time and I didn’t lose my way. Despite swallowing considerable “salty” water, I completed the 1.9km loop, which involved stair climbing and transitions, in 39 minutes. To be honest, I assumed the timer would commence when I entered the water, but instead, I leisurely ascended the stairs as if on a sightseeing tour. In every race, it seems I have a rendezvous with my whimsical side.
Transition 1
I ran into the gear bag section and it was very close to the swim exit. I wish the wetsuit peelers were there, but they weren’t. By the time I unzipped the wetsuit, I was already next to my transition bag, yikes. I just stood there and quickly removed my wetsuit and got my bike gear on. It was a relatively cleaner effort compared to my previous bike bag saga where I dropped all the gels. I felt pretty confident while easily locating my bike as I had marked the exact path. It was a pretty long run to that point. I had to push my bike up a small climb with a slippery lawn mat to get to the mount line. I took my time as falling wasn’t an option. Transition was 3:43 minutes and it was definitely not bad.
BIKE
The bike loop was 91 kms long and it was a flat course. But the catch was that it wasn’t always straight. It had an Formula 1 race circuit after the 45th km with about 8–10 turns and then a 10 -15 km section with a lot of turns. There were headwinds, tailwinds and crosswinds in many parts of the sections. I was told to keep a HR < 170 for the bike and I just tried to play below the number. My bike handling skills are good but not exceptional. I did lose a lot of time in the technical sections and turns. The bike felt very good as I started and my legs felt strong. I knew I could sustain this for a long time. In my previous race at goa, my legs had given up after 20 minutes. I just tried to enjoy the race course and can you believe it — it covered the entire country. I felt the distance markers were wrongly placed and this was a bit unsettling. My Garmin showed different distance numbers, turns out the course was longer than 90 km. The best feeling was when I entered the F1 circuit. I’ve loved cars and speed ever since I was a kid. Infact, if I could go back to when I was 5, I’d choose to start training for F1. That segment was spectacular and I had so much adrenaline rush through me. The track was much coarse than the roads and It had several turns and changes in elevation. I had 3–4 other women on the track and we all seemed to acknowledge how mind blowing it was. There was this constant phrase popping in my head during the course ‘I am born for this’. At the end of the circuit, I encountered some Middle east riders. They kept blocking my way and surging randomly. I tried to get rid of them several times but they came back as I slowed down on the turns. The following segment had a lot of turns. As we hadn’t done the recce because it wasn’t safe, these sections seemed very interesting. If it were flat and straight all along it could’ve got boring and monotonous. Between all of this, I realized that the menstrual cycle had started but there was not much I could do. I focused on staying relaxed and tried not to worry about it at the moment. To my good fortune, I had no mechanical or crash issues on the bike. I completed the bike loop in 3:08 hours. My nutrition included about 70g of carbs per hour with 1.4 litres of water. This felt pretty good and I did not experience any GI issues or light headedness. The only unsettling feeling was the thought of how my run would be. This kept me over the edge.
RUN
The run was 3 loops of 7kms and it was a flat course with quite a few turns. Upon entering the course, I crossed the finish line and had the remarkable sight of Kat Matthews just ahead, stepping onto the red carpet to secure the victory in the women’s field. I cheered her on and continued with my half marathon. I was cheered by many women in the crowd with the words ‘Go Girl, Go Queen, 0336 you are killing it’ and so on. It felt super motivating and I was smiling throughout. I was told to keep a pace of 6min/km to start and get a negative split. I stuck to a 5:55 avg pace for the first loop and it felt super easy. I made some new acquaintances along the way and cheered several athletes. That’s when my competitive spirit took over, prompting me to elevate my pace while keeping a close eye on my heart rate. I felt pretty comfortable across the 2nd loop till a blister developed on my right toe. The adrenaline was too high to let it get to me. I strode on, caught up with an african girl who had passed me in the first loop and overtook her. I was able to modulate my pace and HR and this gave me a lot of confidence. Honestly, this run had very minimal mental aspect involved. I was in a state of flow with my mindset stepping in only at the end. The only drawback was that the aid stations lacked electrolytes, offering isotonic mix only in 1–2 stations. This was also available till the 2nd lap. Starting from the mid-2nd lap, there were no ice sponges or gels provided, with only water being available. I had picked up a GU gel in one of the stations but it was very dense. I consumed half of it. I had carried 3 out of 4 gels aiming to pick one at the station. Overall, I got about 47–48g of carbs and fortunately, I had no gut issues.. I completed the run in about 1:58 hours and it was my milestone. I was just elated with my run performance and it was absolute relief. My friends were waiting with the India flag and I finished my race with the tri-colour flying high over me. The run leg was so smooth that I want to go back to another one, and this time with more confidence.
POST RACE THOUGHTS
This race marked the culmination of the 2023 season where I took part in 4 Ironman 70.3 races in a span of 8 months. The few emotions that I experienced were confidence, courage and calmness. I am extremely pleased with the way I could bring in a sub 6 hour time with such happy thoughts. This experience instills immense confidence in me as I prepare to dive into the 2024 season, which is brimming with races, including both middle-distance and short-distance challenges. Certainly, my goal is to enhance various aspects of my performance, honing in on the intricacies of training and racing. Throughout this journey, my commitment is to maintain consistency and ensure my enduring presence in the sport for the long run. Achieving two significant milestones in this race has fortified my belief that I have the potential to be the best; it’s just a matter of time and continued dedication.
Thanks, Bahrain. Thanks 2023. Thanks to everyone on my journey.
Until next time.
Comments