Booking yet another early season race meant limited preparation time. The longest distance I had ran since London Marathon in April was the 10K at the Cotswold Olympic Triathlon three weeks before. Despite some inconsistency in training, I was very happy with an PB new at the Olympic distance. Two weeks prior to the race I added a few bike-run brick sessions with some short hill reps hoping to simulate the hilly run course.
Reasons to choose Challenge Wales:
- Currently the only Challenge series event in the UK.
- Beautiful (yet brutal) course on the Pembrokeshire coast.
- Cheap entry fee (early bird offer at £139), less than half of an equivalent Ironman 70.3 event
In 2023 this race fell on the same day as Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire (continue reading after this report if interested). For easier travel, I chose Stafford and put Challenge Wales on my bucket list. Following the discontinuation of the Staffordshire event in 2024, I entered Challenge Wales 2024 very early and enjoyed the sweet early bird price (of course without even realising how tough this it really was!) I started to feel quite unsettled as the day got closer: unpredictable weather, hilly course, rather inconsistent training. But my biggest concern was water temperature. Although I did not expect the Welsh sea temperature in early summer to be warm, 12-13-degrees according to locals was astonishing! Never a cold-water swimmer, I usually find 16 to 17-degree water quite chilly, giving me good reason to doubt if I could even get through the swim! Anxiety built up to a point I nearly lost my usual thrill prior to a big race…
The days leading to the race weekend saw a few sunny days, so fingers crossed the harbour would warm up at least a little. This time I did not feel ready physically or mentally, but still all the preparation work was done, and I did a 50min practice ride on Saturday. Raceday morning was mostly sunny, with clouds gradually moving in, and a moderate breeze. Race start time was 10 am, quite unusual for middle distance. The swim course was 2 laps inside the harbour with an Aussie Exit (a short run on land) between the 2 laps. Despite very low temperature, no gloves or boots were allowed (unlike the T100 pro race in San Francisco on the same weekend with similar water temperature). I put on my neopine hat underneath the swim cap to protect my head from the freezing cold. 9:30 am, half an hour before race start, anxiously I stood in front of the harbour with hundreds other athletes. I felt even more nervous than my very first triathlon, when I was a still very nervous swimmer. I chose not to go in for the acclimatisation swim for the fear of shivering in the cold. Instead, I poured some warm water into my wetsuit, and when the gun went, I followed the crowd of athletes into the water. Expectedly I was hit by a cold shock after only few strokes. Instinctively panicked and thought I could no longer continue, very much a dejavu feeling from my first triathlon. Gasping for a few breaths calmed my nerves a little and was able to find my stokes again. Having acclimatised to the temperature, I was able get into a rhythm and move forward after a few. During first lap my body remained decently warm, except toes and fingers were freezing. I exited the first lap in just over 20 minutes, hitting my target time. The run between the two laps massively helped to rest my arms and pump some blood around my body. Upon entering the water for the second lap, I told myself: alright if you could do one lap, you could surely do one more, and it would be easier! The water became noticeably choppier during lap two, and towards the end I felt my body losing heat rapidly. The desire to get onto dry land ASAP motivated me to pick up my pace. 43:59 (including a roughly two-minute run between the two laps) was the final time, which I was very happy about.
After a very long run down the road to T1, I had to stop in transition for over 10 minutes to warm up until I stopped shivering, before I could get onto my bike without falling over! The bike course was a straightforward 2-lap out-and-back ride on A487 to St Davids. Mostly good road surfaces and completed closed roads made it an overall pleasant ride. The first few miles out of T1 featured a steady climb accumulating over 100m. Combined with a head wind, I was putting in above average power but not achieving the desired pace. The later section was flatter but more exposed, and a strong crosswind at a few spots really tested my handling skills! After a very tight U-turn at St Davids, a tail wind and more downhills allowed me take advantage of my aero set up and picked up some serious speed. The first lap took 1h30min sharp, including a quick toilet stop at the aid station. However, from the beginning of the second lap, fatigue kicked in earlier than expected. Especially my back started to feel sore before halfway, which was quite unusual. Then the legs were deprived of power during the climbs. Second lap time 1h39min, making the total time 3h9min. Total distance recorded was 58.5 mile (2.5 miles longer than the standard 56 miles) with 1200 meters elevation gain.
After a very swift T2 (4th in my category!), I started the run in a rather relaxed spirit, knowing that I could definitely finish sooner or later. The run course was brutal beyond description. A mixture of tarmac, gravel, and grass surfaces, plus exposure to the wind on the cliff and breakwater. For more than half the distance it was literally hill after hill, totalling of over 300 meters elevation gain. The intermit feel of cramp in both thighs did not go away after the first mile or two as usual but came and went throughout the entire run. Not thinking about finish time anymore, I was able to simply focus on moving forward. Four out of the six times passing the aid station I stopped to grab some fruit and crisps to keep me going. The crowd support was great along the course, and the two hours went by rather quickly. After the 3rd lap, I made the final turn onto the red carpet – 6 hour 19 minutes, 117km in total – my 10th triathlon, 3rd at middle distance, and the longest time and distance to date (a whole hour longer than my half distance debut). I was very happy to still hold a 0% DNF rate.
Contemplating on the ups and downs leading to this achievement, I was recalling my Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire journey a year ago: together with today, two very tough days of racing presented different sorts of challenge…
