Full Race Review here

Reason for signing up: Having left it 12 months since my first Ironman, the pain and agony had long been forgotten but the warm glow of an awesome achievement was still there and I always knew in the back of my mind I would someday revisit this distance. So, in the summer of 2016 I committed to doing another long-distance triathlon. I knew I didn’t want to do the same course again and having looked at various European events, I decided not to break the bank on one event (as there were plenty other events I had planned for 2017), and go for the reasonably priced and relatively local Outlaw Triathlon in Nottingham.

Having race the Outlaw half twice previously, I was familiar with the course and knew the race had a great reputation for being well managed and fantastically supported.

Training: For such a long distance event training can never be taken lightly, however having completed the distance once before (Ironman Bolton 2015), I knew I had it in me if I covered the basic level of training. As my starting level of fitness was pretty decent, I came up with a self-made 12 week training plan which the shape of lots of regular running early on (mixing some sprint and hill intervals with SLRs – Sunday Long Runs), and then bring in some cycle training halfway through the plan (indoor spin cycling using the excellent Sufferfest videos, plus a few long rides on the road). Swim training consisted of 2 lunchtime pool swims per week building up the distance from 1.5km to 3km. It was never much fun doing the pool swims although I do find it quite meditative, being able to switch the brain off for an hour. Besides, I don’t have easy access to an open water swim venue so had little choice.

I did schedule a few races during my training plan to give me some short-term goals to focus on. Firstly, racing the Milton Keynes marathon to get a reminder of how the run distance feels (painful), and then racing the Battlefield Duathlon in Naseby, a middle-distance duathlon of 20k run, 80k bike and 10k run with a few challenging hills on the run loops.

All in all, I’d say my training was enough to give me the confidence I’d be in good enough shape without pushing it to the maximum.

Race review: It’s never easy leading up to a big race like this. I get anxious the night before any race, but one this big is usually preceded by at least 5 nights of broken sleep, waking up in the middle of a nightmare that I’m running around transition with no clothes on looking for my bike. I headed up to Nottingham on the Friday (the race was Sunday), leaving plenty of time for registration, swim practice, race briefing and bike racking.

Race morning started with a pretty brutal 4am alarm, however I’d slept far better than expected. I had prepped well for race morning so everything was pretty calm from eating breakfast, getting my gear on, and heading over to the transition tent for about 5:15am (race start was 6am). The only slight hiccup was when we were asked to head over to the swim start, the time most people would zip up the top half of their wetsuit, only to realise I had my wetsuit on backwards… oops.

Swim: I’d say I’m an average swimmer. Not perfect technique, being self-taught, but good enough to start around the middle of the field. During the race briefing they always say that unless you are expecting to be near the front, to hold back a little at the start so that you get your own space and aren’t swimming over or being swam over by other competitors. I can only assume these race directors haven’t actually tried this. It’s all very well holding back a little but when you have 4 swim bays, each with about 400 nervous triathletes in, all aiming to swim to the left of the lake to get inside the first buoy at about 100 metres, there is always going to be a big struggle throughout the field. Clearly the more nervous Swimmers are holding back a little but once they become caught up in the melee of bodies, this makes them slow down and raise their head above water, only for all those swimmers behind them to get caught up causing even more congestion. I would say it was about a quarter of the way into the swim before it finally felt like people were spread out enough to have room to find their rhythm. It would be great if the Outlaw could look at a rolling start as other long distracted triathlons do, which I find much easier no matter where you are in the field.

The rest of the swim went pretty well. There were about 5 large buoys going up the lake, before we had a 90 degree right turn across the lake and then 5 buoys back down the lake. To focus on small goals rather than the whole swim, I found myself counting breaths between buoys which really helped me focus. Coming to the end of the swim I had no idea how quick or slow I’d been. I felt I’d paced it pretty well and hadn’t pushed too hard, knowing there is little to be gained at my level from killing yourself on the swim. Previously I had swum this distance in 1hr 21m so was hopeful for a similar time. As I staggered out of the water, grappling with my wetsuit I managed a quick glimpse of my watch to see it showing 1hr 15m…. get in!!! This gave me a huge buzz and left me with something positive to focus on for the rest of the race. T1 also went very smoothly and knowing I was up on my previous time for both the swim and transition gave me something to aim for later in the race. Now on to the bike.

The bike started really well. It felt nice and smooth and my legs felt great. I’d decided against getting a professional bike service pre-race, instead doing it myself, so it was another a big positive to focus on that my bike was rolling nice and fast with smooth gear transitions. In my mind I was hoping for an average pace of 17mph through the bike which would set me up nicely for the run. The first 30 odd miles flew past, the only thing slowing me down was a brief toilet break at the first feed stop. 50 miles in and we hit the first and only hill of note on the course. It actually wasn’t bad at all and was a nice change to get out of the saddle for a few minutes. The only slight worry was the amount of traffic on the road that was having to go very slow to stay a safe distance from the cyclists. I know motorists get a bad rep from cyclists but I must say these drivers were very good, being very patient and keeping a safe distance from everyone as well as encouraging us up the hill. It was also great to see and hear so every vocal support when we summited.

The only other incident of note on the ride was some stupid competitor that, despite seeing a ‘Caution Slow,  very tight bend’ sign ahead, decided that would be the perfect moment to overtake me. He soon realised it wasn’t when he had to swerve across the road in front on a van to avoid ramming into the side of it. Some people just don’t help themselves. It took him about another 20 minutes to finally get past me after his act of stupidity.

The rest of the ride went very smoothly, the only issue being that as fatigue set in, it got harder to maintain a decent cadence and my average speed started dropping below 17mph, eventually finishing at 16.8mph. Still, I’d had a good safe ride and felt reasonably fresh coming into T2 to get ready for the run.

The run course consisted of a lap around the lake, followed by an out and back route along the river Trent, another lap of the lake, a second out and back along the river and then 2 more laps of the lake to finish. I wanted to try and pace myself for 11 minute miles for the run, knowing that a slow pace early on would really help me later. I was hoping then for a run time around the 5 hour mark. Lap 1 of the lake was great apart from I was struggling to run slow enough, buoyed by the crowd and the fact I wasn’t on my bike any longer. However, it wasn’t long into the run before I started getting a sharp pain in my left knee. I knew exactly what it was, the result of a tight IT band pulling on my knee. I also knew that although it wasn’t dangerous, there was very little I could do about it other than suck it up and put up with the pain for the rest of the race.

The other issue I had on the run was feeling nauseous and struggling to get food and drink down at the feed stations. These were wonderfully stocked with various drinks, Jaffa Cakes, crisps and gels, however, through trial and error I found I could only take in a cup of water and a few sips of energy drink at each station.  Not ideal but it was enough to get me round.

I found the first out and back along the river a real struggle, mentally trying to come to terms with the knee pain and nausea. However, getting back to the lake at half distance, seeing my family and the crowd, and knowing that I had done half the race, really spurred me on for the rest of the run. It wasn’t pretty and certainly wasn’t easy but I adopted a run/walk strategy to cope with those last 13 miles. The final lap of the lake however was fantastic. Incredible support from the crowd and knowing I was only minutes away from finishing was a huge motivator. The final great draw of the Outlaw is that they allow you to run down the finish straight with your kids (unlike most BTF events) and running down that finish line with my kids on each side of me, after a whole day of incredible effort is a wonderful, emotional and inspiring feeling. It’s also a nice reward and acknowledgement for the family who’ve been hanging around a lake all day applauding strangers whilst waiting for their Dad to finish.

Summary: As long distance triathlons go, The Outlaw has to be up there as one of the best. It’s very accessible for beginners at this distance with a straightforward swim, relatively flat bike and a well supported and flat run. Being considerably cheaper than branded Ironman events but as equally well organised, and with a friendly atmosphere to match, it has to be one of the nicest UK/ European long distance triathlons you can do