Mr. Cartmell placed at Ironman Arizona 2011 in 26th overall and as 25th PRO.

Swim: 48:44

Total: 8:50:14

Bravo!

Long season…

I hadn’t however counted on having to do a duathlon …. I barely have any wish to race one of those when at home! So when at the race briefing on the Saturday afternoon, as the wind picked up, the clouds rolled (extremely) quickly in and the chop in the water increased it suddenly seemed a real possibility. I left with my ‘crossables’ crossed.

Running with eventual (and very deserved) race winner Tom Lowe midway through the half marathon

Sunday morning arrived, and the wind was still blowing pretty strong. In fact it was quite a tricky task wheeling my bike along to transition. Things didn’t look good (and they always seems a magnitude worse whilst in the dark and at 5.30am) and sure enough the audible hubbub as I entered the race site was of it being a dreaded duathlon. In fact it wasn’t even a duathlon – this would have been a better (and altogether fairer) option. The race director had opted for a bike run – essentially a 70.3 minus the swim and T1 as the way forward.

There isn’t much that you can do other than accept the decision and make the most of the cards dealt. – I couldn’t change anything and so my job was simply to focus on getting on with the task as best I could. Albeit with some considerable grump. I won’t lie, I like a swim!

We were to hit the road at 30sec intervals in a true TT format, starting in reverse order with the highest number. Now, one thing about this type of racing is that you want to be starting behind your competitors, as that way, if and when you catch them, you are virtually in front on them on the road – a big mental and competitive advantage. By extenstion, the one place you don’t want to be starting is first, as you are essentially ‘racing’ (I use the term loosely as it really isn’t a race, it’s a time trial) nobody, and haven’t a clue how the ‘race’ is unfolding 10,15 or 20mins behind you.

I had number 38, and I started first.

This meant that i was starting 19 minutes in front of athlete number one, and a good quarter of an hour before the top 10 guys who would more than likely be duking it out for the paycheques. The upside (which I was doing my best to find) was that I got to follow the lead car which made it feel a little bit like I was ‘winning’ the race. I decided before I started that I would certainly attempt to ride the full 90ks without being caught by another rider. – A memorable comment from 2005 Hawaii Ironman winner, Faris Al Sultan, was that he loved being out front of the race that day as he got to, or at least try to, “chase the helicopter”. I chased the blue and red flashing lights of the Sherrifs’ vehicle instead.

I was mindful of not going full bore from the get-go, as you can dig a horrible lactic filled hole for yourself that way. I settled into what I supposed was a good speed and something that ‘felt’ quick and yet sustainable. The reality was that I had absolutely no idea on that course, on that particular morning, in those conditions, whether or not I was actually going quick. – I was after all, not racing, i was time trailling. I much prefer racing; there are far more controllables to work with.

As the ride progressed I new that I was going well and I felt strong. I had a few quick peeks behind and saw noone, so I figured I wasn’t going to be caught at least. Also, I am now racing with a power meter fitted into my disc wheel this year so I was able to pay some attention to those figures, and also to my average speed. I started to do the maths and realised that I was on course to ride sub 2hr 5mins which is I feel, pretty quick riding  especially for me. But again, I had no idea whether or not others behind were going much quicker … perhaps they were on course for a sub 2hrs?!

All I could do was keep on pedalling. And chase those lights.

A final glance at the computer as I rode into T2 showed an average speed of 43.8kph and a total ride time of just over 2hrs 4mins and a final distance of 91k. I was pleased with the ride and hit the run hoping not for miracles but to at least feel like I was running. And not jogging like last week.

He’s a big lad is Tom!

For 7 miles I was still the first athelte on the road, untill the metronic footfall of Tome Lowe came floating past. I will admit to having a bit of a sulk and loss of concentration, as I knew he was race number 21, which meant he had potentially taken a whopping 8.5 minutes out of me.  I knew I wasn’t running fast, but I felt I had ridden well and just couldn’t quite cope with the harsh reality at that moment that ….I sucked! As it turns out there had been about 6mins difference between us at that point, which is of course still a huge margin.

I managed to hold a solid enough pace till 9 miles and then I faded badly. Two further athletes rattled past before I hit the finish chute, and I ended up the day as the 13th fastest; my worst finish in a 70.3 to date! At least it was techincally only a 69.1

It was a realy pity that we couldnt swim; many of the athletes were equally frustrated as we were in agreement that we had mostly swum in worse waters … it wouldnt have been any fun, (and of course safely must come first) but I do firmly believe that there should at least be some attempt to get the Pro wave in the water – even if that has to be for a shortened version of the swim. We are not only racing for a living and prize money, but with the new qualification system for 70.3 World Champs and Hawaii; for points. The results on Sunday were significantly altered becuase of the format that took place and I certainly hope that the WTC looks into implementing a sound procedure to follow should this situation (which is more than likely) arise again in the future.

Onwards and upwards. And back in the pool (I hadn’t swum in 5 days by the time I got home on Monday!)

Yesterday was the next installment in my ‘racing myself back to shape’ programme … let say I maybe underestimated the effects of racing at a mile high elevation after less than 3 weeks of acclimatisation, but lessons were learned and plenty positives taken. Onwards and upwards.

The big plus about racing at altitiude is that you get to go fast on the bike!  Higher air = thinner air, and thinner means less resistance which is good when you want to get from A to be B quicker than you might expect.

After an uncomfortable swim (wetsuits were legal despite the Boulder Resevoir remembling a warm bath) I got onto the bike and felt a lot better than 3 weeks prior at the Racine 70.3. Within 5 miles our group had reversed Andy Potts’ lead of 75secs which suggested we were toddling along rather well. By ten miles I found myself at the front and with a little gap on the rest of the guys; my Trek/K-Swiss team mate Joe Gambles pushed on too and before we knew it we were nearly a minute to the good… over 2 minutes by T2. - It felt good (but hard!) to be racing at the front of a race at this level again, and it bodes well for the next few weeks of training up here.

The run brought me back down to earth with a bump. I might as well have been running on the moon given how hard it felt to breathe; I just couldn’t pick the pace up past a jog for all but a mile or so of the 13… it was a really frustrating feeling but to be honest, given how much I have struggled with my run training since arriving in Boulder, it shouldnt have come as such a surprise.

As I said – onwards and upwards. Next weekend I will be racing at the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Michigan.

A big thankyou to Larry Rosa photography for all the images above.

Nice to back up on one of those podium things again!

This past week has been a series of ‘firsts in a while’ – racing back to back weekends including both transatlantic travel and and a longer distance event (in fact that is a ‘first in a while’ all on it’s own) and indeed getting used to travelling again seemed like a first at times. All good fun though and part of the journey ahead – this journey of finding race fitness once more.

Talking of journeys, I had a fun trip over to Racine from Madison on Friday afternoon courtesy of the K Swiss expo truck. – It travels from race to race across the country and was en route to Racine via the Trek factory – happy coincidence I thought! Once here in Racine I was being homestayed by the wonderful Behrends family… I am now a (re)fan of all things cartoon thanks to Zach and Lilah (age 5 and 7!)

Apparently summer arrived in the MidWest just in time for us this morning – word on the street was that it’s been hovering around the kind of temperatures the Shire would be proud of until recently. Today it was 32C. And humid. Of course it was. - I usually like racing in the heat … just with some time to get a tan beforehand though.

Being back and racing in the US felt good though. – The events are just so much bigger with more excitement and atmosphere – transition had over 2500 bikes in it, the whole town was in lock down and there were 90ks of closed roads to get out on. It wouldnt happen in the UK!

After the poor(er) swim of last week in Zurich I was aiming to get out as hard as I could and try to set a good tempo. After a live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner from the race director over the tannoy (he was good!) it was time to hit the waters of Lake of Michigan – it is big, one of the Great Lakes no less (and not in any way to be confused with the Atlantic Ocean – I wouldn’t ever be that dumb, oh no, not me …)

We exited the water as a group of 5 – eventual race winner Paul Ambrose did a magic act that involved putting 7 minutes into myself, Steve Hacket and Craig Alexander by T2 which was impressive riding. I didn’t feel fantastic out on the bike today, in fact I rode with power for the first time and was contemplating giving the computer a serious throw as it confirmed I was doing a perfect job of heamoraging watts as the ride lengthened… work to be done.

my new Speed Concept with little Lilah from my homestay on board

The run was always going to be tough. By now it was warming up nicely and I was looking for shade in desperation at every street corner; there didn’t seem to be any readily available. I headed out of T2 in 3rd place and held onto that position till just shy of the 10 mile marker. It wasn’t pretty running but it’s a start and thats the main thing. I hung on to the finish to take 4th place in what was a competitive field.

I’m happy with how it went today. Other suffered even more and it has been a long time since I got to the finish of a long course race, so I have to be (and most definately am) pleased.

Work to be done, as always, and that is going to be done in Boulder, Colorado. – I fly out of Milwaukee tomorrow lunchtime to go see for myself what this multi sports and outdoors mecca is all about.

There is a beach – it must be the seaside, right?

Full results are here

Exiting the water with work to do …. 

The new 5150 series is a great new addition to the race calendar; these are not all new races as such, just that they have been taken under then Ironman umbrella and perhaps gained a little bit more profile and higher quality fields as a consequence. Zurich for example has always had a Saturday event as a prelude to the main event of the weekend; Ironman Switzerland on the Sunday. Ordinarily our race would’ve been a Swiss Cup event, although Ritchie had in fact raced here way back in 2005 when we (the Scottish squad) were training in Gerardmer, France (and I – as Ritchie pointed out with rather good memory skills – was racing at the Euro U23 Champs in Bulgaria… not such fond memories!)

Anyway, the bottom line was that Saturday would let me see with a bit more detail where I was in terms of real race shape and probably more importantly, it was a chance to ‘just go through’ the whole process of a race once more. – The packing, the travel, the logistics, the finding of somewhere to eat the night before in a strange place (did someone mentione the Golden Arches?!), the race day prep – morning jog, breaky, getting to the venue, warm-up, nerves on the beach before the cannon goes.. etc etc.

The race itself was of course a good solid hit out, but I came away with mistakes to learn from. – The swim was a run in off a little beach area, directly into a tight left hand turn bouy after maybe 150m or less. Essentially the swim start was important to get a good position going round that first bouy, and I was – after too much long distance racing (where the swim isn’t as competitive to be honest) - complacent. I figured I could start a little more to the right to avoid ‘the fight’ and simply swim onto the front group after a 100m or so. Negative. I looked up to sight after 30m or so and was already significantly adrift. Ritchie was hanging on just behind.

I exited the water about 1 minute down on the leaders, but set to work alongside Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack. We pushed a good pace round the 3 lap course, which contained the famous ‘Heartbreak Hill’ from the Ironman Course and had virtually pegged all but the race leader back by T2. Ritchie, after a very strong ride in what was only his 2nd event using a TT bike, was still lingering.

Given where I am with my training the 10k run is always going to be a considerable step out of my comfort zone, and so I set about finding a pace that I could sustain without digging too big a hole. I am racing again next weekend in my first 70.3 event in over a year, so I wanted to limit the damage to the limbs as much as possible. I watched with a smile as Ritchie stormed by after less than a K and told himto get after them. He is running extremely well right now and it was no surprise to see him comfortably in the lead at the final turn point around the 7K mark. He won with ease!

All in I am happy with the 10th place finish; I worked hard and (re)learned some valuable lessons. It was a whirlwind trip but good fun and well worth it.  – As a wise Irishman says “it is what it is” and I am looking forward to the next challenge on the agenda; Ironman 70.3 Racine on Sunday in Wisconsin.

Ritchie shares his race-winning (non alcoholic!) beer with Chris’ Macca’ McCormack while I catch up with Paul Amey.

Race results are here

with Catriona earlier in the week

the view isn't that bad either!!

I’ve been told that the local radio station are doing some live feed … how detailed it will be I have no idea … but have a look at it www.isle95.com to see what is going on, and of course the usual www.ironmanlive.com should have something online.

And hey, huge conrats to my Trek/K-Swiss buddies Julie, Michael and Joe for outstanding 1st, 1st and 2nd place results over at Wiiiiilllldflower in California earlier in the day. Waytogo team!

The womens racing starts for the ITU 2010 season …. Lisa 2nd from the right.

Fraser Cartmell placed 4th at Abu Dhabi Triathlon 2010.

1 ) Eneko Llanos 6:34:37
2 ) Dirk Bockel 6:35:30 (+0:53)
3 ) Rasmus Henning 6:36:07 (+1:30)
4 ) Fraser Cartmell 6:36:12 (+1:36)
5 ) Frederik Van Lierde 6:36:31 (+1:55)
6 ) Faris Al-Sultan 6:37:53 (+3:16)
7 ) Jordan Rapp 6:38:02 (+3:25)

Check out the official race results.

GO FRASER! GO!

Bagpipes in the desert!

Fraser Cartmell finished Ironman 70.3 Austin in 11th place overall and as 11th PRO.  (Quick race report below from me – thanks Nikola).

Swim: 22:59

Total: 3:57:07

For full results check Ironman.com.

This race is still within his hard training and he has taper ahead of him (he should confirm this) – main race is Ironman 70.3 World Champs on 14th November.

Phew, i’m all done with Austin 70.3, and certainly less than pleased with the result (on paper), unhappy with the way I fell apart, BUT i’m actually relatively relieved that I was even able to finish the damn race. – On Wednesday it seemed like i was going to have to skip Austin altogether and stay in San Diego to seek further physiotherapy treatment for a gammy leg (AGAIN!)

- I was riding my bike last Sunday after a great longer run in the morning … and after 30minutes I had a sore knee/lower quad (Vastusd Medialis) and by the end of the 90mins easy ride I was struggling to turn the pedals without shooting pains. Perfect. Monday/Tuesday it was sore and I was tumble turning with the one leg in the pool. And I only swam between Monday and Friday ….. thankfully I saw the great phsyio who put me back together in April when i was last in Sandy Eggo and he assured me that i just had crazy tight hammy/adductors that had become good mates and gotten stuck together causing the pain further down the leg. Reassuring to hear but not ideal at all … as I had been laying low on the running anyways since the Duathlon and Spain trip where I had a sore/tight calf!! – Man I need a fulltime massage therapist I think … or at least regulur rubs. Buts thats another story.

Simply fact is that I reckon I’ve ran no more than 200ks in the last month .. maybe a bit more, but i’d be spliting hairs; and I need consistency in my running to feel good off the bike, and therefore it was no surprise I started to buckle after a few decent early miles on the run. - And it was a HILLY run too … so I think it must’ve been short given the splits!

Good points were the swim - I was hanging out at the front for the first half then happily let others do the work there after. I figured I was going to need all the energy i could muster for the bike, as I really haven’t loaded huge milage yet … but I felt great. We were sleeping in T1 and somehow Greg Bennet nipped out super quick and dropped the hammer. I worked hard with Ritchie Cunnigham and Luke Bell to reduce the gap, and for the middle 10miles I got a gap myself and started to think I could ride GB down alone. I couldn’t! We re-grouped as a 3 and ended up reeling in Greg just before T2 where he seemed to park up and not even consider running.

 As I said; the run wasn’t too pretty, but I just decided to enjoy it after 5 miles. I jogged, and thought of it as the long run for the week I needed. I enjoyed the many live bands situated along the course (HOW cool) and tried to have a smile (difficult, but I tried) till the finish; realising it’s not always fun and games out there.

Next stop Clearwater, and if (please!!) I can run every day till then, I think (hope!) I can pull the run back into line. We’ll see. Thanks for all the messages.

….which is exactly what Liz Blatchford and I were doing on Saturday morning with a bit of ‘throu and off’ TT work on my new favourite road – the Berninapass, which has absolutely stunning views of a glacier at the head of the valley.

Don't tell Liz I was taking pictures...

First up on Saturday was the ITU WCS in Kitzbuhel, Austria. The team bus left here on Thursday with the Brownlee boys and young Hollie Avil aboard – they were all last seen floating around the track early doors. Fantasitc results all up with Alistair taking the win (yet again) with a cracking front running 10k straight out of T2 to prove he is without doubt the hot property in draft legal racing at the minute. Not to be out done, Johnny gave it to himself mixing it in the top 5 for a good 8k before ‘fading’ to a superb 13th in only his 2nd World Cup event. Someone should remind him he is only a Junior!!

Most importantly however; David ‘Maccers’ McNamee took home a fantastic debut performance of 17th, within 2 minutes of Bullet-Brownlee and less than 60 secs behind veteran racer Will who himself was a very solid 7th.

Then today I was once more glued to the updates screen, watching Quelle Challenge Ironman Roth unfold. – This race sounds amazing, and I can’t help but wonder if it will be on the cards for me sooner or later??? Fast times and huge crowds?  -Sounds good to me.  Chrissie Wellington duly smashed the world leading time with an outstanding 8.31, but huge kudos goes to Catriona Morrison who continued her excellent season with the fastest female debut IM performance of all time in a cracking 8.48. – Not so long ago that would have challenged the Scottish mens record! However, we now have my T.R.I team mate Graeme Stewart looking after that crown, and he impressively lowered his own mark to 8.23 by finishing in 13th place in a truly world class field.

Finally, there was an Xterra US event in Vermont where fellow triathlonteam bloggers Conrad and Dan notched up 3rd and 5th spots. – I’ve lost count how many times these guys have raced during the past couple months.

Well if that wasn’t enough motivation for one w/e, I’m not sure what is. -  Aerobic 5k swim and a 90k bike for me tomorrow. Best get to bed.