#TeamTCUK athlete, Tom Austen, gives his personal account of Outlaw Half Holkham 2017, a race that is fast becoming one of the most popular half Iron distance events on the UK calendar.

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Pre-race

How were your preparations leading up to the race?

I began a structured plan with James and TCUK in December 2016, and trained consistently from that time. Looking back at that time, it is a world away from where I am now with general fitness and specifically my swim/bike/run disciplines. Alongside the physical training I’ve been practising mindfulness and meditation for a couple of years which I consider part of my preparations, especially as race day drew closer. I only had one other event this year (a sprint two weeks before Holkham) which went very well and gave me confidence.

Did you feel that your training had prepared you sufficiently?

Absolutely. In advance of the event I had absolutely no doubts that I could complete the distances.

Swim

Time: 40:17

How did it go?

I was in the M30-35 category which was the first wave after the Elite wave which went off at 6:27. I went off at 6:30, though I hung back for 20 seconds and let the carnage commence, then set about my swim. Because the elite wave (50) then another wave of c. 400 had gone off, visibility was completely nil in the water, so much silt meant it was impossible to see anything. But I was kind of expecting this so it didn't make a big impact. Had a new wetsuit that I bought the day before (I know I know) but swam well, controlled breathing and got out on target. Water temperature was warmer than air temperature and the lake was very wide so possible to swim without coming into contact with many people. Kept my own line and settled in well.

T1

Time: 3:26

Had P20 suncream on before the swim which lasted me the entire race, even when wet. Also had earplugs in for the swim, so that helped! My surname begins with A and as I was in first proper wave, my bike was right next to bike out, so I had a good run over there and onto the bike easily. Wetsuit came off fine, no problems with T1.

Bike

Time: 2:57:34

Got onto the bike and realised immediately that my HRM wasn't working. I changed the battery earlier in the week and must not have tightened it up again as it was working before the swim! So had to rely on perceived exertion, which I made peace with quite quickly. It was very difficult NOT to get some drafting benefit as there were so many bikes out and as the ride was very undulating, there were bunches of people all the time. Thankfully I didn't get any time penalties but I was worried as the motorbike judges were lurking often! I found the bike leg much more hilly than expected, though no large individual climbs - there was 2100 feet of climbing in 90km which is no mean feat. Road surfaces were generally pretty good, marshalls did a great job and no problems with traffic. I knew I was keeping a pretty good average pace and I stuck to nutrition plan which was all whole foods: had energy bars I had made previously (oats, almonds, dates, peanut butter, honey, cacao nibs, coconut flakes etc) and a smoothie (spinach, banana, beets, berries, maca, chia etc) on the bike as well as Vega electrolyte powder in water. No gels. Kept well hydrated. Knees and achilles both started hurting with 20km to go and I abandoned my arbitrary 6:30 target (with 6:00 my absolute 'wouldn't it be great if...' target long gone). But as I got off the bike, I said let's see how it feels...

T2

Time: 3:18

No major issues. Got off the bike, spent 30 seconds doing leg swings to lengthen my quads. Had a hayfever tablet as precaution!

Run

Time: 2:00:56

Tough run, by far the toughest HM I've done, lots of undulation again: over 530 feet of elevation. Also the sun had come out strongly by this point and it was very hot. The run was three laps round the hall and grounds which was incredibly scenic with constant changes in the surface (some off road, tarmac, gravel etc.) Legs actually felt a lot better having gotten off the bike, which was a relief. I'm used to running to HR so it was tricky to not have this and I realised my first few KM were faster than I had ideally wanted, even though it didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. My fiancé and Mum were on the first hill so that helped! First lap felt good and my KM splits levelled out somewhere I was comfortable with, but second lap was much harder, legs started to ache (which had a positive effect of slowing me down!!) I was sipping Vega electrolyte powder on every KM religiously but still no gels. It was very hot by this time so I grabbed a sponge every aid station! Also began walking the aid stations around halfway through lap 2. Final lap was actually easier than second as my legs had eased themselves out a bit and the end was in sight. Finished on 6 min KMs but I knew by halfway round that I was going to easily come in under 6:30 and even under my stretch 6:00 target, so there was no pressure to increase pace.

Post-race

Immediately after the race I had a leg massage on site (long wait, but expected) and ate as much food as possible! I stayed down in Norfolk for a few days and did quite a bit of walking which helped, though my legs were very sore the next day. Used the foam roller to ease this up and now (4 days later) I feel pretty much back to normal aside from some niggles.

Race review

The race was absolutely brilliant. I’ve done shorter OSB events before and the organisation, atmosphere, staff and volunteers are always top class. Quite a challenging bike and run course but incredible scenery – tough to find a nicer base in the UK for a triathlon. Really well set up for spectators too. Tips for racing Holkham: bike out / run out are both at the bottom of long drags, not too much incline but enough to immediately raise the heart rate. Lake is an amazing setting but visibility is almost nil (or was in my wave) so prepare for that. I would race it again, for sure.

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